Solid D
07-15-2006, 11:37 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA071606.7C.COL.BKNmonroe.spurs.1299bec.html
Mike Monroe: Spurs, like top threats, won't be making a big move
Web Posted: 07/15/2006 09:29 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
The midpoint of the summer has come and gone, and the Spurs' search for a starting center amounts to hoping the Nuggets and/or Knicks decide $2.5 million a year — give or take a few hundred thou — constitutes overpaying Francisco Elson and Jackie Butler.
The Spurs also have replaced Nick Van Exel with Jacque Vaughn, a hard-working 31-year-old with a perimeter shot reminiscent of Avery Johnson's. That means it is anything but reliable, but slightly less frightening than Van Exel's heaves were by the time the playoffs ended.
These moves are anything but overwhelming for a team most believed needed to get both younger and more athletic to keep pace in the Western Conference.
But is it time to worry?
Better to recall what Gregg Popovich said the day after the crushing disappointment of the Spurs' overtime loss to the Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, a series they played, by and large, without using Rasho Nesterovic or Nazr Mohammed, and with Van Exel's role minimized.
"I listen to how athletic Dallas was and how we couldn't handle it, and it just makes me smile," Popovich, the Spurs' coach and executive vice-president of basketball operations, said then, "because if you win, there's all kinds of things you did well. If you lose, there's got to be reasons why you lost. So if they're more athletic, I need to figure out how much more to win by a point. How much more athletic is that?"
It is also worth scanning the moves made by the Spurs' primary competitors for supremacy in the West before concluding the Spurs are taking a step backwards if they go to training camp with Elson and Butler, just one of the two, or a mystery big man who would have to be added if neither winds up in silver and black.
Start with the Mavericks, who would have won the championship in June had they not imploded, done in by self-pity and panic. The most significant offseason occurrence for the Mavericks thus far was failing to talk free-agent guard Mike James into joining their quest for a title. Despite a personal appeal by Johnson, James is headed for Minnesota.
The Mavericks needed only to tweak their lineup to remain a power, though, and they added another solid defender when they brought back Greg Buckner. But nothing they have done thus far has made them significantly better. They were this close to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, though, and would have been the team to beat in the West had they done nothing this offseason.
Then consider the Suns, who lost a valuable contributor when Tim Thomas bolted and who lost a bid to sign John Salmons when the man who built their roster, Bryan Colangelo, talked Salmons into heading to Toronto.
The Suns have made back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals, but unless Amare Stoudemire truly is recovered from surgery enough to be, well, Amare Stoudemire, they won't be as good as they were in 2005-06.
The Clippers, a team on the upswing, won't miss Vladimir Radmanovic if Thomas plays as well as he did for Phoenix. Getting Sam Cassell to re-up was mandatory, and they did that.
The Kings were one of the four best teams in the West by the time the regular season ended. Their biggest offseason move was hiring Eric Musselman to replace Rick Adelman, which means they will put much more emphasis on defense. That should keep Ron Artest happy, though Mike Bibby may have some awkward moments with his new coach. If free agent Bonzi Wells gets away, the Kings won't be as good as they were in their playoff run against the Spurs.
No Western team changed its core more than the Hornets, but not enough to jump from outside the playoffs to the top of the conference. Teams like the Nuggets, Lakers, Jazz, T-Wolves and Rockets should worry a bit about them, but not the Spurs, Mavs, Suns and Clippers.
In sum, the Spurs aren't going to make the sort of splashy offseason move that last summer's unique luxury tax amnesty ruling afforded them when Michael Finley became available, for a pittance.
Neither, though, are the teams they have to beat to make a return to the NBA Finals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]
Mike Monroe: Spurs, like top threats, won't be making a big move
Web Posted: 07/15/2006 09:29 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
The midpoint of the summer has come and gone, and the Spurs' search for a starting center amounts to hoping the Nuggets and/or Knicks decide $2.5 million a year — give or take a few hundred thou — constitutes overpaying Francisco Elson and Jackie Butler.
The Spurs also have replaced Nick Van Exel with Jacque Vaughn, a hard-working 31-year-old with a perimeter shot reminiscent of Avery Johnson's. That means it is anything but reliable, but slightly less frightening than Van Exel's heaves were by the time the playoffs ended.
These moves are anything but overwhelming for a team most believed needed to get both younger and more athletic to keep pace in the Western Conference.
But is it time to worry?
Better to recall what Gregg Popovich said the day after the crushing disappointment of the Spurs' overtime loss to the Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, a series they played, by and large, without using Rasho Nesterovic or Nazr Mohammed, and with Van Exel's role minimized.
"I listen to how athletic Dallas was and how we couldn't handle it, and it just makes me smile," Popovich, the Spurs' coach and executive vice-president of basketball operations, said then, "because if you win, there's all kinds of things you did well. If you lose, there's got to be reasons why you lost. So if they're more athletic, I need to figure out how much more to win by a point. How much more athletic is that?"
It is also worth scanning the moves made by the Spurs' primary competitors for supremacy in the West before concluding the Spurs are taking a step backwards if they go to training camp with Elson and Butler, just one of the two, or a mystery big man who would have to be added if neither winds up in silver and black.
Start with the Mavericks, who would have won the championship in June had they not imploded, done in by self-pity and panic. The most significant offseason occurrence for the Mavericks thus far was failing to talk free-agent guard Mike James into joining their quest for a title. Despite a personal appeal by Johnson, James is headed for Minnesota.
The Mavericks needed only to tweak their lineup to remain a power, though, and they added another solid defender when they brought back Greg Buckner. But nothing they have done thus far has made them significantly better. They were this close to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, though, and would have been the team to beat in the West had they done nothing this offseason.
Then consider the Suns, who lost a valuable contributor when Tim Thomas bolted and who lost a bid to sign John Salmons when the man who built their roster, Bryan Colangelo, talked Salmons into heading to Toronto.
The Suns have made back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals, but unless Amare Stoudemire truly is recovered from surgery enough to be, well, Amare Stoudemire, they won't be as good as they were in 2005-06.
The Clippers, a team on the upswing, won't miss Vladimir Radmanovic if Thomas plays as well as he did for Phoenix. Getting Sam Cassell to re-up was mandatory, and they did that.
The Kings were one of the four best teams in the West by the time the regular season ended. Their biggest offseason move was hiring Eric Musselman to replace Rick Adelman, which means they will put much more emphasis on defense. That should keep Ron Artest happy, though Mike Bibby may have some awkward moments with his new coach. If free agent Bonzi Wells gets away, the Kings won't be as good as they were in their playoff run against the Spurs.
No Western team changed its core more than the Hornets, but not enough to jump from outside the playoffs to the top of the conference. Teams like the Nuggets, Lakers, Jazz, T-Wolves and Rockets should worry a bit about them, but not the Spurs, Mavs, Suns and Clippers.
In sum, the Spurs aren't going to make the sort of splashy offseason move that last summer's unique luxury tax amnesty ruling afforded them when Michael Finley became available, for a pittance.
Neither, though, are the teams they have to beat to make a return to the NBA Finals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]