San Antonio Spurs: An Offseason in Review

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

A Spurs Offseason in Review

My expectations leading up to this offseason weren't very high. Names like Mickael Pietrus, Jannero Pargo, and Carlos Delfino sounded golden to me. I didn't expect the Spurs to make any big moves, so when tj#11 wrote on my wall one day telling me that the Spurs were going to get Corey Maggette and Ben Gordon, I tried to keep my cool.

I ran the cap numbers for the Spurs at the beginning of the offseason, and I was almost positive they were going to be around $8 or $9 million under the cap threshold, but I turned out to be wrong. I overlooked the fact that the further along a player gets in his contract, the more money he makes. Obviously this was the reason the Spurs only had the MLE and BAE to offer. Still, I was excited at the prospect of adding explosiveness on the perimeter, and for a while I thought it could be a possibility.

I grew more and more anxious, as talks of Baron Davis and Elton Brand teaming up with each other in Los Angeles swept the league, meaning that Corey Maggette would join a market not intended for a player wanting a lot of money. He began saying that he wanted to win, and could end up taking a deal for the full mid-level exception, and San Antonio was the frontrunner.

Some were even saying that if Ben Gordon got offered the full MLE from another team, the Chicago Bulls would not match. Though I found that highly doubtful, I couldn't help but get my hopes up.

Then, Maggette signed with the Golden State Warriors for $50 million over five years. I obviously couldn't blame him for going after the money; after all, the market for him was terrible, he couldn't get any offers for what he's really worth.

When a team gives you nearly twice what you would make with another team, it doesn't matter if you can win a championship with that other team. Nine times out of ten, the athlete will go after the money. I was disheartened by this unforgiving news, but I still had Ben Gordon as my hope for bringing another championship to San Antonio.

Those hopes were shattered with the signing of Wizards guard Roger Mason Jr. I didn't watch much of Washington last season, so I wasn't sure how good this signing was. Billtimore and Bueno were raving about his abilities in the Wizards forum, and how big of a loss he was for the team.

Even then, I couldn't help feeling like we made a bad decision. I didn't know what his defense looked like. His scoring was solid, but I felt we should have gotten a better player. Sure, Gordon was a long-shot, and rumors of the Bulls not matching his offer could have been false, but I would have loved him as a sixth man or starter at shooting guard. He would have provided versatility and explosiveness on the perimeter to the Spurs, something they lacked tremendously last season outside of Parker and Ginobili.

I was soon able to get over missing out on Gordon, and instead focused on the Spurs' Summer League squad. I wasn't impressed by first round pick George Hill's shooting performance, but his penetrating abilities and defense were able to (somewhat) make up for my lack of intrigue of his play.

He still looked like he needed to adjust to the point guard position, but he showed some promise if he would work on that shot. Second round pick James Gist impressed me with his energy and athleticism, and free agent Anthony Tolliver was a very consistent threat to hit three-pointers on the perimeter (as a post), and he would eventually sign a contract with the Spurs rewarding his solid performance. I was not impressed at all by the play of Malik Hairston, whom we traded for in the second round.

Ian Mahinmi was probably the most exciting young player that I got a chance to watch. He still seemed a little raw, which is to be expected at his age, but he showed promise, with his great length and athleticism. He played hard with energy, and he looked like he could be a solid addition to the big man rotation.

Though he seemed like he could be a regular in the big man rotation, I still felt like we needed to bring in another big man. We were able to re-sign Thomas, but I still felt like we needed more. Anthony Tolliver was signed to a contract, and that pretty much ruined any hopes I had of getting another big man next to Duncan.

Today, I'm confident that the Spurs have their roster settled, and aren't going to make any more additions (via free agency; trade is still a possibility). Michael Finley is expected to be re-signed, but other than that I see us staying put with what we have.

San Antonio currently has six post players, so even though we have money left over, I don't see us adding to that number anytime soon. A sign & trade with New Jersey would be intriguing, as we could net restricted free agent Nenad Krstic to play next to Duncan and stretch the floor. I don't see the Nets agreeing to that offer, however, and due to our lack of trading assets outside of The Big Three, we likely won't be adding another big name.

My grade for the Spurs offseason so far would be a B. We actually managed to put ourselves in contention for a couple of big-name free agents, but we weren't able to close a deal. We added a young guard in Roger Mason Jr. that should help us score on the perimeter, and we were able to go "out with the old, in with the new". We look to have fresher legs for the upcoming season, but I'm still not sure if these additions will get us back to the NBA Finals. The Lakers and Hornets still look stronger, but with a healthy big three, I think anything can happen.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4...ason-in-review

[Biggems]

I give us a B- because we lost Barry and didn't make a play for David Lee.

