What Is the Measure of Succes This Year?

[DPG21920]

Wanting to get a pulse for what the average fan feels the measure of success is this year for this team. If you would have known Kawhi would have been out the entire season, what would success look like to you?

1. Just making the playoffs regardless of record?

2. Winning at least 50 games again while making the playoffs as a top 3-4 seed?

3. Making the playoffs and winning the first round?

4. Going to the WCF or beyond?

I think, in looking at how other teams with a lot of healthy top-tier talent did, that SA keeping record pace with them in a tough conference is a pretty damn big deal. I am content with making the playoffs but ultimately think that winning the first round (unless you play HOU or GS) would be the cherry on top of a damn good season overall all things considered.

Where is every one else at mentally with this team?

[BillMc]

We need perspective. Being 10 games over 500, having clinched a playoff spot, and being in the fight for better seeding is a good year for most teams league-wide, especially in the West and very much especially without the team's best player. So, all the "fire Pop, fire RC, this roster sucks" talk has to be taken with a grain of salt, as we are the most spoiled fanbase is sports for the last 20 years.

Beyond that, and moving the goal posts without Kawhi, I think making the second round would take a good year and move it into an excellent year. Still, bittersweet because "what could have been" but once the Kawhi reality has been accepted, then I can say it was a successful year, and a second round would make it a very successful year. If somehow there was some extra "juice" like eliminating the Dubs or D'Antoni again (always fun), then that would be a nice bonus. But the second round regardless of the first round opponent would be very good.

Also got to give some real props to LMA for pulling this team into the playoffs, Manu for being so good at his age, and Rudy and Tony for coming back from horrific injuries. Also, Kyle proved he belongs in this league.

[Russ]

Wanting to get a pulse for what the average fan feels the measure of success is this year for this team.

Just a point of internet etiquette.

If you want meaningful responses, please don't call we/us "average fans." (Even if we really are.) :lol

[TDomination]

For me personally this team has been successful and the rest is gravy. Making the playoffs is a great accomplishment considering the injuries and kawhi distraction.

Every playoff game is a bonus at this point. But if somehow someway they could pull off a series win with this group, it would be memorable.

[NASpurs]

5. None of the above. Should had tanked and gotten a good lottery pick. Whether they would had drafted someone good or use that pick + other players to bring in some talent and now we're talking. Would had also meant some high turnover next year too. Instead next year it's going to be another year of horrible contracts, old dudes overstaying their welcomes and a good but not good enough middling team.

Anything else is just extra fluff in Pop's legacy.

[bklynspursfan]

5. None of the above. Should had tanked and gotten a good lottery pick. Whether they would had drafted someone good or use that pick + other players to bring in some talent and now we're talking. Would had also meant some high turnover next year too. Instead next year it's going to be another year of horrible contracts, old dudes overstaying their welcomes and a good but not good enough middling team.

Anything else is just extra fluff in Pop's legacy.

They thought Kawhi was coming back, by the time he was ruled *out* or at least *probably not returning*, it was too late.

Tanking in possibly Manu's last season too? I'd be curious to see how he'd take that lol

[Robz4000]

5. None of the above. Should had tanked and gotten a good lottery pick. Whether they would had drafted someone good or use that pick + other players to bring in some talent and now we're talking. Would had also meant some high turnover next year too. Instead next year it's going to be another year of horrible contracts, old dudes overstaying their welcomes and a good but not good enough middling team.

Anything else is just extra fluff in Pop's legacy.

This, though it is impressive they made the playoffs with this horrible roster. LMA, Manu, and Gay (at the start of the season and the past 3 weeks or so) deserve a lot of the credit.

[Seventyniner]

Good thread. :toast

1. Moderate success. This team is pretty talented even without Kawhi, and the coaching is easily top 10 in the league and probably top 5.
2. Solid success. What teams can have the player their roster is built around miss 73 games and still finish in the top half of a loaded West?
3. Solid success as well, though it depends on the first round victim.
4. Would be the most surprising Spurs season result I can remember. This team has no business beating Houston or GS so taking one of them down would be success beyond my wildest dreams.

The Spurs sit at 8th in the league in SRS and that shouldn't change tomorrow night even if they get blown out. To me that is very impressive with Kawhi basically out for the season and Gay missing 1/3 of the season. If the Spurs didn't have such shit luck in close games (and yes, most of it is luck) they would either already have 50 wins or have a chance at it tomorrow.

[sananspursfan21]

My NFL team (until the prick moved em) was the St. Louis Rams and they had about a 5 year incredible run where they were extremely dominant. And then they had a .500 season in '05. It was so deflating. They still made the playoffs and actually became the first 6th (last) seed in history to win. Regardless, I was beyond annoyed as a fan. And then things got worse. They never saw .500 again. And years of 4-12, 1-15, 6-10, I dreamed of an 8-8 season and a taste of the playoffs again. No Super Bowl aspirations necessary, just a competitive season. What I would have given to see that.

It's hard to do as spoiled Spurs fans, but we've got to do our best to eat this up while we can. Who knows, in 5 years, we could be longing for just a 7th seed playoff appearance. A team that despite jokes and mellow-drama, is competitive, respectable, and has potential to beat anybody. Because all foolishness aside, our guys can potentially beat anybody or at least make a series interesting.

We're still in a golden age if you ask me. I'm trying to soak this season in as much as I can. We're not guaranteed another winning season ever again, Pop or not.

[diego]

a large vocal part of this forum predicted this team to be trash WITH kawhi. openly campaigned for him to leave due to PATFO/roster being shit. and here we are, with a very large chance to finish above OKC, wolves, pelicans type teams that loaded up with splashy moves but could do no better than the guys most this forum has spent the last 15 months trashing (did i mention dedmon and simmons are long gone fishin?). So for those people Id say this team is amazing, pop is COY, aldridge mvp, kyle DPOY, manu 6MOY, they pulled off a miracle!

more seriously, I think the spurs can be better in the playoffs, i know green and parker will have at least one good game, pau probably too, if they can get LMA going they actually have a chance, even against warriors and rockets (if dubs were healthy no contest, but in their current state.. they are only slight favorites). I expect them to make the 2nd round vs any team not gs/hou/utah, not bad for a shitty roster minus their best player I guess

[weeks]

This has been the worst Spurs season for me so I'm not sure how anyone could say it's been good or successful in any way.
As a spoiled fan, anything short of a chip feels like a failure.

Speaking objectively, winning the first round would wash away a lot of bad taste from this year. Putting down the dubs or rockettes would feel like success beyond hope. Getting to the WCF would be amazing.
Even making the playoffs has noticeably improved the mood around here. That's how bad this season was for most fans. It's not just the end of the stupid 50 w streak it's kawhis fall from grace it's patty scrubbing it up, Parker with one foot in the grave, Danny losing his shot, the 💯 million dollar contracts, pop getting all political which is super annoying no matter which position you take...
Just a mess. Few bright spots, but certainly this wasn't a good season for Spurs fans by any stretch

[SAGirl]

I'd call it a success already. I am hoping for a series win in the playoffs, I am fan after all. If they don't achieve that I will be disappointed but not surprised.

[baseline bum]

Had I known Kawhi was out for the season my idea of success would have been trading Aldridge for young talent and tanking the season to get a high draft pick. Even better if they could have dumped Fifty's contract on someone without losing assets. This is pretty much working out like a near worst case scenario with no Kawhi, no good draft pick, Mills still here, and a likely matchup with Golden State in the first round. The only thing that could make it worse is LMA blowing out his knee in the first round so that he'd have no trade value this summer.

