By default, mainly because of the presence of West. He's more than likely gone in the off season though and even if he isn't, he's obviously not a long term solution.
Not to suggest Aldridge won't play a decent amount of center, but it'll be more match-up dependent.
That, along with his aversion to it (I suspect they have an understanding with him) and their proclivity to start traditional, beyond just stature, is why they won't build the roster with the intent of him being the starting center, for at least the duration of his contract. As he ages, they probably will look to pair him with a center, that is mobile enough to cross match, though.
Aldridge isn't suited to being a starting center. He's a mediocre rim protector and would be a sub par rebounder for the position, too.
Despite him all but abandoning the three this season, he showed last season that he's capable and I suspect it becomes a significant focus this summer.
As long as Bertans becomes a legit NBA player, then between him, Aldridge, Diaw and Anderson, they should be able to get by going forward, as far as shooting, at power forward. Diaw and Anderson are obviously more play making types, but perimeter oriented all the same.
With the way the league is going, I'd go after Batum this off-season and insert him in the starting lineup w/Leonard, Green, Parker and LMA.
That is if Tim retires and if Horford isn't available ( which is likely).
Other FA that interest me that'll be cheap(er) than Horford/Batum: Biyombo, Marvin Williams, Ersan, Terrance Jones or D-MO (buying low w/ both ex- Rockets).
League's changing.
Last edited by MaNu4Tres; 02-24-2016 at 05:41 PM.
Spurs don't play around the league, they play around their players.
They're playing both together. I think they should keep doing that. If they decide to let Turner be a PF and George an SF, they will have a lot of incentive to keep Ian.
You are not a Debbie downer... I agree with you on both fronts. Timmy has looked his age finally and with the knee situation I see retirement as a possibility. I don't think he will leave the team half way through next season for example if all of a sudden he reached K.Garnett levels. So the plan if he decides to resign, is probably to reduce his role and minutes, which still requires an additional big to play a part with the SL. Our bench already has issues with two undersized bigs.. so our need for a rim protector remains.
I have wondered if Manu and Timmy retire, is it the time to let go of Diaw?
Anderson is cut from a similar mold and beyond him, we have other PF prospects likely coming over as well if Anderson is not your cup of tea. There is just a logjam at that spot and not enough quality guards if Manu retires too, and not enough real centers. (like say if Timmy/Manu pair up their retirements).
I like the idea of adding someone young who's an RFA so they can better line up with Kawhi. Sullinger or Jones would be nice, and I don't think either team would match a deal in the $14 Million APY range. The Spurs just have to make sure that whoever they give the money to is worth it.
They don't have the money for Batum and even if they did, I seriously doubt either him or Leonard would be down with consistently guarding power forwards.
Besides, we just saw how Aldridge, at center, surrounded by a power forward, who is a sub par rim protector and a mediocre rebounder, looks. Opponent points in the paint soared and defensive rebounding percentage steadily declined.
Those things still and will always matter, even to the Warriors, who have two traditional centers. And they're especially important against them, since it's impossible to build an offense as good as theirs.
The fact that Aldridge is center sized and has abandoned the three, this season, doesn't make him a center and people who think that is going to happen are ignoring how this organization is run.
Excellent point.
I'd probably keep Diaw through next season either way and then at that point, evaluate where him, Anderson and to a lesser extent, Bertans are at, before making a decision.
LMA IS a traditional center who can play power-forward. At no time in the history of the league would Aldridge have been too small to play the five. Sure, when he was a rookie he was rail thin and wouldn't have played the five, but his current make-up allows him to match-up with any five in the league physically outside of the true giants like Boban.
I think it's fool-hardy to expect the Spurs to get a bigger center than Aldridge (not that's it's impossible; it's just not likely). And if they end up going with a JaG/scrub like Kaman/Perkins or a rookie like Ndoye/whatever that UT guy that people are falling in love with instead of bringing in a legit, young PF, the team's going to be a lot worse off. If they can get a great center like Pau for a year or two, that's fine. But without Tim and Manu, the Spurs will not be contenders in 2016-2017 (unless Pau is like a god and they find a random awesome vet bench leader). So they need to spend their cap on long-term pieces. They can afford to sign a significant piece each of the next three summers. They shouldn't waste that money trying to keep Aldridge at the four just to keep him happy.
