First Take: Aldridge Wants Out of SA; Blames Spurs for his Regression

[DPG21920]

Everybody applauded the Aldridge signing, at the time, nothing wrong with it, tbh..however, it's evident that the front office is no longer in a different league than everybody else..they're no longer the standard, they haven't made any groundbreaking moves in a minute, they don't start trends like they used to, etc..they're still among the best and I still trust their judgment, but they no longer have an edge over the rest of the league IMO..

Obviously Aldridge deserves blame, particularly for being out of shape for a large chunk of his Spurs' tenure, but he already had red flags regarding his at ude prior to joining the Spurs..

I think it's fair that some teams have caught up to them, and the Warriors have clearly surpassed them with the way Myers, West and Kerr built that system and culture(also finding cheap gems to surround their stars, like the Spurs used to)..

This is egregious . Other than GS, there is no one ahead of the Spurs office in team building. Even their "whiffs" and loyalty still lands them in the WCF with a pretty clear path to flexibility if they decide to blow it up.

They are still getting contributions from draft picks that are late 1sts. You are being overly critical now my man

[ceperez]

Aldridge for George seems to be a viable trade:

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Everybody applauded the Aldridge signing, at the time, nothing wrong with it, tbh..however, it's evident that the front office is no longer in a different league than everybody else..they're no longer the standard, they haven't made any groundbreaking moves in a minute, they don't start trends like they used to, etc..they're still among the best and I still trust their judgment, but they no longer have an edge over the rest of the league IMO..

Obviously Aldridge deserves blame, particularly for being out of shape for a large chunk of his Spurs' tenure, but he already had red flags regarding his at ude prior to joining the Spurs..

I think it's fair that some teams have caught up to them, and the Warriors have clearly surpassed them with the way Myers, West and Kerr built that system and culture(also finding cheap gems to surround their stars, like the Spurs used to)..

Other clubs still take our coaches and GMs. It struck me how much the champions looked like that 2014 team with how they moved the ball.

Meanwhile we have been perpetually second guessed and discounted by the media. The best we ever get is grudging respect.

I will take substance over style every day.

[Capt Bringdown]

Everybody applauded the Aldridge signing, at the time, nothing wrong with it, tbh..however, it's evident that the front office is no longer in a different league than everybody else..they're no longer the standard, they haven't made any groundbreaking moves in a minute, they don't start trends like they used to, etc..they're still among the best and I still trust their judgment, but they no longer have an edge over the rest of the league IMO..

What other FO is ahead of us and/or "starting trends?" GS's FO was gifted Durant. Their dominance and le this year was luck and not FO strategic wizardry.
The trend is now player-driven superteams, which may end up killing the golden goose (or not).
It's nice that all the player bros want to collude in order to assure themselves a ring, but that doesn't necessarily make a league.

[HarlemHeat37]

This is egregious . Other than GS, there is no one ahead of the Spurs office in team building. Even their "whiffs" and loyalty still lands them in the WCF with a pretty clear path to flexibility if they decide to blow it up.

They are still getting contributions from draft picks that are late 1sts. You are being overly critical now my man

I don't care about their default WCF appearance tbh they lost in the 2nd round the previous season in a significant upset, they would have been a distant 3rd again if Durant had decided to stay in OKC..

Aldridge signing was meh..David West had to leave the Spurs for these Warriors to win a ring, which is embarrassing IMO..they're still playing Parker and Ginobili in key roles..they signed Danny Green off a career year, yet changed the system he excelled in and his offense subsequently fell off a cliff..

Their only decent find was Simmons, who has only put together 2 weeks of consistent basketball since joining the Spurs..

I don't see anything special, recently, tbh..I'm not knocking the front office, I'm just saying they're no longer the standard around the league..they're still widely respected and their culture is only matched by the Warriors and Heat, but I don't think they're ahead of the curve anymore from a basketball POV.

[Mikeanaro]

Aldridge for George seems to be a viable trade:

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine

We dont need another loser.

[Mikeanaro]

I don't care about their default WCF appearance tbh they lost in the 2nd round the previous season in a significant upset, they would have been a distant 3rd again if Durant had decided to stay in OKC..

Aldridge signing was meh..David West had to leave the Spurs for these Warriors to win a ring, which is embarrassing IMO..they're still playing Parker and Ginobili in key roles..they signed Danny Green off a career year, yet changed the system he excelled in and his offense subsequently fell off a cliff..

Their only decent find was Simmons, who has only put together 2 weeks of consistent basketball since joining the Spurs..

I don't see anything special, recently, tbh..

