Zach Lowe: Spurs losers in Free Agency

[rastaspur]

The Warriors players didn't fear the Spurs... Who gives a ?

Im sure they didn't fear Cleveland when they blew them out by 40 in the regular season. Still got smacked the up when it mattered.

[baseline bum]

I agree with Lowe, the Spurs went from a 67 win team to one who will probably win about 55 games or so. Gasol is no Duncan and the Spurs bigman depth chart is razor thin now. If one of Gasol or Aldridge gets hurt for any length of time how are the Spurs responding to that? And they didn't upgrade Parker. Just the thought of Gasol's man screening for Curry while Parker is on him is hilarious. The Spurs went from a le contender to probably a distant 3 seed (thanks to OKC getting destroyed). I mean Gasol was the best option for sure, there was little chance of keeping the team as good as it was in 2015-16 considering how many players were on absolute bargain basement deals and eligible to test free agency in a summer where everyone had money. But this team isn't a le contender. They're not going to get much scoring out of the backcourt and they have no frontcourt depth. They'll be a good team but a second round exit to the Clippers or Warriors is probably what we're looking at next year.

[sasaint]

What's funny is how many teams have absolutely hamstrung themselves by throwing good money after bad free agents. The Spurs went after the one guy who was worth a max deal, and then got Pau Gasol at about ten million dollars less than his market value. So they have two, maybe three all-stars in their starting lineup and they still have money to have a shot at a Russel Westbrook next summer.

Sounds like a winning plan to me.

Agree with your assessment for the most part. But next off-season Russ is headed to LA or possibly New York or even Miami before he would even consider SA. He is a wannabe fashionista who was born in SoCal and attended UCLA. With his non-basketball aspirations and style it is even less conceivable that Westchuck would come to he Spurs than it was that Durant would.

[DAF86]

The Spurs are an offseason loser because they lost a top three all-time player, but getting a guy who went for 16 points, 11 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks last year to take his spot, the second biggest free agent, and the guy they wanted all along is a pretty decent consolation prize.

Also, that story about the Warriors not fearing the Spurs needs to die. That game taught the entire league how to beat the Dubs, and they never bothered to even look at the tape.

Nah. It may have shown some defensive strategies but not much more than that. The slow tempo approach the Spurs used against GS isn't the answer, you have to run right back at them. Being smart, not turnig the ball over but never slowing down. The whole "playing defense with the ball" strategy just isn't going to cut it. I thought that was the key to beating them, but after seeing how things played out last season I stand corrected.

[Obstructed_View]

Agree with your assessment for the most part. But next off-season Russ is headed to LA or possibly New York or even Miami before he would even consider SA. He is a wannabe fashionista who was born in SoCal and attended UCLA. With his non-basketball aspirations and style it is even less conceivable that Westchuck would come to he Spurs than it was that Durant would.

I don't even think they'd want Westbrook. The point is more that the Spurs got the player they wanted, did the best they could with their depth, got younger, and still have financial flexibility in the future.

[21209]

I'll say this.If the Spurs ball movement slows to a screeching halt and we keep seeing more Kawhi-LMA iso ball, there's no way they get past the Warriors.

[DAF86]

Either way, clearly the biggest loser is OKC. I don't know why Lowe wants to get all cute about this.

[coachmac87]

Hence why Durant going to Golden State is the biggest move ever. A generational talent like him joining a historic team. No NBA team can make any moves to counter him going there.

Anybody who tried to defend Durant going there will realize by all star break how much this ed everything up. It's a cool story to right about in the offseason but the league is so ed..especially if LeBron goes down. Like there's no interest around the league or compe ion

[apalisoc_9]

The only team that won in Free agency is GSW..tbh

[Obstructed_View]

Nah. It may have shown some defensive strategies but not much more than that. The slow tempo approach the Spurs used against GS isn't the answer, you have to run right back at them. Being smart, not turnig the ball over but never slowing down. The whole "playing defense with the ball" strategy just isn't going to cut it. I thought that was the key to beating them, but after seeing how things played out last season I stand corrected.

I'm not sure what the you're talking about, but it's a single defensive strategy that everyone else used: switching on picks. Nobody figured it out before the Spurs did. The Thunder were a pretty defensive team during the season and they were able to grind the Warriors' offense to a halt.

