The InBounds: San Antonio and the irreplacable model

[lurker23]

Good (albeit long) blog post here from Matt Moore, about whether other teams should (or even can) try to replicate the Spurs model.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ey...placable-model

[bigfan]

Good article; thanks for posting.

[Captivus]

Good read.
A quote, talking about the Spurs:
"They get their guys back at the price they want, because in a rare switcheroo in the NBA's constant salivating pool that shimmers beneath free agents, players want to play for San Antonio"

[urunobili]

gr8 article!

[PÒÓCH]

Kudos to Matt Moore for that very well thought out commentary. One thing that I might add, and this is just a personal opinion, I truly think the Spurs drafting a more international team and also what I consider to be more intelligent players has a lot to do with their success. Whenever I hear an interview with a guy like La Bron or Russel Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony you wonder if maybe staying in school an extra year or two would have improved their diction and general professionalism. This is one key point I don't think too many reporters are willing to tackle. Sometimes these guys are just plain dumba#$%@.

[Samr.]

Whenever I hear an interview with a guy like La Bron or Russel Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony you wonder if maybe staying in school an extra year or two would have improved their diction and general professionalism. This is one key point I don't think too many reporters are willing to tackle. Sometimes these guys are just plain dumba#$%@.

+1

Whereas the Spurs' players went to school and got their degree -- basketball school, which they have in Europe.

Guys like Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter learn their humility playing overseas, and when you compare even marginal NBA facilities to those in Europe, everything smells like roses over here. So of course they're going to stay in the green grass they know. Sunk cost theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs

Seems to me like the main question preventing duplication of the Spurs' model is, simply: "How do you get star players to take less?"

I live in San Antonio. Always have, always will. I love this city, feel safe in it, and know that it's a great place to raise a family. But I'm also mid-20s (and though married my wife and I are enjoying being child-less while we still can) and the nightlife in San Antonio leaves something to be desired. So normally what would draw young players to an area -- the city, the opportunities to "live the life" so to speak are not in San Antonio. You come to San Antonio to "settle down," not because it is a fun place to pass through.

On behalf of the Spurs, smart scouting and management certainly plays a role regarding their success. But ultimately, they somehow get players to take less than what appears to be their market value, in order to stay with the team and preserve continuity.

That's the (multi) million dollar question:

San Antonio might not be high on the list of places for players to COME to, but once they're here, why do they STAY here?

I mean come on, SA's mexican food can't be everything.... can it?

[Paranoid Pop]

+1

Whereas the Spurs' players went to school and got their degree -- basketball school, which they have in Europe.

Guys like Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter learn their humility playing overseas, and when you compare even marginal NBA facilities to those in Europe, everything smells like roses over here. So of course they're going to stay in the green grass they know. Sunk cost theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs

Seems to me like the main question preventing duplication of the Spurs' model is, simply: "How do you get star players to take less?"

I live in San Antonio. Always have, always will. I love this city, feel safe in it, and know that it's a great place to raise a family. But I'm also mid-20s (and though married my wife and I are enjoying being child-less while we still can) and the nightlife in San Antonio leaves something to be desired. So normally what would draw young players to an area -- the city, the opportunities to "live the life" so to speak are not in San Antonio. You come to San Antonio to "settle down," not because it is a fun place to pass through.

On behalf of the Spurs, smart scouting and management certainly plays a role regarding their success. But ultimately, they somehow get players to take less than what appears to be their market value, in order to stay with the team and preserve continuity.

That's the (multi) million dollar question:

San Antonio might not be high on the list of places for players to COME to, but once they're here, why do they STAY here?

I mean come on, SA's mexican food can't be everything.... can it?

Winning is the answer. Tim, TP, Manu all took less to win/contend, when FA came to SA it was because they felt they had a good a shot at winning a ring.

Well it's not the full answer, because Robinson pretty much had to talk Tim out of signing with Orlando and Pop/Tim had to talk TP out of signing with NY, their relationship/trust had a lot to do with it as well, but the trust came from winning in the first place most likely, you could argue the bonds as well kind of...

[PÒÓCH]

+1

Whereas the Spurs' players went to school and got their degree -- basketball school, which they have in Europe.

Guys like Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter learn their humility playing overseas, and when you compare even marginal NBA facilities to those in Europe, everything smells like roses over here. So of course they're going to stay in the green grass they know. Sunk cost theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs

Seems to me like the main question preventing duplication of the Spurs' model is, simply: "How do you get star players to take less?"

Thank you for the economics refresher, these players take less also because they don't have the Patrick Ewing mentality, recall the "Sure we make a lot of money, but we spend a lot, too." quote? Although the one anomaly is Stephen Jackson.

[Old School 44]

Nice article. I think another part of the model is the Spurs seem to look at countries with good basketball programs in general, and then they proceed to attempt to draft the best players or up and coming players from that country. First it was Argentina, then France, now it's Austrailia. They even took a shot at Brazil with Splitter and Canada with Joseph. Think of it this way, if you can somehow chose the greatest ever player from a pool of an entire country, there's a good chance the player is going to be good to great in the NBA. Look at Ginobilli and Parker, they're future HOFs. At this point, I think it's safe to say they are the best players EVER from their respective countries.