Welcome to San Antonio, KD!!!

[NASpurs]

The fact that you see that as a comparison.

You're the one who brought it up, not me.

[Hoops Czar]

It was a ing joke.

Jokes on you.

[NASpurs]

Jokes on you.

Jokes on me because you're too stupid to realize that the thread le was tongue in cheek? Sure thing.

You're one of those people in real life that needs things explained to them, aren't you?

[spursistan]

He has been sweetalking the Spurs/Pop and even Kawhi with in a pretty unlike KD manner..dude is often known to be snippy in win or lose situation..that kinda gives me hope, if not this year, maybe in 2017..

This would-be chokejob has franchise-altering potential for the Thunder..Short of le or Finals appearance, they could turn into a basketball backwater after 2017 with Russ most likely bolting to his home state playing for Lakers/Clippers ..

[cjw]

No. We will not have cap to add anyone else and some guys will need to be cleared. Team would be the 3 of them and random flotsam between picks we haven't seen d league guys, and what is more likely minimum vets. That doesn't look like the best situation is what I am saying. I am sure other teams will present better rosters. He's just not coming here.

But to each his own in terms of delusional FA targets. I'll believe it when I see it (hint: I won't).

Three of them plus either Green or Parker, plus Simmons (dirt cheap) and your boy Anderson. Not to mention being able to bring over guys from Europe very cheap once they're ready. This isn't the Cavs and Heat and their end of career minimum contract guys who make DWest look like a stud.

All three plus Green would be under very team friendly contracts beginning in summer of 2017 (one year from now) while if they kept Parker, he'd become an expiring a year from now.

You act as if OKC has tons of flexibility to add players when there's a good likelihood either Adams or Ibaka bounce given cap constraints and they remain wildly deficient at the wings. They have way less flexibility going forward than the Spurs do.

The only better roster is Golden State's if they're willing to blow up a piece of their rotation, which they certainly should do.

[DMC]

So let's say OKC gets eliminated after the next game and let's take into account how bad they choked against GSW. Why in the would he join the Warriors? I can't wrap my head around how someone, who makes his living as a compe or and as the main cog of his current team, would join the team that just eliminated him in such am unforgettable fashion. Durant is going to have many sleepless nights and a bitter taste in his mouth for a while; him joining the Warriors after this debacle is at zero percent. It's not like the guy is a nobody journeyman switching teams.

Market.

He accepted a beta role long ago. It's about money now. Draymond Green is getting more press coverage than Kevin Durant.

[Kawhitstorm]

It just doesn't make any sense that a team like that, at that point unable to add much more than vet min guys (the same old decrepits we had this season or others worse) would be better than OKC currently is. On top of that we are talking about 3 forwards sharing touches, the court, spots, etc. He would play with two other forwards that love Iso, the midrange, the ball, and are not good enough passers.

The only Spurs-ish max guy PATFO could LEGITIMATELY sign is Al Horford. The only issue is whether or not they would want to max him out or if he's going to pull a Carmelo & re-sign w/ the Hawks b/c they could offer him the most money. Otherwise, he's a character guy that's familiar w/ the Spurs culture, nobody would scrutinize him for leaving Atlanta (ala LMA ditching the Blazers) & he's a low key guy who doesn't mind playing in a small-market or being the 3rd wheel. He's also a native of DR so playing in a warm weather Hispanic town might be appealing to him.

If Bud is willing to trade Teague for Porker & absorb the difference in salary then the PATFO can create a max salary slot by dumping Diaw (assuming Tim/Manu retire or opt-out & re-sign for the vet minimum).

This would leave the team w/ the Room Exception they could offer to Pau (who would most likely refuse to play backup b/c he's a diva) or Mozgov (assuming his market value is at an all-time low & 2016 is a buyers market for centers). Otherwise, Miles Plumlee could play the Baynes role or Boban would have to play backup center.

