48MoH: Closing One Window, Cracking Open Another

[Blackjack]

Closing One Window, Cracking Open Another
by Graydon Gordian

Last week we ran a series of features exploring three options for the Spurs: Make no move; make a minor roster move; and make a major roster move. There was supposed to be one more- a post arguing that we should make moves focused on future seasons- that for various reasons was never published. After last night’s game, I felt it was appropriate to finally address the idea.

From where I stand, the situation is clear. It may be hard to stomach, but that does not affect its veracity.

Keep reading →

Also:The Coming Facelift

[SenorSpur]

Finally, my claims are validated.

Again, there is no rewards or nobility in mediocrity. As a team, you are what you are. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can move onto the plan of getting better. In the case of the Spurs, that plan for getting better should be rebuilding, instead of the other "R" word.

[024]

i agree with the ending. there's no point in stalling as a middle of the pack playoff team for the next two years. spurs should rebuild as soon as possible and that means forming a new core. if parker can net another young all star, spurs should do it. getting value out of ginobili before risking him leaving for nothing in the FA should be a no brainer.

the spurs' core is broken just like boston's core. once it's broken, it can't be fixed by acquiring role players. boston can surround itself with great role players and a rising young point guard and still not prevent its decline. that's the reason the celtics are exploring trading ray allen and rebuild their core.

[HarlemHeat37]

Parker and Duncan will still be good enough to be a legit 2/3 of the big 3 IMO..Manu will still be good enough to be a high-end role player that provides great intangibles..so I agree with you that our big 3 should no longer be "the Big 3", but we don't have to trade any of them IMO..

Richard Jefferson is going to have a BIG expiring contract next year..this is going to be even more valuable than usual with the impending potential lockout..we also have McDyess' contract that doesn't expire, but is unguaranteed for the year after, so it shouldn't be difficult to move(I would rather keep McDyess though)..the Houston Rockets are in the works to get both Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler for McGrady's massive expiring, so it's very possible to get good talent for these bad contracts..

The Spurs should be able to acquire an all-star caliber player with those contracts, there are some that will be on the block IMO..an actual all-star caliber player, not a fringe one like RJ, and hopefully a young guy, even though that's obviously a lot more difficult..

Offer Manu a reasonable contract and get Splitter on the team..

Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Hill(24 years old), Blair(21 years old), Splitter(25 years old), McDyess, Hairston(23 years old), *draft pick*(would likely be around 20-22 years old and preferably a SF or PF) and an all-star caliber player that would fill a new big 3 in return for RJ's expiring contract(Iguodala has been on the block all year and could still be in the Summer..Granger isn't a real franchise player and he's getting paid serious money that Indiana may not want to pay with the impending CBA..Rudy Gay is a free agent, but Memphis doesn't want to pay him as much as he wants and he won't have many suitors IMO)..fill the other spots with cheap contracts..this shouldn't cost TOO much..if it does, I would hope Holt would pay the tax one more time, although he might not considering how this current team has severely disappointed..

That would be a lineup full of youth and a good mix of size/athleticism/talent IMO..a quick fix that could give Duncan/Parker/Ginobili another shot at a le..

[L.I.T]

You do not tank this season.

Rebuilding in the offseason is the right thing to do and I completely and totally advocate that. But throwing in the towel and attempting to tank this season to get a high draft pick is just horrible. The article does make a good point; we've won too many games, we're still too successful and the bad teams are just really really bad. If a deal that's too good to pass up for TP or Manu comes along, take it. But, not a deal that involves selling a player for 30 cents on the dollar just to tank the season, get rid of salary and stockpile some draft picks.

To me advocating tanking this season smacks of not being a fan of a team, but only being a fan of a successful team.

[kace]

that's the biggest piece of i've read in a while.

what's the point of trading tony and manu in order to have young players to develop ? what's the point in that case to keep Tim knowing that would mean without a doubt NO MORE LES since he retires ?

If you think this team even with Tim, can't win another le, then you go in total rebuilding mode and trade Tim.

If you want to win another le with Tim, which is the best thing to do IMO, then you can trade anyone on this team, ANYONE, but not for young players to develop. that makes no sense. And at trading TP for Devin Harris. not only Tim would be mad to see TP going for a vastly inferior player for his last years, but that doesn't even fit to the idea of the writter to get younger players (Harris is 9 months younger than TP).

