Could Duncan Play Til 46?

[SpurSwag]

Don't know if this was posted somewhere, but really, wtf is nba.com talking about?

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/12/02/duncan-having-season-for-the-ageless/

and on nba.com, one of the main headlines is could duncan play til 46?...

[gee]

lolwut

[SpurSwag]

it's pretty much a given he won't play after this current contract, but to age 46...

[Libri]

If Oden can play at 46, so can Duncan.

Oh wait, Oden is not 46. lol

[Fireball]

To have him play until age of 46 would mean to sit him out many games which would force the NBA to fine the Spurs about 3 trillion bucks ...

[SpurSwag]

To have him play until age of 46 would mean to sit him out many games which would force the NBA to fine the Spurs about 3 trillion bucks ...

:lol "spurs send duncan home, say scheduling 2 games in 5 days too much for duncan to handle"

[Richie]

Obviously his stats could fall off a cliff, but if he still feels he is capable of playing 20+ min/night in the regular season and 30 in the playoffs then I see no reason why he couldn't stay on past his current contract for an extra year or two.

Getting a quality big to play next to him over the next few years could be the difference between him retiring in 2015 (or before) or possibly him playing at a good level until 2016/2017

[SpursRock20]

If he is going to sacrifice his per-game averages (I know he doesn't care) he might as well be competing for a championship. If, at the end of his contract, the Spurs don't make a big move and bring a top-quality big to pair along side him, he should hang it up and call it a great career.

[Richie]

If he is going to sacrifice his per-game averages (I know he doesn't care) he might as well be competing for a championship. If, at the end of his contract, the Spurs don't make a big move and bring a top-quality big to pair along side him, he should hang it up and call it a great career.

Tbh if we don't get a quality big in free agency this summer we should be left scratching our heads. Obviously Howard isn't going to come to San Antonio, but there are a number of players who could help extend Timmys career

Millsap
Jefferson
David West
Josh Smith
Chris Kaman

Then again we will probably end up giving Splitter $10m/year and still only play him 20min/night

[spurraider21]

Tbh if we don't get a quality big in free agency this summer we should be left scratching our heads. Obviously Howard isn't going to come to San Antonio, but there are a number of players who could help extend Timmys career

Millsap
Jefferson
David West
Josh Smith
Chris Kaman

Then again we will probably end up giving Splitter $10m/year and still only play him 20min/night
I like Kaman more than anybody on this list tbh. Most bang for buck. Al will be too pricey for a guy that plays no D, and Milsap is going to command a lot of salary for a guy that will never be a top 2 option on a championship team

[Richie]

I like Kaman more than anybody on this list tbh. Most bang for buck. Al will be too pricey for a guy that plays no D, and Milsap is going to command a lot of salary for a guy that will never be a top 2 option on a championship team

That may be true for Millsap, but the Spurs are only looking for a #3 option. If Manu resigns, he'd be 4th with Kawhi. I actually think he is the best choice on the board, everything we hoped Blair would be and he could play big minutes.

To be honest we may have to overpay someone this summer, but we have the cap space to do it. Anyone on that list would be a massive improvement. Players like Kaman and West might give us enough room to resign Splitter too, whereas Millsap, Smith and Jefferson would likely be too expensive.

Regardless, this is the summer the front office has to pull the trigger on a deal to upgrade the front line, whether its a free agent or trade. Timmy can't carry the team up front on his own for his last few years.

[chazley]

Kareem played at a high level until age 41 (14.6 ppg/6 rpb), so it's conceivable that Duncan, being the competitor he is and knowing he will stay in excellent shape, could extend his career another 5 years including this one while continuing to play at a near-allstar level, barring injury.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I like Kaman more than anybody on this list tbh. Most bang for buck. Al will be too pricey for a guy that plays no D, and Milsap is going to command a lot of salary for a guy that will never be a top 2 option on a championship team

:lol @Kaman!?! Can't play D, constantly injured, getting old, wouldn't complement Duncan.

If Timmy is going to play on another 2-3 seasons, surely Millsap would be the perfect foil for him - strong rebounder, good long shooter, plays active defense all over the court, would be 3rd option (and an excellent one at that) after TP and TD. After him I'd take West - steady offensive player with nice range, good mover off the ball, tries on D. Love Smoove's athleticism, but his dumbs (the opposite of 'smarts') would have him in Pop's doghouse constantly, so that wouldn't work... unless he has a maturity-spurt and would actually listen to Pop, in which case he should be the target (so much potential under the right guidance). Wouldn't go anywhere near Kaman.

If Timmy doesn't have 2-3 years left, it's re-building time and the equation is totally different.

Thanks for the honesty! :lmao

[spurraider21]

:lol @Kaman!?! Can't play D, constantly injured, getting old, wouldn't complement Duncan.

If Timmy is going to play on another 2-3 seasons, surely Millsap would be the perfect foil for him - strong rebounder, good long shooter, plays active defense all over the court, would be 3rd option (and an excellent one at that) after TP and TD. After him I'd take West - steady offensive player with nice range, good mover off the ball, tries on D. Love Smoove's athleticism, but his dumbs (the opposite of 'smarts') would have him in Pop's doghouse constantly, so that wouldn't work... unless he has a maturity-spurt and would actually listen to Pop, in which case he should be the target (so much potential under the right guidance). Wouldn't go anywhere near Kaman.

If Timmy doesn't have 2-3 years left, it's re-building time and the equation is totally different.

Thanks for the honesty! :lmao
no need to laugh so hard, buddy. i didn't say kaman is a better player than Millsap. I even specifically mentioned the fact that we'd be overpaying for Millsap whereas we'd be able to land Kaman for a fair deal. As for this "Kaman can't play defense" I'm not sure we're talking about the same Kaman. Kaman is also a good passer and can hit the mid range J. I'm not sure which part of that doesn't complement Tim. Kaman can also score in the post with his back to the basket allowing Duncan to be spaced out around the elbow, which he has spent more and more time at as he has aged. Signing Millsap would probably require some big 5 year commitment, which will far outlast Duncan's remaining time. Kaman could probably be had for a 2 year deal or so, which would preserve our financial flexibility for when Tim hangs them up.

Its not that I dislike the other players, its that we'd probably overpay for them and would have to make a multi year commitment for guys like Smoove, Millsap, Al Jefferson. My top 2 personally would be Kaman and David West. While its true that Kaman is getting long in the tooth, he's not even 31 yet and signing him to a 2 or 3 year deal would be ideal to play along Tim during his last couple of seasons. Ideally Kaman's (or whoever we sign) contract expires as Duncan retires which would give us the most cap flexibility.

Signing Milsap, Jefferson, or Smoove would mean we're stuck with them for 2-3 years after Tim is gone and we won't exactly be contending at that point.

[spurraider21]

Kareem played at a high level until age 41 (14.6 ppg/6 rpb), so it's conceivable that Duncan, being the competitor he is and knowing he will stay in excellent shape, could extend his career another 5 years including this one while continuing to play at a near-allstar level, barring injury.
Tim has given every indication that this is his last contract. He was even quoted saying 2 more years sounds right, 3 could be stretching it. This was perfectly made clear when his contract he signed was a 3 year deal where the third was a player option. This perfectly mirrors his quote, anyway. I would love for Tim to keep playing beyond, but it doesn't seem likely.