ESPN Insider Free Agent Forecast

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Ghost,

I'm still waiting for you to tell me who is gonna offer Brad Miller 10 million.

I covered the teams with money earlier in this thread, and what they'll be doing with it.

There is no one to offer Brad Miller 10 million, so there's no way in he'll get that.

AHF

[Marcus Bryant]

Oh get ing real. I've pointed out that the Spurs could not be selective when it came to pursuing a star free agent this summer. You've done nothing but say that the worst could happen and post your usual complaints about the Spurs not blowing their cap flexibility on Derek Anderson back in 2001. That's right, the same Derek Anderson you insisted the year before would never be a Spur.

"Things might not work out." - Casper

No . Bring something that isn't obvious you ing genius.

This thread is about you wanting to believe that the Spurs will simply have their pick of the superstar free agent lot and subsequently getting pissed off when I point out to you that the free agents still have the power to re-sign with their current teams.

[Ghost Writer]

Aggie, why did you have to go and interrupt while I had Marcus's nuts roasting on an open fire?

The Pacers will re-sign B. Miller for in or around $10 million. Reggie Miller will probably play elsewhere or accept a really small contract to stay.

[Marcus Bryant]

No doubt you hate being interrupted when you have my nuts on your mind.

[Ghost Writer]

Marcus, you dolt.

I was the one who clamored for the Spurs to let Anderson walk!



P.S.

Stop getting emotional because I have the foresight to understand that if it comes to settling for Olowokandi, that might not be such a bad thing coming off a le year.

[Marcus Bryant]

Ok, so now you wanted DA to walk but yet you complain about the "Holting Pattern." DA was a direct casualty of the Spurs opting for cap flexibility in 2003. What's the ing complaint, now? That the Spurs should've made that deal for Murray and Mihm?

You don't have jack . All you've done is ed about everything all the time, forgot about all the times you were wrong, and conveniently claimed to have known it all along.

[scott]

Why don't you two es shut the **** up and post your preferences, in order, for this summer's moves?

We all want a superstar. Hopefully, we all know there are no promises one will wind up a Spur. Even if a superstar doesn't come- we still have a roster to fill.

What happens this summer no longer has any affect on whether or not the Holting Pattern was successful. The moves entailed in the Spurs strategy directly resulted in a Championship, although it came before it was anticipated. What is to be determined now is if the Holting Pattern resulted in a one time shot at the le, or a string of championships.

The latter can happen with or without another superstar, obviously it would be easier with one.

Contingency Planning.

[Ghost Writer]

Breathe in. Count to 10. Breathe out.

You're getting emotional again.

I recognized the signs of a Holti-ing Pattern shortly after Robinson was re-signed and we made a trade of talent for a cap placeholder (Kerr + Anderson for S. Smith).

You still tried to find ways for the Spurs to sign free agents and do trades like a jack@ss.

So don't tell me about the Holt-ing Pattern.

My complaint with the Holt-ing Pattern was my feeling that the best time to make a move to get another le was with Robinson still on board.

As fate would have it, the low-cost players found their way into the rotation this season and gave the Spurs the athleticism they so desperately needed and we won an unexpected le.

Get through your thick skull that nowhere in this thread will you find a complaint from me.

i'm happy we have validated the 1999 le with another one in a rebuilding year and have $15 million to entice a superstar this summer.

Your problem is that I am resolved to the harsh reality of what may happen should all the coveted stars pass on signing with the Spurs.

You're bothered by the fact that I can live with replacing Robinson with Olowokandi if it comes down to it.

Deal with it. You may have to some day in reality. B1tch.

[Marcus Bryant]

Here comes scott the self appointed voice of reason.

[scott]

Obviously necessary because you two dip s can't go 10 seconds without digressing into "who has the biggest " contest.

[Marcus Bryant]

You're not paying attention, scott. Casper's now talking about my nuts.

[Ghost Writer]

scott, with all due respect, stay the fvck out of this. Marcus and I have detailed our order of preferences time and time again. Don't get in the middle of this like a knight in white sating if you're not going to bring any clarity to the issue. With all due respect.

