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On point, as always, timvp.
Does the Unholy Trinity make the Heat favorites to win the 2011 NBA championship?
Almost. I'd still give a slight edge to the Los Angeles Lakers until we see who the Heat plug into the middle. Chris Bosh can be soft at times so they'll need a few rugged bigmen to shore up their interior against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.
That said, I'm sure free agents will flock to South Beach to play alongside LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Bosh. When the dust settles on free agency, the Heat could be clear le favorites.
Should Spurs fans be mad about the creation of the Unholy Trinity?
Not really. The Heat took a huge risk by pressing the reset button. If Bosh would have signed elsewhere, Wade wouldn't have returned to the barren Heat roster and James doesn't even consider Miami. But all the dominoes fell perfectly for the Heat and their risk was handsomely rewarded.
It's not like the Heat traded a bunch of garbage for a star bigman . . .
So, how does this alter what the Spurs need to do in the offseason?
Signing Tiago Splitter with the MLE should remain to be priority No. 1. If anything, the urgency should be increased due to Splitter's ability to defend out on the perimeter against a player like Bosh.
On the other hand, Richard Jefferson just lost even more value. If you are going to beat the Heat, you need at least one quality one-on-one defender at a swingman position. Currently, the Spurs have no one who qualifies. Re-signing Jefferson, a well below average one-on-one defender, could amount to suicide against the Heat. Acquiring a perimeter defender or two in place of Jefferson would theoretically give the Spurs a better chance to compete against the Wade and James duo.
If the Spurs abandon ship on Jefferson, where does he end up?
Good question. The teams with salary cap room are drying up fast. Those that still have room don't appear to need or want Jefferson. It's looks increasingly likely that the best offer Jefferson will see is the MLE.
Interestingly enough, James going to the Heat could open another door for Jefferson -- in Cleveland. The Cavs can free salary cap space and they suddenly have a gargantuan void at small forward.
Of the swingmen still available on the open market, which are the best fit for the Spurs?
Reports indicate that Wesley Matthews has received interest from the San Antonio. If the Spurs were to acquire him, that would make a lot of sense. He's a gritty defender who can space the floor with his shooting on the other end. Unfortunately, it'd be very difficult to acquire Matthews without a trade exception ... unless the Spurs don't end up using their MLE on Splitter.
Cheaper options that would fit well include Raja Bell, Matt Barnes, Rasual Butler and Tony Allen. But the chances of getting a bargain are diminishing. First of all, with the way franchises are throwing around money this summer, any free agent with a pulse will likely get a healthy wad of cash. On top of that, the Heat just became an irresistible destination for bargain basement players to quickly raise their stock.
Why does any of this even matter? Miami will soon become unbeatable while San Antonio's best days are behind them.
Yes, the odds of the Spurs winning the championship next season are slim. Whatever odds the Spurs had previously took a noticeable plunge yesterday as LeBron was stabbing Cleveland in the heart on live television.
But it isn't time to throw in the towel. The Heat won't be flawless right away. Injuries happen. Egos clash. Karma strikes.
Besides, championships aren't supposed to be easy -- despite what LeBron may think. Championships take hard work. Championships take dedication. A fifth championship by stunning the self-appointed King and his henchmen would be the ultimate way for that team from a sleepy South Texas city to put an exclamation point on a run of excellence no one could have ever imagined.
On point, as always, timvp.
Should Spurs fans be mad about the creation of the Unholy Trinity?
Spurs fans really have no right in the sense that the Spurs tried to clear as much cap room as they could in 2003 attempting to get Kidd and Jermaine. They just ended up with Rasho, Horry, and Hedo, but they tried to find money to bring in 2 more stars to play with Tim.
+1
now it's just a matter of doing it.
Fixed.
The Spurs have a championship formula and it's one they'll have to stick to because there's no time to reformulate. All they can do is fill their needs with the best players possible and hope for the best.
It's really as simple as that.
