What would be your long term strategy to get back in the le hunt?

[JeffDuncan]

... but if Klay for example wants to go somewhere else, I don't think the Spurs will be very far down the list.

The Lakers will be madly after Klay T. Bribes, death threats, and su ious packages are not out of the question. Just mentioning that.

There are players out there who could be had, ...

No doubt. There are players available now, unemployed, who would be better than some of what the Spurs have.

What's the trade status of Bertans? I mean, can he be moved now? He should be worth a journeyman point guard.

We don't want to keep Ferrari or Forbes. Defense. Is the word.

Maybe Forbes will continue to develop, as a shooting 2, until he's seriously tradeable for a decent wing. Hope so.

... Could also split up money into solid role-players to put around a starting unit of Murray, Walker, DeRozan, Rookie, Aldridge

Is that in order? DDR at the 3? Or just a list? DDR can't play 3.

[Chinook]

The Lakers will be madly after Klay T. Bribes, death threats, and su ious packages are not out of the question. Just mentioning that.

Not sure Klay cares about joining Lebron. LAL is going to put the hard sell on him and all the other free agents, but I'm skeptical that they'll be all that successful.

What's the trade status of Bertans? I mean, can he be moved now? He should be worth a journeyman point guard.

Bert can't be traded until 1/15. Same with Forbes. Beli can be traded a month earlier. All of those guys would have to be dealt toward the deadline when teams are looking for a little bit extra to make a playoff push.

Is that in order? DDR at the 3? Or just a list? DDR can't play 3.

It's a possible lineup given the "core" guys on the roster. I think DeRozan can totally play the three, especially given the current climate where most of the elite SFs are playing PF right now.

[Rick Von Braun]

Lots of good ideas in this thread. Some food for thought:

- High draft picks: Parker was 28th, Manu 57th, 2 HOFers. So while improbable to find jewels in high draft picks, it is not impossible, no need to tank yet.

- TBH, the best move for the Spurs would be to move the team to the East. The West has too much star power, and the imbalance has been strongly in place for more than 20 years now. I am sick of hearing the NBA corporate line that things will correct themselves, keep the traditions, etc. it, since 1998/1999 (and many argue even before this) the East-West imbalance has not been corrected, and it will not for the foreseeable future. Get rid of most of the pre-season games, add 5 games to the schedule and play every other team 3 times during the year for 87 games. Sort all teams by general standing position and be ready to battle in the playoffs. With modern charter travel, this is doable. If you want to keep the East-West All Star useless weekend, so be it, I don't care. it, get it done.

- Gasol/Mills contracts must be moved, there seem to be consensus here. The onus is on the young players to show they can live up to their potential, specially Murray. I am not convinced by any of them yet, and injuries do not help.

- I agree that Bertrans is closer to Europe than the NBA nowdays. He seems to be 2c short of a buck. Not that he is dumb or anything, but rather that he is not physical or mentally strong enough to take it to the next level, he only has shown glimpses.

- No one is going to trade with the Spurs for valuable players and get our garbage. That is the reality... trades would be lateral moves at best. I agree the draft is the way to go to rebuild the team. San Antonio is simply too small of a market to be attractive to big name players, this is just a fact. I think we were very lucky to have both Parker and Manu playing for the Spurs with relatively cheap contracts, specially the latter. Manu was a steal, a max player in almost any other team in the league. If you don't believe it, remember the Beard as a sixth man in OKC.

- The next couple of years are going to be rough, so Spurs' fans better develop a thicker skin. You are going to realize very soon that the Spurs had an incredible historic run for more than 20 years, and those times are now gone.

[JeffDuncan]

Not sure Klay cares about joining Lebron. ...

Right. Especially not if the LeBron team is still the Los Angeles Dumpsters at that time.

Bert can't be traded until 1/15. Same with Forbes. Beli can be traded a month earlier. All of those guys would have to be dealt toward the deadline when teams are looking for a little bit extra to make a playoff push.

I'd keep Forbes for the rest of the year because the nasty injury situation at guard has scared me. We need a defensive wing more than Beli or Bertans I think. Sure, it's a blistering year for scoring, but scores are already starting to come back down, and there are lots of complaints about the touchy touchy foul calling. I think D will be back, as a respectable thing, in the second half, if not even sooner.

... I think DeRozan can totally play the three, especially given the current climate where most of the elite SFs are playing PF right now.

Nah. It's that problem that he has a big red D with a diagonal line through it tattooed on his forehead. Gotta have some kind of defense from the 3 position.

