Scenarios

[Jimcs50]

I hate Kidd and will hate him if he on the Spurs too. The Spurs have never gone after thugs before, so why start now? Why are we even talking about him??? We do not need a pointguard, we have two very good ones already We have a frontline of Malik and Tim and Bowen, that my friend is weak in the height dept and will not stand up to the rigors of the West next year. We need a huge body to replace a 7 footer, one that can play D and rebound in the post. He does not have to be a top 50 player, just a good bigman who can change shots, block some shot and get around 8-10 rebs/game. There are 5 to choose from.

[Marcus Bryant]

Thinking like that leads to woeful mistakes like going with Michael Olowokandi over Jason Kidd. The Spurs won't have opportunities like this to add a player of Kidd's caliber every summer during the remainder of TD's career.

[Mark in Austin]

When all is said and done, I think that Kidd and O'Neal both sign with their current teams. Given that, I would offer Zo a massive 1 yr deal to save capspace to go after Brand next summer. (or Garnett, but I think odds are he'll re-sign in Minny) Brand wouldn't necessarily require the MAX either - close to it though. It's realistic to think we would be in the ball park with an offer starting in the 9-10 million range.

I understand that there is the possibility that the Spurs woun't have quite enough money to offer the MAX next summer, given the fact that existing salaries will increase and we'll be adding Jack's contract (and possibly Speedy's) to the bottom line. But there are three wildcards next summer:
I already mentioned that Brand wouldn't necessarily demand the absolute MAX, despite being a David Faulk client.
The other two are that the TV deal is backloaded, so the cap will likely go up. Also, the CBA will be up for renewal, and there might be some changes in exemptions and how they count against the cap, actual cap computation, and/or lux tax computations.

My #2 option would be three year deals for Payton and Kandi - but only if the Spurs braintrust approved of Kandi. If they see something there, then I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

This would give them the flexibility to re-load in three years with another quality FA (but probably not enough room for a max free agent).

[CosmicCowboyXXX]

I really like Zo but I don't see him leaving Miami this year...he has been on a 30 million dollar paid vacation the last two years courtesy of the Heat...considering that everything I have seen about him says he is a quality guy I expect him to resign with them for a one year vet minimum contract as a payback...Riles and the Heat management have been nothing but fair with him during his illness...I just can't see him bolting now...

[Country Weeds]

The Spus have won two championships: One with an older, quick PG with no range on his jumpshot and the other with a 21 year old PG who has inconsistent bouts of offensive dominance and offensive offense. why change the formula and invest big money in a PG when that is not part of the formula.

Go big or don't go at all!