Manu wore LeBron 11s during the finals.

I thought it was Hibbert's girl, which is why he went into that incredibly bad slump in the second half of the season.

Manu wore the 10s in the 2013 finals as well.

I really wish the Spurs would have gotten mcroberts for the MLE instead of the heat. Heck I would have gladly taken granger too as Kawhi's backup and just cut Ayers so we don't go over the cap.

I guess the appeal of Miami and Lebron was the better offer.

That leaves the Spurs with no realistic proven stretch four options with the MLE. Marvin Williams for the full MLE would be pretty underwhelming when McRoberts took the same. Maybe I am missing someone, but that's a unique role and I can't think of many available players still out there.

Now I hope it's either Pau or go sign a decent backup SF for Kawhi with the MLE.

Fill me in on McRoberts. I've seen him play and he does absolutely nothing for me. Why is there so much hype around this guy all of a sudden? I get that he brings energy but I wouldn't want to pay him the MLE for our team.

I don't get it either.

My thoughts on McRoberts or another strech 4/point forward would be the ability for the Spurs to play small which is the style that worked so well during their championship run. I think the Spurs are at their best with Diaw at the four and Duncan at the five.

If you get another stretch four you can start Diaw and Duncan and have a back up rotation of the new stretch four and Splitter. As it stands now, Splitter and Duncan play and start a ton of regular season games together yet when facing the elite teams in the playoffs (OKC and Miami) that lineup is completly dismissed and Diaw becomes your starter. Why not play that style the whole year if you have the personnel to solidify the rotation?

McRoberts had a nice breakout year in Charlotte last year and brings a skill set similar to a poor man's Diaw. There aren't a ton of bigs that have that skillset so they are over valued when looking at conventional statistics.

Similar to Diaw, a player like McRoberts is much more valuable in a system like the Spurs than he would be elsewhere.

I think there are a few players in addition to McRoberts that could fill that role, but with what the Spurs did in the playoffs they are going fast and there really aren't many of them available.

quote:

---

Fill me in on McRoberts. I've seen him play and he does absolutely nothing for me. Why is there so much hype around this guy all of a sudden? I get that he brings energy but I wouldn't want to pay him the MLE for our team.

---

Crazy athletic, 6'9" , and last year started hitting 3s. He's a perfect fit for a contending team. Unfortunately for him he's been on some bad teams and never really stood out.

McRoberts on San Antonio would be great. Even Charlotte, who lacks good and willing passers, makes sense. But I don't see it with Miami. He averaged 8.5/5/4 last year in his "break out" year. Miami needs more than that.

quote:

---

If you get another stretch four you can start Diaw and Duncan and have a back up rotation of the new stretch four and Splitter.

---

We have Bonner.

They also just picked up a guy in Granger who scored 19 to 25 a game for 5 straight years while shooting 36-40% from three. If Granger can recapture a bit of his old game, they don't need 15 a game from McRoberts.

Anyway, they didn't get McRoberts to carry the team, they got him to be a cog in a system. He doesn't have to score a lot, he just needs to be a viable threat to score in more ways than hitting spot-up threes, forcing the defense to account for him, and then be able to pass to a shooter or cutter when they do. He can also defend in Miami's trapping system much better than a Rashard Lewis or Udonis Haslem plus he can rebound a little.

These were two good moves for the Heat. This is how teams are built. The fight for Carmelo is sound and fury; the winner loses in the long run.

quote:

---

If you get another stretch four you can start Diaw and Duncan and have a back up rotation of the new stretch four and Splitter. As it stands now, Splitter and Duncan play and start a ton of regular season games together yet when facing the elite teams in the playoffs (OKC and Miami) that lineup is completly dismissed and Diaw becomes your starter. Why not play that style the whole year if you have the personnel to solidify the rotation?

---

Because, it's not like starting Splitter / Duncan together was ineffective. They had the league best record with those two starting the majority of games, and they cruised through the playoffs and into the conference finals with a 2-0 lead with those two starting as well.

Despite what people think, Splitter actually is more effective than Diaw against certain teams. Splitter played ridiculously good defense against Dallas, and he played decent against the Blazers big lineup. There are certain teams the Spurs matchup better with giving Splitter / Duncan max time on the floor together, and there are others that having Diaw out there is better (especially smaller teams like Miami). Splitter is a much better rim protector and defensive anchor over the course of the season than Diaw.