[Leetonidas]

Make it to the 2nd round and I'll be happy

[tholdren]

Playoff series win.
Good trade return for kl
Tony and pau retire
White called up and gets minutes in playoffs that arent garbage

[SPURt]

Championship

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaeikAAJt8j4bD1oCYjwksmcUn1dzOP p1oufPAQeQcL7BBAtk_

[SAGirl]

My NFL team (until the prick moved em) was the St. Louis Rams and they had about a 5 year incredible run where they were extremely dominant. And then they had a .500 season in '05. It was so deflating. They still made the playoffs and actually became the first 6th (last) seed in history to win. Regardless, I was beyond annoyed as a fan. And then things got worse. They never saw .500 again. And years of 4-12, 1-15, 6-10, I dreamed of an 8-8 season and a taste of the playoffs again. No Super Bowl aspirations necessary, just a competitive season. What I would have given to see that.

It's hard to do as spoiled Spurs fans, but we've got to do our best to eat this up while we can. Who knows, in 5 years, we could be longing for just a 7th seed playoff appearance. A team that despite jokes and mellow-drama, is competitive, respectable, and has potential to beat anybody. Because all foolishness aside, our guys can potentially beat anybody or at least make a series interesting.

We're still in a golden age if you ask me. I'm trying to soak this season in as much as I can. We're not guaranteed another winning season ever again, Pop or not.
great post.

[BD24]

Wanting to get a pulse for what the average fan feels the measure of success is this year for this team. If you would have known Kawhi would have been out the entire season, what would success look like to you?

1. Just making the playoffs regardless of record?

2. Winning at least 50 games again while making the playoffs as a top 3-4 seed?

3. Making the playoffs and winning the first round?

4. Going to the WCF or beyond?

I think, in looking at how other teams with a lot of healthy top-tier talent did, that SA keeping record pace with them in a tough conference is a pretty damn big deal. I am content with making the playoffs but ultimately think that winning the first round (unless you play HOU or GS) would be the cherry on top of a damn good season overall all things considered.

Where is every one else at mentally with this team?
Just making the playoffs without Kawhi is pretty remarkable tbh. Especially when you consider we really only have two guys that consistently score/create their own shots in the half court (LMA, Rudy)

[MannyIsGod]

Wanting to get a pulse for what the average fan feels the measure of success is this year for this team. If you would have known Kawhi would have been out the entire season, what would success look like to you?

1. Just making the playoffs regardless of record?

2. Winning at least 50 games again while making the playoffs as a top 3-4 seed?

3. Making the playoffs and winning the first round?

4. Going to the WCF or beyond?

I think, in looking at how other teams with a lot of healthy top-tier talent did, that SA keeping record pace with them in a tough conference is a pretty damn big deal. I am content with making the playoffs but ultimately think that winning the first round (unless you play HOU or GS) would be the cherry on top of a damn good season overall all things considered.

Where is every one else at mentally with this team?

I'm 100% with you on this. I think what the Spurs did this year is pretty admirable, and I think they can beat anyone that isn't Hou or GS. I don't want to play Utah, though. I hope we can get to the 2nd round and then we can see what this interesting off season brings.

People shouldn't take playoff years for granted.

[vander]

KL comes back and the Spurs win it all.

Gasol retires, Parker retires, Spurs manage to trade Mills...

[Arcadian]

Arguably 1.

Tanking was never an option, fuck that. Is there even a good draft class this year?

[Robz4000]

Arguably 1.

Tanking was never an option, fuck that. Is there even a good draft class this year?

Best draft class in years.

[Arcadian]

Best draft class in years.

We'll see about that. Things don't always pan out as expected.

[tholdren]

Best draft class in years.

They say every year... ironically it comes when the superstars get long in the tooth. Nba is a joke

[MVPCues]

Success if they make it to the 2nd round. I'm afraid they won't get there.

[DAF86]

Second round.

[DAF86]

But what I would have really liked was for PATFO to not make such obviously horrible decisions in the offseason, tbh.

[Ice009]

My NFL team (until the prick moved em) was the St. Louis Rams and they had about a 5 year incredible run where they were extremely dominant. And then they had a .500 season in '05. It was so deflating. They still made the playoffs and actually became the first 6th (last) seed in history to win. Regardless, I was beyond annoyed as a fan. And then things got worse. They never saw .500 again. And years of 4-12, 1-15, 6-10, I dreamed of an 8-8 season and a taste of the playoffs again. No Super Bowl aspirations necessary, just a competitive season. What I would have given to see that.

It's hard to do as spoiled Spurs fans, but we've got to do our best to eat this up while we can. Who knows, in 5 years, we could be longing for just a 7th seed playoff appearance. A team that despite jokes and mellow-drama, is competitive, respectable, and has potential to beat anybody. Because all foolishness aside, our guys can potentially beat anybody or at least make a series interesting.

We're still in a golden age if you ask me. I'm trying to soak this season in as much as I can. We're not guaranteed another winning season ever again, Pop or not.

I used to be a Rams fan too. Became a fan in 1999 just after they got Marshall Faulk and when Kurt Warner also broke out. I also was a fan of Issac Bruce just before Marshall and Kurt joined the team.

Do you still go for them now that they're in LA? I stopped being a fan when Kurt was let go and Marshall retired. I still tried to follow them up until Marshall retired, but I just could stand Mike Martz. He really fucked up what could have been a great team. I hated how nonchalant his attitude was in regards to turnovers as he seemed to think that they could score whenever they wanted to to make up for them. His arrogance also pissed me off. I think he truly thought he was an offensive genius and that his system could work with any decent player/s. I would have loved it if Dick Vermeil remained the coach and that Martz had never taken over. I preferred his balanced pass and run game over Martz' pass happy approach with defense not really being a priority.

[Keepin' it real]

This has been the worst Spurs season for me so I'm not sure how anyone could say it's been good or successful in any way.
As a spoiled fan, anything short of a chip feels like a failure.

:lmao

I'm sure Tim Duncan would enjoy hearing that you consider almost 3/4 of his career to have been a "failure".

[spurs10]

Wanting to get a pulse for what the average fan feels the measure of success is this year for this team. If you would have known Kawhi would have been out the entire season, what would success look like to you?

1. Just making the playoffs regardless of record?

2. Winning at least 50 games again while making the playoffs as a top 3-4 seed?

3. Making the playoffs and winning the first round?

4. Going to the WCF or beyond?

I think, in looking at how other teams with a lot of healthy top-tier talent did, that SA keeping record pace with them in a tough conference is a pretty damn big deal. I am content with making the playoffs but ultimately think that winning the first round (unless you play HOU or GS) would be the cherry on top of a damn good season overall all things considered.

Where is every one else at mentally with this team? I feel the same. Now down 14 in the third quarter, though not panicking, I was certainly thinking making the playoffs was a measure of success that I'd be proud of. Again if we draw the 1st or 2nd seed I think simply giving them a fight will be something to be proud of, but I too think moving past the first round will be really cool! Now I'm going to read with interest the rest of the post in this thread!
:flag:

[DPG21920]

Thanks for the takes. I think most, outside of a few who preferred a full on tank (which I think was impossible with having an All-Star like LMA plus other good role players) think that making the playoffs was a big deal, but that winning the first round without Kawhi would be a major statement.

I’m proud of the team and as stressful as this season was overall (even outside of the Kawhi drama) I look back and think damn, people really dogged the Spurs and hated on the team and they still kept pace with teams that everyone LOVED talent wise like OKC, MINNY, POR, etc..

[ElNono]

championship or bust, tbh...

[sananspursfan21]

I used to be a Rams fan too. Became a fan in 1999 just after they got Marshall Faulk and when Kurt Warner also broke out. I also was a fan of Issac Bruce just before Marshall and Kurt joined the team.

