Reply With Quoteeh?
I know the season just ended and we should be enjoying this championship. No one's talking about the Spurs though. They're talking about the Lakers, Nets, Clippers, and Pacers. Why? Because the Spurs have miserably failed in signing any free agents that have signed with these teams, not because they couldn't afford them, but because they're not playing their cards right. I'm sorry, but if you have 90 million dollars to spend on free agents, the last player you should be signing is Rasho Nesterovic. I'm not saying that any particular one of those free agents SHOULD have been signed by the Spurs. But regardless of who it was, the spurs could have gotten some one way better than Rasho. Short-term deals shouldn't be out of the question. For example, the spurs could have matched the pacers offer for jermaine o'neal had they made him a 3 or 4 year offer. How the is Tim getting paid less than o'neal over 7 years? Something to think about..... Now I hear about this 3 way trade???? I don't know if I could be a Spurs fan anymore if they trade the most integral part of this team aside from Tim. I'm not saying we should fear the Lakers or Nets for that matter, but I will say that they will be TOUGH match-ups for the Spurs given their incompetence in the front office.
eh?
The same front office who discovered your namesake?
First off, Jermaine O'Neal would never have accepted a three or four year deal. Elton Brand was going to be (and subsequently was) matched by the Clippers. Jason Kidd was the only of the three top tier FAs that we had a "shot" at. (Unless you include that Duncan guy, who a lot of people forget we DID sign). But, as Kori points out, Kidd was never really as close as it seemed.
Outside of those three, who's left? Rasho, who was at the top of the Spurs list (whether you agree or not), and we got him. Odom, an all-world talent, although seemingly made of marijuana laden porcelain. Maggette, a very athletic swingman who hasn't really proven to be better than the very athletic swingmen we have. Kandi, who was never really an option. And a few others.
So, who is the player that's WAY better than Rasho that they should've signed?
The Spree trade is only in rumor stage. We know how those end up. Admit it or not, he's a big upgrade over Jax. I'd really hate to lose Rose for him, though. I'd much rather part with Scola, since they're arguably the same player, from what I hear.
It was a pretty disappointing offseason, and one analysts will point to for years warning teams about hoarding capspace, just like they did with Chicago when they had to settle for Brent Barry and Ron Mercer.
There's not much the Spurs can do to proclaim victory in this offseason since they seem uninterested in Odom.
Yeah, if all the Spurs manage to do is keep the current team intact and add a few upgrades to the bench that would be quite satisfactory for this summer.
I could care less about what team gets the most coverage this summer. As long as the Spurs are the last team standing at the end of a season does it really matter?
I don't see this offseason as an upgrade. Radosoft definitely isn't an upgrade over DRob on his last legs, and the Spurs are without a backup point. Horry could be an upgrade over Ferry but Pike will be pretty redundant with Jax already there. Not that Pike wouldn't be useful here, but I don't know that his addition offsets losing Claxton for some Summer Leaguer.
Is Lamar Odom really worth the risk for the money some of you want to throw at him? The guy has averaged 39 games over the past two years. Not to mention someone with the proverbial two strikes against him. The potential for reward is great, but the risk is a little high.
Amazing talent when healthy, but it's just too Grant Hill-ish for me.
Things might have ended up not exactly as most fans would have hoped, but I'm not sure what the Spurs' front office could have done much differently.
Kidd chose to stay at home and used the Spurs for leverage against the Nets. O'Neal never considered leaving Indy. Brand was given a great offer sheet from the Spurs, but chose to sign Miami's sheet and will now be stuck in Clipperland. The Spurs weren't interested in Olowokandi. The Spurs "ended up" with Rasho because he was Pop's top big man choice -- Pop drove five hours on July 1 to talk to him. The Spurs got him to sign with SA for LESS money than he was getting offered at home -- that in itself is a coup.
Armchair GM's can say whatever they want, but the Spurs played their cards right. It's extremely difficult to pry free agents from their home team. People here are at their hypocritcal finest when they praise Tim Duncan for being loyal to the Spurs in 2000 by not going to Orlando -- but then expect guys like Kidd, O'Neal, Brown etc. to jump ship on their own teams.
Sign Scola to your own dream team Bounceman. Did you make O'neal a 4 year offer on that dream team too? Cite the source that says "Jermaine O'Neal would never have accepted a three or four year deal" and maybe i'll agree with you on that point.
You ask: who is the player that's WAY better than Rasho that they should've signed? It sure has shouldn't be Scola. But hey, if he's comparable to Sprewell, you sign him in you're little fantasy basketball leaugue.
"A few other players."
Shows how much you've been paying attention. How about P.J. Brown, Karl Malone, Horry, Zo, Pippen, Richard Hamilton, Juwan Howard, and Gary Payton. I would have rather seen the Spurs make a more concerted effort toward any one of these players over Rasho.
I didn't forget that Tim was re-signed. But then again, there were never any rumors that i can think of that said Tim was leaving.