Finally, with Duncan, Splitter, and Diaw all needing their minutes managed to avoid injury (they've all had their own problems the last few years), you know they're going to be a platoon anyway against good teams. You can't sub 2 of the 3 out against good competition and not expect a significant dropoff, unless the other team goes small allowing Kawhi to play the 4. That's why I've been clamoring about getting another decent 4/5 to throw out there as a 4th big in their rotation. I don't think Baynes is the answer there, but there may be no better option.

Bonner is a 3pt specialist and not a dynamic pass, shoot and defend stretch four.

I actually hope we re-sign him for the vet minimum if we decide to go with a C or SF.

I would gladly trade Ayers for Bonner straight up. Ayers has shown so very little since he has been here.

And yeah, those were good moves for the Heat. If they get their big 3 back plus Allen for the veteran minimum, they are instantly better than they were in June.

All they need from Granger is to play Rashard Lewis' role in the Finals but with actual defense and rebounding. All they need from Napier is to not suck worse than Chalmers (that's not asking alot). All they need from McRoberts is to do exactly what he did in Charlotte, especially when Lebron goes to the bench.

Napier-Cole
Wade-Allen
Lebron-Granger
McRoberts-warm body
Bosh-warm body

In the playoffs they probably shorten their rotation to everyone above minus the warm bodies, and they probably go small a lot with Lebron or Granger at the 4 with those two on the floor together, rotating McRoberts and Bosh through the 4 and 5 as well.

Allen / Granger and Allen / McRoberts is twice the bench they had this year.

I also agree that if they don't find another big man to climb aboard, the best move is to sign Baynes and Bonner and dump Ayers.

If Bron doesn't resign, I wouldn't be surprised to see Granger and McRoberts back out of their agreement.

Splitter and Duncan together is defintely a solid lineup and the Spurs are good enough to win at a high level with it. That doesn't change the fact that it was largely ineffective in our two biggest series.

By adding a backup stretch four you would have the versatility to play that small ball rotation as your primary 90% of the time, you could spreadload even more minutes to your bigs and it gives you a backup for an overweight and aging player in Diaw. The Spurs would still have the luxury to go big against certain teams, but I think most would agree that small ball with Diaw and a stretch four is just as effective if not more effective than Splitter and Duncan together for 90% of the league.

The Spurs could literally two platoon rotations of:

Parker
Green
Leonard
Diaw
Duncan

and then rotate in

Mills
Manu
Belenelli or new backup SF
New stretch four
Splitter

You would literally be blowing teams out by 20+ most games of the reg season. It saves a lot of legs on defense as well when you are blowing out teams.

I think it's a great idea to do what you're saying. I just don't think they find that player out there with what is still available in free agency. And I don't think their lineup with Splitter and Duncan starting except in the playoffs is as bad as you made it sound a few posts ago.

But if they return the same team, I'd rather see Diaw be the first big off the bench in the regular season (because he can actually give you a spark if the starters are ineffective-that's one thing Splitter can't give you). With the same team back, Duncan / Splitter / Diaw should be getting at least 75 out of 96 possible minutes at the 4/5. Fill in the rest of those 21 minutes with Bonner / Baynes or Kawhi in a small lineup.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/8/2014 9:45a).]

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/8/2014 9:46a).]

Starting Splitter and Duncan with Green and Leonard allows for the best defensive starting 5 in the NBA.

It also allows Splitter to take the spot as the "banger" in order to conserve Duncan throughout the year. Duncan slides over to the easier defensive assignment which allows him less wear and tear. Splitter is just as pivotal as Diaw in SA, hence the contract situations.

Tiago has been a huge part of Duncan's resurgence these last couple years.

The luxury of being able to switch between Tiago and Diaw in the playoffs is so huge and the Spurs will continue to do so based on matchups but there is no way Duncan and Tiago won't be the starting bigs in the regular season for the reasons mentioned above. It has more to do with trying to conserve Tim throughout the year so when the playoffs arrive he can carry more of a load offensively and defensively.

[This message has been edited by Sher Thing (edited 7/8/2014 9:50a).]

Spurs are meeting with Kent Bazemore today.

I just think Manu and Patty playing really well against OKC / Miami covered up a lot of what they would have normally been missing with Boris starting instead of coming off the bench. In other words, had Manu or Patty sucked, our bench would have missed Boris in a big way.

And Sher makes a good point about the team defense and defensive assignments at the 4/5. That has gone a long way in keeping Duncan fresh for the 2nd half of games and the season.