Do you still go for them now that they're in LA? I stopped being a fan when Kurt was let go and Marshall retired. I still tried to follow them up until Marshall retired, but I just could stand Mike Martz. He really fucked up what could have been a great team. I hated how nonchalant his attitude was in regards to turnovers as he seemed to think that they could score whenever they wanted to to make up for them. His arrogance also pissed me off. I think he truly thought he was an offensive genius and that his system could work with any decent player/s. I would have loved it if Dick Vermeil remained the coach and that Martz had never taken over. I preferred his balanced pass and run game over Martz' pass happy approach with defense not really being a priority.


Ha!! Cool! I stopped being a fan when Kroenke moved them. I couldn’t stand the arrogance of the LA fan base. Not only that, but St. Louis is my hometown away from hometown. I live 3 hours away. The owner really shoved it to a loyal city that despite what ESPN and NFL network said, was VERY SUPPORTIVE of a team they probably shouldn’t have. But it was a hard decision to stop following and loving them. Call me whatever but it kinda felt like breaking up with a girl. I’m a super fan man, I met so many awesome people, went to around half of their home games every season, had some of the best memories of my life being a fan of them and just gave it all up. The money hungry jackass Kroenke wanted STL fans to stay fans. I’m not a bitch to any team!!!

I feel ya on Martz. I had a love/hate with him. His offensive schemes were groundbreaking at the time but he was no football version of Pop that could just throw in whoever he wanted and it worked! And he literally DID NOT care about defense. They regularly had a bottom 5 defense during his entire tenure. I would say he was OC material, not head coach material by any means. He did look kinda like a dick on the sidelines all those years haha. Once he left because of heart problems, it progressively got worse. So you didn’t miss much when you left the fan base :lol

[Arcadian]

My NFL team (until the prick moved em) was the St. Louis Rams and they had about a 5 year incredible run where they were extremely dominant. And then they had a .500 season in '05. It was so deflating. They still made the playoffs and actually became the first 6th (last) seed in history to win. Regardless, I was beyond annoyed as a fan. And then things got worse. They never saw .500 again. And years of 4-12, 1-15, 6-10, I dreamed of an 8-8 season and a taste of the playoffs again. No Super Bowl aspirations necessary, just a competitive season. What I would have given to see that.

It's hard to do as spoiled Spurs fans, but we've got to do our best to eat this up while we can. Who knows, in 5 years, we could be longing for just a 7th seed playoff appearance. A team that despite jokes and mellow-drama, is competitive, respectable, and has potential to beat anybody. Because all foolishness aside, our guys can potentially beat anybody or at least make a series interesting.

We're still in a golden age if you ask me. I'm trying to soak this season in as much as I can. We're not guaranteed another winning season ever again, Pop or not.

Good perspective. I share the sentiment.

[tbdog]

As many rounds as we can for Murray's sake. This guy needs more playoff games under his belt for us to make a run with a healthy revamped team next season.

[Chinook]

Losing to Houston or Golden State in a highly competitive series is the only way I'd really consider this season a success. A lot of folks said things like "if they could just upset one of them in the first round, that would be epic". But nah; if the Spurs are the eight-seed and beat Houston in the first round, they better win in the second round too. And fuck it, if they make it to the WCF, they're probably playing well enough where I'd expect them to beat Houston (if they got GS in the first round; later in the post-season when they're healthy, there's no path to this team winning).

Obviously, in a smaller sense, this season is already a success, with the way they rallied from the ninth spot. In this small sense, beating NO tomorrow and getting HCA would be a huge boon. But they've also missed out on 50 wins and shown they are still shit on the road. That hurts more any other regular-season success can salve.

[weeks]

:lmao

I'm sure Tim Duncan would enjoy hearing that you consider almost 3/4 of his career to have been a "failure".

I said it feels like a failure. A competitor like Timmy wants to win every year and thinks he has a good shot. Not getting a ring certainly feels like a let down. If you define failure as not reaching your goals and your goal is to win a championship, then it's natural to feel disappointment.

[mexicanjunior]

5. None of the above. Should had tanked and gotten a good lottery pick. Whether they would had drafted someone good or use that pick + other players to bring in some talent and now we're talking. Would had also meant some high turnover next year too. Instead next year it's going to be another year of horrible contracts, old dudes overstaying their welcomes and a good but not good enough middling team.

Anything else is just extra fluff in Pop's legacy.

This...

[Chinook]

Tanking is never a success. Damn it, people. You can always tear shit down. You can't always put it back together. Didn't you read what that Rams fan wrote? They got all the "tanking" they wanted for like a full decade, and all it resulted in was the team moving away.

[-21-]

Also got to give some real props to LMA for pulling this team into the playoffs, Manu for being so good at his age, and Rudy and Tony for coming back from horrific injuries. Also, Kyle proved he belongs in this league.

:tu

[Brazil]

Thanks for the takes. I think most, outside of a few who preferred a full on tank (which I think was impossible with having an All-Star like LMA plus other good role players) think that making the playoffs was a big deal, but that winning the first round without Kawhi would be a major statement.

I’m proud of the team and as stressful as this season was overall (even outside of the Kawhi drama) I look back and think damn, people really dogged the Spurs and hated on the team and they still kept pace with teams that everyone LOVED talent wise like OKC, MINNY, POR, etc..

:tu

[MarCowMar]

It'd be the craziest season ever if the Spurs somehow stumbled their way into a championship this year, Kawhi gets a ring he totally doesn't deserve, and then he moves on to join one of the LA teams.

Another question, can Kawhi ever be a team captain after what has gone down? What other superstars are so lacking on the social side of things?

[barbacoataco]

This team is better than this sometimes lame forum gives them credit for. They have, along with Utah, one of the 2 best defenses in the conference. They need either Mills or Green to get hot from the 3. There's always a good chance Ginobili will go into god mode at some point and win one game single handedly. If Aldridge plays well the Spurs should at least be in it most games. I think they could make some noise.

[YGWHI]

Many teams this season made the playoffs without one or even two of their best players missing a whole season or at least a good part of it.

I said the Spurs will make it without Kawhi. They did, they competed.

But when fans say it's fine if..."you consider we really only have two guys that consistently score/create their own shots in the half court (LMA, Rudy)

Then we should realize that talking about how bad this roster is built is legit.

About success, second round after beating GSW...That would be amazing, the best thing in the world.. Eliminating them in first round.

[superbigtime]

The regular season was a failure in terms of the appalling road record, but a success with regard to all the obstacles which have been dealt with. Making the playoffs is something that spurs fans have taken for granted for years and years. Maybe this season has gotten spoiled spurs fans to appreciate how damn good our Spurs have been for so long. I want to see Spurs play solid ball and execute. Hard to envision at times. Really hope to avoid Utah.

[barbacoataco]

Ok, so only Aldridge and Gay can create on offense. But this team is better than average because their defense is better than average. Since practically no one is playing defense in the NBA right now, it gives them a chance.

[vy65]

Had I known Kawhi was out for the season my idea of success would have been trading Aldridge for young talent and tanking the season to get a high draft pick. Even better if they could have dumped Fifty's contract on someone without losing assets. This is pretty much working out like a near worst case scenario with no Kawhi, no good draft pick, Mills still here, and a likely matchup with Golden State in the first round. The only thing that could make it worse is LMA blowing out his knee in the first round so that he'd have no trade value this summer.

This. Re-arranging deck chairs on the titanic and calling it a success is beyond stupid. The team was given the opportunity to overhaul its roster and decided to go all in on mediocrity. No Kawhi for a year along with trades of LMA and/or Patty would have cleaned the deck, yielded a good-to-great pick in a deep draft, and shorn up the teams salaries. It also would have hit a reset on the age of key player's: LMA is what, 7 years older than Kawhi?