[sasaint]

I don't even think they'd want Westbrook. The point is more that the Spurs got the player they wanted, did the best they could with their depth, got younger, and still have financial flexibility in the future.

Totally agree. I hope that Russ and the Clips hook up to bring the local boy home, and CP3 comes here.

[SPURt]

It's strange Zach would take that stance considering he said on his podcast that the money flying around this offseason was going to haunt a lot of teams like the Lakers. I thought the Spurs played it safe and correctly. The Spurs had two choices this offseason:

1. Overpay for mid level prime players and bet that these mid level players will contribute enough to win a chip
2. Get older and undervalued players to play for reasonable contracts while betting drafted players will take advantage of playing time in a way the Spurs haven't allowed since the early 2000's.

I'm not suggesting KA, Murray, or Bertans will be Tony or Manu this year. What I am saying is Pop is going to have to play inexperience, he has no choice.

I think the Spurs had the best off season possible considering the talent available and the money required to sign that talent. If two of Murray, Bertans, or LCJ turn out to be legit role players the Spurs are going to have cap space in the coming years while those guys are on favorable deals.

The Spurs success starts and ends with Pop and the coaching staff. The Spurs used their cap space the best way they possibly could while keeping Tony Parker on the team. Zach doesn't offer any alternatives to the Spurs strategy, so it is hard to respect his position. Though he also calls the NBA and it's fans losers in this years free agency, which is true.

I'm excited to see which of the young guys step up.

[coachmac87]

I agree with Lowe, the Spurs went from a 67 win team to one who will probably win about 55 games or so. Gasol is no Duncan and the Spurs bigman depth chart is razor thin now. If one of Gasol or Aldridge gets hurt for any length of time how are the Spurs responding to that? And they didn't upgrade Parker. Just the thought of Gasol's man screening for Curry while Parker is on him is hilarious. The Spurs went from a le contender to probably a distant 3 seed (thanks to OKC getting destroyed). I mean Gasol was the best option for sure, there was little chance of keeping the team as good as it was in 2015-16 considering how many players were on absolute bargain basement deals and eligible to test free agency in a summer where everyone had money. But this team isn't a le contender. They're not going to get much scoring out of the backcourt and they have no frontcourt depth. They'll be a good team but a second round exit to the Clippers or Warriors is probably what we're looking at next year.

So you think Spurs were better off with a 40yr old Duncan, quitter in Diaw, and washed up West last year?

[DAF86]

I'm not sure what the you're talking about, but it's a single defensive strategy that everyone else used: switching on picks. Nobody figured it out before the Spurs did. The Thunder were a pretty defensive team during the season and they were able to grind the Warriors' offense to a halt.

That defensive strategy alone doesn't beat the Warriors. You have to follow it up with a fast tempo offense that contains, at least, 4 three point shooting threats.

[Obstructed_View]

Totally agree. I hope that Russ and the Clips hook up to bring the local boy home, and CP3 comes here.

We have more immediate to worry about. Like hoping someone from the youth movement steps up and becomes a real NBA player. If none of them do, it could be a long year.

[baseline bum]

So you think Spurs were better off with a 40yr old Duncan, quitter in Diaw, and washed up West last year?

Yes, I think they were better last year than they will be this year. By a mile.

[Chinook]

... Gasol is no Duncan and the Spurs bigman depth chart is razor thin now. ... They'll be a good team but a second round exit to the Clippers.

I went from going like, "Sure, sure. That's reasonable." To "Aw no." over the course of your post. There's no reason at all to think the Clippers are above the Spurs. You want to talk about a lack of depth? Their current bench is Rivers/Crawford/Mbah a Moute/Pierce/Speights. Even ignoring age for them (which I'm sure you aren't ignoring for the Spurs), you have a draft bust who's being shamelessly riding on his father's gravy train, a chucker who can shoot his team out of a game, a guy whom I like a lot as a role-player but who is offensively limited, a guy who's been ineffective for a year now and a guy who played well for GS but is still a question mark as the main offensive player for his unit. Their starters are obviously really good, though it depends on Wes Johnson being a good 3-and-D guy. But they have their own health issues.

