Regardless what happens.... The future is bright

[in2deep]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bpdvc31IMAAi2BO.jpg

[024]

When Green and Leonard play this well, the Spurs are unstoppable. They just have to maintain this high level play.

[Prime Time]

Isn't DG going to be like, 27 next week? Can't blame the dude if he decides to sign somewhere else once SA rebuilds around Kawhi.

[Chris]

Don't forget

http://static.squarespace.com/static/503f0892c4aa93dffe114177/t/535ab932e4b06f00084b99fb/1398454579241/

I also think Baynes could develop into a Splitter maybe better

[RD2191]

Chris with the bads.

[Chris]

Chris with the bads.

I've watched pretty much every game this year and Baynes has never dissapointed. Patty always plays with high energy and is a deadeye shooter. What's not to like about either of their futures with the Spurs?

[Malik Hairston]

There's no "regardless what happens", tbh..it's win the Finals this season, that's it..

[heyheymymy]

I've watched pretty much every game this year and Baynes has never dissapointed. Patty always plays with high energy and is a deadeye shooter. What's not to like about either of their futures with the Spurs?


imo it would take a lot of development for baynes to reach tiago level defense, finesse and conditioning (and splitter still isn't that conditioned to a NBA game yet)

but i agree with you, baynes, and the others mentioned could lead to a very bright future for spurs fans. i can't wait to see bertans and JLC in camp and dust off some gems. maybe even deshaun thomas

[Chinook]

Green's a player for what we all hope is a middle era, in which the team finds a way to be a contender after signing a free agent to fill the hole Duncan leaves for the rest of Parker's and Splitter's time in SA. If the Spurs can secure a Love, Aldridge or Bosh, keeping Green is a big priority. If the Big Three all move on and the team is basically Leonard and Friends, Danny probably follows Lebron or goes to Portland/Atlanta.

[TheGreatYacht]

Post-Duncan era (probably)

Parker
Green
Leonard
McGary
Splitter

Mills
Jean-Charles
Baynes
Deshaun Thomas
Denmon

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Post-Duncan era (probably)

Parker
Green
Leonard
McGary
Splitter

Mills
Jean-Charles
Baynes
Deshaun Thomas
Denmon

Your forgetting Bertans. He was looking like the real deal before his injury. This is his first game back from injury, so he is looking pretty good. I really think he can be a stud in the Spurs system. It looks like he put on at least 10-15 pounds of muscle since the last vid I saw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4UzYoRWQg

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Post-Duncan era (probably)

Parker
Green
Leonard
McGary
Splitter

Mills
Jean-Charles
Baynes
Deshaun Thomas
Denmon

Hopefully the following drafts would be good and the ping pong balls will favor the Spurs.

[mudyez]

Hopefully the following drafts would be good and the ping pong balls will favor the Spurs.

hopefully there wont be any ping pong balls with ths spurs name on it.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Of course there will be.

[Chinook]

Post-Duncan era (probably)

Parker
Green
Leonard
McGary
Splitter

Mills
Jean-Charles
Baynes
Deshaun Thomas
Denmon

Well, that and about $15 Million or so in cap space, at least. Plenty of money to bring in a legit vet or two (or three with the room exception) to bolster that unit.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Green's a player for what we all hope is a middle era, in which the team finds a way to be a contender after signing a free agent to fill the hole Duncan leaves for the rest of Parker's and Splitter's time in SA. If the Spurs can secure a Love, Aldridge or Bosh, keeping Green is a big priority. If the Big Three all move on and the team is basically Leonard and Friends, Danny probably follows Lebron or goes to Portland/Atlanta.

Or a Marc Gasol would suffice too.

Parker, Green, Leonard, M. Gasol, Splitter; Mills, Joseph, Sefolosha?, Bertans, Diaw, Baynes... and I think they are set to compete again.

[Chinook]

Or a Marc Gasol would suffice too.

Parker, Green, Leonard, M. Gasol, Splitter; Mills, Joseph, Sefolosha?, Bertans, Diaw, Baynes... and I think they are set to compete again.

I really think that after watching these Finals and looking back at the WCF, there's no way the Spurs could get away with a Gasol/Splitter front court going forward. Gasol is a good player, but he's equal to Tim at this stage of Duncan's career minus the GOAT flashes. Neither Marc nor Tiago score well enough to force the other team to play big, so the Spurs would just get spaced out and PnR'd to death.

I forgot to add Al Horford's name to the list. Supposedly, he's on the block.