It's truly sad to see fans groveling over a first-round-and-out performance. Losing in 5 to HOU or GSW is a perfect punctuation mark on a wasted, lost season.

[spurraider21]

Losing to Houston or Golden State in a highly competitive series is the only way I'd really consider this season a success. A lot of folks said things like "if they could just upset one of them in the first round, that would be epic". But nah; if the Spurs are the eight-seed and beat Houston in the first round, they better win in the second round too. And fuck it, if they make it to the WCF, they're probably playing well enough where I'd expect them to beat Houston (if they got GS in the first round; later in the post-season when they're healthy, there's no path to this team winning).

Obviously, in a smaller sense, this season is already a success, with the way they rallied from the ninth spot. In this small sense, beating NO tomorrow and getting HCA would be a huge boon. But they've also missed out on 50 wins and shown they are still shit on the road. That hurts more any other regular-season success can salve.
:tu

had they scrapped to 50 wins and made the second round, i'd have been satisfied in a season without kawhi. but blowing the 50 win streak to me means they're gonna have to do better in the playoffs to make up for it, if this season is to be "successful"

[SAGirl]

The regular season was a failure in terms of the appalling road record, but a success with regard to all the obstacles which have been dealt with. Making the playoffs is something that spurs fans have taken for granted for years and years. Maybe this season has gotten spoiled spurs fans to appreciate how damn good our Spurs have been for so long. I want to see Spurs play solid ball and execute. Hard to envision at times. Really hope to avoid Utah.
No, many a spurfan doesn't appreciate... Many were of the arrogance to say the regular season didn't matter. They have been spoiled. Many of them are going through a season in which the team struggled through adversity but still made the playoffs and instead of appreciating, they want to trade Aldridge and tank.

[baseline bum]

This. Re-arranging deck chairs on the titanic and calling it a success is beyond stupid. The team was given the opportunity to overhaul its roster and decided to go all in on mediocrity. No Kawhi for a year along with trades of LMA and/or Patty would have cleaned the deck, yielded a good-to-great pick in a deep draft, and shorn up the teams salaries. It also would have hit a reset on the age of key player's: LMA is what, 7 years older than Kawhi?

It's truly sad to see fans groveling over a first-round-and-out performance. Losing in 5 to HOU or GSW is a perfect punctuation mark on a wasted, lost season.

Completely fucking lost season. :pctoss

[baseline bum]

No, many a spurfan doesn't appreciate... Many were of the arrogance to say the regular season didn't matter. They have been spoiled. Many of them are going through a season in which the team struggled through adversity but still made the playoffs and instead of appreciating, they want to trade Aldridge and tank.

Fuck off, you guys are spoiled acting like Aldridge is Duncan or something. This guy wanted out last summer back when the team was an actual contender. An aging Aldridge makes no sense whatsoever to keep when this team is losing Leonard and needs a complete rebuild. Throwing the future away just to tread water as an old team struggling to make the playoffs is stupid. Since they made the playoffs, guaranteeing a much worse pick, the only assets they have to try to build a team again are Aldridge and Murray, and trading Murray doesn't make much sense at his age when he is likely to be at least low end starting material when he hits his prime.

[SAGirl]

Fuck off, you guys are spoiled acting like Aldridge is Duncan or something. This guy wanted out last summer back when the team was an actual contender. An aging Aldridge makes no sense whatsoever to keep when this team is losing Leonard and needs a complete rebuild. Throwing the future away just to tread water as an old team struggling to make the playoffs is stupid. Since they made the playoffs, guaranteeing a much worse pick, the only assets they have to try to build a team again are Aldridge and Murray, and trading Murray doesn't make much sense at his age when he is likely to be at least low end starting material when he hits his prime.
You fuck off. :depressedboohoo we have struggled. Boohoo team sucks... Bwaaaa let's tank:cry:cry
that's how you sound :lol.

[HarlemHeat37]

Based on forum expectations, it's already been a success, tbh..

A significant % of posters here said the Spurs would be worse than the Thunder, Nuggets and Wolves WITH Kawhi and a non-playoff team without him..

[SAGirl]

Based on forum expectations, it's already been a success, tbh..

A significant % of posters here said the Spurs would be worse than the Thunder, Nuggets and Wolves WITH Kawhi and a non-playoff team without him..
Wow you are wiseeee.....
I had forgotten the number of posters that said they were a lottery team without him.... Came close. Perhaps they are upset bc their expectations weren't fulfilled for the worse.

[baseline bum]

You fuck off. :depressedboohoo we have struggled. Boohoo team sucks... Bwaaaa let's tank:cry:cry
that's how you sound

I have followed this team through a full rebuild before so spare me your bullshit. It worked out great because they got top level talent the only way San Antonio can: through the draft. That full rebuild was the foundation for the greatest era you'll ever see for an NBA team. There is no reason to keep an aging team together when it's only capable of being a very low end playoff team. Duncan is already gone. Manu will be too in 5-6 games. Parker has absolutely nothing left in the tank. Leonard seems like he's gone. There is no reason to keep a currently mediocre team with no future together when the Spurs have the best drafting GM in league history to build this team back into a contender.

[SAGirl]

I have followed this team through a full rebuild before so spare me your bullshit. It worked out great because they got top level talent the only way San Antonio can: through the draft. That full rebuild was the foundation for the greatest era you'll ever see for an NBA team. There is no reason to keep an aging team together when it's only capable of being a very low end playoff team. Duncan is already gone. Manu will be too in 5-6 games. Parker has absolutely nothing left in the tank. Leonard seems like he's gone. There is no reason to keep a currently mediocre team with no future together when the Spurs have the best drafting GM in league history to build this team back into a contender.
You can wait to rebuild when Manu retires, LMA falls off a cliff and you find out what's up with Kawhi. As Chinook said team can fall off from the playoffs for real and then you can tank....

You can always tank anytime but you can't make the playoffs again and have a competitive team any time you want. When you become the Mavs many seasons can go by tanking and not sniffing the playoffs again...

As I said, you can always tank, always but making the playoffs you can't take that for granted.

I think old time fans are really spoiled bc team got lucky with Tim and then Kiwi and they assume they will get that lucky again. But you aren't guaranteed that again and in fact bad luck is bound to strike the Spurs sometime.

[baseline bum]

You can wait to rebuild when Manu retires, LMA falls off a cliff and you find out what's up with Kawhi. As Chinook said team can fall off from the playoffs for real and then you can tank....

You can always tank anytime but you can't make the playoffs again and have a competitive team any time you want. When you become the Mavs many seasons can go by tanking and not sniffing the playoffs again...

As I said, you can always tank, always but making the playoffs you can't take that for granted.

I think old time fans are really spoiled bc team got lucky with Tim and then Kiwi and they assume they will get that lucky again. But you aren't guaranteed that again and in fact bad luck is bound to strike the Spurs sometime.

I wasn't talking about 96, I was talking about 86, which is the last time the team did a full rebuild. This team isn't a contender with a puncher's chance at a title with Aldridge and no Leonard, so if Leonard's gone (and I can't see any reason to think otherwise given his act this year) throwing away the future to spend a couple more years in mediocrity is nonsensical. And holding onto Aldridge until he turns into Gasol is absolutely throwing away the future considering his trade stock is as high as it's ever going to be again right now. You can tank any time sure, but you could tank with extra assets for the future by selling high on an Aldridge who isn't taking you anywhere near contention anyways.

