SPURSCHAMPS
06-03-2005, 04:48 PM
I hope this wasn't posted...
A Quiet and Steady Pace Helps the Spurs Travel Far
By HOWARD BECK
Published: June 3, 2005
The N.B.A.'s most splendid entertainers were sent home for the summer Wednesday night, their thrilling offensive machinery trumped by the cool efficiency of the league's most methodical, most enduring power.
There was something almost predictable about the Phoenix Suns' demise, as the San Antonio Spurs ground them down for a 4-1 victory in the Western Conference finals.
It is what the Spurs do. They outwork, outmaneuver and outlast, and the only folks who do it better than Tim Duncan and his teammates are the people who hired them.
Six years after they won their first championship, the Spurs are back in the finals, aiming for a third title and making a case for dynastic consideration.
That they are here again is a tribute to a front office that has, incredibly, kept the Spurs in the top echelon even while overhauling the roster every off-season.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls are the only other teams to make at least three finals appearances in the past 15 years. Yet only the Spurs have done so with vastly different lineups.
"What they've done with this team is terrific," said Bryan Colangelo, the Suns' general manager. "But when you're using Tim Duncan as the centerpiece, it makes that process easier."
Even with Duncan, the Spurs' path to sustained greatness has been anything but easy.
None of his teammates from the 1999 championship team remain. Center David Robinson, a likely Hall of Famer, has retired, along with the starters Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott and Mario Elie.
Of the players who helped Duncan win the 2003 championship, only three are still with him - Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili and Bruce Bowen.
Yet the Spurs have never slipped, defying every mechanism the league employs to promote parity. They have low draft picks every June but still find All-Star-caliber players (Parker, Ginóbili). They pay their stars handsomely, yet always have the salary-cap space to pay the crucial players (Duncan, Ginóbili), add veterans (Robert Horry, Brent Barry) and occasionally chase a marquee free agent (Jason Kidd).
None of this happened by accident. The Spurs have pursued a consistent agenda since winning their first title, knowing that Robinson would eventually retire and leave a gaping hole.
"When we went into it, we knew that we were going to have to replace David, Sean, Avery and Mario at some point," said R. C. Buford, the Spurs' general manager. "The critical thing was keeping Tim."
Duncan flirted with the Orlando Magic in 2000 but re-signed with the Spurs, remaining loyal to his friend Robinson and to his no-nonsense coach, Gregg Popovich.
The front office, meanwhile, was busily changing the team's spare parts. Among the notable names who have come and gone are Stephen Jackson, Steve Kerr, Antonio Daniels, Terry Porter, Kevin Willis, Jaren Jackson, Malik Rose, Steve Smith, Speedy Claxton and Danny Ferry.
That is not the usual formula for sustaining excellence.
The Lakers had the same core through all three championships - the stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, flanked by Horry, Rick Fox and Derek Fisher. The Bulls' superstar tandem of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen was together for all six titles in the 1990's.
But the luxury-tax era calls for a different approach, so the Spurs chose payroll flexibility over roster stability. In years when the Spurs saw no players of value in the draft, they traded away their picks, avoiding guaranteed contracts for marginal players.
Buford credits Popovich for making it all work.
"We were going through seven, eight guys a year, every year, and you had to rotate that to keep cap flexibility," Buford said. "I think most coaches would have been really forcing the opportunity to sign some guys long term, to know that he was going to have this team for several years. We just kept playing the hand, short term, until we found the right pieces."
They have found them in unexpected places. Parker, from France, was the 28th pick in 2001. Ginóbili, from Argentina, was the 57th pick in 1999. They form one of the best backcourts in the league.
"You need some good fortune to go along with it, and we've had that," Popovich said. "When we drafted Manu in the 50's, there's nobody in the organization that knew he was going to be as good as he is now."
No other team that consistently drafted low in the last five years came up with two players as great as Parker and Ginóbili.
Constructing a great team is difficult. Constructing one that lasts more than a few years is a modern-sports miracle.
The Spurs' run does not figure to end soon. Duncan, Parker and Ginóbili are young and locked up for years, and the payroll remains one of the lowest in the league.
