What if the Spurs had acquired JKidd...

[spursfaninla]

Amsterdam, the Netherlands: o Dave, what's up man? Now that we are somewhat half way the season, I would like to raise two points. First off, most readers should know by now that you know what you are talking about. From the start of the (pre) season, you said it's San Antonio all the way, and as allways, you appear to stick to your predictions. Well, in spite of all the hype the Pistons have been generating about 70 wins and all, the spurs are only 1 game behind them, with Timmy playing quite understated these days. Kudos to you my man, you may be on to something. The other point is a question I wanted to ask for a long time, but i thought I should wait for the half way point. Knowing what we know now, did the Nets make the right decision not persuing Shareef? The Nets are an intresting team, with two true superstars, which is more than most teams, yet they have no chance without some inside help. Barring the jaw injury, what do you think of Shareefs play this year, and would the Nets be better of with him?? And adding a what if?, what would have happend if Kidd signed with the Spurs 2 years ago? Many thanks, Sanjay


David DuPree: Hey Sanjay, thanks for the comments. Shareef failed his Nets physical, which I don't understand, but if they had him, I think they'd be better. He is one of those players who just does his job and makes no waves. He is truly a class individual. ... If Kidd had signed with the Spurs two years ago, they'd be going for their fifth le in a row. He and Parker could have played together very well.

I think this "what if" doesn't take into account luxury tax considerations, which in reality would have meant probably not keeping Manu, and quite possibly not having Parker this year. If thats the case, I don't think we have any rings...

I dont' think Duncan and Jkidd are enough to have what we do, not with his bum wheels the last few years.

[SenorSpur]

Excellent points. People tend to forget the salary cap constraints and lack of financial flexibility that would have arisen had the Spurs had two players (Duncan and JKidd) with 90+ mil contracts.

I don't care what the experts say, Parker and Kidd WERE NOT going to play on the same team. Furthermore, the Nets were not simply going to let Kidd walk away for nothing. That would have meant a sign & trade. The Spurs would have then had to part with the best tradeable assets - i.e. Manu and Parker.

All that bull about them winning 5 les is just that - bull ! The complexion of this team would have been drastically different. Maybe the Spurs don't get to sign Barry or Nazr. Maybe Beno is pressed into more playing time during the playoffs.

No way the Spurs would have beaten Detroit last year without contributions from many key players, including Manu, TP and Nazr.

Some times the best deals are those that fall through.

[pache100]

If the Spurs had acquired Jason Kidd...at the expense of Tony Parker (in any way...playing time, being traded, having his feelings hurt, whatever)...it is very likely I would no longer be a Spurs fan.

[ducks]

if the spurs had kidd manu and tp would not be here
manu would be a nugget and argentina would all day about the spurs
tp would be with the nets leading his team to the playoffs unlike james

[ducks]

ps pistons would have killed the spurs in the finals last year

[Winnipeg_Spur]

Wow, Kidd is so good he could've led the Spurs to 3 les in 2 years! He must be one of a player!

[FromWayDowntown]

Furthermore, the Nets were not simply going to let Kidd walk away for nothing. That would have meant a sign & trade. The Spurs would have then had to part with the best tradeable assets - i.e. Manu and Parker.

Without getting into the hypotheticals that are such a big part of this discussion, I think this point is incorrect. The Nets wouldn't have had any say about a sign-and-trade, since JKidd was an unrestricted free agent and could have signed outright with the Spurs. The sign-and-trade idea would have only been something that Kidd could have pursued in an effort to get the true max in his contract, but even then, if the Nets wouldn't deal with him, the Spurs could have just signed him and the Nets would have gotten nothing. It's not as if the Nets could have demanded that a sign-and-trade occur; that would have been totally up to Kidd and the Spurs.

