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While I've found Spurs a disappointment (so far), OKC is having a way worse offseason. A cheap ownership and Presti sucking have quite destroyed what should have been a dominant team for the next half decade.
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While I've found Spurs a disappointment (so far), OKC is having a way worse offseason. A cheap ownership and Presti sucking have quite destroyed what should have been a dominant team for the next half decade.
Agree on Presti. He tried to be too cute with the Harden trade...like the Jazz trading Deron Williams, except that the Jazz got long term pieces in place that in the long run were comparable to Deron Williams, while the Thunder appear to have received nothing of consequence for Harden. Again, we have to wait and see how those late first round draft picks turn out, but the chances of finding anything close to Harden are remote.
Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine 25m
Surprise development in Mavs' big man search: Hearing Dallas in serious talks on signing DeJuan Blair. Told deal looks "promising"
Mahinmi part II.
I am a little miffed by the OKC off season but have to say I'M LAUGHING!
Big difference between two teams would be that Jazz broke up ~45-50 win team to move Williams early (shouldn't be shocking that it exactly what he turned Brooklyn into). OKC knocked out a championship level team to make a panic move a year earlier than they needed to.
And the two big mistakes that helped create that situation were trading for Perkins' terrible deal (panic maneuver to match up with LAL team whose contender status was waning) & then giving Ibaka big money. Would love to have Ibaka playing next to Duncan, but he's the 4th best player on a championship team - not the third.
You could even argue that Harden would have been a better investment than Westbrook, but have to cut them slack there with RW being a top 5 PG.
Brett Poirier NBA @BrettNBA15m
DeJuan Blair and the Dallas Mavs have reach an agreement on a contract that will likely be worth $1.4 million for one year, per source.
So, it is becoming more and more apparent that the Spurs will make no more moves this offseason, no Ariza, no Mo, no Oden, and no anybody!
I'm sure they'll sign a backup small forward but yeah I think they're done with moves beyond that.
Spurs will probably look how good Thomas plays the preseason games and then sign him or some ty player.
IMHO they won't sign anyone, at least not until maybe February.
Not even sure they will do that at this point given they are at 14 guys on the roster and there is little to nothing left as far as free agent SF. They also no longer have Neal and Blair as S&T bait, and De Colo, Mills, ect aren't going to fetch much in a trade even if they could find a trading partner.
So what are the Spurs doing? Now they have mis-managed their potential for players that don't seem to fill a major need and have let basically all S&T assets walk for nothing while still having some roster concerns. Makes very little sense especially after seeing what happened with Blair/Neal and the other rumors.
Yep, it's a disappointing off-season. They just could have done way better.
Regarding their plan, I guess they will play Manu a lot at the SF spot. At that stage of his career, it might even be his better position.
Green's defense is overrated. One moment, he's a lockdown defender and the next, he's fouling three point shooters in the act of shooting ( his postseason performance speaks to that). Leonard's defense will improve, but if you're going to ask your best perimeter defender to play 40+ minutes a game, playing one of the most demanding positions while guarding some of the leagues most potent and premier offensive threats on a nightly basis, his defense will take a serious hit by season's end. One has to hope that his knee problems are behind him because with no viable backup to speak of, the defense will take a serious blow if he misses substantial playing time. I wonder if you've noticed when Duncan takes a seat on the bench, the interior defense also takes a huge hit with or without Splitter in the game. The Spurs answer to this was Pendergragh? I could be wrong, but Pendergragh hasn't played a meaningful minute in his four year NBA career. It's pretty doubtful that he's going to make a huge impact in his first year with the Spurs. I hope I'm wrong though.
Health in the past doesn't guarantee health in the future. Kawhi's knees are still a concern going forward even though the whole situation might be slightly overblown. Ginobili has always been one of the main catalysts in the Spurs postseason success. You didn't include him in your injury assessment. If he isn't healthy, the Spurs chances of a ship take a huge hit. And historically, his health and durability come playoff time has been a huge concern over the years and this year will be no different.
Stats and numbers don't lie about Belinelli. He's an incredibly bad defender. I posted Beli's D-rating on several occasions and they're far worst than Neal's. Having height doesn't necessarily give you an advantage defensively. His contributions will mainly come on the offensive end but even at that, I think he's just a marginal upgrade over a healthy Neal.
I think CoJo has potential and a future in the association. I don't however, think he has shown enough consistency at this level to be entrusted with the backup PG position. This really isn't the time for trial and error. The Spurs would be better off going with an experienced veteran backup PG and I suspect the Spurs would agree or they wouldn't be taking a flyer on Mo Williams. I haven't seen or heard of any Gortat rumors, Spurs had minimal interest in Scola but "intrigued" and "interested" are two entirely different concepts and if you read the article again on Granger, you'd realize the Spurs were never interested in him to begin with.
Last edited by Hoops Czar; 07-30-2013 at 01:40 PM.
As far as Green's defense, you have to like what you see. For a lot of players, even the great defensive ones, they don't come into the league and become lockdown guys day 1. Bruce didn't become an elite defender until the middle of his career. It took Tony Allen about 4-5 seasons until he become known for his defense. As far as Green, he's 6'6 210 which is great size for a 2-guard and he is committed to playing defense. The fact that he puts the effort and we've seen improvement every year is a great sign. He's a guy we can throw on point guards in a pinch if need be. He's had some success against CP3 and Stephen Curry doing so. He also did a commendable job on LeBron in the half court, and don't get me started on the plays he made in transition throughout the finals. He's not 1st defensive team caliber yet, but he's easily a plus defender who is only going to improve in that aspect. I hope the Spurs are able to take care of him and keep him around for a while.
I have often wished that the Spurs would hire Bruce to mentor and teach defense.
Never thought I would say this, but maybe the Spurs really should bring back TMac, they could do a lot worse with what is left at SF, or any other position for that matter.
Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine
Hearing Detroit is now legit contender to snag Brandon Jennings in free agency via sign & trade. Bucks & Pistons in advanced discussions
Since TD is holding a big man's camp, this may be a sneak preview of his life after retirement.
Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine
Brandon Jennings' deal with Detroit expected to be in three-year range in excess of $25 million. Rest of trade details still being sorted
Detroit is gonna go bankrupt with that team.
Oh, wait.....
the new Hakeem?
Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA6m
Detroit and Milwaukee are nearing a sign-and-trade agreement to send Brandon Jennings to the Pistons, league sources tell Y! Sports.
Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA1m
The sign-and-trade for Jennings to the Pistons will be a three-year, $24 million deal, sources tell Y! Sports.
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