[jag]

It's kind of silly for people to think "the future is bright" because of Leonard and Green. They're complementary pieces. Coaches aren't yet scheming to stop Kawhi. And we've seen what happens to Green when the opposing gameplan is geared to taking away his open looks - he shot a combined 2/19 last year in Game 6 and Game 7. He did a good job last night of attacking the basket when the Heat closed out on him, but (although improved from last year) he's still a poor shooter from 3-10 feet and he's not a great finisher at the rim. The Heat will live with him putting the ball on the floor and making the shots he made last night. I do believe he's a very good defender and a perfect fit for this system with his shooting ability, but he's very limited on offense.

I like Kawhi. He's a good player with a unique skill set. He's also one of the few players on this team that doesn't rely solely on Pop's system to be effective. But I don't see him growing into an effective primary option on offense. As a 2nd or (preferably) 3rd option he's great. It allows him more opportunities to face mismatches. But I don't really buy into this talk about creating/developing a team "around" Kawhi.

The term "build around" is thrown around too much. There are very few players in the past 20 years that you could legitimately build around. You don't "build around" Deron Williams, Kevin Love, Paul George, etc. Even the Heat didn't seek to build solely around Lebron. They built around Lebron, Wade and Bosh. That's three legitimate allstars.

The future could end up being bright with Leonard. The future could also end up seeing the Spurs as a perennial 8th seed, also-ran with Leonard. It all depends on whether the Spurs are able to add legitimate stars to complement him.

[Spursfanfromafar]

I really think that after watching these Finals and looking back at the WCF, there's no way the Spurs could get away with a Gasol/Splitter front court going forward. Gasol is a good player, but he's equal to Tim at this stage of Duncan's career minus the GOAT flashes. Neither Marc nor Tiago score well enough to force the other team to play big, so the Spurs would just get spaced out and PnR'd to death.

I forgot to add Al Horford's name to the list. Supposedly, he's on the block.

If Al Horford is available, he is a clear no-brainer. Just an under-rated basketball player who will thrive in a good system around good role players and while he will be a poor man's Duncan, he would be an apt replacement for the ageing Duncan. I suspect though that Atlanta will do enough via FO moves etc to keep him surrounded with decent talent in the next few years and that prying him will be difficult.

Gasol, unlike what you say, will actually suit the Spurs' offense better than what you think. He is a good high post player and a passer and with Splitter down low, can form a decentish combination. The Spurs will mix up the offense and get Diaw to play with either Gasol/ Splitter to allow Leonard space to operate on the low block if needed as well. On defense, the combination will be lethal.

[Baam]

Except Green is a FA next summer and if you want to tell him he's not worth at least the 10M Splitter is getting then good luck...

I don't believe the possibility of a GHill kinda trade anymore given how important he has become but it'll be very hard to keep him...

[Baam]

It's kind of silly for people to think "the future is bright" because of Leonard and Green. They're complementary pieces. Coaches aren't yet scheming to stop Kawhi. And we've seen what happens to Green when the opposing gameplan is geared to taking away his open looks - he shot a combined 2/19 last year in Game 6 and Game 7. He did a good job last night of attacking the basket when the Heat closed out on him, but (although improved from last year) he's still a poor shooter from 3-10 feet and he's not a great finisher at the rim. The Heat will live with him putting the ball on the floor and making the shots he made last night. I do believe he's a very good defender and a perfect fit for this system with his shooting ability, but he's very limited on offense.

I like Kawhi. He's a good player with a unique skill set. He's also one of the few players on this team that doesn't rely solely on Pop's system to be effective. But I don't see him growing into an effective primary option on offense. As a 2nd or (preferably) 3rd option he's great. It allows him more opportunities to face mismatches. But I don't really buy into this talk about creating/developing a team "around" Kawhi.

The term "build around" is thrown around too much. There are very few players in the past 20 years that you could legitimately build around. You don't "build around" Deron Williams, Kevin Love, Paul George, etc. Even the Heat didn't seek to build solely around Lebron. They built around Lebron, Wade and Bosh. That's three legitimate allstars.

The future could end up being bright with Leonard. The future could also end up seeing the Spurs as a perennial 8th seed, also-ran with Leonard. It all depends on whether the Spurs are able to add legitimate stars to complement him.

We'll just bring in Spanoulis as our first option, don't worry...

[Mr. Body]

Hopefully the following drafts would be good and the ping pong balls will favor the Spurs.

I don't know if the Spurs will be in the lottery for a while.

[Chinook]

If Al Horford is available, he is a clear no-brainer. Just an under-rated basketball player who will thrive in a good system around good role players and while he will be a poor man's Duncan, he would be an apt replacement for the ageing Duncan. I suspect though that Atlanta will do enough via FO moves etc to keep him surrounded with decent talent in the next few years and that prying him will be difficult.

Gasol, unlike what you say, will actually suit the Spurs' offense better than what you think. He is a good high post player and a passer and with Splitter down low, can form a decentish combination. The Spurs will mix up the offense and get Diaw to play with either Gasol/ Splitter to allow Leonard space to operate on the low block if needed as well. On defense, the combination will be lethal.

