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Is it just me or does the San Antonio culture seem to exist in it's own bubble where free agents are very hesitant to enter? I realize that our cap situation has been limited in the past few years and draft picks have been next to non-existent in terms of relevance in terms of trades but with the Howard trade I just started thinking that maybe it's something about our system that players don't like. Maybe it's that their skill sets won't be featured or that it's a little too family friendly or maybe even Pop.
Why is it you never hear that free agents are 'desiring' to come to San Antonio? One would think they would considering the amount of winning that happens here, but they for the large part have no interest. Take for example, for whatever it's worth, Josh Howard. He gets offered a contract by San Antonio last year but instead chooses to play for a similar amount in Utah on a much worse team. I'm sure there are many more examples but the amount of news I hear about free agents and San Antonio is next to none and there's got to be an answer.
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It's mainly because San Antonio is a ty city filled with fat es tbh.
Pop is one of the most widely respected coaches in the league, so I doubt he's the problem. His system, however, may be one of the culprits.
1) The Spurs system is notoriously nuanced and complicated. If you had to do a job, would you want to it the simple and fun way, or the difficult and complex way? I think some players just wouldn't want to put in the time, and know they wouldn't stick around long if they didn't. They also know that they will have to give into the "team concept"....meaning they can't try to constantly put themselves in the spotlight. With most NBA players being alpha dogs, and also wanting to showcase their skills to land bigger contracts, that probably doesn't sit well.
2) San Antonio is not a "premiere destination". Sure, its a nice town...but there's no beach, no mountains, no big money market, not a lot of night-life....it's a family town, and not a lot of NBA players are "family guys". Outside of that, about the only thing it really has going is cost of living and no state taxes.
3) Spurs are known for being fiscal, and also don't have a lot of cap space. That means they don't overpay their players, and they make them earn what they do pay. Players are more likely to get a big payday from a team that throws its money around, as opposed to coming to San Antonio where they will be pressured to take less money.
4) Like it or not, the Spurs aren't contenders anymore. They aren't far off, but they are still on the outside looking in. I'm sure players would rather play for a playoff team than a cellar dweller....but they'd also rather play for a true contender than a possible pretender.
This is my only explanation for it. Aside from having little marketability here in San Antonio, the reason is because players like Danny Green become solid players. How else could someone explain the Spurs constantly finding gems from the bottom of the barrel? If you are in San Antonio, be prepared to work your ass off because nothing less is tolerated.
ty city
Not enough money
ty city
San Antonio is a pretty nice place to live if you want to live cheaply, don't mind having to look at and interact with fat people all the time, and aren't very interested in night life.
That doesn't really describe a whole lot of NBA players.
Also Peter Holt is one of the least-rich owners in the league. He's probably not willing to throw around $90 million/season like the Lakers just did. So players can earn more playing elsewhere.
SA doesn't have much of a black cultural experience--eg rap venues. nightclubs, etc--that appeal to young rich black males. Off and on, Spur players have tried to open clubs on their own which tells you something about the nightlife scene.
Players for the Jazz sometimes complain about the lack of black culture in Utah and how they feel like outsiders. SA isn't like that, but we aren't NYC, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami, LA, etc. either.
If players appreciate a family oriented city which is pretty cosmopolitan and more color-blind than most cities in the US, then they come to like it in SA and, in fact, many of them decide to retire here when they could move on with their money to cities with more of a black presence.
The Spurs have had too many of their own good players to afford to throw big money at free agents over the years. They were able to land Michael Finley thanks to Mark Cuban paying him five million dollars a year not to be a Maverick.
Money. Meanwhile, go pound sand lefty. I love my city.
One of the funniest threads I've ever read....
I do business in Southern California.
The cities here are twice as ty with twice as ty people..
Bravo.
So true
Nice troll job by BLB.
Lol at the poster that put "mountains" as something desireable? Those things are extremely overrated aesthically especially in a desert setting. I got tired of them after a week when I vacationed in Las Begas and Phoenix this summer. Hill country >> Desert mountains.
I doubt most criticizes have left the confines of their parents homes.
LOL that Phoenix is the measuring stick to compare to. Wow, SA is slightly better than the place that's 110 every day.
Huh? I used Phoenix as an example of a place with a desert landscape that featured mountains. That type of environment and scenery got old really fast. I didn't think it would but it did. In both Phoenix and Vegas. It had nothing to do with the temperature, I never even brought it up. Way to good showing off that incredible reading comphrension.
San Antonio is a small city with a small market. Simply put they don't have as much dough as other cities. I can't comment on how the place and the people are since I've never been there but it doesn't look bad, I wouldn't call it " ty". BTW, anyone here ever been to NY or LA?
Cone on now, SA isn't a small city or a small metro. 2.2 million while adding 50K+ a year to the population on a yearly basis.
Winning les helps.
Because Duncan's old
Married players probably want to stay away from SA too after the Parker/Barry fiasco...yea I brought it up again
Richard Jefferson wasn't exactly a shining beacon either for potential Spurs
The Spurs have four more championships than they should have given their location, tbh
I don't understand the " ty" reputation either. Granted, I haven't lived there since I was a kid and now live a couple hours away, so I don't visit SA all the time. My only problem with SA is the same I have with most of Texas, I hate humidity and waterbugs (ie roaches) but I imagine it's worse in Florida. SA does have a lot of illegals but so does LA.
I'm sure there's a lot better cities than SA but you could also do a lot worse. If you want nightlife and hotter es, you could easily live in Austin which is my preferred city and just work in SA.
San Antonio is an Americanized version of Mexico. Everywhere you go Mexican culture is strongly show cased and you'll find three taco stands on every block. Most NBA players aren't Mexicans but SA is pretty racially tolerant. It's not a small city by any means either, it's actually one of the bigger cities in the country.
There are tons of fat people though, it tends to be conservative (a lot of catholic Mexicans set the tone), and in general there just isn't much to do for young people. If you're young and wealthy I can understand not wanting to live in San Antonio because it's really not that great, very little special about it, with little to offer.
Sucks.
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