San Antonio Spurs: The Grade So Far

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

San Antonio Spurs... The Grade So Far

By: Yannis Koutroupis Last Updated: 7/31/08 9:24 PM ET

After falling in five games in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers the Spurs knew they had a big offseason ahead. The Western Conference is always getting tougher and the Spurs were no longer considered the elite in the West. The Lakers obviously surpassed them, New Orleans was already on the brink of doing so before the acquisition of James Posey, and with the recent trade of Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets they are now possibly the third-best team in their own division. Are we witnessing the end of a dynasty?

Players added via free agency

Roger Mason Jr.: Signed to a two-year contract.
Grade: B-
One of the biggest problems for the Spurs last year was offensive production. Mason averaged a career high nine points a game last year off the bench for the Wizards and showed that he can provide an offensive spark. It's believed that the Spurs settled for Mason knowing that the chances of getting J.R. Smith from the Nuggets were very slim. That said, Mason should give Popovich a reliable source of some offensive production next year and is still improving. His development continuing is key for the Spurs.

Kurt Thomas: Re-signed to a two-year contract.
Grade: B+
Unlike some of the other veterans that the Spurs had the option to re-sign Kurt Thomas still has something left in the tank. Thomas was a major part of the Spurs' rotation after being traded to San Antonio right before the February trade deadline. With Tiago Splitter signing a 2-year extension overseas and Ian Mahinmi being too young to depend on consistently, Thomas needed to be re-signed. He provides a defensive presence that the Spurs need alongside Tim Duncan and the experience he has.

Anthony Tolliver: Signed to a one-year contract.
Grade: C
One of the biggest surprises on the Spurs' summer league team was the play of the former Creighton product. At 6'8 Tolliver can really shoot the ball, but the chance s of him contributing next season are slim. Free agent Devin Green and James Gist, who the Spurs drafted in the second round, arguably were more impressive – but neither of them can space the floor like Tolliver can.

Players Acquired in Draft

George Hill: 26th pick in 2008 NBA draft.
Grade: B
Because IUPUI is not a traditional powerhouse in college basketball few people had ever heard of George Hill. He fits a need for the Spurs as their backup point guard position was a major area of concern for them last season. Hill showed the flashes in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City that put him so high on the Spurs' draft board, but not flashes that would lead you to expect he can be counted on night in and night out. Barring any moves though Hill will have an opportunity to be the Spurs main backup for Tony Parker.

James Gist: 57th pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
Grade: B+
Only if you're the San Antonio Spurs do you expect to get an impact player at 57, which is the same spot where they got Manu Ginobili in the 1999 draft. The reviews on Gist from summer league were good, but he has yet to receive an offer from the team. Most likely scenario is they retain his rights while he goes and plays overseas for a season or two. Gist is a bit of a tweener, but he's extremely athletic and could help this Spurs in the future.

Malik Hairston: Acquired in draft night trade with Phoenix Suns.
Grade: B
Despite being called a sleeper by many going into the draft Hairston didn't do much to stand out during summer league and whether or not he receives an offer from the team is up in the air at this point. Like Gist, Hairston will likely be encouraged to sign overseas and continue to work on his game for at least a season or two.

Business to be done: With 13 players under contract for next season and most of their mid-level exception spent there is very little chance the Spurs make any signings other than maybe bringing back Michael Finley. With the big three (Parker, Ginobili, Duncan) San Antonio will be one of the better teams in the West, but if they are going to win it all some major question marks will have to be answered:

• Will George Hill and Ian Mahinmi be able to contribute? On an awfully thin Spurs' bench their readiness is absolutely vital.

• Can the big three stay healthy? Last year injuries were a major problem for the Spurs and with Tim Duncan aging and Manu Ginobili participating in the Olympics it could be again this season.

• Can they improve significantly via trade before the deadline? As currently assembled the Spurs need everything to go right in order to win it all. Considering that nothing ever goes perfect the Spurs may need to make some adjustments in order to get past the Lakers, Rockets, and Hornets.

