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Firstable, make NO mistake.
DON'T trade Splitter's rights.
It might seem so, maybe it's just Splitter news hysteria. I can see that as a possibility, and maybe after another couple of weeks and with the draft things will seem clearer and less gloomy.
But I'm just going off of the caproom they have, the draft, and the remaining prior draftees, and other conditions.
With the draft, it's much like the Suns who have little to show for any draft since 2003 when they traded for Barbosa. The Spurs problem goes back farther.
Spurs have the MLE and a poor free agent pool.
Their drafts since Parker don't give a great amount of confidence that the 08 picks will make a difference, whether they be foreign or domestic picks.
Maybe it's too bleak, but it's not a situation I see as merely re-loading. It's not "plug-n-play" like it has been, just sticking in established vets to fill roles.
I think their ability to be top tier depends on young players developing and growing, and that is an uncertainty compared to simply re-loading. The development and growth is no guarantee, there's no givens, as opposed to knowing generally what a Rasho would give, what an Horry would give, what a Barry would give, what a Finley would give, what a Vaughn would give, what a Udoka would give, what an Elson would give, Thomas, Nazr, etc . . . There's no certainty as to what Mahinmi or a 1st round 08 pick or Sanikidze would give. It's a crapshoot. And if those things don't work out . . . then that's the breaking point.
Firstable, make NO mistake.
DON'T trade Splitter's rights.
Why not?
If they can pakage it with a player for a starter quality player or an upgrade it would not be bad.
Because he is 23 and they will need exactly this type of player, at his peak, as Duncan ages. This guy could have a Nowitski-type of impact, if he continues to improve.
Quit just looking at what you give up in a trade. You are not considering what you will get. It depends on what they can get back. If they can get a solid starter who can help them now then it would not be a bad deal.
Splitter may not turn out to be all that good anyways.
Splitter has no trade value. Pick 45 has double the value of Splitter right now.
I agree he has little trade value and probably would not get anything back of value now but if he could then I don't see why not trade his draft rights.
Never trade Splitter's right. Keep them forever and never let him play in the NBA, Vspan, Splitter and the other pussies can stay in Europe with the NCAA hacks like Trajan Langdon!
The Spurs need to knock the draft out of the ing park, because the FA pool is pretty crappy and they have no draft pick next year.
Be open to drafting a big.
But really, this was probably a two year rebuilding job even with Splitter, with an outside shot of all the young players (Mahinmi+Splitter+rookie) being excellent. Now it looks like you can mothball contention for a while barring a miracle. It will take at least two years rebuilding and we traded away yet another opportunity for a young player getting Kurt Thomas.
The Spurs have exhausted all plausible options. Now they have to cross their fingers and hope for miracles.
We're probably looking at a slip back to 48-34 and a first-round exit next year. This isn't a contending team anymore.
If they have a good offseason, the Spurs can still beat any team in the league, aside from the Lakers.
The Lakers will be better next season, and that's the one puzzle management needs to figure out.
So we need a young, scoring 3, a dependable 2, a back up point and a frontline answer to Bynum-Gasol-Odom. Is that so difficult?
I jest. Yes, it's hard. But it can be done.
Pop and Buford need to be ballsy, think outside the box and get this done. The Spurs always only play for championships. That's the m.o. It won't change just because Splitter layed an egg.
And being ballsy probably means a willingness to take a few risks. So be it. Lay it on the line.
What I don't want to see is conservation: no Horry, no Finley, trade Bonner. We know those pieces do not represent advance.
Stop. This is a team that just made to the Western conference finals with its second best player playing on 1 leg. They're not going to fall off the planet.
The problem isn't a giant regression, it's that a couple other teams have improved. This is solvable and salvagable. No need to panic.
I've denied this the best I can, but it is slowly sinking in. Splitter is worthless.
Thanks for banging that drum. It took several beats before I caught the rhythm.
He blocks shots and rebounds.
You aren't going to find a 20/10/5 big man with the MLE or the 27th pick in the draft.
Diop is not worth the cash. The Spurs are not in a position to give MLE money to a guy who can't contribute on offense and isn't a scoring wing.
The Spurs defense is about scheme and efficient rotation, not individual stats. Re-sign Kurt Thomas, get him comfortable, and play Ian. That's enough.
Offense is the order of the day
1983 called. It wants its rationalization back.
'Thinking outside the box' - specifically in scare quotes - has been one of the problems so far. Buford and Pop thought they had it all figured out, the magic formula, that in-road to easy recruits. It's fully bombed. Now, if you're talking about them thinking outside their own box, then that's another thing. What they need to do is actually go more conventional.
This Splitter thing is bad luck, not an indictment on the system. The Spurs have won championships, in part because they didn't have worthless rookies eating up cap and roster space. Draft and stash has other benefits than simply player development. It's a model that worked for a decade. Things change, though.
But yes, I'm thinking they need to think outside their box. In this case, I think that means looking to draft a domestic player or two, among other things.
May 2008 called. wtf are you talking about?
The Spurs need a big who can play in their defensive scheme and run the floor.
It's time to put Mahinmi in the rotation and see what they have -- this is his fourth year with the team and he should be able to contribute some by now.
Elson might be worth another look in the pinch as well.
Regarding Mahinmi, if he doesn't turn out to be at least as good as Turiaff the last five years of Spurs drafting will have to be judged a complete bust.
Splitter just gave Mahinmi a golden opportunity. What would be nice is Mahinmi becoming a member of the rotation next season off the bench, then starting the following season, and then RC lets calls from BFE Spain from a certain 7 footer go straight to mail.
Compare the 1982-83 Spurs to the 1983-84 Spurs before you try making some spurious point about WCF berths guaranteeing future success.
56-26 and second round exit.
Still pretty good.
I agree.
Anyone have a link to a good Chicken Little .gif?
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