TP said yesterday...

[colargol]

During his radio show TP said this year won't be the last with Tim Duncan...
TD said to TP, during some training, he hopes to play at least one more year after 2012.
:toast

[alamo50]

We hope so too.

[Fireball]

Timmy shits on his bone-on-bone knee ... good to hear. I would rather see him retire, but if he wants to continue, hopefully he does it for the veteran minimum ... Spurs need cap space next season ...

[DejuanorwhatDude]

Agreed...this year really needs to be the last ride for Duncan. He's been great but the future of the team has always got to come first.

[phxspurfan]

oic, so I'll be sure to watch the Knicks during the 2012-13 season.

[Muser]

Please retire after this season.

[DejuanorwhatDude]

So you'd rather have a 36 year old former power forward hobble around at center for $18 million?

[Dex]

Sincerely doubt that if Duncan does decide to re-sign for another season or two, he is going to do it for high dollars. He is a humble guy and surely understands he doesn't bring to the table what he used to, and I'm sure he would accept being paid accordingly especially if it meant giving the Spurs the financial maneuverability needed to be successful.

I could be proven wrong (and we may not even get a chance to find out), but from what I expect out of Tim Duncan's character, I would be highly surprised.

[Trill Clinton]

Please retire after this season.

.........................

[ChuckD]

Tim's per minute numbers really haven't dropped. He just can't play heavy minutes any more. He's a 28-29 minute player. If it were a 36 minute game, he'd still be an All Star.

You absolutely CANNOT build a team around Manu, who's just as creaky as Tim, and Tony, and don't come at me with FAs. They won't sign here. If Tim goes, you have to blow it up, and that means 2-3 years of absolute shit. It has to happen eventually, but I am not anxious to rush into it.

I'd like to see Tim sign something like DRob's last contract: 2 years $20M.

[SenorSpur]

I'm conflicted on this.

On one hand, it's been hard watching TD labor up and down the court the past couple of years. The past 2 playoff series, where both PHX and MEMPHIS really took it to him, were clear indicators as to just how far he's fallen defensively. Whlie he's still a respectable post defender, shotblocker and rebounder, he simply cannot defend pick-n-roll situations anymore. At some point, the Spurs need to address their future and begin rebuilding their frontline. In that respect, I really hope TD will retire at season's end.

On the other hand, if the Spurs can identify and acquire a young, legit frontcourt player, this coming offseason, there would be no one better to tutor that young player, than the "Big Fundamental".

[mudyez]

I'd love to have timmy and manu here for some more time...especially because of the rebuilding:
can you imagine two other players (inside/outside) to teach young players stuff, while not bothering riding the bench because of these guys?

I'd happily pay them 10mio/year each just for that, especially while we will have to rebuild anyway and capspace wont help much, as mega-FA's wont come to SA anyway.

(I'D trade Parker for pics or young talent and start from scratch NOW and WITH Manu+Timmy)

[ALVAREZ6]

By 2012-13, his vertical will be .5 inches.

[TD 21]

I'm not sure why so many are eager to see the retirement of the greatest player this franchise has ever had and more than likely will ever have for at least the rest of their lifetime. Obviously, he's not what he was, but he's not at the point where it could be said that he stayed too long. We're talking about a player who could still reasonably be called a top 20 player and the second best player at his position.

I'm not surprised to hear that he intends to play another year. I've thought for a while that he and Ginobili would retire at the same time. I imagine he'd only sign one year contracts at this point, in the $12-15 million range.

[Solid D]

Timmy averaged a double-double and 2.5 blocks per game in the playoffs and 13/9/1.9 in the regular season last year. If he does that next year, he obviously won't be worth the $17.14M he'll receive for 66 games this year (or somesuch) but, with numbers like that, he would still be a high-value contributor for any team.

[The Truth #6]

It's probably too late to blow things up - other than Parker, do we really have great trade value for any of our players? We could still trade Parker, but it would be to win "now", and with the chemistry already established between the Big 3, it's hard to say a new player in one season could make it all happen. I don't see TD wanting to go to another team to try and get a ring - that's crazy. Same for Manu. At this point, the team will probably implode on its own terms and time schedule as Tim and Manu retire. From a cold, rational perspective it doesn't seem like the way to move forward but it's probably for the best.

[SenorSpur]

I'm not sure why so many are eager to see the retirement of the greatest player this franchise has ever had and more than likely will ever have for at least the rest of their lifetime. Obviously, he's not what he was, but he's not at the point where it could be said that he stayed too long. We're talking about a player who could still reasonably be called a top 20 player and the second best player at his position.

I'm not surprised to hear that he intends to play another year. I've thought for a while that he and Ginobili would retire at the same time. I imagine he'd only sign one year contracts at this point, in the $12-15 million range.

I don't think anyone is anxious to push TD out the door. However, let's face facts. No one can play forever. And Father Time hasn't lost a battle yet.