Total offseason grade: D
Plain and simple, the best of the West has improved significantly while the Spurs barely held steady. Is a more experienced Ian Mahinmi, George Hill, and Roger Mason Jr. really enough to match the Lakers getting Bynum back, the Rockets acquiring Artest, and the Hornets signing Posey? This writer doesn't think so, and if the Spurs do than they are in for an eye-opening season.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9654

[nil.ball]

Well shouldn't we get A for mission accomplished, since we did get younger?
I mean D is worse than Bush's approval rating.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Well shouldn't we get A for mission accomplished, since we did get younger?
I mean D is worse than Bush's approval rating.

We?

[nil.ball]

We?

we not you

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

we not you

I know we isn't me but who is we and you?

[Bartleby]

:lol Five B's, one C, and the final grade is a D.

[Bartleby]

Is it asking too much for a sportswriter (and his editor) to know the difference between "than" and "then"?

[nil.ball]

:lol Five B's, one C, and the final grade is a D.

kind of like rockets adding artest and their chance of getting better is worse..
you know, any mavs fan on this board can corroborate that with more evidence.

[JamStone]

:lol Five B's, one C, and the final grade is a D.

I was about to post the same thing. I didn't get that either.

[JamStone]

Is it asking too much for a sportswriter (and his editor) to know the difference between "than" and "then"?

That's more on the editor or copy editor, as you noted. Even the best writers make typos and grammatical mistakes from time to time. That's the job of the editors to catch.

[nil.ball]

Is it asking too much for a sportswriter (and his editor) to know the difference between "than" and "then"?

Senior editor in chief Mr. Jose de Diego is currently involved in a legal matter with the INS, and cannot be reached at this moment.

[remingtonbo2001]

What's the gist with Gist going overseas?

[L.I.T]

If Hoopsworld says Gist is going overseas, I'm looking forward to seeing him in the silver and black next season.

[I. Hustle]

I give the writer an C for grammer, a D for talking about Gist going overseas and a C for questioning our dynasty. So according to the system he uses to average grades he gets an F

[lotr1trekkie]

I think the writer had the analysis correct even if his grading system isn't. Thomas is a NG since we had him and he doesn't improve us over last season. Hill is a B if he comes in and takes over at backup point guard. If not he's a C at best. If Mason plugs into the #2 starting slot and gives us more defense and explosiveness than Finley did last year he's a B+. If he can play quality minutes he allows Manu to come off the bench all year--that might be a A for us. If Gist or Tolliver need time overseas or in the D-league they become F's- no improvement. The writer failed to include a grade for Mahimni who is the X-factor. If Mahimni spend's the year like Bonner did the second half of the season on the DNP list--- he too is an F. Essentially, we've added Mason and a lot of what if's. Compared to what other teams have done a "D" sounds about right.

[coopdogg3]

I don't know what the Spurs COULD have done though. Could have signed Posey to a longer-term full MLE deal. But would that have been a good thing? I just don't know what else the Spurs could have done to ensure a better team. There's still some money left, they may sign someone who slips through the cracks.

[hater]

fuck no Gist is not going overseas. Worst case he will play NBDL this year and NBA next year.

[SenorSpur]

As stated by some and perhaps I'm offbase on this, but I don't see Gist doing an apprenticeship overseas. He's a good enough defender that he should be able to do time in D-league with occasional callups from Austin.

I really believe the Spurs needed to have made another move to shore up the frontline. The fact that the Najera move didn't pan out is very unfortunate. I believe he could've been a difference-maker because of his ability to provide defense, rebounding and outside shooting.

[benefactor]

Getting Hariston gets a B...but signing Tolliver get a C?:wtf

[Dex]

Total offseason grade: D
Plain and simple, the best of the West has improved significantly while the Spurs barely held steady. Is a more experienced Ian Mahinmi, George Hill, and Roger Mason Jr. really enough to match the Lakers getting Bynum back, the Rockets acquiring Artest, and the Hornets signing Posey? This writer doesn't think so, and if the Spurs do than they are in for an eye-opening season.