What you mean? DWorst was nothing in SA and nothing in GSW, 6 points in GSW and little playoff minutes.

[DPG21920]

I don't care about their default WCF appearance tbh they lost in the 2nd round the previous season in a significant upset, they would have been a distant 3rd again if Durant had decided to stay in OKC..

Aldridge signing was meh..David West had to leave the Spurs for these Warriors to win a ring, which is embarrassing IMO..they're still playing Parker and Ginobili in key roles..they signed Danny Green off a career year, yet changed the system he excelled in and his offense subsequently fell off a cliff..

Their only decent find was Simmons, who has only put together 2 weeks of consistent basketball since joining the Spurs..

I don't see anything special, recently, tbh..

Please. Other than CLE (dominating a weak East) and GS, even without the WCF, no one was doing what SA was doing in terms of winning. No one.

Murray looks like a great pick. Simmons has helped. Kyle even showed some flashes. Yes, they were upset last year, but that implies they should have been a WCF last year and they accomplished it the following year.

[HarlemHeat37]

Other clubs still take our coaches and GMs. It struck me how much the champions looked like that 2014 team with how they moved the ball.

Meanwhile we have been perpetually second guessed and discounted by the media. The best we ever get is grudging respect.

I will take substance over style every day.

I completely disagree about the recognition, Spurs get a ton of respect around the league and most respected sports media people..they're still consistently given the benefit of the doubt, too, where do you get that they've been second guessed?

And I agree about their past accomplishments and they were clearly the model franchise of the NBA from 2000-whatever until recently, but it's tough to believe they're still ahead of the curve when their personnel decisions haven't trended towards the current direction of the league..

[TD 21]

This is egregious . Other than GS, there is no one ahead of the Spurs office in team building. Even their "whiffs" and loyalty still lands them in the WCF with a pretty clear path to flexibility if they decide to blow it up.

They are still getting contributions from draft picks that are late 1sts. You are being overly critical now my man

At Warriors being standard of team building excellence after 3 years of relevance and very real possibility of 0 championships if not for some massive breaks (facing no elite in '15 playoffs and blowing '16 Finals, which paved way for Durant signing). As if they had any clue Curry or Green (who genius Kerr had penciled in as 15 mpg backup less than 2 years ago) would become nearly as good as they did.

They got lucky, the same way Spurs did winning Duncan lottery and with Parker, Ginobili and Leonard, all ending up far better than expected. The difference is, Spurs have done it for 20 years and made countless moves along way to forge reputation.

[DPG21920]

At Warriors being standard of team building excellence after 3 years of relevance and very real possibility of 0 championships if not for some massive breaks (facing no elite in '15 playoffs and blowing '16 Finals, which paved way for Durant signing). As if they had any clue Curry or Green (who genius Kerr had penciled in as 15 mpg backup less than 2 years ago) would become nearly as good as they did.

They got lucky, the same way Spurs did winning Duncan lottery and with Parker, Ginobili and Leonard, all ending up far better than expected. The difference is, Spurs have done it for 20 years and made countless moves along way to forge reputation.

Dude, there is no arguing against GS. All great teams need some luck but they drafted Curry, Klay and Draymond and set themselves up to take advantage of FA like no other team.

[HarlemHeat37]

Please. Other than CLE (dominating a weak East) and GS, even without the WCF, no one was doing what SA was doing in terms of winning. No one.

Murray looks like a great pick. Simmons has helped. Kyle even showed some flashes. Yes, they were upset last year, but that implies they should have been a WCF last year and they accomplished it the following year.

The Spurs never used to brag about finishing a distant 2nd, bro I don't remember Spurs fans celebrating the Lakers destroying them in 2001, which is essentially the equivalent of what we have now(but worse, since the Warriors front office is historically great)..

They have a top 3 player in the league, along with Pop, they'll always contend..the point is that they're no longer ahead of the curve..

The league has evolved to the point where you need mobile bigs, multiple ball-handling threats, 2-way players everywhere and volume 3-point shooting..Spurs are still using post offense with an inefficient, non-passing threat as the centerpiece, limited shooting options, and their primary ball-handlers are 40-year olds..only mobile bigs they have rotted on the bench behind Gasol and Lee..

It's difficult to ignore that they haven't adapted and weren't prepared for the shift of the league, tbh..

[apalisoc_9]

If people heed my warning when I started the Say NO to Aldridge campagin, they wouldn't fallen flat face into the ground with the Loser Aldridge.

but hey he was going to average 21ppg
but no apa you have idea..Why do you believe in so many rumors apa your are so stupid
but aldirdge is a nice guy apa you have no idea.