[nkdlunch]

if the spurs had kidd manu and tp would not be here
manu would be a nugget and argentina would all day about the spurs
tp would be with the nets leading his team to the playoffs unlike james

you forgot TP wouldn't be dating Eva, instead he'd be dating this jersey chick:

[FromWayDowntown]

That summer of 2003 was an interesting one. The Spurs pursued Kidd and Rasho, made a deal to ship out Danny Ferry's contract to acquire Hedo Turkoglu and Ron Mercer, signed Robert Horry, and let Stephen Jackson and Speedy Claxton walk. There were so many options and moving pieces that it's hard to say whether any particular move changed the course of the franchise, and whether such a move was positive or negative. Obviously, the Horry signing paid off big time. Mercer and Hedo for Danny Ferry was a blip on the radar screen. Rasho has been unspectacular but fairly steady. Kidd appears to be aging, and Parker and Ginobili have taken off.

I think another interesting question lingering from that summer is where the Spurs would be had they made an offer to Brad Miller and not to Rasho. It's not a perfect question because there were some Kidd-related variables at play in any pursuit of Miller; and I recall that Miller was discounted fairly early in the process because of his defensive weaknesses.

I wonder sometimes if the front offices wishes it could have re-thought that summer and taken a different path than the one that resulted in acquiring Rasho, Hedo, Mercer, and Horry.

[WalterBenitez]

If the spurs had KIDD

a) KIDD would have 2 rings
b) MANU would be in Denver
c) TP would be in Lakers

and

d) I would be posting in Nugget's forum

[Phenomanul]

If the spurs had KIDD

a) KIDD would have 2 rings
b) MANU would be in Denver
c) TP would be in Lakers

and

d) I would be posting in Nugget's forum

But deep inside you would know the Spurs were the classier organization.

[pache100]

But deep inside you would know the Spurs were the classier organization.

NOT if they let Tony Parker go in favor of Jason Kidd. No class at all there and I would have absolutely NO QUALMS about switching (or dropping altogether) my allegiance in a case like that.

[DDS4]

Jumana vs. Eva

Oil Wrestling Rumble.

Wow.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

if the spurs had kidd manu and tp would not be here
manu would be a nugget and argentina would all day about the spurs
tp would be with the nets leading his team to the playoffs unlike james

Interesting, Manu would be a Nugget and Argentina would , and Tony would lead a team to the playoffs huh? Go yourself duckyboy! I'm getting sick and tired of you knocking on either Manu or Argentina every chance you get ! Grow the up!

[Peter]

Why is it that the Manu Mob™ cannot engage in discussions in this forum in a calm, respectful manner?

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Why is it that the Manu Mob™ cannot engage in discussions in this forum in a calm, respectful manner?

Well perhaps if Duckyboy over there didn't put us down in every post he makes, then perhaps, and for the record, this is me responding, not the Manu Mob™. Stop generalizing will you

[Peter]

Anyways, we'll never know how things might've turned out. The Spurs had a great Plan B to go with and the rest is history.

But man, Brad Miller instead of Rasho? Hmmm....

[ZStomp]

I hate speculations.

[leemajors]

brad miller can't rebound that great either, Peter - he also doesn't stay down in the paint and "mix it up" like nazr. regardless, if he had got Jkidd, we would have had a hobbled pg down the stretch last year.

[Peter]

His career average is 7.8 in 29 minutes a night. Rasho pulls down like 3 in 21 minutes.

[Phenomanul]

How did someone manage to ressurrect this FSP recollection???

[leemajors]

rasho's career rb average is 5.8 in 24.6.

[ZStomp]

Miller > Rasho

[leemajors]

stones > beatles

miller can't defend, rasho isn't the best offensive player. i think their deficiencies cancel each other out for the most part. it would be nice to have miller's outside jumper to draw a c or pf out and free stuf up for timmy though.

[ducks]

Interesting, Manu would be a Nugget and Argentina would , and Tony would lead a team to the playoffs huh? Go yourself duckyboy! I'm getting sick and tired of you knocking on either Manu or Argentina every chance you get ! Grow the up!

ladies first

you know agrentina would be ing that they were to cheap to resign manu
why do you not grow up

the nets would have made the playoffs they are in the weak east
vc and tp come on
not as awesome as tp and duncan but still they would make the playoffs in the east