Potential for the next big 3 (4?)

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Originally Posted by timtonymanu

This. As great as Kawhi is, he can't do it by himself since Aldridge and Parker are also aging and over 30. Besides, Duncan and Manu are irreplaceable. The Spurs will never have a duo like them again.

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Aldridge will go right back to being a high scoring All Star big man when Timmy hangs them up. He has the possibility of aging as gracefully as Timmy, with his awesome midrange game. I don't consider a big man who JUST turned 30 to be aging.

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Originally Posted by ElNono

IMO, championships are over once Tim and Manu retire... Which isn't that far fetched considering they're both HoF talent.

After that, it will take some time to build something special again

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Obviously the loss of two HOF players is huge. But IMO there is another critical factor - at least as determinative as Tim and Manu's retirement. That is: Pop will undoubtedly retire in the very near future, too. We will not just need to find players of high character, BB skill and IQ to add to our post-Tim, post-Manu (and post-Tony) roster, but we will have the extremely unenviable task of replacing a legendary coach to direct that roster.

Kawhi and LMA are an excellent core foundation, and we have some very good complementary pieces in Patty, Danny and (especially) Boris. We have some young (and/or new) guys like Kyle and Simmons and Boban who have shown promise. David West may be around beyond this season, especially if Tim hangs it up after the season. And we have a few guys in the pipeline in Europe and the D-league who might make the roster in a year or two. Plus we will have some good cap space in 2017 and 2018. We have enjoyed INCREDIBLE stability for over two decades, but the future is full of uncertainty. I do not concede that our championship era will be past, but realistically we have to contemplate not just the Spurs post-Tim and post-Manu, but post-Pop, as well.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

Aldridge will go right back to being a high scoring All Star big man when Timmy hangs them up. He has the possibility of aging as gracefully as Timmy, with his awesome midrange game. I don't consider a big man who JUST turned 30 to be aging.

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Yeah, in our recruitment of Aldridge, Pop's determination to limit players' minutes, utilize them efficiently and prolong careers was an important consideration for BOTH the Spurs and LMA. IMO, we brought Aldridge in to replicate Timmy's career trajectory and perform at a high level for the next 7-8 years. For some reason people think of Tim as the Ageless Wonder but can't bring themselves to expect something similar from LMA in our system? It doesn't make sense.