duncan228
10-26-2009, 06:55 PM
Spurs reload rather than rebuild (http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=2147637)
Eric Koreen, National Post
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/temp%20duncan/lead207.jpg
After last year's playoff exit, it appeared the sun was setting on Tim Duncan era in San Antonio. Management, however, spent the summer rebuilding around the Spurs franchise centre.
When the San Antonio Spurs fell meekly to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs last year, it was easy to feel as if a dynasty was ending.
For eight straight seasons, the Spurs had been one of the final eight teams standing. In the past 11, they had won the title four times. But there they stood, on home court, a shell of their championship selves.
Tim Duncan, at 33, could no longer win a series alone. Manu Ginobili, at 32, struggled with injuries for the second straight year. Bruce Bowen was no longer a shutdown defender. Journeymen Roger Mason and Matt Bonner - former Toronto Raptors, both - were playing absurdly big roles.
Could it be time to rebuild? No, the Spurs decided. Instead, it was time to retool. Opting against a youth movement, the Spurs dealt away Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. At this stage, all three were bit pieces.
Richard Jefferson, a 29-year-old former Olympic swingman, came in return from Milwaukee. He might not be an A-1 superstar, but he is far more than a spare part. Jefferson could revitalize the Spurs.
"That was a bold move by them," said Houston swingman Shane Battier, no stranger to the Spurs. "In the NBA, moves are made for different reasons. Unfortunately now in our climate, many are made by for financial reasons. But with the Spurs, that was a basketball move. Even though it pushed them into the luxury-tax threshold, it made them one of the top teams in the league again."
It was not the flashiest move of the off-season, not with Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter changing teams. Even in the Spurs' own conference, the Lakers' Ron Artest experiment after winning a title will be the Western Conference's must-see television. Then again, the Spurs have always lacked flash.
But Jefferson is by far the most accomplished player the Spurs have added to the Duncan-Ginobili-Tony Parker core over the past decade. In the past, the Spurs have trusted that those three were enough. With a loss to a flawed Dallas team, it became evident that thinking was outdated.
Just two seasons ago, Jefferson averaged 22.7 points per game on nearly 47-per-cent shooting. Those numbers are not that of an average swingman playing for a bad team.
"As Timmy got older and as Bruce got to 38 and Manu got injured the last couple of years in the playoffs, we realized that we had to add more than just pieces," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Yahoo! Sports. "So, that was the motivation to go out and get the talent of Richard Jefferson and the depth of Theo (Ratliff) and Antonio (McDyess)."
Indeed, Jefferson was not the only piece the Spurs added this summer.
McDyess, the longtime Detroit cog, should give Duncan the best frontcourt piece he has had to work with since David Robinson retired. Ratliff, though well past his prime, can still block some shots and use his fouls.
And following in the tradition of Parker and Ginobili, the Spurs might have found a keeper late in the draft. Forward DeJuan Blair fell to 37th in the draft because of major concerns over the durability of his knees. But even if he can play just a few seasons, his pre-season numbers of 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game - and 61-per-cent shooting - indicate he will be more than a little useful.
In all, it should be enough to put San Antonio on par with the Lakers. What is old is new again - even if, by the numbers, the Spurs are still old.
Eric Koreen, National Post
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/temp%20duncan/lead207.jpg
After last year's playoff exit, it appeared the sun was setting on Tim Duncan era in San Antonio. Management, however, spent the summer rebuilding around the Spurs franchise centre.
When the San Antonio Spurs fell meekly to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs last year, it was easy to feel as if a dynasty was ending.
For eight straight seasons, the Spurs had been one of the final eight teams standing. In the past 11, they had won the title four times. But there they stood, on home court, a shell of their championship selves.
Tim Duncan, at 33, could no longer win a series alone. Manu Ginobili, at 32, struggled with injuries for the second straight year. Bruce Bowen was no longer a shutdown defender. Journeymen Roger Mason and Matt Bonner - former Toronto Raptors, both - were playing absurdly big roles.
Could it be time to rebuild? No, the Spurs decided. Instead, it was time to retool. Opting against a youth movement, the Spurs dealt away Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. At this stage, all three were bit pieces.
Richard Jefferson, a 29-year-old former Olympic swingman, came in return from Milwaukee. He might not be an A-1 superstar, but he is far more than a spare part. Jefferson could revitalize the Spurs.
"That was a bold move by them," said Houston swingman Shane Battier, no stranger to the Spurs. "In the NBA, moves are made for different reasons. Unfortunately now in our climate, many are made by for financial reasons. But with the Spurs, that was a basketball move. Even though it pushed them into the luxury-tax threshold, it made them one of the top teams in the league again."
It was not the flashiest move of the off-season, not with Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter changing teams. Even in the Spurs' own conference, the Lakers' Ron Artest experiment after winning a title will be the Western Conference's must-see television. Then again, the Spurs have always lacked flash.
But Jefferson is by far the most accomplished player the Spurs have added to the Duncan-Ginobili-Tony Parker core over the past decade. In the past, the Spurs have trusted that those three were enough. With a loss to a flawed Dallas team, it became evident that thinking was outdated.
Just two seasons ago, Jefferson averaged 22.7 points per game on nearly 47-per-cent shooting. Those numbers are not that of an average swingman playing for a bad team.
"As Timmy got older and as Bruce got to 38 and Manu got injured the last couple of years in the playoffs, we realized that we had to add more than just pieces," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Yahoo! Sports. "So, that was the motivation to go out and get the talent of Richard Jefferson and the depth of Theo (Ratliff) and Antonio (McDyess)."
Indeed, Jefferson was not the only piece the Spurs added this summer.
McDyess, the longtime Detroit cog, should give Duncan the best frontcourt piece he has had to work with since David Robinson retired. Ratliff, though well past his prime, can still block some shots and use his fouls.
And following in the tradition of Parker and Ginobili, the Spurs might have found a keeper late in the draft. Forward DeJuan Blair fell to 37th in the draft because of major concerns over the durability of his knees. But even if he can play just a few seasons, his pre-season numbers of 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game - and 61-per-cent shooting - indicate he will be more than a little useful.
In all, it should be enough to put San Antonio on par with the Lakers. What is old is new again - even if, by the numbers, the Spurs are still old.