Was signing LMA a mistake?

[RD2191]

If Timmy and Manu retire are LMA and Kawhi enough to win a title? Should the Spurs have tried to build a team around Kawhi in the draft?

[ElNono]

If Timmy and Manu retire are LMA and Kawhi enough to win a title? Should the Spurs have tried to build a team around Kawhi in the draft?

no, but that doesn't make it a mistake, tbh... you just gotta build the right pieces around them... that can take a while though

[spursistan]

seeing much less skilled bigs using their size to push Raymond shit in really hurts..

His finesse game not gonna take us to the promised land unless we stack talent-wise in other spots..he should be reduced to 3rd/4th option..

[tbdog]

The league is deeper, and contenders are top heavy. No 1 or 2 players can carry team deep these days. The role players need to be at a damn good level. We have one good role player (Green). TD, Manu, Parker, Mills also a okay to good role players at a smaller minute roles. However, Diaw, West, Anderson and Martin were useless. Bobon and Simmons are still projects.

The point is, we have 7 playoff worthy players. You need 8-9. If we had just one more playoff worthy restored player, we would be playing Warriors right now. That is why if we can grab playoff role players that work with the team this off season, we are back in it.

[gilmor]

Spurs is lack of one star player to make the team great. Both Kawhi and LMA are not star players.

[Leetonidas]

No, because he's a solid 2nd option and I think Kawhi will take another step in his offensive game next season as he has every season so he may be a legit first option imo. spurs have won with less talent at the top. with the spurs system they can win with the right pieces around them

[Kuvai]

We ain't winning with LMA.
He doesn't have that Swag to win a title. SPURS needs to strike big and find next atleast 50% of Tim Duncan to win the title..

looks like SPURS will have dark days ahead...

[TheGreatYacht]

Spurs made a mistake maxing out Kawhi

[Dingle Barry]

We're the Trail Blazers of a few years ago with a s
suped up Batum.

[RD2191]

What worries me about LMA is his age. I obviously wouldn't be asking this if he was in his mid 20s. I just feel like the Spurs will be good enough to be a top 4 team in the next few years but not good enough to win it all. I just don't wanna see Kawhi's prime years wasted on good but.not good enough seasons. Maybe building a team around him in the draft a la OKC/Dubs should have been the way to go.

[TXstbobcat]

Spurs made a mistake maxing out Kawhi

Kawhi is going to need that max contract to pay those massive child support payments that he is about to owe.

[TXstbobcat]

What worries me about LMA is his age. I obviously wouldn't be asking this if he was in his mid 20s. I just feel like the Spurs will be good enough to be a top 4 team in the next few years but not good enough to win it all. I just don't wanna see Kawhi's prime years wasted on good but.not good enough seasons. Maybe building a team around him in the draft a la OKC/Dubs should have been the way to go.

Might be a tough position. Not good enough to go far in the playoffs but too good to get a decent draft pick.

[cd98]

No. LMA was huge this year. But they better rebuild fast bc he only has two more years as an elite player.

[look_at_g_shred]

Na man..we need a revamped bench and a offensive threat at PG.

[cjw]

Calm down, the Spurs were a better Green pass from being up 2-0 on OKC and having a much better chance to beat a team that is annihilating a 73 win team.

Kawhi, LMA and Green at reasonable contracts are great as a building block. Plenty of cap flexibility to rebuild the rest of the team around them. It's just too bad none of the other first rounders in recent years are worth anything to build around.

[K...]

Spurs is lack of one star player to make the team great. Both Kawhi and LMA are not star players.

well, a third star would be fab, but a good bench would put us over okc. As would a decent rotation of bigs....too many jump shooting specialists on this team.

[apalisoc_9]

Kawhi is one of the top 5 players in the league. The spurs just shit the bed. Hes a first teamer for crying out loud :lol

Aldridge is a third tier star that no one gives a shit about. He needs to be a third option ala bosh. Spurs need a True Star PG beside Kawhi.

