Boban Was A Video Game Mode Player

[Spurs9]

#boban

[sasaint]

I think this season should show us more about Pop specifically bc for the first time in 19 seasons he doesn't have TD and he really needs to be pushing the youngsters big time. If he's brought Manu back to ride his coattails as Manu rides into the sunset it's a bad sign for the Spurs' future.

I always thought Dwest didn't really do the Spurs a favor. He was ring chasing as much as he is now with GSW and in reality he took the spot that would have forced Pop to develop Boban anyway. Would the Spurs have been a better team if they just had Boban as the bench big all along instead of DWest? Who knows? They probably would have lost some early season games as Boban had rookie struggles early, but it's possible at the end of the season they would have been better off. That's the tradeoff of going all in on TOSB vets. They maybe are the better player to start, but eventually the younger talented player would have been a better option bc those guys get better with playing time through the season, whereas the aged veteran can fall off the face of the Earth at any moment and even if they are healthy, just keeping it together is about all they can do. They no longer have that other gear they had in their youth and won't kick it up a nudge in the playoffs. They can't. Tim was amazing bc he was still able to do that, until he got injured. I don't think Tony and Manu have "another gear" at this point. Just keeping it together is about all that can be asked. Maybe they will make me bite my tongue next post season.. but really? 40 year old Manu is going to be better than 40 year old Tim? How about a younger in age Tony, but not younger in body wear and tear?

For this season, I just hope David Lee doesn't turn into a similar D-West pacifier for Pop, who really needs to be developing his younger players before they are up for contracts and on their ways out like Boban, and Cojo (who was underutilized), and it might be a good idea to play Bertans and Murray too, skills level permitting.

I agree completely with your takes on the need to develop young talent and how Pop has an ingrained predisposition to rely on old vets to the detriment of the Spurs' young talent. Unless 2-4 of our young prospects pan out this season, the Spurs will be very impaired by the failure to develop a few more young guys in recent years. But I disagree with your assessment of DWest. He definitely did the Spurs a huge favor, which Pop completely bungled by forcing him to play out of position all season. If I were DWest, I would feel like Pop completely sabotaged my time with the Spurs, and I would harbor some real resentment against the team. It all goes back to signing LMA and apparently giving him a "guarantee" that he would not have to play center... Fast-forward to this season. That is precisely why Dedmon is the big key to the Spurs' success. If Pau and Dedmon can capably assume all the center's minutes, then we can afford to indulge LMA. If not, then it will likely be a repeat of last season with Lee and Kyle getting hammered like West and Diaw were. Last off-season, I truly wanted LMA's teammate, RoLo, instead. For the money we spent on LMA, we could have had RoLo AND another very good rotation player. After the LMA signing I warmed to the guy. But ceperez was never on the LMA bandwagon last season, and he may prove to be very prophetic this upcoming season. I look forward to hearing his takes once the RS gets under way. Without Timmy, will LMA develop more of a "whatever-it-takes" mentality?

[SAGirl]

I agree completely with your takes on the need to develop young talent and how Pop has an ingrained predisposition to rely on old vets to the detriment of the Spurs' young talent. Unless 2-4 of our young prospects pan out this season, the Spurs will be very impaired by the failure to develop a few more young guys in recent years. But I disagree with your assessment of DWest. He definitely did the Spurs a huge favor, which Pop completely bungled by forcing him to play out of position all season. If I were DWest, I would feel like Pop completely sabotaged my time with the Spurs, and I would harbor some real resentment against the team. It all goes back to signing LMA and apparently giving him a "guarantee" that he would not have to play center... Fast-forward to this season. That is precisely why Dedmon is the big key to the Spurs' success. If Pau and Dedmon can capably assume all the center's minutes, then we can afford to indulge LMA. If not, then it will likely be a repeat of last season with Lee and Kyle getting hammered like West and Diaw were. Last off-season, I truly wanted LMA's teammate, RoLo, instead. For the money we spent on LMA, we could have had RoLo AND another very good rotation player. After the LMA signing I warmed to the guy. Butceperez was never on the LMA bandwagon last season, and he may prove to be very prophetic this upcoming season. I look forward to hearing his takes once the RS gets under way. Without Timmy, will LMA develop more of a "whatever-it-takes" mentality?

You are probably right on Dwest. I just felt bc of how he turned down money he had Pop by the "balls" basically. He had his own share of awful games and was never benched and he really must have known the role he was asked to play b4 he took it. Also I think a whole lot of the bigs pairings and lineups is on Pop. LMA ended up playing center for 46% of the season, after only doing so 9% of the time in Portland just hte prior season and he did it in the playoffs. Pop wasn't coaching him early in the season per his own admission. It took Tim going down for LMA to step up bc it felt like he didn't want to be stepping on toes. I think he will be better next season, just overall more comfortable, with experience and the reports were that he joined the Sprus bc he wanted to win. The man who we really have to ask what he's doing is Pop. Nothing happens in the Spurs without his say so, tony ballhogging, Mills chucking, SlowMo in corners, Boban benched, it's all on Pop. What's not on Pop is Danny shooting poorly for the season, ppl getting injured like Timmy, etc... but lineups and strategies: 100% Pop.

[Spurtacular]

I think this season should show us more about Pop specifically bc for the first time in 19 seasons he doesn't have TD and he really needs to be pushing the youngsters big time. If he's brought Manu back to ride his coattails as Manu rides into the sunset it's a bad sign for the Spurs' future.

I always thought Dwest didn't really do the Spurs a favor. He was ring chasing as much as he is now with GSW and in reality he took the spot that would have forced Pop to develop Boban anyway. Would the Spurs have been a better team if they just had Boban as the bench big all along instead of DWest? Who knows? They probably would have lost some early season games as Boban had rookie struggles early, but it's possible at the end of the season they would have been better off. That's the tradeoff of going all in on TOSB vets. They maybe are the better player to start, but eventually the younger talented player would have been a better option bc those guys get better with playing time through the season, whereas the aged veteran can fall off the face of the Earth at any moment and even if they are healthy, just keeping it together is about all they can do. They no longer have that other gear they had in their youth and won't kick it up a nudge in the playoffs. They can't. Tim was amazing bc he was still able to do that, until he got injured. I don't think Tony and Manu have "another gear" at this point. Just keeping it together is about all that can be asked. Maybe they will make me bite my tongue next post season.. but really? 40 year old Manu is going to be better than 40 year old Tim? How about a younger in age Tony, but not younger in body wear and tear?

For this season, I just hope David Lee doesn't turn into a similar D-West pacifier for Pop, who really needs to be developing his younger players before they are up for contracts and on their ways out like Boban, and Cojo (who was underutilized), and it might be a good idea to play Bertans and Murray too, skills level permitting.

Kyle Anderson's ceiling is role player; deal with it. Yea, I'm replying to the subtext, tbh.

[TheGreatYacht]

Kyle Anderson's ceiling is role player; deal with it. Yea, I'm replying to the subtext, tbh.

Still a better player than the Mormon

[Spurtacular]

Still a better player than the Mormon

Disagree, tbh.

[SAGirl]

Kyle Anderson's ceiling is role player; deal with it. Yea, I'm replying to the subtext, tbh.