Harvey: Summer Of Change Will Test Buford

[The Truth #6]

But who's to say Smith's sporadic offense, reckless decision making, and lack of consitent defensive effort & experience doesn't help cost us some opportunities at winning the championships we have? Barry has been clutch for this team ever since he was signed and has fit better in the system. If J.R.'s more boneheaded plays landed him in Pop's doghouse that would also have shortened the bench even further on many occasions.

Of course there are risks with any trade, and especially with any young, talented offensive gunner. However, that's who we need right now. We're in a position where we're going to have to take a risk. Also, that's why I qualified it by saying if JR had played as well as he had this season.

I'm a fan of Bones but he was getting unfairly stuck behind Finley at that point (and almost all points) and we needed then (as we do now) an athletic wing player who can attack the basket and break down the defense.

[Marcus Bryant]

This is entertaining. Spurs fans rip the front office for not having a bunch of young studs on the roster and yet when it comes to landing those young players then they turn into a bunch of finicky little shrews. Young talent is raw, it's rough. It's not going to be refined. Especially when you consider the limitations the Spurs have in acquiring such talent.

[SenorSpur]

Older players are needed and valued for their experience. A team cannot win deep in the playoffs without them. The problem is older players are injury-prone, eventually break down, and at times lack the necessary motivation.

One or two younger players added to the mix (limitations notwithstanding) is a good way to offset the declining skills of the older vets and balance out the roster at the same time. Plus, they have the luxury of being able to develop without the pressure of having to contriubute instantly.

A flaw that exists in today's coaches is impatience. None has the time, willingnes, or desire to allow young talent to develop - especially when championships are at stake. However if you look at the four teams in both conference final games, the Spurs were the only team that did not have a young player, of 4 years or less experience, in their rotation.

I'm not drawing any correlation to that fact other than to say that having too much of anything is of no obvious benefit. Imagine the utter chaos of having a team of all power forwards or point guards. IMO, a diverse roster of age, experience, talent and skill set provides a higher potential for prolonged success.

[Marcus Bryant]

Spurs fans are spoiled.

[wildbill2u]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....4ba9671b.html

Buck Harvey: Summer of change will test Buford
Buck Harvey

A year ago the national media came to San Antonio for the Finals. At various times, many of them surrounded R.C. Buford with questions.

How did the Spurs do it? While larger markets spent more money and lost more games — while the Celtics and Lakers seemed stuck in mediocrity — how did the Spurs keep such a smart payroll and smarter locker room?

The Spurs’ general manager cracked a few jokes. Some were aimed at the media, some at himself. It was hard to explain, without bragging, that he had beaten his peers and found two sensational, franchise-changing players low in the draft.

But the last of those two draft bonanzas was seven years ago. No one drafted since is on the roster except for Ian Mahinmi, who played a total of 22 minutes this season. Now Buford’s international strategy is showing holes, and the Spurs face a telling time.

Buford faces a telling time.

It’s not all up to him. Gregg Popovich and his assistants influence the roster as much as any coaching staff does.

It’s also not an end-of-the-world scenario. The Spurs will be compe ive next season no matter. Tim Duncan and the two draft miracles, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, will be similar to what they were this past season.

But the league is changing. The return of Yao Ming, Elton Brand, Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum will cement that for their teams. New Orleans will likely take another step. And Dallas and Phoenix, even with issues, aren’t going away.

To counter, the Spurs need help. They need, specifically, a smart, young, athletic swingman who can score, rebound in a small lineup, stretch the defense with 3-point range and play Popovich’s defense.

This is where Buford would crack a few more jokes.

He thought he had found something with last year’s first-round draft pick, Tiago Splitter. But stories suggest he will stay in Spain for another two years.

The Spurs could use Splitter’s 7-foot size and youth, and not having him takes another bite out of the Spurs’ longtime philosophy. Ginobili developed in Europe as a Spurs draftee, and this was seen then as cutting edge. But since then the Spurs have used a half-dozen picks on similar international prospects, and not one has produced anything for them yet.

Some of it is bad luck, as it was with Splitter. With the recent influx of Russian money raising salaries in Europe, and with the rise of the Euro, Splitter has about four million reasons to stay.

But that doesn’t change this: The Spurs traded Luis Scola, in part, because they saw the taller Splitter as a better complement to Duncan.

Still, the frontline was not the Spurs’ weakness this year, and it won’t be without Splitter. They instead need a fourth scorer, someone who makes the regular season easier for everyone.

That’s where Buford comes in. Can he find players, as a Web site said last week, with his old “draft-night magic?”

Buford never said he was smarter than everyone else. He always said the Spurs had been blessed. Parker had to fall to them past franchises that should have known better. As Buford said, if he knew what Ginobili would become, he would have drafted him higher.

Still, Buford knew the world, and he gambled on this knowledge, and this is what launched the Spurs to three more les. One of the slights of this era is that Buford was never the executive of the year for this.

With three stars in place, the Spurs merely had to find bargain veterans who fit in Popovich’s system. And if Ginobili had been healthy, who knows? Maybe the national media would be coming to San Antonio this month to again ask Buford how he did it.

He instead is back at his job with the usual tools. All he’s got to work with is a low first-round pick and enough money for a mid-level player.

Buford also has something new, however, and that’s urgency. After all, can the Spurs win another championship before Duncan retires without finding someone else who is special?

In one of the Laker games, three of our starters scored a grand total of 7 points. All from Bowen.

That's ridiculous for an NBA playoff team. Do we need some retooling or what?

But the last few years haven't put anything of note into the pipeline and our trades haven't brought anything but older players, mostly with all their usefull days behind them (NVE or Stoudamire anyone?)

