Summer went TOTALLY to plan.

[CoachTF]

Exactly MB. I say O'neal or Brand because I believe they are "franchise" guys you can build a team around and put them out as the face of the organization. Kidd is proving in Jersey he can be built around too. Adding any of these three is a no brainer and then you add pieces to compliment.

When it became obvious it was not possible Pop and RC went down the other fork in the road. I understand the frustration of GW and others. I would love to have had O'neal and I was dissapointed it did not work out. I respect opinions and keep an open mind but I disagree with any of the ideas of "maxing" out Odom or Maggette. You can't build a team around guys like Odom, Kandi, or Arenas and "max" players are in my opinion those who can carry an organization.

I see why GW likes Odom or Arenas and I would think of adding at the right price. Odom is just one of those guys who always has an issue. He has had issues everywhere he's been and he's never healthy. I think Arenas is making a huge mistake because Golden State is very solid and that organization is building with character and hard workers. Speedy is going to be real solid for them if he can remain on the court.

With the expansion draft and contracts currently in house next summer could be even more exciting!

[MannyIsGod]

Look, to me this is the BOTTOM LINE.

We made the moves over the past 2 years to make an attempt at landing a star this offseason when david retired.

We didn't do it. DUH.

They made damn good use of the capspace, because we have a very largely talented young core of players which have already won a championship.

You know, not one big name in there, but you can make an arguement that setting up a championship team to win for the next 10 years or so, IS a spectacular accomplishment.

The Lakers are NOT in that type of position, the Kings aren't getting much better, and neither is Dallas.

Our biggest loss of the offseason so far is speedy, but to be honest, the backup pg last year wasn't speedy through the season, it was KERR. Speedy came on at the end and had some great games and was great in the playoffs, but Kerr wasn't doing badly at all.

To me the spurs avoided what happend to the rockets in the mid 90s. They traded their young guys that had helped them get 2 rings for old guys to try to get another one or 2 rings. They have yet to fully recover from that.

Some of this has no doubt involved getting lucky, but alot of it was also front office savy.

It doesn't look extraordinary right now, but if Manu has a breakout year as well as Hedo, you will look back and thank god we didn't land the 2nd star.

[CoachTF]

Nice take Manny!

[Marcus Bryant]

Let's see...

The Spurs kept Parker and Rose (someone here wanted them gone).

Manu and SJackson were given the time to develop, as was Parker (since when does Pop start 19 year old point guards?)

Then the Spurs win a championship.

Tim Duncan re-ups for 7 years without any hesitation.

After that the Spurs have the ability and the nuts to make a play for a second franchise star in free agency. Complain all you want at least they had the friggin' nuts to do it. I know if they pulled it off there wouldn't be all this 20/20 Hindsight BS from you Monday morning QBs.

And then the Spurs proceed to add a replacement for DRob, pick up Turkoglu for nothing, and bolster the bench.

So now the Spurs have a young and talented team that won a le in June, they've addressed the retirement of David Robinson, and they now have a full starting lineup, probably the best ever seen in SA, aged 27 and younger (ie Parker/Manu/Hedo/TD/Rasho).

The Spurs rebuilding strategy was a success.

[Temple Of The Dog]

i agree manny... i said this in another thread... but the lakers are trying gimmicks, the wolves are just trying to keep up, dallas is stuck in a losing system and locked into players, and the kings seem to be a little lost... halfway planning for the future and trying to contend.

i think the spurs did a quality job... not really what they wanted, but they were good enough to come up with some gems and still hold on to that capspace for next year.

if hedo turns into something... they'll have the money to sign manu, go out and sign another guy to come in and help, and get hedo back. they're building a talent base (finally)

[Ghost Writer]

Sure, the rebuilding strategy was a success, but bring in a star so Duncan wouldn't have to toil like RObinson was a failure.

[Marcus Bryant]

they're building a talent base (finally)

At least someone gets it. Instead of following a Blow It All Now strategy the Spurs have played it smart and put themselves in a position to make a run at a superstar teammate for Duncan while still ensuring they had the ability to build their team if they didn't succeed. Now we see that the Spurs have a youthful and talented supporting cast for TD...along with the flexibility to make it even better. Kinda hard to complain about this, but no doubt some geniuses will find a way.

[MannyIsGod]

Ghost, fine, that was a failure.

But honestly, ing about that is like ing about a game 2 loss in the finals when you win the series.

[Marcus Bryant]

Sure, the rebuilding strategy was a success, but bring in a star so Duncan wouldn't have to toil like RObinson was a failure.

Yet, you were for Kidd. No, you didn't want Kidd all you wanted was for them to replace DRob and make a few opportunistic moves. No, not really you were for Kidd all along....

[Ghost Writer]

Wake up, Marcus. This is covered ground.

I begrudgingly pushed for Kidd the second I saw Payton and Malone going to the Lakers. At that point, we couldn't afford to maintain as we're doing now.

We had to improve unquestionably.

[Marcus Bryant]

Oh so now the Spurs had to make a long term move to react to the Lakers' short term move? Yeah that makes a lot of sense.

[Temple Of The Dog]

if it makes you feel better ghost... i'll argue.

i feel like the spurs passed up moves to get to this year that would have probably won them another championship... we'd have 3 instead of 2... and we'd never have seen all those damn espn specials about the laker dynasty.

the s.smith trade... we could have gotten more for DA then... and even something more for s.smith after we had him. (the moves were never made) capspace issues that led us to this year were the main reason.

and the one glaring problem i see is the lack of a solid second scorer. 16+ million dollars and they couldn't find a guy who averages a solid 17pts a game? tony parker is not stevie franchise... and it would be nice to let him develop his own game after seasons when we forced him to start at the age of 19... and take more shots at the age of 20.

----

that being said ghost... i think you're pushing the moves the lakers made. i wouldn't be afraid of a 40 year old who doesn't guard tim duncan well... and i wouldn't be afraid of a 35 year point guard, who has been schooled by tony parker. shaq is also slowing down a bit, and kobe might be in prison getting to know guys with nicknames like "the ass-assin"... and even if they all play their all-star best... they're all gonna be playing for 40mins a night, because the bench looks weaker than last year...

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Nice post T Park.

I think this summer evolved into Plan B, more than it was Pop's plan all along.

I think any coach wants the best player available. . .a team can never have too much talent. The Spurs made their play at these guys, but things didn't work out.

I don't believe for a minute that we couldn't attract top talent because we're a back-woods team in the middle of the two ocean coasts. The cards just didn't go our way with the MAX guys.

But Pop and company still found players who fit well into their system, and salvaged yet another off-season where they can once again roll the dice to try to lure a top-tier free agent, or afford to reward our guys if they continue to excel.

Having two stars creates some ego problems, but coaches would much rather have too much talent, than too little.





BTW, T Park, I'm impressed with how you've kept your composure in this thread. When GW jabbed you I expected to hear "Fu<k you, you fu<king fu<ker, go and fu<king fu<k yourself!" Didn't happen. Oh, well, maybe next time.

[Tony Le Parker]

and if it was Ghost, sfw, he insults ev1 at some pt in time. I don't buy into this "perfect execution of a perfect plan". I think if we had gotten J O'neal, our summer would have been pretty much over and ev1 would have been happy ( excluding MB and Ghost ). What Pop and RC pulled off, yet to be determined how successful it is, was damage control. They didn't act reckless and they didn't buy anything they didnt need or that might hamstring the Spurs in the future. They spent their money wisely, which for some reason is a rarity in the NBA ( see examples Layden, Scott and Riley, Pat ).