That's not the point of this thread. It's about their aging roster and about the absence of a young, core of developing talent on the active roster.
While age did not directly cause them to lose in the playoffs, in some ways it did catch up to them. Except for Duncan who routinely dominates his matchup, the Mavs either had the advantage or a "push" at practically every other position on the floor and with their bench player contributions.
Bottom line, this team has to get an infusion of young blood someway, somehow.
I agree. Some young blood needs to come in soon. It is part of the downside to drafting guys and developing them in Europe for a few years, as Robertas and Scola are aleady 26, I think. Even Manu- look at the "fewer" years that will be gotten out of him in the NBA because of his age when he came.
at "35 is old".
in basketball it is, not life, we are talking about the nba, agility, speed, jumping, running, endurance, physical activity, these guys play from late september to june, you need to be young, your body eventually lets you down, look at horry this year!
Basketball is life.
The Spurs opening day roster is hardly set as we type on July 11.
I like the philosophy of signing the past his prime vet that is hungry to be on a compe ive team with a realistic shot at the le. It did not work with NVE last year but has served well as in the case of Jerome Kersey, Glenn Robinson, Kevin Willis.....
I understand the desire to have a stable of young studs with the potential to develop into valuable contributors but there is two things wrong with that.
1. They are taking up roster and cap space while they are developing.
2. If they do realize the potential, they are hard to hold onto when they enter free agency because the lions share of cap has to go to the starters that have to be there if you are going to go all the way.
That doesn't mean you carry a roster of aging vets and crash and burn when they get too old or retire.
You have your core which is basically your starters. The rest of the bench needs to be a mix of young players and aging vets that you know likely are going to turn when their contracts are up. What you have to be worried about is keeping your core in their prime.
Having said that, the thing that jumps out at you regarding the Spurs roster is Bowen is getting to the age where he could lose a step and it could happen quickly and he will lose all effectiveness of the role he plays on this team when his athleticism declines. The other problem is the doughnut problem. The Spurs are a team with a hole in the middle at the moment.
I know managment has said they generally are looking for a back up point, a long defensive oriented three and a center. It may be a bit much to expect to fill all three needs this off-season as the center position is the most difficult of the three and centers are often overpriced for what they produce.
Moving Duncan to the middle is an option but then he will have to bang with Yao and Shaq as well as an army of hackers that will be getting their six fouls worth on him. This would not be ideal as he is now 30 and it would be nice to lessen his load rather than increase it thus increasing the opportunity for injury and regular season wear and tear.
A lot of the future is contingent upon how much Ian develops and how quickly. Beno is also an important cog if he is not traded as he will have to do as the back up point more than likely.
So when you say the Spurs are old, the core is what has to be focused on and the core is not complete today.
bonner and javtokas 26 will be joined by ian 20 so we have a young core for the Big
Beno 23 (somehow not relevant since tony the clear starter is so young there is no need)
It seems it is on the wings that we need 1 or 2 young prospects. Melvin's upsides seem too limited for him to develop. Looking at the rumors during the draft and the players on summer league, Spurs are not only looking for a tall athletic three but simply a young 2/3 winger with a lot of upside. He would have time to develop behind bruce finley and whoever else we keep (barry - williams) or bring
The Spurs' core strength, Duncan-Parker-Ginobili, are 30-24-29. That's called "in their prime". The rest are a supporting cast. They could use a couple of young bodies off the bench, but I'm not worried about them next season.
spurs will have have a first round draft pick and bucks second round pick next year
the first round pick should be a solid young player
bump my own thread, this isn't going away
Should be lottery, as I don't see the Bucks goin anywhere anytime soon
WINDOW HAS SLAMMED SHUT! GAME OVER, lets work our asses off for that 4th seed next year!
the spurs dont necessarily need youth they need one or two players who are big enough to play the 4 yet are able to defend the 3. a little rebounding would be nice too.
age didn't beat the spurs last season. matchups did. lack of rebounding did (which is a result of the matchups)
Bump!
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