[ElNono]

Spurs is lack of one star player to make the team great. Both Kawhi and LMA are not star players.

I think Kawhi can be, but he needs to improve, and he needs help. Even when we had our Tim and Manu Big Two in their primes, we always needed some help from role players like Bowen, Parker, Horry, etc...

[james evans]

Spurs made a mistake maxing out Kawhi
but parker getting paid $14 million a year to do absolutely nothing is ok.. foh

[RD2191]

I think Kawhi can be, but he needs to improve, and he needs help. Even when we had our Tim and Manu Big Two in their primes, we always needed some help from role players like Bowen, Parker, Horry, etc...

Nono with subtle goods.:lol

[look_at_g_shred]

but parker getting paid $14 million a year to do absolutely nothing is ok.. foh
Hahaha

[TrainOfThought5]

The league is deeper, and contenders are top heavy. No 1 or 2 players can carry team deep these days. The role players need to be at a damn good level. We have one good role player (Green). TD, Manu, Parker, Mills also a okay to good role players at a smaller minute roles. However, Diaw, West, Anderson and Martin were useless. Bobon and Simmons are still projects.

The point is, we have 7 playoff worthy players. You need 8-9. If we had just one more playoff worthy restored player, we would be playing Warriors right now. That is why if we can grab playoff role players that work with the team this off season, we are back in it.

Like Rasual Butler

[K...]

Kawhi is one of the top 5 players in the league. The spurs just shit the bed. Hes a first teamer for crying out loud :lol

Aldridge is a third tier star that no one gives a shit about. He needs to be a third option ala bosh. Spurs need a True Star PG beside Kawhi.

you didn't answer the question of thread though.

[TheGreatYacht]

Postseason Lamarcus Aldridge:
21.9ppg, 8.3rpg, 1.0apg, 1.4bpg, 52.1FG%

Postseason Kawhi Leonard:
22.5ppg, 6.3rpg, 2.8apg, 1.4bpg, 50.0FG%

But one is a "third tier star" and the other is a "Top 5 player" :lmao

[dg7md]

Who else would we have gotten? LMA is a good fit for the team.

[TheGreatYacht]

The reason Spurs lost was because everybody on the bench was absolutely useless. Manu was dressed like a traffic cone when going up against Waiters on defense, Diaw-West-Andershit was trash.

Rebuild the bench

[LongtimeSpursFan]

I love Kawhi but if we were to do the MVP race over again based on the postseason he would barely make the top 10.
1. Lebron
2. Curry
3. Westbrook
4. Durant
5. Derozan
6. Aldridge
7. Lowry
8. Thompson
9. Irving
10. Kawhi*

*Biyombo may even rank ahead of him if he continues to play well.

Out of those 10 Kawhi is the only player that doesn't scare me on the offensive side of the ball.

[Kawhitstorm]

Spurs made a mistake maxing out Kawhi

Yep, they should have waited till the new CBA kicked in so he actually gets what he's truly worth: 30 mill per.:wakeup

[HankChinaski]

Spurs Front Office needs to fill out a supporting cast that compliments Aldridge and Leonard. You build around those two.

They need some size at the 1
They need some athleticism and youth at the 5/4.
They need to bolster the bench with better scorers.

I am not seeing all three done in a single off season realistically.
Two out of three possibly. Definitely one of those for sure.

[TheGreatYacht]

Yep, they should have waited till the new CBA kicked in so he actually gets what he's truly worth: 30 mill per.:wakeup
30 mill pesos? Agreed

[Kawhitstorm]

I love Kawhi but if we were to do the MVP race over again based on the postseason he would barely make the top 10.
1. Lebron
2. Curry
3. Westbrook
4. Durant
5. Derozan
6. Aldridge
7. Lowry
8. Thompson
9. Irving
10. Kawhi

You must be an idiot b/c Biyombo should have CLEARLY been the unanimous MVP but he doesn't even appear on your top 10.:lol

[Kawhitstorm]

30 mill pesos? Agreed

:toast

[Spurs_619]

If Timmy and Manu retire are LMA and Kawhi enough to win a title? Should the Spurs have tried to build a team around Kawhi in the draft?