[HarlemHeat37]

Harris is also a significantly inferior player to Parker..

[cdcast]

For right now, they should do a couple of moves:

1. RJ, Manu, Splitter, and a 1st rd. pick for Iggy and Dalembert:

Philly saves alot of money by getting rid of Iggy's long contract and RJ's an expiring contract for next year plus they get Splitter and a pick.

For Spurs, they get their dynamic wing and more importantly, Dalembert becomes a valuable expiring contract for next year when they look at possibly trading Parker. Think about it, Houston might get Butler and Haywood for McGrady's expiring contract. What could a Parker/ Dalembert type trade net the Spurs in the summer?

If the Spurs waited till the summer to make an Iggy-like trade for RJ's expiring contract, Manu might sign with another team and the Spurs get nothing for him- another hole to fill. Spurs need to make a hard push for Iggy. Iggy is one of the few players I'd trade Manu for. If they can't trade for Iggy, they re-sign Manu and he retires a Spur.

2. Trade some of their expirings for Salmons and Pargo or Thomas.

Salmons takes Manu's spot (if he's traded) and Hill becomes the backup SG/PG. If Pop plays small-ball, you'll have Parker, Hill, Salmons, Iggy and Tim. They should trade for Salmons regardless if Manu were to get traded or not.

[024]

i wonder which path the spurs will take. it's painfully obvious that this team will not go anywhere, even with minor fixes. do the just stand pat and rebuild over the offseason or further cripple themselves by taking in longer contracts just to pursue that minuscule probability of winning a championship?

[HarlemHeat37]

I really hope that they don't take any long-term contracts back..

This team still has some potential for next year if the team is built correctly in the Summer..

[Duncan21kid]

that's the biggest piece of i've read in a while.

what's the point of trading tony and manu in order to have young players to develop ? what's the point in that case to keep Tim knowing that would mean without a doubt NO MORE LES since he retires ?

If you think this team even with Tim, can't win another le, then you go in total rebuilding mode and trade Tim.

If you want to win another le with Tim, which is the best thing to do IMO, then you can trade anyone on this team, ANYONE, but not for young players to develop. that makes no sense. And at trading TP for Devin Harris. not only Tim would be mad to see TP going for a vastly inferior player for his last years, but that doesn't even fit to the idea of the writter to get younger players (Harris is 9 months younger than TP).

Your a ing turd , i cant believe your comparing timmy to manu and tony. Go die in a corner somewhere or throw yourself off a cliff. ing s some people...

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I posted this in the NBA forum yesterday:

"This Spurs team is old, slow, beaten up, tired and lacking steel. We are going nowhere.

I want to see the team keep Tim, Tony, Manu if he'll sign a decent 2 yr contract, George, Grizzly, Malik and Ian, and trade whatever is left for assets that are, or could land us, youth and athleticism on the perimeter, and a big like Haywood or Okafor to help take the load off Tim for his last two years.

I also know that this is unlikely to happen as we will remain in "win now" mode as long as Tim is playing, and I understand that argument. But how about looking at it from another angle - imagine how much better Tim could make a young core by passing on his leadership and experience to them for the next few years. If they grow quickly, as has happened in OKC, maybe he'll play a year or two longer in a DRob-type role."

I stand by it.

[Duncan21kid]

I posted this in the NBA forum yesterday:

"This Spurs team is old, slow, beaten up, tired and lacking steel. We are going nowhere.

I want to see the team keep Tim, Tony, Manu if he'll sign a decent 2 yr contract, George, Grizzly, Malik and Ian, and trade whatever is left for assets that are, or could land us, youth and athleticism on the perimeter, and a big like Haywood or Okafor to help take the load off Tim for his last two years.

I also know that this is unlikely to happen as we will remain in "win now" mode as long as Tim is playing, and I understand that argument. But how about looking at it from another angle - imagine how much better Tim could make a young core by passing on his leadership and experience to them for the next few years. If they grow quickly, as has happened in OKC, maybe he'll play a year or two longer in a DRob-type role."

I stand by it.

THANK YOU , KEEP TIM. KEEEEEEEP TIM
SUCK MY BALLS the poster who said trade Tim.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

THANK YOU , KEEP TIM. KEEEEEEEP TIM
SUCK MY BALLS the poster who said trade Tim.

