Mark Stein article: Spurs eliminated but not extinct

[Mel_13]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Spurs-090429

From his conclusion:

"At the beginning of the year, I always say one thing: If we're healthy at the end of the year, I think we've got a chance," Duncan told me a few days ago. "We haven't been as healthy as we want to be this year."

Instinct tells me Timmy will be able to make his usual proclamation before one of the next two seasons.

Maybe even both.

[JoseJuanJesusBarea]

The Spurs run is done. Not just because of Duncan's age and Ginobli's injured vagina, but mostly because of teams like the Lakers and Trail Blazers. Teams like Dallas or SA don't stand a chance.

[crc21209]

The Spurs run is done. Not just because of Duncan's age and Ginobli's injured vagina, but mostly because of teams like the Lakers and Trail Blazers. Teams like Dallas or SA don't stand a chance.

:sleep Troll.

[DPG21920]

Did not see posted yet.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Spurs-090429

Tim Duncan and the Spurs were eliminated earlier than they're used to in the playoffs.

They ignored us when we branded them boring. They shrugged when we treated the point guard's wife as their first and only celebrity. They tuned us out year after year, over and over, especially when we locked in on the back-to-back championships that repeatedly eluded them.

So surely you can't expect the San Antonio Spurs to listen to us now.

They won't and they shouldn't.

They know what you're thinking, but the Spurs who matter most won't hear us because they also know it really isn't true. Tuesday's night's humbling 106-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks might have defied the infallibility they're supposed to have in odd years and most certainly saddled Tim Duncan with the maiden first-round defeat he's ever ingested with his uniform on, but we are warning you now.

Don't buy into all that end-of-an-era stuff, no matter how many times you hear and read that this week and beyond.

Not unless you can somehow already prove that the Spurs will fail to reload -- which would be a real first -- either this summer or the next.

Foreign and unsettling as all this must feel to them -- two seasons in a row without a title, constant fretting about Duncan's age and with so much mystery bubbling around in Manu Ginobili's ankles -- San Antonio does have some hope to go with the uncertainty. Remember: Tony Parker and Duncan are not on the same doomed track as John Stockton and Karl Malone, drafted just one year apart. Parker is the Spurs' best player now ... at a mere 26. Duncan would certainly work for me as a second or third option as his mid-30s beckon, just as David Robinson filled in the gaps when Timmy was at his peak. Starting over with Parker, Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich, as the only three Spurs with contracts that are guaranteed beyond next season, doesn't sound so bad. Does it?

As one rival executive in the Western Conference said over the phone Tuesday night as he watched the Mavs finish this series off with more depth than anyone (including the Mavericks) knew the Mavs had: "The demise of the Spurs has been greatly exaggerated. They need an athlete or two. They need to get a little younger. But I have a feeling they'll be back."

At the very least, San Antonio will have a couple cracks at it. There's no guarantee that the Spurs will get it right, obviously, but we're inclined to like the chances of a brain trust that found champions with the 28th (Parker) and 57th (Ginobili) picks in the draft and has a history of finding the right pieces to flank Duncan.

We concede that what San Antonio will be trying to do from here is no small project. The goal is finding another upper-tier talent, whether or not it's a big man, who can allow Duncan to be more like his mentor. That will be tough enough.

The other tricky part is deciding when to take its big swing.

The Spurs, you see, don't come into significant cap room until the summer of 2010. That means they have to decide if they can stomach going through another season like the one they just finished -- with a high risk of seeing one of their thirtysomething stars in a blazer on the bench at playoff time and Duncan wearing down and playing hurt after looking so spry in November and December -- or if it's better to try to move the timetable up.

Ginobili, who turns 32 in July, is one of six Spurs on the current roster who is about to enter the final year of his contract. If the Spurs can bring themselves to break up the Duncan-Parker-Ginobili triumvirate, snagging a big name this summer is not inconceivable when cost-conscious clubs start trying to shed big salaries. Don't forget that the Spurs flirted with trading for New Jersey's Vince Carter in February. Given the well-chronicled impact of the worldwide economic downturn on NBA bottom lines, Carter will be available again along with other big names you'll recognize.