[SAGirl]

I wasn't talking about 96, I was talking about 86, which is the last time the team did a full rebuild. This team isn't a contender with a puncher's chance at a title with Aldridge and no Leonard, so if Leonard's gone (and I can't see any reason to think otherwise given his act this year) throwing away the future to spend a couple more years in mediocrity is nonsensical. And holding onto Aldridge until he turns into Gasol is absolutely throwing away the future considering his trade stock is as high as it's ever going to be again right now. You can tank any time sure, but you could tank with extra assets for the future by selling high on an Aldridge who isn't taking you anywhere near contention anyways.
People didn't think this team was a contender with a healthy Leonard... So cliff diving is all too common here with a
spoiled spurfan. I am not happy about Gasol's deal or Mills. I thought they needed at least one great guard and Gasol was bad in Chicago with Jimmy Butler, so I thought he was done as an elite player even when They initially signed him. I didn't want him for that many more years. They tried to improve the guard situation through trades and it didn't work out, but I don't know that Leonard is gone and neither do you. And if it happens you can rebuild then, maybe you can still trade him.

I think he's legit hurt and will be back and Spurs thought for at least half a season he was going to play this year so tanking this year was ridiculous. As late as mid-march he was still in S.A. And hoped to play.

My concern really is for his career, that he won't play again. I know people dismiss his injury like he's malingering but he has no motivation to do that. But only after you find out he's done as a player do you do a firesale. You will get pennies on the dollar and face a long road ahead to rebuild anyways if it comes to that. It's not a lost season for me.

[vy65]

You can wait to rebuild when Manu retires, LMA falls off a cliff and you find out what's up with Kawhi. As Chinook said team can fall off from the playoffs for real and then you can tank....

You can always tank anytime but you can't make the playoffs again and have a competitive team any time you want. When you become the Mavs many seasons can go by tanking and not sniffing the playoffs again...

As I said, you can always tank, always but making the playoffs you can't take that for granted.

I think old time fans are really spoiled bc team got lucky with Tim and then Kiwi and they assume they will get that lucky again. But you aren't guaranteed that again and in fact bad luck is bound to strike the Spurs sometime.

A tank is only as good as the talent in the draft. You can tank as you say, but it doesn't matter if the talent available to draft is mediocre-at-best. You actually said it yourself - you cannot assume you will get that lucky again - so you have to be strategic in how you tank.

So no, you can't always tank.

[Chinook]

I wasn't talking about 96, I was talking about 86, which is the last time the team did a full rebuild. This team isn't a contender with a puncher's chance at a title with Aldridge and no Leonard, so if Leonard's gone (and I can't see any reason to think otherwise given his act this year) throwing away the future to spend a couple more years in mediocrity is nonsensical.

It's not nonsensical at all. Had Kawhi not been on the team at all, this season would have been fine. Sure, the idea of a title seems remote, but they would have won some games and given some nice moments. Hell, fully healthy (not Kawhi) they would have clinched quite a while ago, and we'd be talking about what team would be coming to SA this weekend. THIS would be a great season for a typical NBA fan. You, for all your experience, are spoiled as well by a team that's only been under .500 for eight seasons in 50 years. Bragging about sitting through a three-year "rebuild" is hilarious. It's a complete is connect from what real rebuilding team go through. What makes it worse is that the Spurs happened to be in position to draft a true legend in their first lottery, which simply isn't something you can expect. Dave wasn't some wily pick. They get the second pick instead of the first, and that player pairs with Sean to keep the team in purgatory for a long time.


holding onto Aldridge until he turns into Gasol is absolutely throwing away the future considering his trade stock is as high as it's ever going to be again right now.

Oh the pain of missing out on like a mid-first in order have a couple of decent seasons left. How ever could they recover? Ask Sacramento if they'd give up one of their mid-firsts from recent years to be in position to play games in late April.

[baseline bum]

It's not nonsensical at all. Had Kawhi not been on the team at all, this season would have been fine. Sure, the idea of a title seems remote, but they would have won some games and given some nice moments. Hell, fully healthy (not Kawhi) they would have clinched quite a while ago, and we'd be talking about what team would be coming to SA this weekend. THIS would be a great season for a typical NBA fan. You, for all your experience, are spoiled as well by a team that's only been under .500 for eight seasons in 50 years. Bragging about sitting through a three-year "rebuild" is hilarious. It's a complete is connect from what real rebuilding team go through. What makes it worse is that the Spurs happened to be in position to draft a true legend in their first lottery, which simply isn't something you can expect. Dave wasn't some wily pick. They get the second pick instead of the first, and that player pairs with Sean to keep the team in purgatory for a long time.



Oh the pain of missing out on like a mid-first in order have a couple of decent seasons left. How ever could they recover? Ask Sacramento if they'd give up one of their mid-firsts from recent years to be in position to play games in late April.

I don't understand how not wanting the team stuck in mediocrity is being spoiled. And it was a four year rebuild, just like Philly's would have been if not for bad luck with injuries last season. Given that four year seniors declaring for the draft is incredibly rare now, I like the Spurs' odds better than I would have in the 80s rebuilding. Nowadays you can get that franchise player at #2 or #3 or #5 if you have the talent in the front office to spot the real diamonds, which the Spurs absolutely do. It's not quite the crapshoot it was then when you just had to get lucky and get put in position to make the obvious pick. If they didn't have Buford running their drafts I probably would say to hold onto those late playoff berths as long as possible, but as long as they don't lose Buford I don't think you're going to see the Spurs drafting Nick Stauskas, Jimmer Fredette, Anthony Bennett, Jan Vesely, Hasheem Thabeet, etc with their highest picks. Buford is the reason I'm not scared of a full rebuild when the alternative is only being an old and low-end playoff team with minimal young talent for a couple of years.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Draw Warriors in first round, step on as many ankles as possible.

[offset formation]

Homecourt in first round of playoffs would be unthinkable for any other team in the league missing it's best player for 73 games.

As it is, the team has both over and underperformed. Should have won several more games if they weren't in a KKawhi-funkfor most of it.

[baseline bum]

I also think Spurs fans are spoiled by Duncan into thinking Aldridge is going to age like Tim did. Like Tim didn't just kill himself in the gym and in practice to be that player he remained into his late 30s and even his last year before injuring the good knee. I still remember an article from a couple of years ago (I think it was Express News but I could be wrong) where Aldridge was marveling at the workout Duncan was doing and wondering how Tim could handle it, to which Duncan replied you have to do this if you want to keep playing. To which Aldridge walked off instead of joining Tim.

[vy65]

This morning Jason Garrett of Arriosti Sports Therapy shared an interesting story regarding Aldridge on Mike Taylor's radio show. He said Tim and Lamarcus were working out together (doing one on one drills) and Lamarcus was exhausted. LA stopped playing and said something like "Man, I don't know how you do it". Tim said, "If you want to be playing when you're 39, you gotta work. Let's go." LaMarcus said "Nah, I'm done" and walked off the court.

We all know that Tim was/is a gym rat and one of the greatest of all time but I think this reflects poorly on Aldridge. Sometimes the body doesn't follow the mind and you end up being a blowhard. I wonder if he really he wants to be great or if he's willing to work for it.

[spurraider21]

i can see aldridge aging into knicks version of zach randolph

[eric365]

Knowing Kawhi out at the beginning of the season, success would be a top 3 draft pick in a 1997’ fashion

[offset formation]

Why has this thread turned into a LA bashing when he is the only reason we've stayed afloat this year. Perhaps Aldridge just wasn't feeling good that day or was having a bad day in general. Happens to all of us. And I dont have any heart issues like he does.

Point is, he may have grown up some since even if he wasn't having a bad day of **practicing**

In my view, LA has earned his stripes.

