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Perfect?
Perfect replacement for Tim Duncan does not exist.
They are going to try signing Westbrook/Durant in 2017 so it is actually better for the Lakers to match a Clarkson offer sheet, which would give the team increased spending power over the next two summers.
Perfect?
Perfect replacement for Tim Duncan does not exist.
True... True.
Been watching this team since 1987. In that span I've lost both my parents, my wife, more than one good job and a several good dogs.
Tim stepping down for good will rank up there among the worst of those moments. He's been involved in my life for so long that he feels like family.
The one guy who stuck around when everyone else melted away from my personal reality.
Yeah... it will be pretty sad and his abilities for this team will NOT be reproduced by anyone in the NBA any time soon.
I hope the remainder of this team can do what none of us expect: Win without Tim.
I have been a Spurs fan since '94 and also have been following Duncan since '94. I grew up in NC so I saw Duncan first play at Wake Forest back when I was in middle school. Was amazed by his greatness even back then when he made no name players like Randolph Childress look like NBA caliber players. Childress was a PG that looked like an all-star player when playing with Duncan in college and was even a first round pick but turned out to be a bust in the NBA. That to me was the earliest signs of Duncan's greatness which was his ability to elevate the play of the players around him which very few players have the ability to do. Obviously over the last 20 plus years of watching him play my life has had a bunch of ups and down but Duncan has always been the constant while everything has changed. It definitely will be be sad once he's gone its going to feel like the ending of a great TV show.
thinking we'll win anything after timmy is gone
Wasn't saying I think we could. I used the word "hope". You're kind of stupid.
christ
lighten up got
it's gonna be dark days when 21 hangs it up
Yes it will. I don't look forward to this team being led by LMA and Kawhi (no offense to Kawhi).
It will be just like the 90's all over again. At best.
And keep your " got" to yourself. You know I wouldn't have slapped you in the face if you didn't say something stupid for no good reason.
Being a got.
I've never figured out why people think this. In Tim's 18 previous seasons, he's only won the le five times. So 13 other times, teams without Tim have won the le. So it certainly seems possible to win without Tim.
someday it's possible sure..i think it's gonna be a long drought, especially after pop.
i'm not enamored with LMA. kawhi might be our only real hope, if he could level up one more time, but it seems ridiculous to ask that from a guy who is already crowned with laurels; elite on both ends.
without something else major coming our way...nah, don't see it.
For me- it's watching those teams from the 90's that were pretty-to-darn good, but not good enough. The Clippers of today,so to speak.
And you knew... you knew that this team wasn't going to do it, barring huge luck. Tim changed all that. You saw it the first time he faced the NEMESIS Utah Jazz and schooled Karl like Dave never could.
Unless Kawhi takes yet another Quantum leap forward (which, you never know with this guy)- Tim stepping down (coinciding with Manu) will be too devastating to the franchise to become any better than those 90's Spurs teams.
Yeah- it can happen. We still have Pop and RC for another few years. Kawhi could still take another step forward and become truly, Truly Elite on the offensive end to go along with his D.
LMA could become more of a Man than he has ever been...
The Spurs COULD pull off another miracle via trade/stash/draft.
But all I can do is hope, for now. Tim brought the les. Without him this team hoists ZERO LOB's.
So, in short: for me it was the Robinson Era that did the "jading".
For all we know, the Spurs get injured and tank in 2017 to grab some generational talent. With guys like KAT coming out of nowhere to look like all-time prospects, I don't think it's impossible. But even overlooking that, adding one more max-caliber player keeps them in the discussion. If the Spurs have any advantages over GS, they aren't going away one Tim leaves. Maxing out a guard to help carry the offense will probably give the Spurs a fighting chance against a Warriors team that will be losing their role-players.
LMA is the Tim replacement. Period. No, he ain't Tim. He ain't one of the 10 best players of all time...but, he's an all star power forward, brought in to replace a hall of famer power forward.