Heck, I'd try DDR as the starting point guard long before I'd put him at the 3. Forbes at the starting 2.

Y'know, I'd almost try Murray at the 3 when he comes back, at least in one preseason game. He's way too light, but he plays tough D and he hits the boards like a maniac. As long as we're throwing ideas around.

[JeffDuncan]

... Gasol/Mills contracts must be moved, there seem to be consensus here.

"Consensus" is a delicate way to put it. It's not quite at the point where the screaming mob that wants to hang them has to be held back by a police cordon, but close.

No one is going to trade with the Spurs for valuable players and get our garbage. That is the reality... trades would be lateral moves at best. ...

Unless there's some team with which the Spurs can make a financially beneficial arrangement in which the players are virtually irrelevant. Tricky.

San Antonio is simply too small of a market to be attractive to big name players, this is just a fact.

That "fact" is bs. It's a tired old excuse for managerial incompetence. Good players will go where:

1) They have a good chance to win.

2) The pay is good.

3) They can turn all the way around without seeing a horse's rear end in every direction they look.

The next couple of years are going to be rough, ...

And a uva lot rougher than they ever should have been or needed to be.

[ElNono]

[ElNono]

Bringing back Parker next season would be a great way to start tanking, tbh...

[tbdog]

This team was not built around the DD trade. It was built with the intention of Leonard coming back. The Spurs were still trying to sort things with Leonard. He was traded on the 19th (19 days after free agency commence). You can argue that not dealing Leonard on draft night was the incorrect move however, it is unsure what offers were on the table and if any of them were better than the one the Spurs currently got.

The Spurs problem the last 2 seasons was 3 point shooting. Getting Beli was the right thing to do. Re-upping Bertans was the correct thing to do. Forbes was questionable but it worked out well for what his is worth and doing with his shooting. Letting Parker go for White was all the correct moves to make.

Murray/Green/Leonard/Gay/LMA was the defense lineup that was going to go the distance. The Spurs believed Murray was ready for the next step. Gay was healthy. They had shooters. That was the team Bufford had in mind. But Leonard hate for the Spurs was too much and the Spurs got what they felt was the best deal that could get, DD. All of a sudden, there were questions of if DD and Murray could work. DD defense would not work with Mills or Beli starting. This is not the team Bufford had in mind but the team they were forced to have. Then the injuries occurred and now it was forced upon Pop to play Mill, Beli, Forbes along with DD, Bertans etc. It was not the plan.

The point is, next season we should get a better direction of what this team is capable of, rather than judging what team is now, which is just random puzzle pieces.

[RC_Drunkford]

I don't think the team is as unattractive as they were in 2015. Aldridge and DeRozan are getting older, but they are both still seen as players in their prime. Murray has the air of being the next big thing. I don't necessarily see them landing KD, Butler, Irving or Kawhi (most of those are obvious), but if Klay for example wants to go somewhere else, I don't think the Spurs will be very far down the list. Walker, Middleton, Harris, Barnes. There are players out there who could be had, and some of them might be gettable to a decent chunk less than a max slot. Might be able to save a guy like Beli, Bertans or Forbes or allow for the team to be bad enough this year to get a high lottery pick.

Something like this:

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?...5d773137789064

Could also split up money into solid role-players to put around a starting unit of Murray, Walker, DeRozan, Rookie, Aldridge

I see what you did there, but I think we should go with younger players in general. Stanley Johnson should be available for cheap. Was also thinking about Middleton, Harris or even making a run at Porzingis. I don't know if the Spurs will be able to sign them though, cause about half the NBA is free agents next year and there are a lot of teams with a lot of cap room. In general, there are a lot of Spursy players free agents next offseason, especially wings. Guys like Ariza, Millsap, Carroll, Danny Green, Bradley, Wes Matthews, Pat Beverly, etc. Some of them would probably be available for a very reasonable price, so you could assemble a nice supporting cast for Derozan/Aldridge.

I think the Spurs could definitely free up a decent amount of cap space cause Bertans and Belinelli's contract are easy to move with Mills and Gasol. Other than that, I still think we could take on a bad contract just to get a lottery pick and either move up in the draft or use it in a trade to get a 3rd star. Possibilities are definitely out there to improve the team, I just hope the Spurs will be very aggressive in doing so. Bottom line is they have to move both Gasol and Mills.