Lacking basic reading comprehension is no excuse for being obnoxios and dumb.

[weebo]

THANK YOU , KEEP TIM. KEEEEEEEP TIM
SUCK MY BALLS the poster who said trade Tim.

If you're going to trade Manu and Tony for young and undeveloped talent, you may as well trade Tim too because you ain't winning jack without them. That's what he meant.

[SpurNation]

If winning it all this year does not look like something that will come to fruition...might as well DO something now (if you can) to help it happen next year.

Duncan has, perhaps next season, his only shot (on this team) to win another championship. Waiting TOO long to make needed changes may be a loosing gamble if the team waits until this summer.

I've mentioned before on the same lines about making a major move now before this season ends to get pieces added in order for those new pieces to have at least a third of a season to play together before being asked to use half a season next year to try and gel.

To me it's not "tanking" a season more so than preparing for the next. Perhaps the last time the Spurs have a chance to win it all with Duncan.

[anakha]

The blog entry leads me to a question I've been wondering for the past week or so:

Conventional wisdom (and prior Spurs experience) on building championship teams has been to set a core of franchise-leading players and then plug in complementary players around them to fill in the roles that are needed.

However, what we've been seeing over the past season and a half is that it is getting increasingly harder to find those complementary role players that 'fit' seamlessly with the current Duncan-Parker-Ginobili core, for several reasons (increasing limitations of the current core, unavailability of players that fill in the specific roles needed, limitations of the complementary players on the team, etc.).

So my question is: is there a point for this Spurs team where the pressing need is no longer for non-core players to be able to fit around the current core and more of needing to change the core itself to fit the non-core players already on the team? If so, have the Spurs reached that point already?

[dbestpro]

If things go the way many expect, (no trade, early playoff exit, or even miss the playoffs), we will still be in decent position to reload for next year. Manu would be gone 10 mil, and RJ could be used in a trade or sign and trade (15 mil) plus Bonner, Mason, Finley etc. 12.8 mil (. That's 37 mil available plus possibly Splitter and higher draft pick than we have had in quite some time and another year of development for Hill and Blair.

It may stink now but as long as you have Parker and even an aging Duncan plus Blair, Hill and Splitter, there are a lot of very solid moves that can be made to keep this team at a championship level for years to come.

[StoneBuddha]

So my question is: is there a point for this Spurs team where the pressing need is no longer for non-core players to be able to fit around the current core and more of needing to change the core itself to fit the non-core players already on the team? If so, have the Spurs reached that point already?

Yes, we've reached that point. That's why trading Manu has become a legitimate option for the Spurs to consider. While Duncan would/should never be traded, even the thought of trading Parker seems plausible if the right deal came along.

The winds of change are starting to blow.

[duhoh]

where's NativeAmerican when you need him?

[kace]

Your a ing turd , i cant believe your comparing timmy to manu and tony. Go die in a corner somewhere or throw yourself off a cliff. ing s some people...

i know you're probably 14 years old the way you talk but i believe you should still know how to read at your age.

[JR3]

Your a ing turd , i cant believe your comparing timmy to manu and tony. Go die in a corner somewhere or throw yourself off a cliff. ing s some people...

Anger management class....enroll.

[Jace]

First thing I would do is begin playing my younger guys heavy minutes..

Why is Mahinmi not being played? He won't cost you a ring and if he does well he could very well help the team out.

Only reason I can think of not playing him is the Spurs have decided he is a bust and want to keep GMs thinking he is a raw diamond they can "Steal from the Spurs"

In regards to trading players, there is only one untouchable on the Spurs and I think it is only fair to Duncan to sit down and analyze the chances of him winning with the Spurs.

If he wants to win then I see absolutely no problem trading him to another team, give him a serious chance at a ring.

Nuggets need a big man and as a Spurs fan and a Duncan lover I think letting Tim go win another ring or two with the Nuggets(or whatever team) beating the Lakers/Lebron would be better than watching Tim and the Spurs sink at the same time.

Ideally(aside from current Spurs winning it all) Tim would be traded for something good to a championship caliber team and win another ring or 2

Spurs inevitably drop off from losing Duncan and might as well trade Ginobli as well, but they get some good pieces in the trades and accept that next year will be horrible but will pay off with a high draft pick.

Spurs rebuilding+Tim gets rings is the best we can realistically hope for at this point