Now, we have to bring in other pieces in other positions. To me the positions needing the most help now...are the guard positions. Someone that can run the court and provide assists. That's what we need...not another damned Power Forward...geesh. lol
My thoughts exactly.
The odds just don't look good- especially with this amazing Warriors team standing in front of everybody for the next few years.
Tim's been a center for more than a decade. Like seriously. LMA came to play with Tim, not play after him. Do you think Tim replaced DRob? I do, but you shouldn't as you consider Duncan a four. There's no "period" about your answer.
The Spurs NEED someone next to LMA. They made a mistake for years of neglecting the guy next to Tim. If the team had a healthy Splitter on the bench, I could understand your at ude. But guard or no, the team isn't going to win with LMA and washed-up guys as their bigs. And all that "Aldridge isn't in Tim's league" rhetoric only supports what I said. If Tim struggled as the only legit big, why do you think the team can handle LMA being in that position?Now, we have to bring in other pieces in other positions. To me the positions needing the most help now...are the guard positions. Someone that can run the court and provide assists. That's what we need...not another damned Power Forward...geesh. lol
Anyway, I agreed that a guard is important. It's just not the only important thing. They can't use all their cap space on a guard and think their work is done. They aren't going to win very much that way.
LMA came to REPLACE Tim...I think that was obvious to almost everyone. They made a mistake of neglecting the guy next to Tim? Seriously? 5 championships say otherwise. Tim didn't struggle...he f'king won big! And if Tim was the center for decade...what position did Tiago play?
Now, if you're unhappy with LMA being the replacement for Tim, I'm with you. But, bringing in another Big to play alongside LMA cuz he isn't good enough ain't the solution either. Either trade LMA for a better big...or keep him and focus on guard positions. I'm good with either.
Last edited by SouthernFried; 02-21-2016 at 01:19 AM.
I like how your line of argument is to just keep saying "It's obvious" over and over again. It's NOT obvious. LMA has repeatedly complained about being the only legitimate big on his teams. So that's not the Spurs' plan for him. And yes, they made a mistake not putting someone better next to Tim for years. He only won one of his les as the only legit big, and that was 2007. He had DRob in 99 and 03 and Splitter in 2014. He had Nazr and Horry in 2005, and that is at least what LMA would need. In 2007, the Spurs faced their weakest Finals opponent ever. I honestly think these Spurs without Tim would win that Finals pretty easily. The long gap between 2007 and 2013 is almost directly related to the Spurs not having anyone else on their front line, as anyone who remembers the other teams of that era can tell you.
You seem so keen to rebuild the Big Three. Like LMA=Tim, Kawhi=Manu so now they just need a new Parker. But that's NOT going to happen again. The entire timbre of the team is different, and it won't replicate the Big Three. They have to figure out something else, and that'll probably manifest itself in them having four very good players and a strong system rather than three HoFers. They'll be more like the 2000s Pistons in that regard. Maxing out a guy like Clarkson would only be half of what they need to do.
I have one legit non trolling question bc I see both your points. Like you, I am very concerned about the state of our guards. Heck I haven't been opposed to multiple trade ideas that involve Anderson, one of my favorite young players bc I recognize the team needs one elite guard.
So here we are. If we don't get a big to play next to LMA who do you see next to him?
Milutinov is too young. Boban? LJC? This question is for Chinook too. If we don't have Timmy who do you play next to him? D.West? Could be an option. We need someone that is of good enough caliber to start.
Maximum offer sheet to Clarkson would be $56.2M/4 (assuming a $93-Million cap) in case people are wondering. It would count as $14.05 Million for four years for other teams or $5.63M, $5.88M, $21.90M, $22.80M for the Lakers. I do think that those last two years would give the Lakers pause right now (in terms of money, they should do the same for SA). If the team is desperate for a young guard, and Clarkson is willing to come off the bench for a few years and work on his game, it's not prohibitive.