"I hope this is a group that can now be a staple team," Buford said.
A Quiet and Steady Pace Helps the Spurs Travel Far
By HOWARD BECK
Published: June 3, 2005
The N.B.A.'s most splendid entertainers were sent home for the summer Wednesday night, their thrilling offensive machinery trumped by the cool efficiency of the league's most methodical, most enduring power.
There was something almost predictable about the Phoenix Suns' demise, as the San Antonio Spurs ground them down for a 4-1 victory in the Western Conference finals.
It is what the Spurs do. They outwork, outmaneuver and outlast, and the only folks who do it better than Tim Duncan and his teammates are the people who hired them.
Six years after they won their first championship, the Spurs are back in the finals, aiming for a third title and making a case for dynastic consideration.
That they are here again is a tribute to a front office that has, incredibly, kept the Spurs in the top echelon even while overhauling the roster every off-season.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls are the only other teams to make at least three finals appearances in the past 15 years. Yet only the Spurs have done so with vastly different lineups.
"What they've done with this team is terrific," said Bryan Colangelo, the Suns' general manager. "But when you're using Tim Duncan as the centerpiece, it makes that process easier."
Even with Duncan, the Spurs' path to sustained greatness has been anything but easy.
None of his teammates from the 1999 championship team remain. Center David Robinson, a likely Hall of Famer, has retired, along with the starters Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott and Mario Elie.
Of the players who helped Duncan win the 2003 championship, only three are still with him - Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili and Bruce Bowen.
Yet the Spurs have never slipped, defying every mechanism the league employs to promote parity. They have low draft picks every June but still find All-Star-caliber players (Parker, Ginóbili). They pay their stars handsomely, yet always have the salary-cap space to pay the crucial players (Duncan, Ginóbili), add veterans (Robert Horry, Brent Barry) and occasionally chase a marquee free agent (Jason Kidd).
None of this happened by accident. The Spurs have pursued a consistent agenda since winning their first title, knowing that Robinson would eventually retire and leave a gaping hole.
"When we went into it, we knew that we were going to have to replace David, Sean, Avery and Mario at some point," said R. C. Buford, the Spurs' general manager. "The critical thing was keeping Tim."
Duncan flirted with the Orlando Magic in 2000 but re-signed with the Spurs, remaining loyal to his friend Robinson and to his no-nonsense coach, Gregg Popovich.
The front office, meanwhile, was busily changing the team's spare parts. Among the notable names who have come and gone are Stephen Jackson, Steve Kerr, Antonio Daniels, Terry Porter, Kevin Willis, Jaren Jackson, Malik Rose, Steve Smith, Speedy Claxton and Danny Ferry.
That is not the usual formula for sustaining excellence.
The Lakers had the same core through all three championships - the stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, flanked by Horry, Rick Fox and Derek Fisher. The Bulls' superstar tandem of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen was together for all six titles in the 1990's.
But the luxury-tax era calls for a different approach, so the Spurs chose payroll flexibility over roster stability. In years when the Spurs saw no players of value in the draft, they traded away their picks, avoiding guaranteed contracts for marginal players.
Buford credits Popovich for making it all work.
"We were going through seven, eight guys a year, every year, and you had to rotate that to keep cap flexibility," Buford said. "I think most coaches would have been really forcing the opportunity to sign some guys long term, to know that he was going to have this team for several years. We just kept playing the hand, short term, until we found the right pieces."
They have found them in unexpected places. Parker, from France, was the 28th pick in 2001. Ginóbili, from Argentina, was the 57th pick in 1999. They form one of the best backcourts in the league.
"You need some good fortune to go along with it, and we've had that," Popovich said. "When we drafted Manu in the 50's, there's nobody in the organization that knew he was going to be as good as he is now."
No other team that consistently drafted low in the last five years came up with two players as great as Parker and Ginóbili.
Constructing a great team is difficult. Constructing one that lasts more than a few years is a modern-sports miracle.
The Spurs' run does not figure to end soon. Duncan, Parker and Ginóbili are young and locked up for years, and the payroll remains one of the lowest in the league.
"I hope this is a group that can now be a staple team," Buford said.