I understand that people don't want Parker to start. I'm not a fan of not getting another back-court scorer either. But he'll be fine so long as he continues to work on his three-pointer. I think the Spurs' bench matches up really well with the Clippers' second unit. And I think they're going to have a better starting unit this year.

[I. Hustle]

YES!!!! Let it begin. This is EXACTLY what the Spurs need! They need all these writers to say that they are done. They need everyone to dismiss them. I was JUST talking about this with someone. When that happens is when the Spurs excel.

[Obstructed_View]

That defensive strategy alone doesn't beat the Warriors. You have to follow it up with a fast tempo offense that contains, at least, 4 three point shooting threats.

But that doesn't matter. Prior to the strategy, nothing beat the Warriors. The Spurs exposed their Achilles heel. That's why the Dubs lost the same number of games in the playoffs as they did the entire regular season.

[skulls138]

Hence why Durant going to Golden State is the biggest move ever. A generational talent like him joining a historic team. No NBA team can make any moves to counter him going there.

But no ones going to fear them even if they have another historic run because people see that their brand of b-ball isnt as effective in the postseason.

[Chinook]

Yes, I think they were better last year than they will be this year. By a mile.

I think you're overrating Duncan, at least as far as straight on-the-court impact goes. They have a ton of potential to be better in the first unit, and I think their second unit is going to be MUCH better than last year.

[Obstructed_View]

Yes, I think they were better last year than they will be this year. By a mile.

It's a concern. Duncan's defense was really good up until about game 2 of the Thunder series when his knee completely stopped working. Gasol will improve the offense, and probably the rebounding. Maybe even block numbers, but I'll be really surprised if the defense doesn't fall off a lot without Timmy. Then you factor in the loss of reliable depth. A fat, uninterested Boris Diaw is more of an NBA player than LJC or Cady Lalanne.

[BillMc]

Spurs took a necessary step back with the retirement of TD, no matter how much of a nice get Gasol is.

But a bit of perspective is in order. Remember how circa 2009 and 2010 when everyone thought the Spurs would collapse when Timmy hung it up? That's not going to happen. Year 1 AD (After Duncan) will have us somewhere between the 2nd and fourth best team in the league. In the big picture that's pretty good.

Also, since OKC is not going to be a viable threat, even the though the Spurs may be a little worse on the court this year, they're likely to advance as far or farther. You can argue the road to the WCF has opened up, with the Clips and the Spurs battling to face the Dubs in conference championships. So we may win less in the regular season, yet very well may win more in the postseason.

And the youth movement is underway. KA will see a much bigger role this year. Simmons might too. And Bertans, JCL and Dedmon all bring youth to the bench. Time is now to develop them.

Again, going back to 2009, if you told me THIS is what the team would look like in AD 1, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat.

[itzsoweezee]

I think you're crazy. Where is this improvement going to come from? A bunch of rookies? A washed up Gasol? No.

[Obstructed_View]

It's strange Zach would take that stance considering he said on his podcast that the money flying around this offseason was going to haunt a lot of teams like the Lakers. I thought the Spurs played it safe and correctly. The Spurs had two choices this offseason:

1. Overpay for mid level prime players and bet that these mid level players will contribute enough to win a chip
2. Get older and undervalued players to play for reasonable contracts while betting drafted players will take advantage of playing time in a way the Spurs haven't allowed since the early 2000's.

I'm not suggesting KA, Murray, or Bertans will be Tony or Manu this year. What I am saying is Pop is going to have to play inexperience, he has no choice.

I think the Spurs had the best off season possible considering the talent available and the money required to sign that talent. If two of Murray, Bertans, or LCJ turn out to be legit role players the Spurs are going to have cap space in the coming years while those guys are on favorable deals.

The Spurs success starts and ends with Pop and the coaching staff. The Spurs used their cap space the best way they possibly could while keeping Tony Parker on the team. Zach doesn't offer any alternatives to the Spurs strategy, so it is hard to respect his position. Though he also calls the NBA and it's fans losers in this years free agency, which is true.

I'm excited to see which of the young guys step up.

I agree with all of this. Further, Tony Parker being on the team is essential. There is NOBODY behind him that can be expected to bring the ball up, initiate the offense, and stay healthy. The bar is admittedly pretty damn low for Parker.