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Or you could also just read your own quote from my signature...
Yeah...I have to admit I was completely wrong about the George Hill trade. I'm pretty happy about this current roster.
Or you could also just read your own quote from my signature...
My quote is testament to your ability to never shut up, never listen, continue to argue, and to always declare victory, beginning the very moment you arrived. It should also be testament to your inability to recognize sarcasm.
Call it what you want. I just take it at face value.
I call it what it is. Sarcasm.
Did trading Hill get us both Leonard and Green? or just Leonard?
Just Leonard, but trading Hill opened minutes at SG that most of us assumed would be filled by Neal and Anderson. In fact, they've been filled by Neal and Green.
8
Hey remember that San Diego sportswriter that was upset that Leonard was traded to the Spurs because they are old and fading.
In fairness though, Spurs have shut me up this year. I thought we should tank and hope to get Davis for Twin Tower Redux.
That Kawhi kid is looking pretty good. I was high on Chris Singleton on the draft and a bit disappointed we traded Hill and didn't get him. Eating crow now.
If there was a grade for the 11/12 calendar season Spurs should be at an A right now. They lost Hill and Dice and a 1st rounder, but picked up Kawhi, Diaw, SJax, Mills/Ford. Oh and we got rid of RJ.
You stopped posting in the thread after you said it. Don't see much sarcasm.
I often wonder if his sarcasm detector is really that non-operational or he's just that desperate for anything resembling a compliment.My quote is testament to your ability to never shut up, never listen, continue to argue, and to always declare victory, beginning the very moment you arrived. It should also be testament to your inability to recognize sarcasm.
Definitely funny reading through the thread. However, I reacted the same way to our offseason because it was reasonable to. Going into the season, we traded away Hill (who was technically one of our better defenders and rebuilding pieces), lost Dice, reduced to 4 bigs, Manu coming off another injury, a year older from an old 2010 version of Duncan, the uncertainty of Splitter's role, the uncertainty of Neal and Green's impact (don't forget, we've addition quite a few wings that have failed in recent years: Hairston, Marcus Williams, Temple, White, Udoka, Mason, Gee, etc etc so the uncertainty behind Neal and specially Green were definitely an issue), and overall a year older for everyone. To make matters worse, Leonard didn't exactly come out of the gates with blazing promise.
For us to be contenders, Leonard, Splitter, Neal, Green all had to make a significant impact. Props to them but because they did. But in addition to our improved bench/role players, Duncan has looked fantastic compared to last year and Parker is playing at a MVP level. Further, we we're able to make some key mid season maneuvers that further improved our chances with Jackson and Diaw. Edit: I guess I should add Mills too because he provides nice insurance after losing Ford.
If we were to go back to December/preseason days, our offseason grade should really still be a C or lower. (hindsight is 20/20). Our in season improvement, from individual player to front office management has been nothing short of an A, if not an A+
Get over yourself, no one cares.
SI s draft grades
B San Antonio Spurs
The grade would be even higher if not for the price they paid for No. 15 Leonard, as George Hill was still respected enough by the Spurs that they felt comfortable discussing trades for Tony Parker that would have led to Hill's taking over the team. But Leonard is a great fit here, with his defense-first mentality and a decent offensive game that has plenty of room for growth. Taking Cory Joseph at No. 29 is just another reflection of how point guard-heavy this draft was on the back end, and the Spurs grabbed their cup of tea there. Davis Bertans (No. 42 via Indiana) is yet another long-term investment that could make them look like geniuses down the road. He won't play in the league for a few years but is heralded overseas.
A+ Indiana Pacers
As was the case with the Mavericks, the Pacers somehow leveraged a pick in a weak draft into a legitimate player. The trade for George Hill is a perfect fit, not only because of his Indiana roots but also because he is a tough, talented, two-way player on a team that is building such an iden y. The Spurs clearly realized that unloading Richard Jefferson's contract was nearly impossible, meaning Leonard will have time to grow into the small forward position there. But the Pacers were looking for serious upgrades now and found it in Hill.
All excellent points that are on the mark. I would love to see a more aggressive Matt Bonner this playoffs playing a more physical role on the team, ala "The Custodian" Brian Cardinal. This team really needs a guy to do that kind of dirty work and has been needing that for several years now. I'm real tired of watching a feckless Bonner meekly extend his hands in the air and get dunked or scored on easily time after time. Brian Cardinal and Ian Mahinmi's blue collar physicality and hard fouls literally changed the momentum of last year's finals IMHO and the mavs wouldn't have won the series without those guys adding that element.
letting go of Hill and grabbing Kawhi was a masterful move. Deserving of much more than a mere C-. A B+ more likely. Also grabbing Green and giving him minutes solidifies the B+ grade.
All this just goes to show why all of us are armchair critics and not making a living coaching and managing teams.
I tend to go with decisions of the FO and coaches because I learned the hard way back in the day. I hated the Gervin trade and the Silas trade, but in the end they were simply good management decisions by pros who didn't let sentiment stand in the way of reality.
Speaking of sentimentality and heart, however, the Spurs showed a lot of it by bringing back PG Johnny Moore for enough games to qualify for an NBA pension after he'd been disabled by a career-ending disease --desert fever--that he probably contracted in Phoenix on a road trip.
Recall that when Hill was drafted, the Spurs originally had their eye on a defensive-minded SF (Nic Batum) in that 2008 draft. Of course this was before the Blazers and Rockets executed that notorious train-robbery heist to steal Batum from under the Spurs noses. That forced the Spurs to settle for Hill, who was clearly their second choice.
As I said in earlier related threads, I like Hill as a player, but he was a luxury player for this team. He wasn't skilled enough to be a full-time PG, and he's too short to be a 2-guard. Therefore, he's a tweener. He's still a damn fine player, but he didn't solve any of the roster deficiencies for this team. Watching Pop install Hill at SF, during the Memphis playoff series because RJ was sucking so bad, should tell Spurs fans all they need to know about where the holes were on this team.
Leonard, on the other hand, clearly fills a long-standing need of defensive stopper and rebounder for this team. With his emerging offensive game, the sky is the limit for this kid. There isn't any question that the Spurs are much better off with Leonard than with Hill - and it's not even close.
Another Thread Bump to celebrate Championship No. 5.
Mind you at the time of this thread, right before the '11-'12 season, the Spurs had just come off a 61-21 season (best record in the West) and had just added Kawhi Leonard to the roster.
Another Thread Bump to celebrate Championship No. 5.
Mind you at the time of this thread, right before the '11-'12 season, the Spurs had just come off a 61-21 season (best record in the West) and had just added Kawhi Leonard to the roster.
Nice one! The comments in here. Wow... Talk about overreaction.
Man that first page is funny stuff. Good read
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