OP you have some of the best takes on this site :bobo

[LongtimeSpursFan]

You must be an idiot b/c Biyombo should have CLEARLY been the unanimous MVP but he doesn't even appear on your top 10.:lol

I beat you to it. But I really need a player to play well in more than 3 games. Unlike the 2014 Finals MVP.

[Kawhitstorm]

I beat you to it. But I really need a player to play well in more than 3 games. Unlike the 2014 Finals MVP.

If only Porker could hit an open jumper in an empty gym......



1:08.0


90-90

T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) misses 2-pt shot from 19 ft


1:08.0
Defensive rebound by D. Waiters (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/waitedi01.html)

90-90




0:55.0
Shooting foul by D. Green (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenda02.html) (drawn by K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html))

90-90




0:55.0
K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html) makes free throw 1 of 2
+1
91-90




0:55.0
K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html) makes free throw 2 of 2
+1
92-90




0:43.0
Personal foul by S. Adams (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/adamsst01.html)

92-90




0:43.0


92-91
+1
T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) makes free throw 1 of 2


0:43.0


92-91

T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) misses free throw 2 of 2


0:42.0
Defensive rebound by R. Westbrook (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westbru01.html)

92-91




0:42.0
Oklahoma City full timeout

92-91




0:30.0
Turnover by K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html) (lost ball; steal by D. Green (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenda02.html))

92-91




0:11.0


92-91

T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) misses 2-pt shot from 20 ft

[Russo21]

LMA was the perfect signing. He's a great player and will do even better next year. Even if the Spurs don't win another championship EVER his signing was not a mistake. Only 1 team can win the title and 29 teams go home with nothing, the odds of winning a title are pretty shit. A lot of franchises have never won a championship because the Celtics, Lakers, Bulls and Spurs hog them all. We lost to the Thunder who are up 3-1 on the 73-9 Warriors. Yes there was bad coaching and bad officiating but we just ran into a buzzsaw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_champions

Half the teams in history have never won a title. Winning championships is kinda hard. It's not LMA's fault the big 3 are old, Pop is senile and a lot of players on the team are actually kind of shit. Crazy we won 67 games.

[gilmor]

I think Kawhi can be, but he needs to improve, and he needs help. Even when we had our Tim and Manu Big Two in their primes, we always needed some help from role players like Bowen, Parker, Horry, etc...

I think we are gone in the era of Duncan, Manu or Parker. We can't depend on those guys any more.

We need to get a third max player. Both Kawhi and LMA suck in crunch time. Plus Kawhi cant handle the ball well during crunch.

But I have to say without LMA, we will lose to OKC in 4 or probably 5 games.

[tbdog]

Like Rasual Butler

No. I don't see him as a playoff worthy player. But if West or Diaw stepped up. Heck even Mills. You know. It is what it is. So you have to put pieces back together. If Manu and TD retire, that is 2 more playoff rotation players you need to make up. And even if they stay, who knows they may fall apart before season ends. But you kinda bet that they don't.

Parker
Green
Leonard
LMA

Mills
TD
Manu

Anderson
Simmons
Bobon?

We need one more guy that can do his job. Obviously a wing and we now have a hole in the middle with West and Diaw stinking it up, and on top of that you need to have insurance policies for Manu and TD. Are we going to bet down on Anderson and Simmons getting us the insurance policy on the wing or do we make a splash in free agent? And we obvious have a glaring hole at center or a hard working young pf. Then there are questions about Mills. Will he be a burden on us or will he come back to 2014 form? So the Spurs need to make moves, but they don't need to be big fish moves.

[SAGirl]

What worries me about LMA is his age. I obviously wouldn't be asking this if he was in his mid 20s. I just feel like the Spurs will be good enough to be a top 4 team in the next few years but not good enough to win it all. I just don't wanna see Kawhi's prime years wasted on good but.not good enough seasons. Maybe building a team around him in the draft a la OKC/Dubs should have been the way to go.

