IF the Spurs win the title and IF Tim Duncan comes back next season AND Manu comes back for less money AND Splitter re-signs, is there any reason that the 2013-2014 Spurs would be any worse than the team they're fielding right now?

I have a hard time believing that any member of the team is going to seriously degrade over the next year or so.

Let's hope they can win it this year, but injuries, declining play from the old veterans, and a healthy Westbrook could be major hindrances.

Im not sure how much manu has left in the tank after seeing his play these playoffs.

Being old in the NBA can hit like a freight train. Tim might be wonderful today but next season just fall apart. Manu is already declining and Tim can't maintain this for too much longer. I'm trying to enjoy this without thinking about next year.

Kawhi will be better, Tony will Tony. We'll need that next guy sooner rather than later.

They could do just as well based on everyone's current performance for next season.

The Spurs only have 40mm or so on the books for next year, so they should be able to pick up a solid FA to replace Manu's vanishing production.

Tim's not going to drop off a cliff, IMO worst case short of a major injury is 14-8 with solid defense, slowing down isn't a major factor for a guy like Duncan. TP shows no signs of age, and Leonard will be better. Those three alone give you a 3-4 seed.

I seem to remember that they also also have a Euro or two stashed away that are expected to come over and be good sooner or later, but not sure if that's true or if next year would be the year.


The real wildcard is retirement.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 6/7/2013 5:45p).]

I thought they have the rights to an all-star 7 footer in Europe but he just signed a huge deal with his team.

I'm thinking they have a 6'10 shooter and a 6'5 athletic SG in Europe, but I could be wrong.

Maybe I was thinking of the 6'10 guy

Hanga, Lorbek and Bertans are the only three realistic picks stashed away. Lorbek is the most ready but doesnt want to play in the nba. He was the big yall were talking about. But hes older. Hanga is the most likely case in a year or two. Athletic swing guy. Bertans is a good tall shooter. Just still really raw and skinny. Not likely to join the league in the near future.

Green and Kawhi are perfect fits for the Spurs, but the Spurs need an athletic combo guard to fill Manu's shoes as instant offense/6th man. That isn't the easiest thing to find.

Having a third post to take minutes from Duncan and keep him fresh. Blair and Diaw aren't it.

With a 4.9mm cap hold for Tiago [RFA] and a 1.1 cap hold for Neal [FRA], the Spurs sit at 45mm in salaries. Splitter will likely get 7-8mm/yr but they can use their cap space first.

Splitter
Duncan/Diaw/Bonner
Kawhi
Green/Neal/Patty
Parker/Nando

Ginobili is a FA and his caphold will be over 15mm, which would take the Spurs over the cap - to 60mm. If the Spurs can get Manu to sign for ~4mm, the Spurs would have somewhere between 8-10mm to work with for free agency. Giving Neal his walking papers would add another million.

So options:
6th Man Combo/PG/Wing:
Devin Harris as a 6th Man? He turns 31 next year. Not the most durable.
Jarrett Jack would be a solid 6th Man option.
OJ Mayo. I think he would not flourish so well under Pop.
Tony Allen. Probably wants a bigger deal than the Spurs would want to give, but would be nice to have a solid SF to backup Kawhi. Great defender, seems like a good person when he isn't going for an Oscar and would probably do well with only a corner three to worry about. Having Kawhi/Allen would be incredible for when we match up against Westy/Durant or Wade/James.
Nick Young: Some injury issues
Randy Foye - alwyas thought he was going to be better


Post:
Chris Kaman: Hurt all the time and sucks at D. But has some nice moves offensively under the basket. Kaman/Bonner front court would be horrifying.
Elton Brand. Spurs pushed hard for him a decade ago. Not much left in the tank, but could probably give a good 15 mpg.
JJ Hickson: Prob too expensive; 13/10 in 30mpg last year for Portland
Andrew Bynum: What can he get?

Why is this debate taking place? Basketball is still being played and legacies defined.

J.J. Redick seems like a good fit at first glance but for the system you need an athletic 3 and D guy like Green for the second unit. But it's something to think about.

Redick is a more consistent, more expensive gary neal.

Health is never a guarantee. The Spurs were fortunate the way things worked out this year with other teams getting less healthy and the Spurs healing up just in time to run through the playoffs.

Going back to 2000, it seems that the Spurs have been haunted by horrible injury problems when the playoffs have rolled around nearly half the years in that span.

2000 Duncan goes down at the end of the year. 2001 Derek Anderson (2nd best player on the team that year) gets taken out by Juwan Howard's dirty play. Ginobili and Duncan took turns in the late 2000s limping into the playoffs.

That's not to say the Spurs can't be healthy. They've been very healthy the last 2 years by their recent standards. If they can keep that up, they should have a good shot at least for reaching the conference finals again.

If they can keep Splitter and add another good role player in the back-court, I don't see them falling out of the conversation next year and even in 2015.

Um, yeah Spurs weren't beating the Lakers that year with or without Derek ****ing Anderson.

Didn't say they were, dip ****. But they sure as hell had no chance without him healthy

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 6/8/2013 8:07a).]