[noles1983]

Bye you beta got

[DPG21920]

The Spurs never used to brag about finishing a distant 2nd, bro I don't remember Spurs fans celebrating the Lakers destroying them in 2001, which is essentially the equivalent of what we have now(but worse, since the Warriors front office is historically great)..

They have a top 3 player in the league, along with Pop, they'll always contend..the point is that they're no longer ahead of the curve..

The league has evolved to the point where you need mobile bigs, multiple ball-handling threats, 2-way players everywhere and volume 3-point shooting..Spurs are still using post offense with an inefficient, non-passing threat as the centerpiece, limited shooting options, and their primary ball-handlers are 40-year olds..only mobile bigs they have rotted on the bench behind Gasol and Lee..

It's difficult to ignore that they haven't adapted and weren't prepared for the shift of the league, tbh..

They took an educated/calculated gamble that the best way to beat GS was with having 2 scoring bigs. SA beat GS in the regular season, had multiple 20 point leads in the regular season and had a 20 point lead in game 1 of the WCF.

Now that they see it didn't work? They are free to adjust and have a new strategy. Are they "innovating"? Ok, I can see the argument against that. But they are still a top 2 front office

[HarlemHeat37]

At Warriors being standard of team building excellence after 3 years of relevance and very real possibility of 0 championships if not for some massive breaks (facing no elite in '15 playoffs and blowing '16 Finals, which paved way for Durant signing). As if they had any clue Curry or Green (who genius Kerr had penciled in as 15 mpg backup less than 2 years ago) would become nearly as good as they did.

They got lucky, the same way Spurs did winning Duncan lottery and with Parker, Ginobili and Leonard, all ending up far better than expected. The difference is, Spurs have done it for 20 years and made countless moves along way to forge reputation.

who cares what the Spurs did 3 years ago, let alone 20?

The Warriors literally changed the NBA..every team in the league has altered their approach to match up with them, including LeBron and the Cavs..this was the case even prior to Durant joining them..

Like the old Spurs, they have a system that can successfully plug in any player they choose..they've found gems like Ian Clark and reclamation projects like Javale McGee, Mo Speights, etc..

They can lose a defensive anchor like Bogut and it doesn't make a difference, their system turns Zaza into a legit starter and Durant into a DPOY-caliber player..

Steve Kerr has created a progressive culture where the players have the power and coaches like Mike Brown had to adjust to them, rather than the other way around like every other organization in the league..

Their analytics team is unrivaled and their coach embraces it..

As Joe Lacob said, they're light years ahead of everybody else..even as a Spurs fan, I have to admire them, as they are what the Spurs used to be with a 2017 twist, from are organizational standpoint..

Pop raves about them with good reason, tbh..

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I completely disagree about the recognition, Spurs get a ton of respect around the league and most respected sports media people..they're still consistently given the benefit of the doubt, too, where do you get that they've been second guessed?

And I agree about their past accomplishments and they were clearly the model franchise of the NBA from 2000-whatever until recently, but it's tough to believe they're still ahead of the curve when their personnel decisions haven't trended towards the current direction of the league..

We were old every year until Duncan retired. Then when he retired it was what will we do without him?

Sure some people would recognize the track record but it was always in the form of "I've been predicted that age would catch up to them for the past X years and this year I'm not." Thus my terming it grudging respect.

[TD 21]

Dude, there is no arguing against GS. All great teams need some luck but they drafted Curry, Klay and Draymond and set themselves up to take advantage of FA like no other team.

I'm not criticizing them in this instance, but I'm also not ready to put their front office above Spurs because they're the current "it" team.

Just like all these idiots calling them a dynasty after 3 years of relevance. Clearly, they look poised to become one, but it's one of those things where, you're not it until you're it.

If people heed my warning when I started the Say NO to Aldridge campagin, they wouldn't fallen flat face into the ground with the Loser Aldridge.

but hey he was going to average 21ppg
but no apa you have idea..Why do you believe in so many rumors apa your are so stupid
but aldirdge is a nice guy apa you have no idea.

At not wanting a top 15ish player, in a market that has never attracted a major free agent, had their franchise pillar, who played similar position, on verge of retirement and clearly wanted to attempt to remain contenders.

Even after '15 gift wrapped championship, no one saw Warriors coming, so best case scenario was shot at another championship, worse case scenario was it not working out and them trading him at this point for something(s) at least decent.

But no, wouldn't want that, when the alternative was what exactly? Oh, that's right, you don't have one.

[objective]

Spurs FO hasn't been ahead of any curve for a long time.