[baseline bum]

This morning Jason Garrett of Arriosti Sports Therapy shared an interesting story regarding Aldridge on Mike Taylor's radio show. He said Tim and Lamarcus were working out together (doing one on one drills) and Lamarcus was exhausted. LA stopped playing and said something like "Man, I don't know how you do it". Tim said, "If you want to be playing when you're 39, you gotta work. Let's go." LaMarcus said "Nah, I'm done" and walked off the court.

We all know that Tim was/is a gym rat and one of the greatest of all time but I think this reflects poorly on Aldridge. Sometimes the body doesn't follow the mind and you end up being a blowhard. I wonder if he really he wants to be great or if he's willing to work for it.

Nice find :tu

[Chinook]

I don't understand how not wanting the team stuck in mediocrity is being spoiled. And it was a four year rebuild, just like Philly's would have been if not for bad luck with injuries last season. Given that four year seniors declaring for the draft is incredibly rare now, I like the Spurs' odds better than I would have in the 80s rebuilding. Nowadays you can get that franchise player at #2 or #3 or #5 if you have the talent in the front office to spot the real diamonds, which the Spurs absolutely do. It's not quite the crapshoot it was then when you just had to get lucky and get put in position to make the obvious pick. If they didn't have Buford running their drafts I probably would say to hold onto those late playoff berths as long as possible, but as long as they don't lose Buford I don't think you're going to see the Spurs drafting Nick Stauskas, Jimmer Fredette, Anthony Bennett, Jan Vesely, Hasheem Thabeet, etc with their highest picks. Buford is the reason I'm not scared of a full rebuild when the alternative is only being an old and low-end playoff team with minimal young talent for a couple of years.

There's a lot to pick apart here:

1) The Spurs have a chance to be 14 games above .500. That's not mediocre. They didn't need much more luck to get to 50 this year. Only a spoiled fan thinks that's comparable to true mediocrity.
2) If you're counting a 35-win season, you may as well say it was a six-year rebuild with the 37- and 41-win seasons before that. Those seem like three mediocre years before the team let the bottom fall out.
3) It's not about how good the Spurs are at drafting. Players of D-Rob's caliber come out less than once per draft. So the chances of even being in position to draft that guy are really low. Robinson's relative impact is really getting short-changed here by a supposed long-time fan. You couldn't just swap him out with another All-Star and get the same result.
4) If the Spurs can find talent latter in the draft ... then they can just continue to do so without tanking. You simultaneously hold the view that RC will lead a quick rebuild powered by great picks but then dismiss their chances at finding another Kawhi, even though they'd have at least one really good pick just by trading Leonard in the first place. It's weird. It makes more sense to give RC a top-10 pick and asking him to compliment a roster than can win 50 games than it does to tear down said roster and ask Buford to do what he never has done before and build a team from scratch.



I also think Spurs fans are spoiled by Duncan into thinking Aldridge is going to age like Tim did. Like Tim didn't just kill himself in the gym and in practice to be that player he remained into his late 30s and even his last year before injuring the good knee. I still remember an article from a couple of years ago (I think it was Express News but I could be wrong) where Aldridge was marveling at the workout Duncan was doing and wondering how Tim could handle it, to which Duncan replied you have to do this if you want to keep playing. To which Aldridge walked off instead of joining Tim.

LMA is 32 right now. Who cares if he ends up being as good as Tim was at 39? The team just needs him to be good for two more seasons. That's their window, and they can make whatever moves around the expectation of 2020 being a potential rebuilding year. Aldridge should be fine until then. Also, you don't have to be Tim to have longevity. Pau is perfectly fine physically at 37 despite bragging about not working out.

[SAGirl]

I also think Spurs fans are spoiled by Duncan into thinking Aldridge is going to age like Tim did. Like Tim didn't just kill himself in the gym and in practice to be that player he remained into his late 30s and even his last year before injuring the good knee. I still remember an article from a couple of years ago (I think it was Express News but I could be wrong) where Aldridge was marveling at the workout Duncan was doing and wondering how Tim could handle it, to which Duncan replied you have to do this if you want to keep playing. To which Aldridge walked off instead of joining Tim.
nah. I am just appreciative of the team we have this season... at least the bright spots that there are... Manu is one among them, it isn't just Aldridge.
There will be plenty of time to be cussing if they are really tanking. That is my view.
I am tired of all the whining.
You want to be miserable? There are many teams that are tanking... Memphis this year did an admirable tank job and they play OKC tonight... should be fun for ya.

[Russ]

I also think Spurs fans are spoiled by Duncan into thinking Aldridge is going to age like Tim did. Like Tim didn't just kill himself in the gym and in practice to be that player he remained into his late 30s and even his last year before injuring the good knee. I still remember an article from a couple of years ago (I think it was Express News but I could be wrong) where Aldridge was marveling at the workout Duncan was doing and wondering how Tim could handle it, to which Duncan replied you have to do this if you want to keep playing. To which Aldridge walked off instead of joining Tim.

So Aldridge will flame out earlier than Tim because he lacks the character to work out as much?

You may be right, but I don't think there's that much fairness or justice in these things.

Aldridge looks to me like he could go on for a long time.

He relies not at all on athleticism. He already runs the floor like a dork in the rec league prancing on eggshells -- what has he got to lose there?

Likewise, his offensive moves don't rely on explosiveness but rather on footwork which should stay with him.

Even his D at the rim is more based on position and smarts than hops.

He's nowhere near as good as TD but their games do seem to have some similarity in terms of longevity.

[SAGirl]

A tank is only as good as the talent in the draft. You can tank as you say, but it doesn't matter if the talent available to draft is mediocre-at-best. You actually said it yourself - you cannot assume you will get that lucky again - so you have to be strategic in how you tank.

So no, you can't always tank.
you are being a revisionist like baseline bum... yea bc Kiwi turned out to be out the entire season you want to step into a time machine go back in time, trade aldridge and tank. that wasn't an option when they thought Kawhi would play... as I said a few replies above... even as late as midmarch he was trying to play this season. There is a lot of misinformation and BS put out in the media by rival GMs and competing interests for Kiwi's attention so you can't assume anything until chips fall where they may.

[SAGirl]

Draw Warriors in first round, step on as many ankles as possible.
:flag::lol
I much prefer fans like you... than all these bunch of whiners and self defeatists tbh... I don't know how else to describe all these :cry

[baseline bum]

you are being a revisionist like baseline bum... yea bc Kiwi turned out to be out the entire season you want to step into a time machine go back in time, trade aldridge and tank. that wasn't an option when they thought Kawhi would play... as I said a few replies above... even as late as midmarch he was trying to play this season. There is a lot of misinformation and BS put out in the media by rival GMs and competing interests for Kiwi's attention so you can't assume anything until chips fall where they may.

You're a dumbass. I specifically said had I known Leonard was going to be out for the season I would have traded Aldridge and tanked, which is what he was agreeing with.

[vy65]

you are being a revisionist like baseline bum... yea bc Kiwi turned out to be out the entire season you want to step into a time machine go back in time, trade aldridge and tank. that wasn't an option when they thought Kawhi would play... as I said a few replies above... even as late as midmarch he was trying to play this season. There is a lot of misinformation and BS put out in the media by rival GMs and competing interests for Kiwi's attention so you can't assume anything until chips fall where they may.

This is fascinatingly irrelevant to the point of my post.

[baseline bum]

So Aldridge will flame out earlier than Tim because he lacks the character to work out as much?

You may be right, but I don't think there's that much fairness or justice in these things.

Aldridge looks to me like he could go on for a long time.

He relies not at all on athleticism. He already runs the floor like a dork in the rec league prancing on eggshells -- what has he got to lose there?

