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True. Perhaps not 5, but multiple Spurs/Bulls Finals would have been epic stuff. David's best team was probably his rookie season. The FO surrounded him with crap after that.
Interestingly, Bird was All-NBA 1st team that year and Earvin Johnson was not All-NBA 1st or 2nd team. The Bird-Magic pairing was marketing. Bird was definitely the superior player.
True. Perhaps not 5, but multiple Spurs/Bulls Finals would have been epic stuff. David's best team was probably his rookie season. The FO surrounded him with crap after that.
I get what you're saying. But it's not rare for a team to have multiple lottery pics under 34. If you assume that the average for a lottery pick is around 20, then that's 14 years of lotteries with 14 players in each.
It's really just a matter of who pans out combined with low draft players/undrafted players.
But I agree that most of the champions had multiple lottery picks that became stars. IMO, the Pistons did the most with the least. Even though they had Billups and Wallace who were lottery picks (I think). They weren't like Duncan, Shaq, Lebron.
TD was a more consistent offensive force than D-Rob, imo. D-Rob didn't have a goto move(s) that he could consistently use in crunch time. He was nowhere as good at making the pass out of the double team as TD either. If I had to choose one of the two to build a team around, it would be TD in a heartbeat.
Would have had more if not for the Keith Bogans, Roger Mason Jr, Kurt Thomas years.
It's a drastically different proposition if you are in a double team and facing the dilemma of passing it out to a Manu Ginobili, Robert Horry, Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, Steve Kerr, Stephen Jackson, Mario Elie, Marco Bellinelli, Danny Green, Gary Neal or ummmm the likes of Vinny Del Negro, and Doc Rivers. Heck, even Matt Bonner was a more dependable shooter than what David had available.
David didn't have the luxury of having good deep squads that could contend for les. Duncan did for most of his career (minus perhaps two seasons).
Not going to argue with that. But still, I found DR's offensive game to be erratic and TD's to be quite refined. I loved watching TD operate going back to Wake Forest. The thin DR was going to get pushed off his block or get the ball at the elbow as he relied on athleticism. TD was like Larry Bird, he was the master of the half inch. All types of moves and options in the post; so smooth.
Its as if they're not even trying. Like you said before, really how much of the early success was because of Presti? I see Presti trying at least in the hole that is Oklahoma City.
Really what do they have to hang their hat on? Kawhi was not a find, he kind of fell into their laps and for different reasons. Sun shining on a dog's ass every once in a while?
Great post. You should post more often, tbh...
Sam Presti and Sean Marks
.The Real MVP
Parker, Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, Horry, Danny Ferry, Kerr, Oberto. What do you mean Kawhi fell into their laps? No one knew he was going to do what he did and Bird, the GM of the year, traded him for George Hill
Truth bomb. Drunkford can't draft a franchise player with a #1 pick if his life depended on it.
Wanted Valenciunas over Kawhi. Drafting Jean-Charles, Fathead, Milutninov, Murray, Fathead Jr over the last 5 years.... embarrassing.
Giving Jefferson, Lamarsha Aldridge, Pau Gasol, Pity Mills, TOSB Parker & Ginobili horrendous contracts....
Sam Presti was with Spurs during those years.
Well Pippen wanted to win. He wanted to win even after winning 3 les. So much so he worked on Jordan to come back in 1995. Kyrie has 1 ring and 3 finals appearances, and he is saying " it I'm out"..
Manu was appreciated but not enough by the media on those days. He had a great regular season, he played the All Star Game and should have made an All NBA team in 2005 but he was ignored like Parker was in 2007.
Tim playing with prime Manu and Parker was like to play along with a great Harden (Manu) and a way better version of Irving (Parker)
The fact that two players of the Big3 were snubbed says more about how stupid have been the media than about the talent of Tim's supporting cast
If Tony and Manu never play in SA neither make the hall. With Tim and thanks to him they both will make it..
They wouldn't have won 5 rings on other team without Tim but I doubt that Tim would have 5 without those two guys. 1 or 2? Sure. But 5?? No way
Like it or not they were a BIG THREE for some reason after 2004
Other good players would have been put around Tim. A player of that caliber has a big window to build around.. Spurs in 2003 were not even that good. And Tim dragged them a le, beating prime Shaq/Kobe Lakers..
-Tim was the greatest PF to ever play the game.
-After 2004 the Spurs AND Tim were so lucky to have two top guards playing in SA
-Do you think is so easy to build around a star in a small market like SA with Spurs refusing to pay luxury tax?
Ask MVP DRob how easy is to find great players to surround a Spurs franchise player without money. I wonder how mediocre would have looked Tim's supporting cast if the Spurs would have been forced to look for players in FA's/trades without spending enough money instead of drafting Manu/Parker.
And the Spurs would have at least three more rings.
As I said before, you take the Lakers out of the equasion, a team BTW that mightve been better than the Bulls, and Spurs are past the Bulls in rings, this is who the big three are. You have to compare eras not just ring counts when comparing and contrasting teams and players.
Like you know anything about rings, HAH!
Tony only won one championship without another All-NBA player (2014).
Tim & Tony each won one championship without another all-star:
Duncan: 2003
Parker: 2014
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