The Holt-ing Pattern's prime directive was to clear cap space to acquire a superstar free agent in the summer of 2003.

Winning a le this year was quite unexpected. Popovich has said as much in press conferences.

I believe that winning a le this year will indeed change the priority level for this summer.

the front office will not feel the extreme pressure to bring in any old star.

Because they won a le, they'll probably look to replace Robinson and have enough cap flexibilty left to re-sign the current rotation.

[scott]

Regardless of which part of the male anotomy is currently the topic of discussion- you are both fixated on problems. Let's hear some solutions.

[Ghost Writer]

That's the whole thing. There isn't a problem.

At best, the Spurs wind up with Jermaine O'Neal. At worst they wind up with Olowokandi. This team is coming off a le.

It's not like the dropoff from Robinson to Olowokandi is that precipitous.

[scott]

Ghost, with all due respect, stop wasting ing webspace if you don't want anyone else "intruding" on your riviting conversation. It's impossible for me to actually find any preferences you've listed, because I don't have enough time to sift through your numerous masturbatory posts.

Most of your posts are the equivilent of jerking off into a high powered fan. I'm sure you feel good about them, but you fail to realize that you have all over yourself.

[Marcus Bryant]

I'd rather they bring back that pink logo that made Ghost Writer a Spurs fan back in 1989 than see them sign Olowokandi.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

scott,

Just let them be. Lord knows you've been in a few fests (I remember being a part of a few). It's the off-season, it's what these two do best.



Ghost,

I jumped in because you made the comment that Brad Miller would command 10 million "on the open market", when there is no "open market." Indy won't sign him for that much because their owner wants to stay under the lux tax, and in the case of Jermaine re-signing for the max, they'll be damn close to it, even after saying bye to Reggie.

So the possibility of Brad leaving, and Indy not matching when they've got the likes of Bender and Harrington, and Foster (all cheaper) around, is one that definitely exists.

They've also got a Euro project they're looking to get more PT for (Primoz Brezec), and their lead assistant (and brains of the team) Malone just left for another gig, and Isiah isn't exactly the smartest guy around, so the Pacers situation (and that of Brad Miller) is very much a worthy topic.

Excuse me for bringing those facts up. Carry on with your nut talk with Marcus.

AHF

[baseline bum]

I'd rather they bring back that pink logo that made Ghost Writer a Spurs fan back in 1989 than see them sign Olowokandi.

Damn! I knew you hated Kandi, but for you to take the pink over him let's tehre be no doubt as to your feelings!

It's funny three years ago we had giant circle-jerks about how we were going to steal Olowokandi from LA to be David's replacement.

[Admiral]

This thread is about you wanting to believe that the Spurs will simply have their pick of the superstar free agent lot and subsequently getting pissed off when I point out to you that the free agents still have the power to re-sign with their current teams.

The Spurs may indeed have to "settle" on an Olowokandi, because their are no guarantees with cap space.

Come to terms with the fact that despite having everything lined up perfectly to sign the superstar of your dreams, the Spurs are still the ones who will be trying to lure the superstar free agent to sign on the dotted line. -Ghost Writer

This man speaks the truth. Read the above post, and then reread it.

When the entire Holting pattern/Fantasy Summer of 2003 was presented to us two short years ago, we were supposed to be sold on several key ideas and outrageous claims:

1. The 2003 free agent market was going to be filled with All-Stars and impact players like never before. Partly true. At first, the list of free agents in 2003 was impressive. People were getting excited at the thought of Shawn Marion. Some even predicted that he would sign with San Antonio. However, he quietly re-upped with Phoenix. Meanwhile, the list has been reduced to Jason Kidd, Jermaine O'Neal, and Elton Brand. Period.

Hardly the plethora of players from which we thought we would be selecting.