Yeah, in my mind, you hope West is willing to stay at a min deal, re-sign Boban for cheap and use the cap space to get a guard for cheap enough to keep a max slot in 2017. That is under what's everyone else's assumption that Tim and Manu retire while taking no money from next year's cap. If they do take theirs, then you just re-sign West for what he wants and focus on prospects. But unless David falls off, I want him starting next to LMA next year if Tim is gone.
I think even the system itself is changing as we went through the past season and go through this season and our bench system and style will change too. We don't need a super star big, the star big is LMA, but we do need one blue collar big like Tiago was.
LMA was brought in to replace Tim. That was your post "get a big to replace Tim." Well, that's what LMA is. Now, if you want to get another big to replace TIAGO...ok, that's a different matter. I have no problem getting someone who can protect the rim and get rebounds...cuz, LMA doesn't seem to be able to do that as well as Tim did either.
But, it was never the front court that was the Spurs problem. , Timmy was the best player on the court for the Spurs against the Clippers in the first round lost just last year. The oldest, slowest guy on our team, outplayed everyone else on the team. That was ridiculous.
It was the Back court that was inconsistent and the problem. And, yes, we need to change...and that means changing the backcourt...where the problems have been. Danny Green was terrible, Parker was inconsistent, Kawhi disappeared. The front court was not the problem. Which is why I was dismayed when we got a maxed contract front court player in the off season. That is not where we needed to spend the money. But, I understand we needed a "replacement for Timmy"...so, I waited to see how that would turn out. Problem is, it still didn't fix the back court problem. That is still the biggest issue for the Spurs.
No one mentioned in this thread has been a superstar. But they have been high-caliber guys. That's what you need. Players like Ibaka and Noel aren't stars in the sense you seem to mean, but they are the actual types of guys who replace Tim. "Star big" isn't Tim's role, and it hasn't been for years. He's been a defensive-minded rebounder who can score in favorable match-ups. Difference between him and those guys is that he has a HoF gear he can still get into. But that's not going to be found in free agents. It probably won't exist on the team next year. LMA doesn't have it, and LMA doesn't need it. He needs someone who can do what Tim does on a nightly basis next to him.
Last edited by Chinook; 02-21-2016 at 02:30 AM.
He wasn't brought in to do anything Tim does. He was brought in because he compliments Tim. When Tim retires, the Spurs need to find someone to do those things again. That's replacing Tim, and there isn't much room for debate.
It was easily the problem. The Spurs win that series in five with a healthy Splitter. You're just underscoring why LMA, who we all agree isn't as good as Tim needs to have another big next to him.But, it was never the front court that was the Spurs problem. , Timmy was the best player on the court for the Spurs against the Clippers in the first round lost just last year. The oldest, slowest guy on our team, outplayed everyone else on the team. That was ridiculous.
The problem for the Spurs is that they have been riding on Tim and Manu playing above their paygrades for years. So when a guy like Manu plays like a $7-Million player, instead of a max player at critical moments, it shows. They'll have to reprioritize their salary allocations next off-season. But you're so wrong. Had the Spurs maxed out a guard (and you should try to give an example of such a player being available), they would be a worse team now. With Tiago being unreliable and hurt, they needed to get a legit player next to Tim to have any shot. Because he can't hold up being the only big anymore. He can barely hold up being the second big right now. If it were him, Diaw and West right now, the Spurs would be middle of the bracket at best. I understand your concerns over the backcourt, but your skepticism of using the cap space on LMA hasn't been remotely vindicated by this season.It was the Back court that was inconsistent and the problem. And, yes, we need to change...and that means changing the backcourt...where the problems have been. Danny Green was terrible, Parker was inconsistent, Kawhi disappeared. The front court was not the problem. Which is why I was dismayed when we got a maxed contract front court player in the off season. That is not where we needed to spend the money. But, I understand we needed a "replacement for Timmy"...so, I waited to see how that would turn out. Problem is, it still didn't fix the back court problem. That is still the biggest issue for the Spurs.
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