The Spurs' other option is trying to upgrade more modestly on a one-year basis -- signing Rasheed Wallace, as we've been discussing since February, is one strong possibility -- to preserve salary-cap space for a 2010 bid on a marquee free agent. By then, perhaps, they'll also be able to afford the costs involved in getting 2007 draftee Tiago Splitter out of his Spanish League contract.

Sources with knowledge of 'Sheed's thinking say he's also interested in playing with the Spurs' conquerors from Dallas, among others, but he's only one potential stopgap. Free-agent dollars are likely to be scarce for everyone this summer, which can only help a team like San Antonio that will be relying on championship pedigree to offset financial limitations when chasing the likes of, say, Ben Gordon.

"I think we just have to make a couple of changes," Parker told reporters in San Antonio after the Mavs sealed the Spurs' first Round 1 exit since a loss in 2000 to Jason Kidd's Phoenix Suns, which Duncan missed after knee surgery.

"I don't think we're done at all."

Neither do I. Not after watching the Spurs, even in this crippled state, hold down Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry for four games as well as anyone ever has, until both shook loose in Game 5.

Not when I can remember how "done" everyone said they were the last time Dallas finished off a playoff series on San Antonio's floor, back in 2006, which is the only other time that has happened in the Duncan era. The fourth championship of the Duncan era followed in 2007.

"At the beginning of the year, I always say one thing: If we're healthy at the end of the year, I think we've got a chance," Duncan told me a few days ago. "We haven't been as healthy as we want to be this year."

Instinct tells me Timmy will be able to make his usual proclamation before one of the next two seasons.

Maybe even both.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.

This echoes what I have been saying. I think if it is possible to land a big time player via trade, without giving up one of the big 3, you do it. Especially if it is better than you could hope for in 2010.

[NFGIII]

Got some big "ifs" here to contend with.

If:

Duncan recovers from his chronic knee problem. Does he have surgery or will the rest before next season be sufficient? They don't call it chronic for nothing.

Manu's ankles recover, too. Will the surgery and rest be adequate for his full recovery? Are both of these players now going to have health problems which will limit them if not exclude them from the POs due to injury?

FAs want to come here to win a ring or at least be on a winning team. Due to the economy this one might easier to accomplish than other "ifs".

Our youth movement in Ian, Hariston, Gist and even Williams going to pan out? Hill looks like the real deal but the others are untested. And we know how long we've been waiting for Ian to get on the court, too. Even Ian at his young age has health issues.

Splitter ever comes over? He could be a big part of the solution if he comes over to play for us. Shoring up the 5 goes along way towards solving the Spurs woes.

Holt will allow the FO to pony up enough money in '09 or '10 to get that big name FA to put us over the top or will he be fiscally responsible and forego any consideration of paying the luxary tax if landing that big FA requires it?

The Spurs have some homework and soul searching to do if they want to get back to the promised land. If the Big 3 are healthy next year then all they need is one or two good players to get it done. Our Big 3 can still dominate a game but need some help to win it all. Where that help comes from is up in the air as of now and this off season will tell us alot as to how the FO and ownership feel about the cost of doing business in the NBA right now.

[Thomas82]

I'm not upset at all, we'll be OK next year. One other thing, Why would 'Sheed want to go to Dallas, especially knowing that he almost certainly wouldn't be starting?

[JoseJuanJesusBarea]

:sleep Troll.

Trolling my own team? :lol

[layupdrill]

What team is in better shape, the Spurs as constructed currently or the Suns?

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

The Spurs run is done. Not just because of Duncan's age and Ginobli's injured vagina, but mostly because of teams like the Lakers and Trail Blazers. Teams like Dallas or SA don't stand a chance.

Mavs fans know a lot about the male vagina. After all, the team is owned by one.

[JoseJuanJesusBarea]

Spurs fans still mad at Cuban for speaking the truth about their city :lol

[spursfan09]

Spurs fans still mad at Cuban for speaking the truth about their city :lol

Only in your head. :rolleyes