One more point.....After all the crying and complaining Parker did during and after the whole Kidd visit, he better re-sign with the spurs next year.
Is getting nothing good with our capspace and then having it evaporate next year and trying to win another le a smaller risk than signing Odom? I don't think so. Guys like Pike, Horry, etc. are available every year and a lot easier to secure than a talent like Odom. We've seen what saving cap space has done for us.
With regards to Odom he is one offense away from a serious ban under the league's anti-drug policy (at least a year).
Beyond this, again, what was the alternative for the Spurs? They don't know that Duncan is coming back. They do know that most likely DRob will be retiring. Why hamstring youself in the summer in which you will have to replace DRob?
Kori, I just think the spurs could have made a stronger effort in signing players that would have been far more useful than Rasho. I really don't think they're gonna be able to defend their le with Rasho in the middle, but I could be wrong. Kidd and O'neal were only examples that i used to explain my point earlier, and i wouldn't disagree with you're point that they were bound to stay at home. I do give Tim props for staying in SA back in 2000. But look at all the players that bounced around to other teams already.....the Spurs could have signed at least one of them.
The Spurs should have told Kidd they'd give him the seventh year in a sign and trade. If Jersey really doesn't want to pay it we land the best free agent out there. I would also dare Sterling to match Odom if he matches Magette.
Baseline - I think that the Spurs know some things that we don't.
1) Odom and some other players don't want to play on one of the least hyped teams in the NBA.
and/or
2) The clips will match, so why bother.
and/or
3)Our current team is capable of winning it all again, despite LA's moves.
and/or
4) Odom isn't worth the money. Maybe they did an evaluation and they don't think he will fit, or that he won't make us *that* much better (doubtful).
#3 worries me because they might have an inaccurate perception of the team, having won the championship recently.
In the long run, maybe winning this le cost the Spurs a dynasty?
I don't even know what you're trying to say here. I'm saying that I've heard Rose and Scola have pretty much the same game (undersized hustle players), so if we were looking to trade Rose to Philly, why not try to send Scola instead to see if they bite. I'm not even saying to keep Scola, as the only thing I know about him is he supposedly has a Rose like game (maybe a little better offensively, worse defensively) and he has a five-o-clock shadow. That's all I've got.Sign Scola to your own dream team Bounceman. Did you make O'neal a 4 year offer on that dream team too? Cite the source that says "Jermaine O'Neal would never have accepted a three or four year deal" and maybe i'll agree with you on that point.
You ask: who is the player that's WAY better than Rasho that they should've signed? It sure has shouldn't be Scola. But hey, if he's comparable to Sprewell, you sign him in you're little fantasy basketball leaugue.
As far as O'Neal, no, I have no sources that say he would reject a three or four year deal. Using logic, however, most young players probably won't take a three year max deal over a seven year max deal. One gives stability, and the other doesn't. What if he gets injured in year three? Do you think he's getting max money again?
But, in fantasy GM land, we could've tried throwing one year deals for 5mil at O'Neal and Kidd, and hopefully snagged them both. Not very realistic though, is it?
Greatly overpaid to stay in New Orleans. 10.7 points and 9 rebs, but at about 4-5mil more than Rasho.P.J. Brown
Perhaps, but so many people on these boards say he's not going to contribute much in LA, because he's too old. Yet, in San Antonio he's going to be younger?Karl Malone
Great bench role player at reduced minutes. Not a better pickup than Rasho.Robert Horry
Wanted to play with Kidd in the East. You can't make up somebody's mind for them. Not to mention a huge over-paid risk for a guy battling a serious, life-threatening disease.Zo
This would be a successful offseason? I would've loved to have the guy, but as our primary FA pickup? Uh, no.Pippen
Don't we have somewhat of a log-jam at the 2/3 spot? The Spurs weren't looking to find ANY high-priced perimeter FA. It was Jason Kidd was the first option. Then it was a big man. Kidd didn't pan out, so we went to a big man.Richard Hamilton
If you have a chance to get Kidd, you get him. I haven't heard that about Rip yet.
I won't argue, I would've taken a look at this guy.Juwan Howard
See Karl Malone/Richard Hamilton arguments. Payton's definitely more towards Kidd status than Rip, however.Gary Payton
I'd still take the le over what might have been. Although I'd probably feel different if I was a Sac Kings fan. :wink
I think a seventh year for Kidd would have gotten him here. Jersey just didn't want to pay him for the seventh year. The over-36 Rule was badly misinterpreted by the press. I can't believe the Nets were able to weasel out of the seventh year by citing the over-36 penalties for years 4,5, and 6.
You might think that. I might think that. And every analyst in the country may think that. But POP didn't think that. And I guess maybe that's my point. Pop is very, very high on Rasho. He didn't "settle" on Rasho -- he actively went after him.I just think the spurs could have made a stronger effort in signing players that would have been far more useful than Rasho.