The Lakers likely still win but make no mistake, the Spurs with Anderson were a damn good team that year. They needed that perimeter player that could break down a defense and score that they really didn't get again until Manu.

Getting too Old !

[This message has been edited by Yell Practice (edited 6/14/2013 2:06p).]

Because of the rockets and thunder

Na y'all are gonna need more for another run unless Duncan fights humanity next season or kawhi drastically improves

With Westbrook healthy the Spurs wouldn't have made the Finals this year. Being a year older (for them a huge deal) and Westbrook back with a vengeance will make things incredibly hard for the Spurs. It seems as though they are temporarily holding the Thunders Best in the West trophy. Please don't scratch it.

Last year it took the Thunder 6 games, Harden, and an insane jump shooting performance from Ibaka AND fkn Perkins to beat the Spurs. The Spurs are a better playoff team this year than the previous year because Green and Leonard are both a lot better. Westbrook would have made it tougher, but I'd still have picked the Spurs.

Honestly, over the next 2 years I might be more worried about the Warriors than the Thunder. They have more weapons and a healthy Bogut is better than Perkins and Ibaka combined.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 6/15/2013 1:05p).]

Bogut better than Ibaka. Bogut is tall. That's it. Oaf

When healthy, Bogut is a 15-10 and 2.5 blocks per game player. He doesn't have Ibaka's elevation, but he's a stronger on-ball defender, better rebounder, plays good help defense, can pass, and can go to work on his own down low. Far more complete player than Ibaka, and a fantastic complement to a guard like Curry.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 6/15/2013 5:48p).]

Bogut is an oaf.

One of the things that makes the Spurs so dang good is their ability to play multiple styles. They can go big and play with the likes of the Griz/Pacers/Lakers teams or they can play small ball and compete with the warriors/thunder/ heat.

With Duncan getting older, I really think the Spurs need to find one more solid big man. I expect Splitter to get marginally better, but Duncan will slowly get worse. Diaw is what he is and Bonner is just a shooter. They need a good post defender/rebounder that can provide a few points a game and allow Duncan to rest a bunch in the regular season.

On the perimeter, I think you need a slasher/defender to take some pressure off of Manu. I think both Green and Leonard will continue to improve on their slashing and offensive side of things, but one more player would be great. I think Green and Leonard are going to start getting more shots per game than anyone outside of Parker. They both have solid potential, especially Leonard.

The Spurs have a surprising amount of cap space depending on how much Manu, Splitter and Neal will want. I think Neal may get overpaid by some team with his game 3 shooting performance so he may not stick around.

The Spurs need to somehow win one in Miami and then get busy in free-agency! There is no reason they can't be right back here next year if they stay healthy and use their cap space.

I want to see the Spurs pick up Al Jefferson and Randy Foye, then let Neal walk and Manu retire.

Jefferson/Splitter
Duncan/Diaw/Bonner
Kawhi/
Green/Foye
Parker/Joseph/DeColo

Shooters available:
Kyle Korver
Mike Dunlavy - kind of a headcase, but is a good shooter and could play 3.
Martell Webster - big enough to play 3
Chris Copeland - stretch 4

Spurs are at ~45mm without Manu and with Tiago's cap hold of under 5mm. Cap will be 58-62. Diaw costs us 4.7mm, so if he retires or opts out, you really have some flexibility. Boris is younger than you think, though. Just 32. I think Boris is pretty happy in SA with his fellow Frenchman. Spurs are in a pretty good place to retool and if they beat the Heatles, there might be some interest in guys taking a pay cut to come to SA and hit threes for a ring.

Guitar, I think what you posted would be phenomenal. If the Spurs get Jefferson then they would have to be the favorite to come out of the West.

I want to see Manu back for one more year.
I think he loves the game so much and last nights game shows he still has a little left in the tank. I want to let him go out on his own terms. He needs to take a substantial pay cut though. I want Duncan and Manu to retire together a couple years from now.

Diaw, needs to get in shape. I know they want him playing big, but he sure could afford to change some fat to muscle. If he is going to get almost 5 million he needs to work hard to get in shape.

Leonard and Green are going to be great next year after gaining the confidence that comes from playing in the finals.

WHY why why is Bonner still on this team, let alone next year's?

He is terrible.

Bonner was a key part of the Spurs strategy against Memphis and LAL. At this point, I don't think they should get rid of him until they lock up a better stretch 4. I used to lead the charge on "Bonner must go", but he has provided great minutes in the playoffs this year. He's better against big posts than he gets credit for, and his shooting forces the opposing defense into a lot of bad decisions. As it happens, the right matchup isn't there in this series (he gets torched in small ball), but he has turned hmself into a very good situational player.

Yeah, you just can't play Bonner against a team that is:
Bosh
James
Allen
Wade
Chalmers

If you see a
Haslem/Birdman
Bosh
James
Wade
Chalmers

You could see Bonner because you aren't worried about Haslem/Birdman's offense. Just putbacks. And you want Bonner to pull Birdman out to the three point line to open up the lane for Parker/Ginobili/Duncan.

If the Spurs remain mostly unchanged, Heat implode and the Lakers continue to disintegrate, I think the Spurs are a serious contender next year as well. The only teams that could be trouble would be the Thunder and Warriors, IMO.