Likewise, his offensive moves don't rely on explosiveness but rather on footwork which should stay with him.

Even his D at the rim is more based on position and smarts than hops.

He's nowhere near as good as TD but their games do seem to have some similarity in terms of longevity.

I wasn't making a character judgement. If his heart can't handle Duncan's level of workouts then that could be what causes him to age not nearly as well.

[baseline bum]

There's a lot to pick apart here:

1) The Spurs have a chance to be 14 games above .500. That's not mediocre. They didn't need much more luck to get to 50 this year. Only a spoiled fan thinks that's comparable to true mediocrity.
2) If you're counting a 35-win season, you may as well say it was a six-year rebuild with the 37- and 41-win seasons before that. Those seem like three mediocre years before the team let the bottom fall out.
3) It's not about how good the Spurs are at drafting. Players of D-Rob's caliber come out less than once per draft. So the chances of even being in position to draft that guy are really low. Robinson's relative impact is really getting short-changed here by a supposed long-time fan. You couldn't just swap him out with another All-Star and get the same result.
4) If the Spurs can find talent latter in the draft ... then they can just continue to do so without tanking. You simultaneously hold the view that RC will lead a quick rebuild powered by great picks but then dismiss their chances at finding another Kawhi, even though they'd have at least one really good pick just by trading Leonard in the first place. It's weird. It makes more sense to give RC a top-10 pick and asking him to compliment a roster than can win 50 games than it does to tear down said roster and ask Buford to do what he never has done before and build a team from scratch.




LMA is 32 right now. Who cares if he ends up being as good as Tim was at 39? The team just needs him to be good for two more seasons. That's their window, and they can make whatever moves around the expectation of 2020 being a potential rebuilding year. Aldridge should be fine until then. Also, you don't have to be Tim to have longevity. Pau is perfectly fine physically at 37 despite bragging about not working out.

1) Look at their record against the other playoff teams in the west and get back to me about how good they are. Tell me about their road record too.
2) I'm counting the years from when they dumped Iguodala
3-4) You bitching about how rare a Robinson is and then want to put all your eggs into one basket with one decent draft pick from trading Leonard is kind of strange. I want multiple shots with good picks that would come from dumping Aldridge and tanking in addition to what they'd get for Kawhi. Stockpile picks and try to get a Durant but hope you get lucky enough that it's a LeBron or a Duncan instead.

LMA is two months shy of 33. What is this two year window they have? Is Aldridge going to get better over those next two seasons? Pau is perfectly lousy at age 37, at least for the money. I just don't get the upside at keeping a mediocre team together when it's going to be on a downward trend.

[Russ]

I wasn't making a character judgement. If his heart can't handle Duncan's level of workouts then that could be what causes him to age not nearly as well.

I didn't mean to imply it was strictly a character issue. It's just that physiology is random -- you can do all the right things and still die of some horrific disease or do all the wrong things and live a long long time.

What you do (can control) is just one of many factors.

However, your point about Aldridge's heart problem is a good one (but, ironically, working out less might actually help minimize that).

[SAGirl]

You're a dumbass. I specifically said had I known Leonard was going to be out for the season I would have traded Aldridge and tanked, which is what he was agreeing with.
then why are you having all these self defeating posts?
If your hypothetical scenario is not the reality, be a fan and enjoy whatever happens. Heck I'll be happy if Lamarcus doesn't repeat the appearance he had against GSW last season... His little mini redemption tour has been enjoyable... I mean we are fans here. And I was quite critical of LMA last summer... you can find posts from me somewhere getting upset that he was doubting himself passing up shots that were good and then taking awful shots like his mind forgot how to play basketball and disappearing. I enjoyed Manu this season too and Kyle if I am going to be honest. There is some hope with Dijon and also, I wished White had played. Rudy Gay lately is playing very well. There is always something enjoyable. IF you can't find joy in this team this year... then that is why I said you are acting like a whiner and being miserable.

I do understand the frustration with Kawhi... but we didn't know then what we know now... and we don't know for a fact he will not be back.. that still lies in the future. We thought Lamarcus was going to get traded last season and it didn't happen, so let this thing with Kawhi play out.

[baseline bum]

then why are you having all these self defeating posts?
If your hypothetical scenario is not the reality, be a fan and enjoy whatever happens. Heck I'll be happy if Lamarcus doesn't repeat the appearance he had against GSW last season... His little mini redemption tour has been enjoyable... I mean we are fans here. And I was quite critical of LMA last summer... you can find posts from me somewhere getting upset that he was doubting himself passing up shots that were good and then taking awful shots like his mind forgot how to play basketball and disappearing. I enjoyed Manu last season though and Kyle if I am going to be honest. There is always something enjoyable. IF you can't find joy in this team this year... then that is why I said you are acting like a whiner and being miserable.

I do understand the frustration with Kawhi... but we didn't know then what we know now... and we don't know for a fact he will not be back.. that still lies in the future. We thought Lamarcus was going to get traded last season and it didn't happen, so let this thing with Kawhi play out.

By your logic I can't complain about them throwing ridiculous contracts at Mills and Gasol or when they did it with Jefferson and Bonner for fear of being a spoiled fan. It's stupid to call it whining when someone sees the team making a mistake. When I'm in the middle of watching the games this season I illogically root for them to win but the other 22 hours of the day I think it's better for the team to focus on the big picture.

[SAGirl]

This is fascinatingly irrelevant to the point of my post.
it is relevant bc you are talking about being disappointed this season bc they should have tanked...

[vy65]

it is relevant bc you are talking about being disappointed this season bc they should have tanked...

Incorrect. The point I was responding to was your silly notion that you can draft whenever you like. Saying PATFO didn't know then what they know now is irrelevant to whether you can tank whenever you like.

[SAGirl]

By your logic I can't complain about them throwing ridiculous contracts at Mills and Gasol or when they did it with Jefferson and Bonner for fear of being a spoiled fan. It's stupid to call it whining when someone sees the team making a mistake. When I'm in the middle of watching the games this season I illogically root for them to win but the other 22 hours of the day I think it's better for the team to focus on the big picture.
yea you can complain, heck I have complained plenty about it too... I complain a fair amount, sometimes I get tired of myself complaining so I give myself a reprieve bc I wear myself out with my own cacophony...

but this thread is about how you measure success this year... and for you its a failure bc they didn't tank... (as you said hypothetical scneario where they can nostradamus the entire outcome with Kawhi and Ruy missing 30 games and judging they are better off throwing it all away at the beginning of the year and going in a tank at the beginning of this season.) Are you listening to yourself? This team reached the WCF last year and was looking very good b4 the injury... had they scratched the entire team to go tankastic this year... I have never seen something like that.

I suppose one can't expect fans to be rational. But I can't join you in that line of thinking. As Pop said about Kawhi: it's just an unfortunate situation...

[SAGirl]

Incorrect. The point I was responding to was your silly notion that you can draft whenever you like. Saying PATFO didn't know then what they know now is irrelevant to whether you can tank whenever you like.
you are going in circles and there is no point to follow you there.

[vy65]

you are going in circles and there is no point to follow you there.

Not at all. It's a pretty basic point.

[baseline bum]

yea you can complain, heck I have complained plenty about it too... I complain a fair amount, sometimes I get tired of myself complaining so I give myself a reprieve bc I wear myself out with my own cacophony...

but this thread is about how you measure success this year... and for you its a failure bc they didn't tank... (as you said hypothetical scneario where they can nostradamus the entire outcome with Kawhi and Ruy missing 30 games and judging they are better off throwing it all away at the beginning of the year and going in a tank at the beginning of this season.) Are you listening to yourself? This team reached the WCF last year and was looking very good b4 the injury... had they scratched the entire team to go tankastic this year... I have never seen something like that.