They wouldn't really need a backup PF since LMA/Horford/Kawhi can play the position but they could probably sign a vet like Nene for the minimum. Anything but D-Worst:

The issue then would be the lack of playmakers coming off the bench but as I've suggested before trading Patty/Simmons(he's an upgrade over James Anderson/McLemore:) for Darren Collison could address that issue. They can pickup an undrafted slasher from the summer league to replace Simmons & sign a sniper like Troy Daniels (more efficient Gary Neal:) to makeup for Patty's shooting if he can be had for the minimum. They can also draft Malcolm Brogdon who's an NBA ready combo guard that can play alongside Collison. Pick up Mbah a Moute (for the vet min), he can defend both forward positions & is essentially a poor man's Andre Roberson.

So basically,

LMA/Mozgov?
Horford/Nene?
Kawhi/Kyle/Moute
Danny/Brogdon?/Troy Daniels/Undrafted slasher
Teague/Collison

Here is my assessement of how Horford would fit-in from another post:

Horford is actually way more mobile than LMA & matches up well w/ Draymond. He's actually not as bad a rebounder as his numbers suggest (he used to be as good as LMA) since Bud has him playing defense/offense away from the basket. He gets most of his shots from the top of the key while LMA gets his shots from the left wing & Kawhi from the right wing. This will give Porker lots of option for PnP & will keep the defense stretched out, if it was PRIME Porker he would be getting to the rim unmolested.

Horford would also spread the floor for LMA/Kawhi postups thus teams won't be able to double team without paying for it unlike what OKC got away w/ by ignoring Tim. He's also an underrated rim protector & would be fine as long as he plays his natural position (PF) instead of center. This would mean LMA has to man up & bang w/ the like of Adams ala Bogut (at least in the playoffs) while Horford plays the Draymond role by trapping PnRs, switching, guarding stretch 4s or just scrambling on defense.

[Hoops Czar]

Jokes on me because you're too stupid to realize that the thread le was tongue in cheek? Sure thing.

Who said anything about sure thing? Your reading comprehension is hit or miss. I didn't think anyone could be this obtuse....

Logically, it makes sense for him. He'll be 28 next season, and feeling the pressure (legacy wise) of never having won a ring. The Wizards have a decent core, but even with KD, they're still worse on paper than the Cavs. Same with Boston, another potential suitor.

Spurs are ready and he's the perfect fit. And the fact he "beat" us allows him to save face in not joining the team that beat him, as if he's joining the Spurs to get a Western conference team over the Golden State roadblock. He'll be positioned as the "savior" here rather than as a beta joining other stars.

Yes, I do think it's a long shot because of the fact nothing this good can happen to the Spurs in FA, but the move does make sense for him from a basketball perspective.

Are you kidding?

Spurs are in a dire, dire need of an additional perimeter scorer right now, especially one who is a volume 3 point shooter. The Spurs don't have any ball dominant players on the team, which would definitely appeal to Durant who's had to watch Westbrook chuck 30 shots per game up for the past 8 seasons (Westbrook is a beast, but typically, volume scorers like Durant don't like playing with other ball dominant players). If the Spurs can retain Green, KD gets to play alongside 2 of the best perimeter defenders in the league, meaning he has to carry less of load defensively. Even if the Spurs have to move Green, playing alongside Kawhi has to be a very appealing idea.

And of course, LMA is a name, and Parker, even though he sucks, still has "name" value. Not to mention the gravity Pop has with the players around the league. Furthermore, Pop is coaching Team USA, so if KD and Pop form a relationship, the chances are even better.

Why does Spurstalk want him?

Because we have ONE legitimate perimeter scorer on this team. Manu is done. Tony is about done. Green is one-dimensional. And our bench perimeter players (Patty, Fathead) are unreliable.

Kawhi can play SG. And in small ball lineups, LMA at 5, KD at 4, Kawhi at 3...

If this Thunder team were to win the le, then naturally KD would want to come back to try for another. But blowing a 3-1 series lead, against a historically great regular season team that has been hyped to no end, leaves the kind of sour taste in a player's mouth that is only remedied by "leaving." See Lebron leaving Cleveland for the first time, when his 66 win Cavs team lost to a underwhelming Magic team and then follow up the next year with losing to a 50 win Celtics team.