2. The Spurs would have no problem attracting one top free agent, maybe even two, because every player in the league would jump at the chance to play for Tim Duncan. Mostly false. I don't think playing with Duncan is a main draw for most players. Many of these guys are used to being the main star, and sharing the load (or worse, deferring to Duncan) wouldn't sit well with their egos. Some guys perhaps want to win a le that badly (Malone or Payton), but most just want the cash. This is especially true if such a free agent has a reasonable chance of at least making the playoffs each year.

3. Saving the cap space is worth the gamble. To be determined. If we end up with Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand, or Jason Kidd, it will have been worth the wait (although it's a stretch for me to say that about Kidd). If we sign just about anyone else, that means that we had to sign an older guy on the decline (Malone, Payton, Miller, Pippen, etc.) or a young guy who is either unproven or overpaid because we're desperate (Olowokandi, Maggette, etc.).

Everyone doesn't love the Spurs as much as we do. Let's just hope Jermaine O'Neal and/or Elton Brand do.

[Marcus Bryant]

The Spurs gave up on Derek Anderson, an injured Lamond Murray, and Chris Mihm. That's the cost of this strategy.

WTF are you complaining about? Honestly. Would you prefer that the Spurs have no flexibility to improve themselves with DRob retiring? Your boy got to leave the game a champion without the Spurs mortgaging their future. Be happy.

[Admiral]

You cannot say that the only costs were DA, Murray, and Mihm. Unless you are really R.C. Buford or Gregg Popovich in disguise, you have no idea of the potential trades that were nixed because a player's contract extended past this year.

You have still not addressed the first two points from above, Marcus. Can you at least admit that the free agent pool is not what everyone assured us it would be?

Hopefully this will all be a moot point in a few weeks, when Jermaine O'Neal is a Spur.

[Marcus Bryant]

The costs were DA, Murray, and Mihm.

No one assured anything about the free agent pool. The Spurs just lost David Robinson and you think it is preferable for them to not have cap flexibility? That makes no sense whatsoever and apparently Pop and RC know what they are doing because I believe I was at the SBC Center watching the Spurs winning their 2nd le last Sunday night.

[Admiral]

WTF are you complaining about? Honestly. Would you prefer that the Spurs have no flexibility to improve themselves with DRob retiring? Your boy got to leave the game a champion without the Spurs mortgaging their future. Be happy. -Marcus Bryant

I am quite happy. DRob wins his last game, and we have a ton of cap space to spend this summer. Nothing to get bent out of shape about in my book. Free agency is the next goal on our list, and I was simply voicing my concerns and evaluating our options.

It is interesting, though, to think back at the opinions voiced two years ago about what would go down this summer. Things have changed a lot, haven't they? As I stated in my previous post, hopefully the dwindling free agent pool will not be an issue. Hopefully the fact that San Antonio is a small market with really hot summers won't be an issue. I just don't want to blow our money on an unproven player, a mediocre performer, or an aging star, simply because we feel like we have to justify the Holting pattern.

Go for O'Neal, Brand, and Kidd, in that order, and if none of those workout, extend the Holting pattern one more year. No big deal. As you said in another thread recently, Marcus, many people think too much about the short-term. Therefore, waiting another year to sign that big free agent isn't that big of a deal over the long-term, and Tim will still have plenty of good years left.

[Guru of Nothing]

Therefore, waiting another year to sign that big free agent isn't that big of a deal over the long-term, and Tim will still have plenty of good years left.

Is it so simple that we can wait a year, if need be, to sign a second star? Due to the timing of expiring contracts and what-not, I thought we had to blow our wad on a max FA this year. Use it or lose it, so to speak.

Any salary cap gurus wanna give an abbreviated response to this?

If given the choice, I'd much rather pass on Kandi this year and wait for Brand (assuming no JO and no Kidd), but I don't think it's that easy.

[Admiral]

Perhaps you're right, Guru. I am interested to hear what the capologists have to say, because I admit that I ride the capology short bus.

One thing we could do is offer a one-year deal to someone like Karl Malone. I don't particularly want him, but it would give us a compe or who can still play while also giving him a shot at a ring. With his age, he might take a one year deal. Same goes for Pippen. Sure beats offering a max deal to Olowokandi out of desperation.