The thing that still stings me is not being able to keep Barry. I wanted him to be our primary backup at PG, and allow Hill a year to acclimate himself to the NBA or spend a year in the DLeague.

It sucks being stuck with Bonner's horrible contract. Nobody will trade for him, who would be dumb enough to take an end of bencher at 3 million for 2 years.

I really wanted David Lee. I was so very hopeful that there would be a way to pry him away from NY. I still believe that the Beno trade exception would have worked. We could have even sweetened the pot more by making another trade with NY.....a 2nd and cash for Chandler or Balkman. But that didn't happen.

I also wanted Patrick O'Bryant. He is young and raw, but you can't teach height and length. He is a legit 7 footer and if anything, could be a weakside shotblocker and rebounder off the bench for us. I think Boston found themselves a nice young player.

I was very pleased to see that we signed Tolliver. Hill will be signed soon. Gist, whom I didn't like at all when we drafted him, has shown to be a very promising prospect, especially defensively.

Mason was a nice signing. I am happy that we have found a solid player, who has great character.

digression:
While watching the draft, the one big man I wanted the most was Jason Thompson. He was projected anywhere from 20 to the second round. As the draft grew closer, he was falling to the late first/early second. I was shocked, pissed off, and disappointed that he was drafted so early by the Kings. I was hoping that he would fall to 26. But at least Donte Green was on the board....but we passed on him and took Hill instead......well now, two of my favorite players in the draft are with the Kings.

back to the post:
I am glad we re-signed Thomas. He will be valuable to have next year, and I am sure he will play better now that he has a better grasp of the system.

There are still a few spots left on the 15 man roster....well 1 actually. However, if we can somehow get Bonner off the roster, that would open up 2 spots. I would like the Spurs to take a look at Luke Jackson for the final wing spot. I would also like them to take a look at Elton "Good Eats" Brown or Pecherov to take Bonner's spot on the roster.

All in all, I like how we have kept most of our championship core in tact (still want Barry back)....while adding some young, fresh legs to the lineup. We have also remained fiscally responsible and are still major players in the 2010 FA Bonanza.

[L.I.T]

Nice summary post.

For some reason I've felt this offseason has Pop's fingerprints all over it. The team appears to have been tweaked with a defense-first mentality; more in-line with his overall philosophy. My impression may be a bit off, but it seems the last two years the Spurs were a very good defensive team, capable of shutting down teams for stretches, but missing that ability to strangle a team to death defensively for an entire game. Its almost like they were trying to eliminate those offensive droughts (only partially successfully) by having offensive first/only players and trying to mesh them with cheap defensive 'specialists': Vaughn, Elson (don't laugh, he was primarily brought in to run up and down and rebound) and Oberto (crafty and always in the right place to make a play, but limited offensively).

But, this offseason the team has brought in, and retained, defensive first guys with some offensive punch (back to the two-way players). They still might retain Finley, but I hope he comes back in the Steve Kerr 10 minute a game designated shooter role.

They'll definitely be more athletic next year and I think overall stronger defensively. No matter what role Mason plays (starting SG or 6th man) he won't need to be hid defensively as much as Finley or Barry needed to be. That alone is a vast improvement. Hill looks like a defensive upgrade over Vaughn, and no matter how bad he looked offensively in SL, he's better than Vaughn. Mahinmi in the Elson role (run and rebound) should be effective and Thomas is tough SOB with offensive skills that should come out with a full training camp.

Gist/Hairston/Tolliver are wild-cards, but one of them needs to be a hit in some fashion.

The bench is lacking in depth compared to previous teams. But then again, I remember the talk in 2003 was basically the same: Spurs are in a transition year etc. etc. So, stranger things have happened.

It feels like a Spurs offseason, subtle moves, nothing splashy, but well-positioned to be compe ive and if one or two pieces fall into place, championship ready...barring injury of course.

[tmtcsc]

Ian Mahinmi was probably the most exciting young player that I got a chance to watch. He still seemed a little raw, which is to be expected at his age, but he showed promise, with his great length and athleticism. He played hard with energy, and he looked like he could be a solid addition to the big man rotation.

Wow, what were you watching ? Unfortunately, I have to disagree. I thought he looked like an NBDL lifer at best and is far from being ready for the NBA.