There's only so much failure a player can take with a specific franchise. And yeah, KD is to blame for some of that failure, but so was Lebron. Didn't stop him from leaving.

This thread implies the possibly of him coming here which is at 0%. The Spurs reserve the right to talk to whom ever they want in free agency but the Spurs aren't a prime spot to land max free agents and having LaMarsha and introvert on the roster isn't going to change that.

Couple things...

I would take a prime Manu over an out of control Westbrook 10/10 times

Thinking that Westbrook made Durant and that if he left, his career would go down the toilet. How ing dense can one be?

Like San Antonio, OKC hasn't had the money to land Max free agents. Over the last 8 years, they've spent money in house until they finally signed Kanter to max last offseason.

[SAGirl]

HI

Three of them plus either Green or Parker, plus Simmons (dirt cheap) and your boy Anderson. Not to mention being able to bring over guys from Europe very cheap once they're ready. This isn't the Cavs and Heat and their end of career minimum contract guys who make DWest look like a stud.

All three plus Green would be under very team friendly contracts beginning in summer of 2017 (one year from now) while if they kept Parker, he'd become an expiring a year from now.

You act as if OKC has tons of flexibility to add players when there's a good likelihood either Adams or Ibaka bounce given cap constraints and they remain wildly deficient at the wings. They have way less flexibility going forward than the Spurs do.

The only better roster is Golden State's if they're willing to blow up a piece of their rotation, which they certainly should do.

I'll just agree to disagree. As I said like 6 or seven spots b4 this one, it's not that I don't want Durant (bc ppl here will spin things that way undoubtedly, although you are not doing that yourself, it's just how things go here....), I don't think he'd fit in seamlessly (ppl gloss over this too but I do think he will consider it) and we don't have the best situation for him. I think he will find better options somewhere else, whether that is OKC (ppl acting like it's a given he leaves are also assuming way too much themselves) and I don't think we'll get him.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

lol no way hes coming to San Antonio.


i hope i eat my words tbh.

[SAGirl]

The only Spurs-ish max guy PATFO could LEGITIMATELY sign is Al Horford. The only issue is whether or not they would want to max him out or if he's going to pull a Carmelo & re-sign w/ the Hawks b/c they could offer him the most money. Otherwise, he's a character guy that's familiar w/ the Spurs culture, nobody would scrutinize him for leaving Atlanta (ala LMA ditching the Blazers) & he's a low key guy who doesn't mind playing in a small-market or being the 3rd wheel. He's also a native of DR so playing in a warm weather Hispanic town might be appealing to him.

If Bud is willing to trade Teague for Porker & absorb the difference in salary then the PATFO can create a max salary slot by dumping Diaw (assuming Tim/Manu retire or opt-out & re-sign for the vet minimum).

This would leave the team w/ the Room Exception they could offer to Pau (who would most likely refuse to play backup b/c he's a diva) or Mozgov (assuming his market value is at an all-time low & 2016 is a buyers market for centers). Otherwise, Miles Plumlee could play the Baynes role or Boban would have to play backup center.

They wouldn't really need a backup PF since LMA/Horford/Kawhi can play the position but they could probably sign a vet like Nene for the minimum. Anything but D-Worst:

The issue then would be the lack of playmakers coming off the bench but as I've suggested before trading Patty/Simmons(he's an upgrade over James Anderson/McLemore:) for Darren Collison could address that issue. They can pickup an undrafted slasher from the summer league to replace Simmons & sign a sniper like Troy Daniels (more efficient Gary Neal:) to makeup for Patty's shooting if he can be had for the minimum. They can also draft Malcolm Brogdon who's an NBA ready combo guard that can play alongside Collison. Pick up Mbah a Moute (for the vet min), he can defend both forward positions & is essentially a poor man's Andre Roberson.