Situations like this never end well. Look at Ewing finishing out his career in Seattle. Or how about Olajuwon bringing up the backside of his career in Toronto? It would pain me to see Duncan deteriorate to a level whereas the old lion gets taken advantage of by the young Lions.

What Tim has provided this franchise and us fans cannot be measured. However, the NBA is still business and the Spurs have significant business ahead that needs to be conducted. As the NBA enters a new economic climate, salaries, rosters spots and the daunting task of replenishing the talent pool will become even more important.

At some point, the Spurs must turn the page and move into another direction toward rebuilding. The longer TD continues to play, the longer this will postpone the rebuilding process. I'd rather see him go out after this year, on his own terms, rather than endure further humiliation while having to remain in the role as the Spurs best frontline player, at age 36.

[Obstructed_View]

I'm not sure why people get so melancholy over an old man playing basketball. If you're not in too much pain, and you can play, who the hell wouldn't want to play basketball until they were 40 if they could? Last guy on an NBA bench makes more money than the president. It's not like he's dead. I loved seeing Chief out there when he was 192 years old.

[mudyez]

Look at Ewing finishing out his career in Seattle. Or how about Olajuwon bringing up the backside of his career in Toronto?

I think, the problem are the words "Seattle" and "Toronto"...It was also sad to see MJ in Washington, Payton in LA/Miami or Malone in LA, but its a different story, if its the same franchise, a guy won 4 Ships and is an icon.

[spurs10]

Sincerely doubt that if Duncan does decide to re-sign for another season or two, he is going to do it for high dollars. He is a humble guy and surely understands he doesn't bring to the table what he used to, and I'm sure he would accept being paid accordingly especially if it meant giving the Spurs the financial maneuverability needed to be successful.

I could be proven wrong (and we may not even get a chance to find out), but from what I expect out of Tim Duncan's character, I would be highly surprised.
this..
:flag::flag::flag::flag:

[The_Worlds_finest]

Timmy averaged a double-double and 2.5 blocks per game in the playoffs and 13/9/1.9 in the regular season last year. If he does that next year, he obviously won't be worth the $17.14M he'll receive for 66 games this year (or somesuch) but, with numbers like that, he would still be a high-value contributor for any team.

This...I just hope he plays for chips and not money, like drob and his final 20 mil/2 year deal.

[DMC]

All this humble talk is bullshit. Money is money, and no one in their right mind is going to take one for the team to the tune of millions.

There ain't a person here who would turn down a few million to sit the bench next year. Saying you would to allow others to play is just more bullshit.

[mathbzh]

Situations like this never end well. Look at Ewing finishing out his career in Seattle. Or how about Olajuwon bringing up the backside of his career in Toronto? It would pain me to see Duncan deteriorate to a level whereas the old lion gets taken advantage of by the young Lions.


If the player accepts he is not the one he once was and if he can still help his team, there is no shame in having a lesser role.

I prefer having Robinson ending his career helping his team to win a championship than Jordan playing in Washington thinking he is still a MVP candidate.

[silverblackfan]

Tim's per minute numbers really haven't dropped. He just can't play heavy minutes any more. He's a 28-29 minute player. If it were a 36 minute game, he'd still be an All Star.

You absolutely CANNOT build a team around Manu, who's just as creaky as Tim, and Tony, and don't come at me with FAs. They won't sign here. If Tim goes, you have to blow it up, and that means 2-3 years of absolute shit. It has to happen eventually, but I am not anxious to rush into it.

I'd like to see Tim sign something like DRob's last contract: 2 years $20M.

Yeah, I would love to see Tim continue to mentor Tiago and the other young guys for a couple more years. If he feels he can play, I trust his choice. Tim has too much character to collect a big, team-hampering salary and not perform for it. Say what you want about his slipping in defense or offense, he still is a very formidable player. Still a bargain at $20M for 2 years range.
And best of all? He still is popular, respected, and beloved by the Spurs fans. Timmy earned the right to do what he wants. I am confident it will benefit the Spurs regardless.

[dunkman]

The problem with the Grizzlies was they have two capable bigs. The times when Duncan could switch defensively to put out of rythm two bigs are gone, but he did decent job defending Gasol only. Z-Bo was making some difficult shots while being guarded well by Dice, and having Bonner to play too much didn't help. Splitter didn't count for Pop after he missed the training camp, and he wasn't ready.

While Duncan definitely won't post any all-star #s, he can contribute positively two more seasons.

The Spurs have lost against the Grizzlies for various reasons. Pop shouldn't play Manu in the last game of regular season, then Pop couldn't or didn't want to play Splitter instead of Bonner, RJ did very little despite high salary.

Then the Grizzlies defendended great, and Z-Bo showed he can be a guy to go.

[tmtcsc]

All this humble talk is bullshit. Money is money, and no one in their right mind is going to take one for the team to the tune of millions.

There ain't a person here who would turn down a few million to sit the bench next year. Saying you would to allow others to play is just more bullshit.

:toast yep