I actually don't think the odds plunged any further down than they already were. The Lakers are still the barometer, and despite a superstar trio, the Heat haven't proven a damn thing.Why does any of this even matter? Miami will soon become unbeatable while San Antonio's best days are behind them.
Yes, the odds of the Spurs winning the championship next season are slim. Whatever odds the Spurs had previously took a noticeable plunge yesterday as LeBron was stabbing Cleveland in the heart on live television.
But it isn't time to throw in the towel. The Heat won't be flawless right away. Injuries happen. Egos clash. Karma strikes.
Besides, championships aren't supposed to be easy -- despite what LeBron may think. Championships take hard work. Championships take dedication. A fifth championship by stunning the self-appointed King and his henchmen would be the ultimate way for that team from a sleepy South Texas city to put an exclamation point on a run of excellence no one could have ever imagined.
The rest of the one-man Q&A session was on-point though.
They were trying to get Kidd to take less than the Max to bring in a second guy- like Jermaine or Elton Brand (who was restricted).
Doesn't really matter to me. I'll be cheering for our team wether the championship chances are slim or not. That's what being a fan is all about.
i am pretty sure the plan was always kidd +rasho
we couldn't afford oneal and kidd
I'd love for the Spurs to get Raja, I think he'd be a perfect fit. Regardless, like Nono said, i'm cheering for my Spurs no matter what
BIG difference: The Spurs were fresh off winning the 2003 NBA le. Most of the cap room came because David Robinson retired.
The Heat? They have been in cap clearing mode for a few years now.
the first thing I thought was when Orlando tried to create a super team and GHill went down for a 9 count. Going out on national tv and announcing it the way he did can only bring bad karma. Dont wish anyone to get hurt but i feel like someone will.
No, that's what fans were concocting. The Spurs targeted Kidd and made overtures to O'Neal should they miss out on their first choice.
Plus RuPaul is kinda overrated.... just sayin'
One more note: the Knicks just got Turiaf, who doesn't fit in a 7SOL/d'Antoni system... he could help the Spurs a lot.
THIS!!!
I think it's now time to try to take Splitter in his (our) new home.
I wonder why it's not been done already...no way we can get Shaq or a defensive small forward, except if we benefit of a large trade excepion from a RJ deal (maybe with Cleveland?)
Really hope there wil be no problem...
San Antonio absolutely needs to go back to their defensive ways if they want to be successful against the stacked LA and Miami teams.
The Spurs cannot afford not to grab big, defensive oriented perimeter players. This is a team that gets manhandled on the boards and in the paint by Jared Dudley and Ron Artest....against both Wade and LeBron?
There is no championship formula to copy. Those past teams are over. Thinking like that will lead to failure.
It is time to make the necessary adjustments and play to the strenghts of the players on the roster instead of trying to replicate some type of formula of past success.
A trade exception wouldn't even help to get Matthews. Jazz will need to use their MLE to re-sign Mathews and you can't S&T a player signed with the MLE.
All I've seen from Free Agency is western conference playoff contenders get weaker.
I'm not concerned much with Miami and their trinity this coming season. I still think they'll need a year to completely gel and fill out their roster to compliment those guys better.
How this impacts free agency is now that LBJ has made his decision we can now see CHI, CLE, NY, NJ all bid on free agents left out in the market still and watch and see if other teams make moves now via trade.
Typical quiet spurs office, always leaves me nervous.
spurs shouldn't worry about the heat yet. if they can get past the lakers, then they can match the heat. spurs should still be focusing on building a roster to beat the lakers.
And how would you assume they do that? What formula can they concoct that's better than what's proven and what players can they acquire to do so?
The Spurs' formula is fine, the personnel just needs to be tweaked.
You're living in Fantasyland if you believe the Spurs can just change course in one year without adding marquee talent to the roster. The Spurs just need to add Splitter, look for a legitimate small forward with size that can play the small forward in their system and hope that Anderson's a player and that their youth overall has a good amount of growth internally.
That's all they can really do at this point. It's their best shot at winning another ring, anyway . . .
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