Same guys who traded for RJ, then doubled down on the re-sign, and had to junk a pick just to move on. And of course locking in washed up old men like Finley, Oberto, and Vaughn when the writing was on the wall that their time was up. And the Parker extension when he was already declining.

Getting Kawhi was great, but let's remember that one of the big motivations if not most primary behind the trade was to just get good value due to Hill's impending free agency and their inability to pay him thanks to RJ.

They're just good professionals at their job. But not perfect.

[Hoops Czar]

who cares what the Spurs did 3 years ago, let alone 20?

The Warriors literally changed the NBA..every team in the league has altered their approach to match up with them, including LeBron and the Cavs..this was the case even prior to Durant joining them..

Like the old Spurs, they have a system that can successfully plug in any player they choose..they've found gems like Ian Clark and reclamation projects like Javale McGee, Mo Speights, etc..

They can lose a defensive anchor like Bogut and it doesn't make a difference, their system turns Zaza into a legit starter and Durant into a DPOY-caliber player..

Steve Kerr has created a progressive culture where the players have the power and coaches like Mike Brown had to adjust to them, rather than the other way around like every other organization in the league..

Their analytics team is unrivaled and their coach embraces it..

As Joe Lacob said, they're light years ahead of everybody else..even as a Spurs fan, u have to admire them, as they are what the Spurs used to be, from are organizational standpoint..

The W's didn't invent anything. The Spurs set up the blueprint and the Warriors copied it to a tee. The problem with the Spurs is they got old while the Warriors were still very young. The 2012-14 Spurs could easily take out this Warriors team.

[apalisoc_9]

I'm not criticizing them in this instance, but I'm also not ready to put their front office above Spurs because they're the current "it" team.

Just like all these idiots calling them a dynasty after 3 years of relevance. Clearly, they look poised to become one, but it's one of those things where, you're not it until you're it.




At not wanting a top 15ish player, in a market that has never attracted a major free agent, had their franchise pillar, who played similar position, on verge of retirement and clearly wanted to attempt to remain contenders.

Even after '15 gift wrapped championship, no one saw Warriors coming, so best case scenario was shot at another championship, worse case scenario was it not working out and them trading him at this point for something(s) at least decent.

But no, wouldn't want that, when the alternative was what exactly? Oh, that's right, you don't have one.

RJ wasn't a major free agent?

[Avitus1]

[DPG21920]

At the end of the day, let's hope some other teams view LMA like he views himself. That in the right system he's still an all-star. Truth probably lies in-between. He's not as "bad" as we he was here and not as good as he was in POR.

[spursistan]

The W's didn't invent anything. The Spurs set up the blueprint and the Warriors copied it to a tee. The problem with the Spurs is they got old while the Warriors were still very young. The 2012-14 Spurs could easily take out this Warriors team.

Why are people arguing with Harlem as if he's still a Spurfan? ..

Man, I love the Warriors, tbh..if only we still had mods, I'd ask to change my team

[TD 21]

who cares what the Spurs did 3 years ago, let alone 20?

The Warriors literally changed the NBA..every team in the league has altered their approach to match up with them, including LeBron and the Cavs..this was the case even prior to Durant joining them..

Like the old Spurs, they have a system that can successfully plug in any player they choose..they've found gems like Ian Clark and reclamation projects like Javale McGee, Mo Speights, etc..

They can lose a defensive anchor like Bogut and it doesn't make a difference, their system turns Zaza into a legit starter and Durant into a DPOY-caliber player..

Steve Kerr has created a progressive culture where the players have the power and coaches like Mike Brown had to adjust to them, rather than the other way around like every other organization in the league..

Their analytics team is unrivaled and their coach embraces it..

As Joe Lacob said, they're light years ahead of everybody else..even as a Spurs fan, I have to admire them, as they are what the Spurs used to be with a 2017 twist, from are organizational standpoint..

Pop raves about them with good reason, tbh..

Point is, I need to see more of a track record, as opposed to a few lucky breaks.

All these role players are irrelevant with their overwhelming combination of talent and basketball IQ. Their "system" had nothing to do with Durant's uptick in defense (and you wouldn't pretend differently if their coach was "black"). We saw it in the '16 WCF. Players get smarter as they age and he had less of a minutes/offensive burden with Warriors, so naturally his effort on defense picked up.

At you being a Spurs fans. You're a front running, insecure troll.

RJ wasn't a major free agent?

They traded for him and he was never the same caliber of player as Aldridge.

You can't have it both ways. If San Antonio can't attract big names, then they damn sure couldn't afford to turn down top 15ish player.