Fortunately, Hoopsworld gets just about everything wrong, so I'm pretty sure this statement actually bodes well for our future.

[rj215]

Hoopsworld gets an F.....every offseason.

[bigfan]

Pretty fair assessment to me. Its gonna be a tough year. IF we stay healthy and IF our bench and draft picks produce, we have a shot. I think we still have the best "big three" in the west but thats alot of IFs.

[Trainwreck2100]

By: Yannis Koutroupis

[DROB4EVER]

Im gonna say C plus. I donk think Hairston is gonna make the team, he just doesnt look like an NBA player to me. Hill I think will be Ok by mid season as long as he doesnt get in pops donghouse, and I think Ian will add some quickness and a running bigman we have lacked. If he can ave a block or so a game and 7ppg 5rpg that will be a huge upgrade of the bench.

The offseason is gonna depend on how mason and thomas pan out. If mason can give use 13-15ppg and thomas shows us a consistent jumper and gives us 8ppg-8rpg with hill and ian giving us 12 min each I think we will have done well.

But if mason cant avg at least 12ppg and ian and hill fail to give us a lift of the bench then no doubt we get an F.

[xtremesteven33]

i honestly think this whole thing hinges on Manu's health next year. we went so far with a hobbled manu and a VERY lacking bench play. i have full faith if Manu is 100% next year come playoff time. there is no team that can beat us.

[Manufan909]

true. By the playoffs, the rookis and new guys should know the system pretty well, as long as Pop doesn't explode from all the learning pains this team will have. There will be at least 3 new players on the active roster, probably four overall. Plus Bonner, which won't help. Hopefully Finley, Vaughn, and Tolliver get a shit load of DNP's this season.

[wildbill2u]

:lol Five B's, one C, and the final grade is a D.

In this case, the sum is worse than its parts

[Harry Callahan]

In the years the Spurs have won the championship, when have they been the clear cut favorite? Once at the most.

The Spurs roster last year was good enough to win it all and had their 1st or 2nd best player get injured in the 1st playoff series.

As for New Orleans, Houston, and LA, they all have questions as well and people coming back from more serious injuries than Ginobili for Houston and LA. Who's to say that Bynum (not the second coming of Kareem, just to clarify) or Yao or McGrady don't break down again.

San Antonio's key players have at least two quality years left if not more (in Parker's case).

Kobe Bryant and Dirk are only one year younger than Manu but no one talks about their age or physical condition.

A post player like Duncan has multiple outstanding years left in him given his style of play.

Any team that wins it all must have everything kind of go their way. The Spurs have been able to make that happen more often than any team in recent history. These other contenders have been good at not making it happen when it counts more often than not.

Artest is not the be all and end all given his history. He will take a lot of desired shots away from Yao, McGrady, and even Scola. Those guys all like their shots. If Artest can take a "Role Player" mindset, they can be really good. We'll see.

Players with significant character issues often fail when the pressure is on.

BTW, Hoopsworld is terrible.

[Walton Buys Off Me]

I agree with the assessment. The Spurs have done nothing to improve in an increasingly competitive landscape. They're still a threat but realistically they won't beat Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans or Boston in a seven game series. They would struggle to beat a handful of others.

Fact of the matter is the Spurs, due to years of below average management have no tradeable assets and therefore, it will be a struggle to do anything more than tweak the roster this summer. We also signed Matt Bonner instead of paying Luis Scola; easily the dumbest move this league has seen since Isiah Thomas inked Jerome James to a 25 million dollar deal in the summer of 2005.

It's great to win and believe me, I've lost much of my inherent piss and vinegar because of the four rings; hell life is great. However, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that like many great franchises that went through periods of success, the Spurs are clearly on the decline.

I also think RC Buford is immensely overrated and unfortunately that really only became glaring last summer; it just sucks we'll pay for his cameuflaged brain farts for years to come. Buford's a scout and a genius when it comes to managing the salary cap for a fiscally responsible team. He's not a General Manager.

