The Spurs Way...

[buttsR4rebounding]

The basis for the Spurs being able to win number 5 was that Tim, Tony and Manu all took less than they could have gotten in order to be able to afford the other pieces of a championship team. That was blended with a total team approach to basketball, signing guys who have "gotten over themselves." This obviously starts with the 3 guys that took less money. Could there be a correlation between the type of basketball player that is willing to sacrifice stats for his team to win and an individual that might take a little less personally for team success? (There are thousands of posts exhorting Tim to take a vet minimum contract or such.) If so, even at the margins (because basketball is a game of small margins) that could give SA a long term advantage over teams that never get it. Of course, it could be that the Spurs started with one such individual, Manu. He came off the bench (which probably cost him All-Star appearances and money) and took a little less to stay with the Spurs, then Tim started to think about his age and finally Tony took a little less in his current contract and then took 7 years to really get over himself after winning the FMVP. It could have actually been the perfect storm of self-interest instead. I hope the former is actually true. It can give SA a fighting chance in the long term to stay competitive.

[spurraider21]

The basis for the Spurs being able to win number 5 was that Tim, Tony and Manu all took less than they could have gotten in order to be able to afford the other pieces of a championship team. That was blended with a total team approach to basketball, signing guys who have "gotten over themselves." This obviously starts with the 3 guys that took less money. Could there be a correlation between the type of basketball player that is willing to sacrifice stats for his team to win and an individual that might take a little less personally for team success? (There are thousands of posts exhorting Tim to take a vet minimum contract or such.) If so, even at the margins (because basketball is a game of small margins) that could give SA a long term advantage over teams that never get it. Of course, it could be that the Spurs started with one such individual, Manu. He came off the bench (which probably cost him All-Star appearances and money) and took a little less to stay with the Spurs, then Tim started to think about his age and finally Tony took a little less in his current contract and then took 7 years to really get over himself after winning the FMVP. It could have actually been the perfect storm of self-interest instead. I hope the former is actually true. It can give SA a fighting chance in the long term to stay competitive.
if duncan/parker/ginobili/splitter/leonard/green/diaw all took the vets min we could have gotten lebron. and if lebron tooks the vets min we could sign durant in 2 years

[buttsR4rebounding]

if duncan/parker/ginobili/splitter/leonard/green/diaw all took the vets min we could have gotten lebron. and if lebron tooks the vets min we could sign durant in 2 years

Thanks for clearing everything up for me...

[Splits]

You know I've been thinking about this teams success and how it came to be. While idiots praise the Spurs and their accomplishments... I can't help but to smell something foul arising in the sport I love so much. If you look at the majority of the Spurs roster you'll notice how they've done a masterful job of cherry picking talent from overseas. Their not so big three come from France, Argentina, and Haiti... all third world countries. Anyone that has experience in outsourcing work will tell you that due to the poverty stricken culture that these people are born in you can get much more labor for your dollar. On top of that... these people don't have attitudes and are very low maintenance. They don't talk back, they show up for work on time, and they will take pay-cuts if forced on them without any objections. This is the Spurs business model... they have outsourced the NBA. Its great for the owners, but a horrible state for the players and fans.

When you look at players like Kobe who just took a 48 million dollar extension you would think he's coming off selfish... he's not taking one for the team, but in actuality... Kobe did take one for the team. Kobe cast the first stone at the cheap labor hiring ownership of the NBA. How many of you have ever had a technical problem and called customer service only to get some low wage earning jackass in India that can't answer your questions. Speaking to this jackass is basically a waste of your time. We've all experienced this, right? How many of you have worked for companies that used to pay a good salary, but can no longer do so due to the competition from slave labor overseas? Makes life harder on the American citizens, right? Inflation is constantly rising, right? In the end what you end up with is a cheaper product, and this is where the NBA is headed if teams follow the Spurs business model.

To make matters worse... the media is in full support of this, and most fans are too stupid to even realize this. Just a few season ago the NBA was in a lock out where billionaire owners decided to take back a whopping 7% of revenue from the players. And the following season you had guys like Duncan taking half of what his market value is after already giving back 7%. This should be an outcry!!! Are you guys blind to what's happening? The rich are getting richer, you jackasses, and the poor are taking less and getting poorer. The NBA has been pushing for this model for its owners for some time now. They tried to get it with the Jazz, but they could never get past Jordan. Now they have finally found success with this Spurs team to push their new business model as the only way to win a title. Notice the new mantra in the media today... they want all the superstars to take pay-cuts to make their teams better. If a team is winning then its making money. Simple logic would tell you that the owner should go into his pocket to maintain that success... but they've convinced the players that they should take 50% pay-cuts, like Jim.

I take my hat off to Kobe. He stood tall and demanded his money while everyone else bent over... Jim leading the caboose. And to rub salt in the face of all of us hard working American citizens... the third world born, slave labor pay earning Spurs players draped themselves in the flags of their third world homes when they won the title. Yet no one in the media took notice of this. Fuck the Spurs and their slave wage system, and if this is the future of the sport I love the most it won't be long before I tune out.:wakeup

[EVAY]

^^^^Haiti?

[boutons_deux]

^^^^Haiti?

island, schmyland, who cares? :lol

[TwoHandJam]

Forget the Haiti error... France is a 3rd world country? Even Argentina is a stretch post-financial collapse. Sign me up for those million-dollar slave wages.

[EVAY]

island, schmyland, who cares? :lol

Don't you kinda wonder if he meant to put the whole thing in blue ink?

[Splits]

Don't you kinda wonder if he meant to put the whole thing in blue ink?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236438

[EVAY]

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236438

Okay; guess not. nm

[Splits]

Okay; guess not. nm

Laker fan, being srs

[wildbill2u]

This guy is just looking for attention. Let's stop the comments and he'll wither on the vine and maybe go away.

[buttsR4rebounding]

The basis for the Spurs being able to win number 5 was that Tim, Tony and Manu all took less than they could have gotten in order to be able to afford the other pieces of a championship team. That was blended with a total team approach to basketball, signing guys who have "gotten over themselves." This obviously starts with the 3 guys that took less money. Could there be a correlation between the type of basketball player that is willing to sacrifice stats for his team to win and an individual that might take a little less personally for team success? (There are thousands of posts exhorting Tim to take a vet minimum contract or such.) If so, even at the margins (because basketball is a game of small margins) that could give SA a long term advantage over teams that never get it. Of course, it could be that the Spurs started with one such individual, Manu. He came off the bench (which probably cost him All-Star appearances and money) and took a little less to stay with the Spurs, then Tim started to think about his age and finally Tony took a little less in his current contract and then took 7 years to really get over himself after winning the FMVP. It could have actually been the perfect storm of self-interest instead. I hope the former is actually true. It can give SA a fighting chance in the long term to stay competitive.

I am becoming more convinced that a player that can subjugate his own glory for that of the team's is more likely to do that in the financial side of things as well. Even if it is at the margins it can provide a long term advantage.