So basically,

LMA/Mozgov?
Horford/Nene?
Kawhi/Kyle/Moute
Danny/Brogdon?/Troy Daniels/Undrafted slasher
Teague/Collison

Here is my assessement of how Horford would fit-in from another post:

I think overall, the question really boils down to how much of the roster does PATFO want to remake and which guys does he want back. He's not known for big overhauls but he might be willing to move more ppl out than we think, with Tim/Manu the only guys he would take back bc its up to them. I doubt he deals Tony too. Which basically leaves us with the same core. Which is why I think Pop just makes some moves around the edges. He complained mostly about the bench.

In your scenario Tim and Manu retire, and Tony is traded out to clear cap (presumably a pick). So it really depends on how committed PATFO is to really remaking the roster.

[Mnky]

If he leaves after that performance he can flush his legacy down the damn toilet. He better stay put. OKC is still stacked going forward..

There is no legacy if he doesn't ring. Just another stat player. If Thunder chokes up after their series lead, you have to consider it...the thunder legacy is coming up short.

[Kawhitstorm]

I think overall, the question really boils down to how much of the roster does PATFO want to remake and which guys does he want back. He's not known for big overhauls but he might be willing to move more ppl out than we think, with Tim/Manu the only guys he would take back bc its up to them. I doubt he deals Tony too. Which basically leaves us with the same core. Which is why I think Pop just makes some moves around the edges. He complained mostly about the bench.

In your scenario Tim and Manu retire, and Tony is traded out to clear cap (presumably a pick). So it really depends on how committed PATFO is to really remaking the roster.

Considering the Conley rumors, one would assume PATFO are willing to move Porker.

If they don't want to move Porker they they can dump Diaw & replace Tim/Boris w/ Pau/Marvin Williams then trade Patty/Simmons for Collison to upgrade the point guard position. It would depend on if Marvin Williams is willing to come off the bench & whether Pop would be willing to guarantee Pau a starting position.

[Mnky]

It just doesn't make any sense that a team like that, at that point unable to add much more than vet min guys (the same old decrepits we had this season or others worse) would be better than OKC currently is. On top of that we are talking about 3 forwards sharing touches, the court, spots, etc. He would play with two other forwards that love Iso, the midrange, the ball, and are not good enough passers.

Ppl continue to set themselves up for disappointment.

I don't know about that. Being able to post players is a luxury. It offers a high percentage shot (if they are actual post players) and wears the defensive player down on offense. Not to mention, KD and Kawhi can both convert mid range and threes at high percentage, which would be ideal coming from a post feed, and only makes the pick and roll much deadlier when you have multiple guys who can then post the switch or take the mid range.

I don't think because lma and Kawhi are efficient ISO players means they love it. They played with role players that were scared to shoot open threes all year. That leaves the pressure on lma and Kawhi to feel like they NEED to make something happen. They're both good passers, lma is very underrated and Kawhi took big strides this year. Will only be better going forward.

Kawhi can easily play the sg spot and the spurs have a huge advantage there if any Sg has to guard him. This year they put their best defender on him who had size. Imagine an undersized sg having to cover kd or Kawhi.

I'm not saying Kd is coming, but it would definitely make the spurs a huge problem to deal with. Westbrook and kd hit 44 and 40 minutes last night. Warriors are playing klay and curry like crazy too.Kawhi and lma were playing big minutes as well. Kawhi needed rest, but wouldn't need it as kuchen with another scoring option. Helps him do what he does best.. defend.

KD makes spurs better. Does he come? Meh. Not as likely as it is unlikely. Still worth discussing though. What else we got..

[dbreiden83080]

There is no legacy if he doesn't ring. Just another stat player. If Thunder chokes up after their series lead, you have to consider it...the thunder legacy is coming up short.

See this may be the old school mentality in me but I don't see a ring as the only thing, because there should be cir stances tied to winning it. For example in the 90's, Ewing was not going to get all time level credit had he pulled a Lebron and told the Knicks I am leaving to go play with Reggie and the Pacers and he got that ring. There is a lot to be said for sticking it out, and trying to win that ring where you are. He has a great team and probably the best running mate in the league. He is not going to find a better landing spot to carve out his legacy anyway..

[RD2191]

Why do people even respond to hoops got? Just put that hoe on ignore and move on.

