Is it too late to blow it up?

[Beanzamillion21]

I was thinking Tim has a few more good years ahead of him, and I think outside of Tim, Kawhi, and maybe Danny Green, everyone is expendable. Do y'all think that we could tank next season and quickly rebuild through the draft, much like the Thunder did?

[Dex]

In the Duncan era, yes, it is too late to blow it up.

Let's go off the assumption that Duncan will play two more seasons. Even if you took Ginobili and Jackson off the books, that would only give the Spurs enough to sign one, maybe two game-changing players. That gain would be offset by the loss of Manu, so it doesn't really put the Spurs that far ahead of their current position, even if you make wholesale changes to the role players around them. It would be nice if we had the draw of LBJ and the Miami beaches so that veterans like Allen, Battier, and Miller would flock to the Spurs, but that is never going to happen.

The other option would be to go into full tank mode next year, but all that would net would be a chance at a high lottery pick that wouldn't even play until 2014-2015 (Duncan's final season), and it's highly unlikely that player would make a significant impact in his first season. Rebuilding through the draft, even when done well, takes at least 3-4 years, and Duncan didn't resign with the team just to watch them go into rebuilding mode. He wants to at least have a chance at a title before he goes out, and he deserves that.

The Spurs are pretty much locked into their current plan until Duncan and Ginobili retire. There will be plenty of time for rebuilding after that.