Anyone who thinks LMA is a traditional Center who shoots jumpshots and has a ty back to the basket game and isn't a good rim protector is a ing moron.
Watch more ing basketball.
Again, it's not all about stature. It's about the style of play of the player, honoring a designation that's important to the biggest external free agent signing in franchise history and the organizational preference to start traditionally. Obviously, Aldridge can and will be playing a good amount of center, but the match-ups will dictate that.
They won't go with a fringe player; more like a placeholder starter, like Oberto and Splitter were. They always split minutes with Horry and Diaw, with Duncan shifting to center for many of those minutes. This will be no different.
looks like a duck quacks like a duck swims like a duck, then it's a ing duck gots.
We got some very delusional people here who thinks LMA is a ing center.
LMA has made it ing clear he doesn't want to be a center full time. Yeah he can play small ball center sometimes.
But not full time. He plays nothing like a center besides his height and length. He has little experience playing a center role full time and that wouldn't make him a better player if the Spurs decided to. That is not his ing game.
This is why I can see a power forward playing next to him. He just needs a rim protector beside him. Doesn't have to be someone that can switch and guard the perimeter but if he can that's a plus. That's why I think Livio has a very small chance to start next year if he can prove he can be a reliable shooter. If they decide to stop gap the position for a couple seasons, which I believe is the best move, then they can wait to have cap room when the salary balloons. Don't know how much of a player we'll be in the market but the plus in this is that maybe one of the players turns out to be a success, which in that case we just resign them and use the money elsewhere. I'm unsure which group I fall into, in the aspect of sign max players or sign allot of really good players. I think when the cap balloons we'll be needing a point guard, if we haven't already drafted a quality one.
I still would prefer to have a traditional center because I think Aldridge plays better against smaller players but with a rim protector there I don't think it would matter as much.
The Spurs probably have more experience than any team with having a star big want to be a PF even though he's a center. If they didn't consistently cater to their franchise player by getting him a center to play next to for all those years, they aren't going to do it to Aldridge. I'm sure whoever lines up next to LMA will be listed as the center, just as Anderson was in that one game he started a PF against Houston. But it's simply much easier on LMA long term to have the best big he can next to him, because even a combo-forward like Young or Jones doesn't more to help him on both ends that a plodder like Kaman would. And if the Spurs find a way to keep Boban, he can totally come in a play next to LMA to let him slide to the four for a while.
It's a question of money just like it is with the rest of the roster. The Spurs will have about $14 Million, assuming a $92-Million cap and that they can get out of Tim and Manu's deal with no dead money, convince West to opt out (and hopefully re-sign for the min, but maybe he'd move on or take the room exception) and renounce all of their free agents while also bringing over LJC and another draft pick. They can use that money on a couple of JaGs to fill in the cracks of a lost season, or they can use it all on one player who could end up being part of the core for years to come. Personally, I'd rather them do the second thing and go with a guy like Clarkson, Jones or Sullinger and only move onto "placeholders" if everything else fails.They won't go with a fringe player; more like a placeholder starter, like Oberto and Splitter were. They always split minutes with Horry and Diaw, with Duncan shifting to center for many of those minutes. This will be no different.
Two of those three draft names sound african. Im on board.
Just Say no to white big men.
Some of you seem to think rim protecting, stretch power forwards grow on trees and will be readily available.
Jean-Charles is a fringe prospect, that's far more likely to not even be an NBA player than he is a starter. In the highly unlikely even he became one, that's years away.
What are you talking about? They've mostly started a center next to Duncan. As he aged, they made sure their center was mobile enough to defend power forwards. This despite Duncan's game being skewed more towards being a center, unlike Aldridge's.