[mrspurs]

i think giving the spurs a b is a little overrated, giving the fact LA and NO will be better...imo the spurs FO did a horrible job, anyone who thinks manu and duncan will be the same players next season are fooled......manu and duncan have gotten older and the FO did nothing to help them out........noway we win a ring with this current roster, unless LA or NO go thru periods of hurt players, cos i can promise you manu's ankles wont hold up again, and duncan has lost so much game its sicking(he has no legs, lost his automatic off the glass shot,2 yrs in a row to be exact, and tyson tore duncan up the PO's, NO lost cos of no experience, that wont happen again) the best thing the spurs can do is what they did few yrs back.....play toget in the lottery, we sacrificed and the next season became unstoppable....make no mistake, with this current roster, noway we win it all, i truthly believe most spurs fan dont want to face reality....we dont have a big 3 anymore, that goes to CP3,west,tyson or kobe, gasol and bynun. or KG,pierce and allen......bout time ppl wake up......and yes i love my spurs so much they pay me todo something i love doing.......putting their court together for each homegame, then taking it apart and making ice for their other sucky team the rampage.....finally a thread that makes sense

[wildbill2u]

Our premier draft choice, like all draft picks in the low first round is a gamble. Hope Hill can stick and play some ball. If we get anything out of Gist and Tolliver it will be a miraculous gift from God. But lets be hopeful that the draft will produce at least one good rotation player. Not one of these guys is going to be a star player in the forseeable future.

If we get a player who sticks on the squad, we get a B. If we send some guys to development leagues because they're potential players, it's an incomplete. But it could just as easily turn out to be a busted out F.

All summer there were big name signings and some big trades and our WC foes got better... and we got Roger Mason. When the announcement came, I had to go look him up. And I'm still not impressed.

06-07WAS6207.90.3300.3240.8750.10.60.70.60.20.10.311. 102.707-08WAS80921.40.4430.3980.8730.21.41.61.70.50.20.861 .809.1Career--1851214.30.4050.3740.8740.11.01.21.10.40.10.611.40 5.5

The guy goes from a 7 minute a game player to 21 minutes because of injuries and by tripling his time on court he triples his scoring avg---to 9 pts a game. Whee! And a 44% shooting avg for a SG on his 'breakout year" doesn't exactly inspire "Hosannas for the savior has come" in my house. Let's hope he can maintain last year's meagre production.

This is an offseason where we rolled the dice rather than made any really good moves that are guaranteed to improve the club. If it works as prayed for, we'll call it a C+/B- offseason.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I'd give the offseason a B-.
We solved the backup PG problem with Hill, although he's still a learning rookie. We replaced Barry with a young decent 20-25 mpg guy in Mason, re-signed Kurt, and got an above average late 2nd round pick in Gist. We also seemed to have found our 3rd string PF in Tolliver who can play decent minutes and spread the floor. The only question marks remaining is whether or not Finley is coming back and if not, who's gonna replace him.

I also expect some more production from the sop re Spurs, Kurt and Ime. And I also expect not as much, but still decent, effort and production from the real sop re, Ian.

There's plenty of questions regarding the Spurs, but overall, they did a decent job as they always do and I still got full confidence in them winning it all again.

[T Park]

Ian Mahinmi was probably the most exciting young player that I got a chance to watch. He still seemed a little raw, which is to be expected at his age, but he showed promise, with his great length and athleticism. He played hard with energy, and he looked like he could be a solid addition to the big man rotation.

Wow, what were you watching ? Unfortunately, I have to disagree. I thought he looked like an NBDL lifer at best and is far from being ready for the NBA.

NBDL lifer?

Pass the pipe.

[wisnub]

Only thing Im excited with: MAHINMI, I like Mason too he can shoot, I dunno about Hill becasue his summer league is not impressive at all although his tryout was a good one. Gist is good but we havent sign him, Toliver is good with 3.We lost Barry and probably keep Fin,that sucks. Thomas is okay.Overall nothimh special as usual and we missed lots of FA's and drafts. Spurs didnt need overhaul but we diefinitely missed almost all good FA's out there. Overal score is D for dumbass. ( All people that we discussed in this forum,noe of them sign w/ Spurs except Thomas)

[Zarko]

The key point that has not been mentioned in this thread is that we did all these moves without sacrificing an opportunity in 2010 to make a run at another prime time player. That alone will secure a B grade. We will need to find Tony a running mate then or he may leave us in 2011 to play for a compe ive squad with cap space.

We were inches away from hitting a grand slam with Maggette and got absolutely screwed by the economy in getting Splitter to the US, yet we still were able to remake the roster with 4 potential players under the age of 23 (Hill, Ian, Gist, Tolliver) while adding a young swing player in Mason Jr. (28) to only two years while resigning Kurt Thomas to only two years. All we ended up losing was Barry, Horry, and potentially Finley. Not to mention we avoided any risk of luxury tax for the upcoming season. All in all, I would say it has been a fairly effective offseason for the Spurs. Not as sexy as some would like.... but why are you a Spur fan if you expect sexy moves? I give us a B+ with a potential for more if we can convince a Lebron hungry team to take on Bonner for talent/picks since his contract expires in 2010.

[BWS-1994]

Lots of potential. Currently looks good on paper. Hopefully, it would work well on the court too. No big names, but if they mesh well then a passing mark would suffice.