No that would have wasted his prime on really bad teams and mediocre tank jobs bc you will never tank all the way to the 1st pick unless Kawhi is injured most of the season. And Pop will not have Kawhi pick up losing habits coasting for a season to tank. + young draft picks take a long time to develop. The first couple of years are really a learning experience, specially the lottery rookies nowadays, who are barely 19 with their bodies still developing and still developing games. Some of them with glaring weaknesses like Kawhi had when he joined the league, still loose dribble, iffy shooting, some bigs needing to add weight, etc. A rebuild like that takes a long time and you never know if the guys you invested in will turn out well either. Grabbing the best FA we could find was the way to go. Hopefully we add one more premium agent this off-season or the next.

Meanwhile, I know most here don't want to hear it but we have to develop the young projects we have as well, bc not everything can be filled in FA, where guys are overpaid. We need some homegrown young talent too, players that are in the project category.

Ppl here instead of busting young projects should just be hoping one or two pans out. Our youngest draft picks are between 21-24 yrs old. Those guys are not yet fully formed as players and they are closer to Kawhi's age. We have to hope one or even two of them becomes a good player whether to keep or to trade for a missing piece.

Do not despair, Spurs have found roleplayers from different sources and they will keep finding the right guys.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Tank next season and go hard in 2017 FA

[SAGirl]

I think we are gone in the era of Duncan, Manu or Parker. We can't depend on those guys any more.

We need to get a third max player. Both Kawhi and LMA suck in crunch time. Plus Kawhi cant handle the ball well during crunch.

But I have to say without LMA, we will lose to OKC in 4 or probably 5 games.
Without LMA we don't get past the Grizzlies TBH.

[AFMadison]

Draft Thom Maker. Develop him. Get a PG with some length. Sign a banger down low who can roll, grab boards, and rim protect. Bring back Belinelli.

[Hoops Czar]

Kawhi is one of the top 5 players in the league. The spurs just shit the bed. Hes a first teamer for crying out loud :lol

Aldridge is a third tier star that no one gives a shit about. He needs to be a third option ala bosh. Spurs need a True Star PG beside Kawhi.

Give that man a cookie. David Robinson was a first teamer 4 times but he was overrated because he couldn't win with a lesser team..

[Hoops Czar]

If only Porker could hit an open jumper in an empty gym......



1:08.0


90-90

T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) misses 2-pt shot from 19 ft


1:08.0
Defensive rebound by D. Waiters (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/waitedi01.html)

90-90




0:55.0
Shooting foul by D. Green (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenda02.html) (drawn by K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html))

90-90




0:55.0
K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html) makes free throw 1 of 2
+1
91-90




0:55.0
K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html) makes free throw 2 of 2
+1
92-90




0:43.0
Personal foul by S. Adams (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/adamsst01.html)

92-90




0:43.0


92-91
+1
T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) makes free throw 1 of 2


0:43.0


92-91

T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) misses free throw 2 of 2


0:42.0
Defensive rebound by R. Westbrook (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westbru01.html)

92-91




0:42.0
Oklahoma City full timeout

92-91




0:30.0
Turnover by K. Durant (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duranke01.html) (lost ball; steal by D. Green (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenda02.html))

92-91




0:11.0


92-91

T. Parker (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html) misses 2-pt shot from 20 ft




Maybe if you started at the 1:30 mark instead of 1:08. He tied the game at 90 with a mid-range J.

[spurtech09]

Nope

[Kawhitstorm]

Maybe if you started at the 1:30 mark instead of 1:08. He tied the game at 90 with a mid-range J.

OMG, 1-3 on WIDE OPEN jumpers & 1-2 at the FT line.:wow

[Hoops Czar]

OMG, 1-3 on WIDE OPEN jumpers & 1-2 at the FT line.:wow

Oh, so you just stink at math.:wakeup

[Kawhitstorm]

Oh, so you just stink at math.:wakeup

You just stink at accepting the fact.:wakeup