As far as I know, it's the Hawks who want to move Horford, not Al who wants to leave. I imagine Atlanta could sell Horford on the fact that they were a playoff team without him and have both cap space and young prospect to improve. I don't see them moving him until 2015 at least, which is why I consider him a Spurs' target. He's probably the most unrealistic of the potential Tim replacements, though.

As I've said before, I don't think the Spurs will try to keep the same "system" once Duncan retires. I think they'll go with a more-dynamic offensive option next to Splitter and avoid a plodding twin towers if they can. The only reason why they run the offense they do now is because Duncan can't defend out in space well enough to consistently play a stretch-four next to him. Playing Splitter and Duncan makes for a good defensive combo, but the only reason it's truly viable is because Duncan can flash GOAT talent in spurts to score. Even from a spacing perspective, Duncan's midrange is not reliable enough to keep Splitter on the floor.

It's also worth noting that Splitter and Marc are going to be slowing down over the next few years. That combo will quickly go from being elite defensively to being porous as their agility goes.

[T Park]

Bertans and Leonard are the future wing players.

Bertan's has one of the prettiest most natural shooting forms I've seen in a while.

[playblair]

future lineup =

parker/cojo
green/hanga/denmon
kawhi/bertans/ljc
richards/thomas
splitter/baynes

[Spursfanfromafar]

As far as I know, it's the Hawks who want to move Horford, not Al who wants to leave. I imagine Atlanta could sell Horford on the fact that they were a playoff team without him and have both cap space and young prospect to improve. I don't see them moving him until 2015 at least, which is why I consider him a Spurs' target. He's probably the most unrealistic of the potential Tim replacements, though.

As I've said before, I don't think the Spurs will try to keep the same "system" once Duncan retires. I think they'll go with a more-dynamic offensive option next to Splitter and avoid a plodding twin towers if they can. The only reason why they run the offense they do now is because Duncan can't defend out in space well enough to consistently play a stretch-four next to him. Playing Splitter and Duncan makes for a good defensive combo, but the only reason it's truly viable is because Duncan can flash GOAT talent in spurts to score. Even from a spacing perspective, Duncan's midrange is not reliable enough to keep Splitter on the floor.

It's also worth noting that Splitter and Marc are going to be slowing down over the next few years. That combo will quickly go from being elite defensively to being porous as their agility goes.

Strange news about Atlanta. I would like to see a link. Horford has among the cheapest contracts for an All Star Big and I wonder why they might want him to leave. Anyways.

I disagree with you over Gasol, M. His game is skill based and less on athleticism and I think he will age much better. He has a reliable mid range shot, can play the high post as a passer/playmaker and I think he can combine with Splitter and/or Diaw till the latter ages. As regards Gasol's defense. He is 7'2'' and is an elite low post defender. I think he will be relevant till he is 34/35 and thats 6 years from now.

[Chinook]

Strange news about Atlanta. I would like to see a link. Horford has among the cheapest contracts for an All Star Big and I wonder why they might want him to leave. Anyways.

I disagree with you over Gasol, M. His game is skill based and less on athleticism and I think he will age much better. He has a reliable mid range shot, can play the high post as a passer/playmaker and I think he can combine with Splitter and/or Diaw till the latter ages. As regards Gasol's defense. He is 7'2'' and is an elite low post defender. I think he will be relevant till he is 34/35 and thats 6 years from now.


This is the only thing I've seen on the Horford situation.

http://grantland.com/features/the-courtship-of-lance-stephenson/


Atlanta Hawks: No one can figure these guys out, which means Danny Ferry is doing his thing. They have cap flexibility and a good roster, though they dangled Al Horford at last year’s trade deadline in a very targeted fashion, per sources around the league.

Could mean he's no longer on the block. Could mean he'll be moved in a few weeks. You never know. Since this is the only thing I've seen about it, I didn't want to bring it up in the Think Tank. But Lowe should be somewhat credible.

As far as Gasol goes, I am not worried about him losing effectiveness as he ages. I am worried about the duo of him and Splitter losing effectiveness as they age. Essentially, the Spurs are only able to get away with using a two-center lineup because Splitter has elite mobility. Once that's gone, he's a five-man, through and through. Gasol is a fine center, but he does not have Duncan's flashes of brilliance that make up for the poor spacing having two centers creates (even if one can shoot from midrange). If the Spurs were to trade Splitter for a power-forward (let's say Horford), then Gasol would absolutely make sense to sign in 2015. But in today's league, a Splitter/Gasol duo would have the same weaknesses that a West/Hibbert duo has defensively with at best the same offensive upside.