Do we go for the Quick Fix or Lay a Foundation?

[BillMc]

There seem to be two basic schools of thought on these threads about what the Spurs should do in this off season and in 2010.

One school of thought is The Quick Fix:

The thinking here is Duncan has only a few more good years left and we need to make a dramatic move now to improve. Duncan is 33 years old now with bad knees, the end is near. Mortgage the future to get a few all-star level guys or another Hall of Famer on board. This worked in recent years for the Heat when they rented Shaq, brought back Zo, and added Gary Payton and other vets for a short window (2years) to contend for the le. Boston has done the same thing and won their le and may already be falling to age as their injuries pile up. The Quick Fix is tempting as it could get Ring 5 for TD, but may leave us hurting for years after that. And we don't have much to trade for The Quick Fix except Manu's expiring contract, and if healthy, I am not sure who we can bring in that is of equal value that could really put us over the top. Quick Fixes are easier when you have dumb GM's on the phone who will give you KG for next to nothing or Gasol for almost literally nothing.

The Other Thinking is Lay a Foundation:

Accept that for 2 to 3 years or so we're going to be a lot weaker as we find ways to put in the pieces to be a contender for another extended run. It requires good management, drafting, etc. For fans of TD (pretty much all of us) we would have to hope he hangs on until the team is able again, surrounded by younger guys and new acquisitions. There is also the matter of Pop who has said there are other things he wants to do in life. Sure, it's easy to bash him but there aren't many other coaches that command his respect, and going through a few until we find a new one will only lengthen our down time. The foundation method(if done right) is better for the long run, but we Spurs fans would have to accept some relatively tough years and possible the knowledge that TD will have to retire with 4 rings. It is not inconceivable the club could even trade Duncan, though I myself would boycott, and they would never get equal value for him even with bad knees. The plan in rebuilding would be to get the pieces in place to placate Parker before his contract is up. Manu, in this plan, is probably a trade item for draft picks or young players.

A third option is to try and tinker and add small pieces to an aging nucleus as we have done since 2007. If Manu, Tim and Tony are healthy and we find a few good roleplayers we might (just might) be able to get another le with this middleground approach. But as Tim and Manu age the chances that both will be healty come playoff time each year grows slimmer and slimmer.

So, what is it Spurs fan?

The Quick Fix?

The Foundation for the Future?

Tinkering with What We Have?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Best, Bill

[kace]

Let Tim, Tony and Manu rest at least 20 games next RS if we can afford it.

The 8th seed would be fine if we have the big three at full strenght.

For me the main questions are:

- Is manu able to stay healthy: i think so. it sucks that we have to take care of him as if he was made of glass, but if he doesn't play too much in RS and is healthy come PO time, i think manu will be closed to his best. i definitely don't see him as a done player.

- Is Tim able to be his old dominant self, even healthy: ??????????
if not, a 20-10 consistent tim would be great too, but then, without a dominant one, we'll need some solid role players, especially bigs.

[RingNumber5in09]

A quick fix is all we need. We have our key guys in Manu, Tim, and Tony. We just need a more productive, reliable bench. IMO, keep the big three, George Hill, Mason and Gooden. Everyone else is fair game. Bench players are out there, look for some trades and another good draft. We need to get some young, fresh legs in here!

[spursncowboys]

I think we have the players we need. Mason, Hill, Gooden, all will get better with a full off-season to learn our playbook and schemes. Also Mason will do better once he has a specific pos. S. Francis, Kidd, Marbury, all did worse when they were put in different pos. I can't think of any time when a guard had to switch pos. and did better.