[SAGirl]

KD makes spurs better. Does he come? Meh. Not as likely as it is unlikely. Still worth discussing though. What else we got..

Good point.
At this point Spurs fans are getting on each other, blaming Pop, blaming Kawhi, LMA, a series of role players with a very small and limited role, instead of the real culprits IMO: the big 3 decline to near Kobe levels of Tim/Manu (who may return, a scary proposition); Tony not being a reliable scorer at this point, Patty and Diaw ting the bed bc the two of them w/ Manu were the bench core, D-Worst, being D-Worst and Anderson not being ready. By the way, yes, the referees screwed us. Even with all this ^ we were still within striking distance in two games, thus Pop may feel not much but a tweak is needed.

I would rather entertain different ideas like this sure.

[ElNono]

People harp on Kawhi for choking, but this niglet better come out guns blazing in Game 7... what a choke...

[313]

Russ has been shooting like 35-40% all playoffs but the fact that they've been winning in spite of that he gets a pass? Yeah, KD choked, but WB had like four TOs the last few minutes of the fourth.

Nonetheless, the blame will go to KD and he'll leave to the east coast where his only compe ion will be a past his prime LeBron.

[murpjf88]

This thread implies the possibly of him coming here which is at 0%. The Spurs reserve the right to talk to whom ever they want in free agency but the Spurs aren't a prime spot to land max free agents and having LaMarsha and introvert on the roster isn't going to change that.

Agreed. If Leonard is a true superstar like many claim him to be, there would be no need for Durant. Durant and Leonard are similar in their styles of play. Durant is more polished on the offensive end while Leonard is better on the defensive end. One of Leonard or Durant would constantly be playing out of position because LMA won't move to the C position to accommodate anybody. Durant is the best player available in free agency but he hardly fills a need. They need a penetrating guard like Teagues who can break down the defense. They need to restock the bench with NBA caliber shooters, not D-league scrubs and Euro trash that's basically useless against mainstream compe ion. Kyle Anderson needs to be moved to 3rd string because he's just not that good.

The team wasn't that far off from championship level play. They just need shooters that can shoot and guards that can penetrate. I think Tony is still capable of producing at high level at times but his inconsistencies are a cause for concern. He'd be best suited coming off the bench. It's best to make good use of him because a Tony Parker trade will only happen when pigs fly.

Even with LMA signing a max contract last offseason, I don't think this is a prime location to sign max free agents. I don't think Durant's praise for San Antonio is anything more than showing a sign of respect toward a class act organization just like Kobe and Lebron have done over the years.

[ElNono]

Russ has been shooting like 35-40% all playoffs but the fact that they've been winning in spite of that he gets a pass? Yeah, KD choked, but WB had like four TOs the last few minutes of the fourth.

Nonetheless, the blame will go to KD and he'll leave to the east coast where his only compe ion will be a past his prime LeBron.

Westbrook is the reason they were up 3-1 to begin with, tbh... he might be shooting whatever, but he's been getting to the line like crazy and IIRC, his assists are up from previous seasons...

Some people have complained that he tries to hero out at the end of the games, but this season he's been giving the ball to KD, as he should, and KD just been meh closing in this series...

[Russ]

After beating a 67 win team in the playoffs and almost (at worst) beating the best regular season team of all time (who happen to be the defending champs), I don't see Durant leaving OKC.

At worst for OKC, I would expect a one-year deal.

[LkrFan]

at mid

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Ive discussed the one year option before but it is not logical because 99% of these stars lock up their money when they have the chance, it also means he will have to go through this whole process again in a year. It would be a high risk/low reward decision for KD, if he intends to stay, he will make sure he gets the long contact.

Nonsense. He's a 27yo superstar. What risk? There is no risk. He'll wait to maximise his next contract in 2017.

[Arcadian]

If OKC wins it all this year, he stays. If not, there's a legit chance he comes to SA. Unfortunately, I'm still picking OKC to win it all.

However, the Spurs can't fixate on him too much. They can't be "KD or bust." They better have other options.