I am less than thrilled with what I have seen of Rasho's play. But I'm not Pop, and at this point I guess I just am trusting that he sees something in him that I haven't. He's a NBA Coach/GM -- I'm a girl running a website. He found Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and has repeatedly built teams with prior-rejected guys who end up gems in the Spurs' system.
The Spurs will probably pick up a couple more guys (Horry and Piatkowski) and get ready to make another run.
I can't about Rasho until I see him fail in the Spurs' system. And I hope that never happens.
Why would it make no sense to sign them to short-term deals?
I don't know anything about Scola, but given that Manu isn't even starting, Scola would be riding the pine until his contract ran out. My argument only included kidd and o'neal as EXAMPLES. I noted many other players that could have been taken over Rasho. I don't really feel like going into detail on each one, as you did, but you obviously saw my point because you even agreed with me on a couple.
If you think the Spurs have done well this off-season, great. I'm not afraid to say that I might be wrong about the F-, but it very much seems like the Spurs could have done much better.
By the way, the Spurs front office did a damn good job discovering my namesake, I hope they find more just like him.
So we are to assume that the Spurs could have done better but they didn't even though they had an obvious incentive to do so? What exactly should they have done differently this summer?
There are so many ways things could have been done differently. There are so many players (as pointed out earlier) that would have been much better catches than Rasho. Not necessarily Kidd and O'neal, but other players as well. Like I said earlier, I could be wrong (about the spurs having a hard time repeating), and I certainly hope I am, but that remains to be seen.
I don't like the trust in Pop argument. I don't buy that Rasho was as high on the Spurs wish list as the SA media now hypes. If he was then why the big offers to PJ Brown and Karl Malone? It sounds more like damage control. I don't see anything in Rasho that makes me believe he'll be a strong bigman in the West, and I refuse to have blind faith in Pop (he drafted Manu and TP, but he also failed miserably in 2000 when Chuckie Brown, Terry Porter, and Samaki Walker was the best he could do with Elliott's medical exception and the MCX).
Well for what it is worth, I was told about Pop loving and going after Rasho on July 6th -- when Kidd was visiting SA. So I don't think Pop being high on Rasho is all media hype.
This outcome of this offseason was not perfect, but I won't judge it until we see the proof in the pudding.
I just don't know what you guys were expecting..
I don't think there is any way Kidd comes here..if he wanted a S&T for max $ he could have done that with any team he wanted to go to..
Me personally I didn't want Kidd and I don't want Spree either for what it is going to cost to get them...they aren't the kind of SuperStar pickup that gets me excited..if Spree were 3 years younger I'd be all over it..but he's not the same player he once was and I'd argue that he is better than Jax at this stage of his career..he shot 40% last year..
We tried Brand..no dice..We tried O'Neal..no dice...
I like getting Horry..you guys are underrating him...yeah he didn't score that much in LA but how much do you want him to score when he has two teamates both trying to win the scoring le every year? The guy hits big shots..championship winning shots...he plays great D as well...what price can you put on that?
Guys that have started at SF or PF on 5 le winning teams and hit big shots for every one of them, are available every year? Who? When? Where?
Piaktowski is a huge upgrade over Steve Smith..you can never have enough shooters on a team with Tim Duncan...
Rasho isn't exactly my idea of a Shaq Stopper either but he is a good center compared to just about any other center in the NBA not named Shaq...
All in all I like our offseason IF we get Horry and Piatkowski..I don't share the opinion that Parker, Manu, Jax, Bowen and Rose are pieces of ..I look forward to them getting better..I am glad we are keeping them..and I will be happy with Horry and Piak if we get them short term..we keep our options open for next year and we have a better chance at keeping Parker and Manu.
I don't know what trades you guys wanted us to make in lieu of hoarding capspace...It's been revealed in a Ludden article that Webber never even returned the Spurs calls..maybe we could have gotten Payton a few years ago but it's arguable...Maybe we get SAr but who off our le winning team do we have to give up to get him? Do we win a le if we make that trade? With no Malik? or Jax?
The only snafus I see that we made this year was going after Kidd so hard, giving up our #1 pick with so much talent still on the board, and not making a run at Payton...many in the media thought the blind pursuit of Kidd made no sense, and in the long run Kidd did as well...
If we hadn't been stupid about signing Kidd we'd have kept our draft pick and maybe made a run at Payton instead...
If we get Payton LA doesn't...this season takes on a whole different perspective...
**** Kidd...that's what screwed us up if anything did.
The only thing that could cost the Spurs a dynasty was signing Kidd for seven years.In the long run, maybe winning this le cost the Spurs a dynasty?
A close second would be signing Odom.
Don't forget taking on Kidd's baggage - Kidney aka Zo, for four years.In the long run, maybe winning this le cost the Spurs a dynasty?
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The only thing that could cost the Spurs a dynasty was signing Kidd for seven years.
AHF
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