I suppose one can't expect fans to be rational. But I can't join you in that line of thinking. As Pop said about Kawhi: it's just an unfortunate situation...

It was based on conditioning on Kawhi being known to be out for the season. It's a hypothetical.

[Chinook]

1) Look at their record against the other playoff teams in the west and get back to me about how good they are. Tell me about their road record too.

1) Their records against playoff West teams besides Houston and GS was fine. It wasn't great, but it was middle-of-the-pack. If they beat NO tonight, they would have only lost one series against teams 3-9 in their conference. The only team in that range that didn't lose a single season series to their peers is Denver, and that won't be true if Minny beats them tonight. Also, it's not like they got trounced by Utah. They easily could have won another game or two in that series, and were even closer to sweeping NO going into tonight. And I'll go ahead and cut off the "but the they didn't" retort. They indeed didn't get it done. But the gap between doing it and failing to do it isn't a superstar/MVP candidate. It wouldn't take much improvement to get them to a point comfortably beyond this year's Portland team.
2) Talking about the Spurs, not the Sixers.
3) It's not weird. I'm not the one saying to put all the eggs in the drafting basket. Give RC a decent pick and see who he can add to a cleaner version of the current roster (since a Kawhi trade would have multiple moving parts for all teams involved). The option of tanking in the future doesn't go away just because they didn't do it this year. And your general view that they'll get a foundational piece within four years without specifically considering the talent coming out seems to suggest the only harm to waiting in your mind is having to "endure" a couple more 48-win seasons. Spoiled AF.


LMA is two months shy of 33. What is this two year window they have? Is Aldridge going to get better over those next two seasons? Pau is perfectly lousy at age 37, at least for the money. I just don't get the upside at keeping a mediocre team together when it's going to be on a downward trend.

1a) They have two years to build around Aldridge. That can involve seeing what they get for Kawhi and how they can swing roster upgrades off that. Worst-case scenario is LMA declines, and they waive him in 2020 and start over. Very few teams have a better "worst case" than that.
2a) Pau is physically fine at 37. He's "lousy" because he doesn't give a shit move of the time. There have been almost no signs of Pau getting worse in the past four years. Hell, even in games where Pau played for more than 30 minutes this year, he averaged 18/13 /6 per-36 on 53-percent shooting.
3a) Spurs are not mediocre. No amount of repetition will make that claim sound any less spoiled.

[SAGirl]

It was based on conditioning on Kawhi being known to be out for the season. It's a hypothetical.

I think in reality you are frustrated by the entire Kawhi Leonard saga and you would rather start over. that is a rational approach, not for this year, bc you didn't know Kiwi would miss the entire season. You still don't know he will not be back ever, or wants out and all of those rumors but ok you are eating up all the rumors and I can't say I blame you.

So bottom line, I think the Kiwi experience ruined this year for you and you don't care what happens to the team at this point for the postseason. It's been an entire failure bc he didn't play and nothing they can do can right that ship with you.

That kind of frustration I can understand.

[Chinook]

It was based on conditioning on Kawhi being known to be out for the season. It's a hypothetical.

I'm also not sure why you are up on this scenario. The idea for this would be to get a high pick to compliment Kawhi, but knowing what we know now doesn't make me feel any better about building around Leonard. If anything, had I known what was going to happen, I would have dealt Kawhi when his value was high for an unprotected pick and let Leonard tank that team's season instead. The idea of having Kemba on the roster this whole season and a top-five pick in the draft seems much more appealing than having a mid-first from Aldridge, a horrible season and maybe a top-five pick if they could have boxed out teams like Dallas who were actively sitting guys to lose more games.

[Proxy]

meh, '14 is a peak moment as a sports fan, and given Kawhi's shit, I'm really proud of the team for being where they are this year. Team has never had a loser's mentality since I've been alive, so the tanking shit goes against what I've always enjoyed about this organization. Wouldn't mind the team moving to Seattle once Manu and Pop leave, let the franchise go out with the Duncan/Pop era fairy tale because it isn't going to happen again

[tholdren]

You fuck off. :depressedboohoo we have struggled. Boohoo team sucks... Bwaaaa let's tank:cry:cry
that's how you sound :lol.

Sa girl instantly got better looking now that these types of posts are happening. Fingers crossed you are really a woman.

[SAGirl]

I'm also not sure why you are up on this scenario. The idea for this would be to get a high pick to compliment Kawhi, but knowing what we know now doesn't make me feel any better about building around Leonard. If anything, had I known what was going to happen, I would have dealt Kawhi when his value was high for an unprotected pick and let Leonard tank that team's season instead. The idea of having Kemba on the roster this whole season and a top-five pick in the draft seems much more appealing than having a mid-first from Aldridge, a horrible season and maybe a top-five pick if they could have boxed out teams like Dallas who were actively sitting guys to lose more games.
Wow... if we had a nostradamus machine or a time machine... dealing leonard last summer would have been a coup... which is why these scenarios are :bang

Bottom line I think plenty of fans are frustrated by Kiwi's injury and the saga... that they will just consider this season a failure pretty much. don't have to justify that feeling I guess, we are talking about fandom.

:bobo I just have to respect that POV I guess. I have been frustrated a fair amount too at times. My biggest projected regret is that White didn't get an opportunity this year, I think he could have helped a guard rotation that struggles to score but I think Pop is loyal to Tony and for some reason Bryn. that is a subject for another thread I suppose.

[Dingle Barry]

My NFL team (until the prick moved em) was the St. Louis Rams and they had about a 5 year incredible run where they were extremely dominant. And then they had a .500 season in '05. It was so deflating. They still made the playoffs and actually became the first 6th (last) seed in history to win. Regardless, I was beyond annoyed as a fan. And then things got worse. They never saw .500 again. And years of 4-12, 1-15, 6-10, I dreamed of an 8-8 season and a taste of the playoffs again. No Super Bowl aspirations necessary, just a competitive season. What I would have given to see that.

It's hard to do as spoiled Spurs fans, but we've got to do our best to eat this up while we can. Who knows, in 5 years, we could be longing for just a 7th seed playoff appearance. A team that despite jokes and mellow-drama, is competitive, respectable, and has potential to beat anybody. Because all foolishness aside, our guys can potentially beat anybody or at least make a series interesting.

We're still in a golden age if you ask me. I'm trying to soak this season in as much as I can. We're not guaranteed another winning season ever again, Pop or not.

Great post. But I don't think anyone here would debate the point that we're spoiled. It's hard to get proper perspective when you've been on the run we have. Which makes it scary to think of the attendance at ATT when the bottom falls out.

[SAGirl]

Great post. But I don't think anyone here would debate the point that we're spoiled. It's hard to get proper perspective when you've been on the run we have. Which makes it scary to think of the attendance at ATT when the bottom falls out.
baseline bum will debate.

[Down Under]

Winning the 1st round would be a very successful season.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

:flag::lol
I much prefer fans like you... than all these bunch of whiners and self defeatists tbh... I don't know how else to describe all these :cry

:toast

I miss the "dirty" label. We aren't winning a championship, let's go ruin someone elses chance.

[MultiTroll]

Slim pickins.
For me the small successes were:

Seeing Murray progress until he can get on another team or the Spurs get a competent coach and FO.

Watching the Spurs Dancers.
Liked watching Rudy when he was on. The guy has some great offensive skills, albeit streaky.
Reading the burns on Snowflake Popped. Props to ElNono etc. :lol
Watching LMA bully nigs at the end of this season. WTF he couldn't have been doing this 2 years. :rolleyes