I would do something like this:

• Trade Pau to the Bulls for Rob Lo's expiring (which makes a lot of sense for both teams tbh)
• Trade Mills and Bertans for Iman Shumpert and Yogi Ferrell expiring (attach Toronto pick if you have to)
• Trade Belinelli to Charlotte for Tony Parker and a 2nd rounder, waive Parker, then stretch his contract

Not only does this give us cap room for next year, we get a C that can play well with LA, a 3-and-D player and we get our vet PG back. For 2019

• let Rudy Gay walk
• Trade both 1st rounders to move up in the draft and draft a SF.
• Then sign Middleton, Millsap, Stanley Johnson. Might have to trade Forbes to sign Johnson, but it could also work while keeping him.
• Fill out the rest of the roster with vets on minimum deals like Tyson Chandler, Dante Cunningham, etc.
• If Huestis works out he's the 3rd PG, otherwise get a vet for the min

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator?...887ad342119187

LA/Poetl/Chandler
Millsap/Cunningham/Metu
Middleton/Johnson/Rookie
Derozan/Walker/Forbes
Murray/White/Huestis

I think that's a roster that can go far and has a lot of defenders. Players like Middleton, Millsap and Chandler would give this team that classic Spurs character and grit, while also improving the defense tremendously.
Johnson and a rookie would give us 2 SFs to develop who are on the timeline of our young generation.

[r0drig0lac]

Lots of good ideas in this thread. Some food for thought:

- High draft picks: Parker was 28th, Manu 57th, 2 HOFers. So while improbable to find jewels in high draft picks, it is not impossible, no need to tank yet.

- TBH, the best move for the Spurs would be to move the team to the East. The West has too much star power, and the imbalance has been strongly in place for more than 20 years now. I am sick of hearing the NBA corporate line that things will correct themselves, keep the traditions, etc. it, since 1998/1999 (and many argue even before this) the East-West imbalance has not been corrected, and it will not for the foreseeable future. Get rid of most of the pre-season games, add 5 games to the schedule and play every other team 3 times during the year for 87 games. Sort all teams by general standing position and be ready to battle in the playoffs. With modern charter travel, this is doable. If you want to keep the East-West All Star useless weekend, so be it, I don't care. it, get it done.

- Gasol/Mills contracts must be moved, there seem to be consensus here. The onus is on the young players to show they can live up to their potential, specially Murray. I am not convinced by any of them yet, and injuries do not help.

- I agree that Bertrans is closer to Europe than the NBA nowdays. He seems to be 2c short of a buck. Not that he is dumb or anything, but rather that he is not physical or mentally strong enough to take it to the next level, he only has shown glimpses.

- No one is going to trade with the Spurs for valuable players and get our garbage. That is the reality... trades would be lateral moves at best. I agree the draft is the way to go to rebuild the team. San Antonio is simply too small of a market to be attractive to big name players, this is just a fact. I think we were very lucky to have both Parker and Manu playing for the Spurs with relatively cheap contracts, specially the latter. Manu was a steal, a max player in almost any other team in the league. If you don't believe it, remember the Beard as a sixth man in OKC.

- The next couple of years are going to be rough, so Spurs' fans better develop a thicker skin. You are going to realize very soon that the Spurs had an incredible historic run for more than 20 years, and those times are now gone.

with due respect I do not understand that kind of comment, I do not give a about the other teams or about the 20 year run (Duncan was the ONLY reason, that this is clear), I want the spurs always be among the best teams of the league, if that is not possible, at least do not cause self damage with ridiculous contracts like Pau and Mills, mistakes should and will be pointed out ALWAYS

[dbestpro]

The quickest way is to go all defense. Forget the rule book and play defense like its the 90s. Force the refs to call 100 fouls a game if you have to. They will eventually ease up just for the sake of the game. When the playoffs come, you then get to play defense at a higher level than the rest of the teams are use to playing.

[RC_Drunkford]

I think a lot of people have a way too negative outlook. We have 2 All-Stars and some young guys. Derozan/Aldridge ain't enough to win a le, so if we can't get All-Stars we gotta get multiple players close to that level to build a supreme supporting cast and do it by committee while at the same time betting on internal improvement of our young guys. If we could get Middleton and Millsap, which is actually more realistic than signing a Jimmy Butler or Kyrie, our starting line up would be crazy good. Especially if Dejounte can improve. If Lonnie Walker can be anything close to Donovan Mitc there is your 6th man. The moves just have to be totally on point and all the dead weight has to get cut.

[RC_Drunkford]

The quickest way is to go all defense. Forget the rule book and play defense like its the 90s. Force the refs to call 100 fouls a game if you have to. They will eventually ease up just for the sake of the game. When the playoffs come, you then get to play defense at a higher level than the rest of the teams are use to playing.