[nkdlunch]

it's so funny. coming into every season for the last 3, 4 years everyone says Houston is a contender. By end of the season same story, early playoff exit :lol

[SenorSpur]

It's great to win and believe me, I've lost much of my inherent piss and vinegar because of the four rings; hell life is great. However, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that like many great franchises that went through periods of success, the Spurs are clearly on the decline.

I also think RC Buford is immensely overrated and unfortunately that really only became glaring last summer; it just sucks we'll pay for his cameuflaged brain farts for years to come. Buford's a scout and a genius when it comes to managing the salary cap for a fiscally responsible team. He's not a General Manager.

Now that I agree with.

I'd give them a C- for their offseason

[saspurs]

A Give Us An F....we Arent Getting Any Players To Get Better We Are Just Staying The Same. We Got Beat By The Lakers And Weve Done Nothing To Improve Our Team.

[I. Hustle]

A Give Us An F....we Arent Getting Any Players To Get Better We Are Just Staying The Same. We Got Beat By The Lakers And Weve Done Nothing To Improve Our Team.

:depressed:dramaquee:baby:cry

[Darthkiller]

ginobili was hurt

[Solid D]

Things are quiet...that's for sure. Considering the lack of Spurs' signings post-Anthony Tolliver, the Spurs may be working on an overseas option and waiting on something to break after the Olympics. The delay may also be based on Mike Finley and some offers he is considering or waiting on. One other thought, that I think may be quite likely, is the Spurs are working on a trade.



http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/86/fullj.0219d120bd44326ad9b74cbc2f6a6dc9/0219d120bd44326ad9b74cbc2f6a6dc9-getty-81648343_mm011_spurs_hawks.jpg

[wijayas]

Spurs will rise up like they only know how....
Book it.

[Manufan909]

Tolliver looks BA in that pick. Hopefully he gets the chance to prove himself this year.

[GSH]

The Source: Yannis Koutroupis is an 19 year old student at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He’s a sports talk show producer for ESPN 1230 KSIX, primarily the Sports Lounge with Scott Howe. Along with producing and going to school, he is an intern at the Sports Information department at TAMU-CC.


And his take on last year's draft:

San Antonio Spurs: Tiaggo Splitter and Marcus Williams

Outlook: Knew if Splitter fell to them at 28 they would take him. Splitter is the teammate of Luis Scola, whose draft rights are also owned by the Spurs, but due to a tremendous buyout won’t see the NBA anytime soon. Tiaggo however will spend the next season overseas then likely come over. Williams is an intriguing prospect and I believe if he shows the work ethic and attitude that the Spurs organization requires from every player he could stick and be another steal for them.

Grade: A+

[manufor3]

:lol Five B's, one C, and the final grade is a D.

:lol:lol:lol

[manufor3]

A Give Us An F....we Arent Getting Any Players To Get Better We Are Just Staying The Same. We Got Beat By The Lakers And Weve Done Nothing To Improve Our Team.

you really dont have any brains at all do you?

[ShoogarBear]

Like a few others said, I think it was a pretty good analysis. However, I also agree I don't see Gist going overseas, unless the Spurs decide they just don't want him.

[mabrignani]

Is it asking too much for a sportswriter (and his editor) to know the difference between "than" and "then"?

i doubt he has an editor, the guy who wrote this is like an intern for a local sportstalk station here in corpus christi texas. and of course he is gonna dog on us cuz hes a lakes fan...typical bandwagon fan

[wildbill2u]

Mason went from a 2.7ppg on 7 minutes per game to 9ppg on 21 minutes per game--but what this doesn't take into account is that he actually was a starter for part of the year because of injuries. Sure, his avg minutes per game was only 21, but figure he got a lot more minutes when filling in as a starter.

What did he do with his expanded "break out year" minutes? Not much. Shot 44% overall which isn't exactly setting the world on fire for a SG.

Hopefully, he can fill Finley's shoes with better D. If not, it will be a looooong season.

Draft is probably a B- if one of them works into the rotation. Offseason trades/FA is c+/b- if Mason performs to his previous skill level. Anything over that is gravy.

[Sissiborgo]

Gist will be good this season so will Hill!..