The FO need a miracle or two to regain their reputation.

[SenorSpur]

In one of the Laker games, three of our starters scored a grand total of 7 points. All from Bowen.

That's ridiculous for an NBA playoff team. Do we need some retooling or what?

But the last few years haven't put anything of note into the pipeline and our trades haven't brought anything but older players, mostly with all their usefull days behind them (NVE or Stoudamire anyone?)

The FO need a miracle or two to regain their reputation.

....and to stock a talent cupboard that is bare of incoming talent.

[LakerLanny]

Buford's getting exposed as a pretty lousy GM.

Yeah, 4 les in 9 years is horrible. He should be run out of town in favor of whoever the GM was before SA ever won a le.

Stupid post by another ing idiot.

[Mr. Body]

Yeah, 4 les in 9 years is horrible. He should be run out of town in favor of whoever the GM was before SA ever won a le.

That GM was Popovich. You don't really know anything, do you?

[dbreiden83080]

"The Spurs traded Luis Scola, in part, because they saw the taller Splitter as a better complement to Duncan".

[ducks]

"The Spurs traded Luis Scola, in part, because they saw the taller Splitter as a better complement to Duncan".

[Marcus Bryant]

So Buford is a "lousy GM" because he took a shot at landing a lottery level talent whose contract situation had resulted in the player falling to a low first round pick? It's funny how Spurs fans take it for granted that the front office's draft picks will pan out. But when they do, well, that's just dumb luck.



It'll be interesting to see the armchair GM explanations when Mahinmi blows up next season.

[NewJerSpur]

Of course there are risks with any trade, and especially with any young, talented offensive gunner. However, that's who we need right now. We're in a position where we're going to have to take a risk. Also, that's why I qualified it by saying if JR had played as well as he had this season.

I'm a fan of Bones but he was getting unfairly stuck behind Finley at that point (and almost all points) and we needed then (as we do now) an athletic wing player who can attack the basket and break down the defense.

I understand where you're coming from Truth, what I'm saying is that taking a risk on an unknown commodity in J.R. years ago might have cost this team championships in recent years in the same way some here think he'd help us win some moving forward....so you'd actually be making a trade off as opposed to guaranteeing we'd have had better results than what we've had.

I personally don't feel B.O.B. (Boom or Bust) Smith is a good fit for this team for multiple reasons that I stated in my earlier post...also the time he's spent in Denver has made him accustomed to a certain style of play at this point that he may or may not be willing to change. I'm grateful for Barry's presence here even with the injuries he's dealt with this past season and think the L.A. series might have been A LOT less compe ive without him. Pop made some suspect coaching decisions in that series and his use of Barry in the postseason can be added to the list IMO.

[leemajors]

....and to stock a talent cupboard that is bare of incoming talent.

if the D-League rules get tweaked a bit, that could change rapidly. Buying the Toros at least showed an attempt to corral some.

[Clandestino]

Whoever this Buford guy is he sucks... We need to fire him. What? Only 4 les?

[Gino2882]

Whoever this Buford guy is he sucks... We need to fire him. What? Only 4 les?

It really gets old reading responses like this. Ya your right, Duncan and company have won 4 les. THAT IN NO WAY, excuses Buford and his obvious drafting mistakes.

[Marcus Bryant]

It really gets old reading responses like this. Ya your right, Duncan and company have won 4 les. THAT IN NO WAY, excuses Buford and his obvious drafting mistakes.

What were the "mistakes"? Drafting Splitter and Scola with low round picks? BFD.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Poor Aggie, he's so obsessed with my Aggie slappings in the political forum that he drags his hemorrhaged, dilated anus (I've ripped him a few new ones in the political forum) to the sports forum and injects boutons into this thread.

As is typical of all Aggie bubbas, he's fact-challenged and a total liar. I've never even visited the democraticunderground.org site, never mind copy/paste from it. Aggie, provide a link to the political forum where I copied from democratic underground. Can't do it? Owned your pathetic self, again.

Aggie, you little less twerp, keep embarrassing yourself, the laughing stock of Spurstalk.

Do you really think anyone agrees with you on any of that, boutons? The next time you rip anyone a new asshole anywhere on this forum will be the first time, but it'll never happen - you're too busy sucking Obama's d-ck.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Pop won't play anybody that doesn't play defense and stick to our defensive system. THAT is the reason Beno didn't stay with us.

Sincerely, Michael Finley

[Marcus Bryant]

Beno is gone because Pop didn't want to put up with his bull anymore. On any other team he would be getting 25 minutes a night, if not 35.

[Man of Steel]

Buck doesn't read SpursTalk.

He copies it.

More than that.

Buck doesn't read Spurstalk.

He copies it.

He commits it to memory.

He reads it while ing his wife.

He reads it while taking a .

He reads it while watching his wife his mailman.

He reads it while getting stoned...

[silk]

More than that.

Buck doesn't read Spurstalk.

He copies it.

He commits it to memory.

He reads it while ing his wife.

He reads it while taking a .

He reads it while watching his wife his mailman.

He reads it while getting stoned...

is that really funny ?? no need to insult his wife

[Man of Steel]

Okay--you're right...

"He reads it while ________ is banging ______ _______..."

[mrspurs]

Because they're looking for someone who will criticize ownership?

Ive said the same words as yourself, but i don't start threads because you will find people who say goods things about it, and you find people not by choice who like to make fun of things....don't let the readers in here that only look for the negatives in what others write keep you from posting....it was a good post, but understand that in here you must also be able to accept negative reinforcemet..and of course the ignore is the 2nd best part of this place spurs