I was also thinking about that. Kinda like the grit and grind Grizzlies. Refs just knew it will get physical and allowed a lot more contact than usual.

[r0drig0lac]

The quickest way is to go all defense. Forget the rule book and play defense like its the 90s. Force the refs to call 100 fouls a game if you have to. They will eventually ease up just for the sake of the game. When the playoffs come, you then get to play defense at a higher level than the rest of the teams are use to playing.

i agree that the focus should be on defense (we have enough offense with Demar and Aldridge if the support roster is good enough), but I think the slower pace will work if the team has size. In a league where the backcourt need to get bigger (or more robust) and the frontcourt faster (and versatile defensively), Pop is simply doing the opposite, there is no reason to have players smaller than 6'4" in current league, if you do not have the talent to beat the best teams, you can attack them physically,but you need size and hardness to do it (especially in the perimeter)

[hitmantb]

In all honesty, this team will never win a championship again without getting lucky on someone of Tim Duncan's caliber ON TOP OF A 50 WINS ROSTER.

Pop is about to retire and the front office will likely go through major transition.

Most small market teams do not ever win it. Owners just won't go deep into luxury tax to construct a roster that can compete.

Spurs had zero chance until that 1997 year. Heck if the Spurs was a true lottery team, Duncan would have likely bolted in 2000 with no ring in hand.

[John B]

Package Murray with our 2 1st picks and Gasol’s expiring contract for Butler and filler now.
DD/Forbes/Butler/Gay/LMA
White/LW4/Dante/Bertans/Poeltl
Mills/Belli/Filler/Filler/Filler

[offset formation]

other then gs what team has done more and won more les recently then the spurs

murray looks great

someone in office said something that leonard got upset at
I do not think it was rc
that person could have or should have been fired
but it could have been something that leonard should have moved on

gambit is trolling. Don't give him the pleasure.

[Ibleedslvrnblk]

Right now the league is in a go for broke at all costs (4 1st for Butler) mentality but it's going to set a lot of franchises back. Also a lot of old stars going to be leaving soon. It's turn over time for most teams.

This franchise is smart and I'm fine just having them being compe ive and who knows for the next few years. Honestly if it's 5 years before this team is top three then so be it. Better than throwing it all in, losing and having 15+ years of dark days.

[gambit1990]

gambit is trolling. Don't give him the pleasure.

i wasn’t. accountability is a good thing.

[Mr. Body]

LMA and DDR are good pieces, but almost everything else is junky. I like Gay, but he's a role-player, and the three young guards are promising. The team badly needs young, dynamic athletes who can learn how to score. Defense is good but secondary now. I don't see a way of infusing this team with the young talent needed, but it sure as doesn't help to have all of Murray, White, and Walker out. That's unbelievably bad luck. Walker looks like the prototype guard for this era.

But they need wings, too, and even big guys, if Poeltl is going to suck. I don't believe in Bertans at all. Unfortunately the team is close to treadmill mediocrity. I don't see many small fixes, much less a big one.

[BatManu20]

if they had a legit #1 option while those are options 2 and 3 they could

We cant afford another star (KD, Jimmy Butler, Klay) with two Max Contracts already on the books. And I’m 95% sure none of those 3 would sign to live in San Antonio regardless. Spurs don’t really have options.

[RC_Drunkford]

We cant afford another star (KD, Jimmy Butler, Klay) with two Max Contracts on the books. And I’m 95% sure none of those 3 would sign to live in San Antonio regardless. Spurs don’t really have options.

What about Middleton and Millsap? I think we could get them. No superstar but supreme role payers basically

[wildbill2u]

What player that's obtainable do you think could get the Spurs back in the mix of things? Butler?

I saw some film the other day on D. Rose. He really looked like he has recovered the quickness that made him a superstar. But with all the injuries, maybe he could be had from the Timberwolves. He is on their bench but I believe he could start for this current team with all the injuries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=cx6ZhDfU6lM

I know this isn't a long term solution, but we need to weather this year. Or just go ahead and tank.

[BatManu20]

What about Middleton and Millsap? I think we could get them. No superstar but supreme role payers basically

Middleton will also be too expensive, although I’d welcome him with open arms.

And Millsap, even though we’re only 5 games in, looks washed this season. Averaging 10 PPG on 37% shooting... yuck. Looked horrible against the Lakers the other night. Plus he’s almost 34. So maybe the Spurs will go after him

[BackHome]

Tank I am all in but still want to see the young guys get the playing time Metu, White, Walker, Poodle. They all need to play and if they get better great if they suck well now you know we’re to go for free agents and draft.