Marjanovic will likely split the backup center minutes with Aldridge, but he's probably a match-up dependent player. They already have a play making/stretch power forward, in Diaw; what they need is a center in the mold of Splitter.
I also don't get the assumption that they'll be able to find a better power forward than center or at least a better fit. Clarkson, Jones and Sullinger are RFA's and even in a case like Jones, where the team may be ready to move on, they'll still probably match, just to retain the asset, unless the offer is astronomical.
TD21 doing God's work here.
Must have ate a truff bomb sandwich earlier.
Goatside raping Raymond/Bogut
My 5 cents here
I don't think Aldridge is a Center at all. He has always been a jump-shooting BIG, a so so rebounder and not a rim protector. That's exactly the opposite definition of what a Center should be.
He is a PF that could slide to the 5 position depending on the match up or the Spurs personal. The only reason why he has been playing the 5 so much this season because the Spurs are too deep at the 4 while too slim at the 5.
Let's say SA drafts Rudy Gobert in 2013 instead of Utah. Do you really think that Aldridge would log several minutes as a Center if the Spurs had Duncan/Gobert/Boban at the 5? Nah. Maybe if Pop decides to go small to counter an opposite lineup and that's it.
I wonder if SAGirl thinks LMA is a center...
The Spurs have only started centers next to Duncan when the center has been a really good player who could handle starter's minutes. So the first six years of Tim's 19-year career he spent with Robinson, who was never going to be benched. After that, Tim was in his prime and like most teams, the Spurs wanted to get a designated defender to take pressure off their star. So enter Rasho and Nazr for three years combined. Then you see them starting to get smaller guys next to him with Oberto, Bonner, McDyess and Blair starting the majority of the next six seasons. Then you finally get a center who can start next to Tim again, and you get Splitter for three seasons. Then you get LMA.
That parallels what I said about what they should do for Aldridge. They got the best big they could and let Tim play the other position. A Tim got older, it became critical that they got a man-defensive center for sure. But they clearly went with shorter guys for years.
Diaw is getting close to the end. He only has $3 Million guaranteed for the rest of his contract. I don't think the Spurs consider power-forward checked off on Boris' account any more than they did last year.Marjanovic will likely split the backup center minutes with Aldridge, but he's probably a match-up dependent player. They already have a play making/stretch power forward, in Diaw; what they need is a center in the mold of Splitter.
Spurs should be able to afford a max deal to Clarkson (I haven't run the numbers on a $92-Million cap, but it would be REALLY close). And I think both of the other players are on teams that aren't going to surrender their cap space to keep guys who aren't part of their future. They're both looking for bigger fish this summer. I expect the Lakers to match, so a S&T wouldn't be a bad idea. But I think there's going to be a young player the Spurs can get for that money. As I said, they just need to pick the correct one.I also don't get the assumption that they'll be able to find a better power forward than center or at least a better fit. Clarkson, Jones and Sullinger are RFA's and even in a case like Jones, where the team may be ready to move on, they'll still probably match, just to retain the asset, unless the offer is astronomical.
Is Duncan a center? Because if you were to post that question last year with Tim, Splitter, Gobert and say Baynes at the five, I think Tim would have played the four (along with Baynes), and Duncan is a natural center if there's ever been one.
Nesterovic, Mohammed, Oberto and Elson, were really good players? Only Nesterovic was a legit starter, at one time. Mohammed was a fringe one and Oberto and Elson were clear backups.
The defense fell off a cliff, when Bonner, McDyess, Blair and Diaw, started. Their main priority since then has been repairing the defense. I don't buy that they go away from that again, not when they've proven they can have elite offenses by starting traditional.
Most importantly, despite similar physical tools, Aldridge isn't Duncan. Duncan is an all-time great rim protector/rebounder.
Horford, Bosh, Davis, Ibaka and Aldridge, are true 4.5's. The ideal compliments to them, are a starting center, like Splitter and a backup power forward, like Diaw. Someone has to set sturdy screens, be a roller, protect the rim and rebound.
Last edited by TD 21; 02-24-2016 at 08:55 PM.
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