Also, having Tiago start helps to keep fouls low on Duncan and Diaw, that way they can finish the game together in most situations without having to worry about their foul situation.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/8/2014 9:51a).]

quote:

---

I just think Manu and Patty playing really well against OKC / Miami covered up a lot of what they would have normally been missing with Boris starting instead of coming off the bench. In other words, had Manu or Patty sucked, our bench would have missed Boris in a big way.

---

There's definitely some truth to this. But if you remember, this is the exact reason Pop went with Bonner in the SL against OKC (paired with the fact that teams respect his three, unlike Boris). He didn't end up playing heavy minutes those games but the 15 min he provided those games were huge.

[This message has been edited by Sher Thing (edited 7/8/2014 9:57a).]

I agree about Splitter helping give Timmy time off defending the primary big, but I think real minutes are still more important.

If we had signed a player like McRoberts, then you could literally play Duncan two Qtrs a game for the entire season.

Add to it that the Spurs will be running and gunning and there isn't much of a chance for an opposing big to wear down Duncan in the low post in only two qtrs. If the Spurs are hitting shots we win by 20+ if they are missing they lose. Either way the Spurs rest for the playoffs.

This is also why I would love to sign Gasol as well. With a starting lineup of Splitter and Duncan and a backup lineup of Gasol and Diaw you would never have to play a post player above half the game.

Ayers, Baynes and Bonner just don't give you that flexibility as their minutes aren't very productive.

No doubt...but they aren't getting McRoberts or Gasol. So it really doesn't matter. Who is still out there that could come in and play the role of a stretch 4?

Yeah exactly. Gasol is a pipe dream. Don't see it happening.

That was my whole point in being disappointed in missing out of McRoberts to the Heat.

There aren't many others. Frye was paid more than the MLE. I think Hawes for the Clips could have possibly done some good things here. Maybe the Spurs can mold Marvin Williams into something more but that is a long shot. Our rookie may grow into that roll but needs to bulk up.

At true Center or big PF after Gasol there really isn't much. Maybe Hill from the lakers, Smith from the Cans or even Kardashian or O'neal. That selection doesn't do much for me.

At this point, if McRoberts signs his deal, then I think we should cut Ayers, bring back Bonner and Baynes and use the MLE on a SF - perhaps the sip Tucker, Wes Johnson, Aminu or even an old guy like C Butler, Mike Miller or Vince Carter/Shawn Marion.

I just don't think Bazemore or a SG gets you much, when you already have Green, Manu and Belinelli there. Maybe he adds some ballhandling, I don't know much about him.

Shawn Marion. But he doesn't stretch so much any more.

Trevor Booker isn't a stretch 4, but could play down low.

Rashard Lewis back to Texas.

Marvin Williams.

Ryan Kelly from the Lakers and played for Coach K at Duke.

Anthony Tolliver hit 41% of his threes last year for Charlotte. Doesn't rebound, doesn't pass.

Hope Pop can get Michael Beasley to not be a crackbaby.

Hope Pop can get Royce White to not be a crackbaby.

Hope Pop can get Charlie Villanueva to not be a cancer patient. [KG's words, not mine!]

Grant Jarrett hit a lot of threes at Arizona, but hasn't shown he can do anything in the NBA (much like Stephen Jackson, Patty Mills and Danny Green before Pop got his claws into them.)


Not a lot of options at stretch 4.

Aminu is interesting. He could play some PF, is really athletic, shot 31.5% from three on a decent number of attempts as a rookie so there might be some potential there, and averaged 10-9-2 per 36 minutes last year.

I like the idea of Marion, except that Chip Engelland might have a stroke watching Marion shoot every day.

I like Aminu for y'all. Great fit, good defender, and another young piece who could develop more.

I don't have much interest in Rashard Lewis but I could see the Spurs having interest in him.


Guys like Aminu and Marvin Williams are definitely interesting but the Spurs are so crunched on roster spots I just don't see why either of these guys would come when the most important thing to them has to be playing time at this point of their careers.

I still don't see where Daye fits in and I continue to be surprised by the Spurs electing to keep him just because were so crunched for numbers.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread though, it's still a possibility he gets waived eventually.

I would like to cut Ayres. While he seems to be a good teammate, he's clumsy and bad.

If Daye isn't going to play 15 mpg next year, he needs to go. Same with Baynes; I like him and he seems to have the tools, but he's never going to develop them if he doesn't get in the game. At 26 or 27 years old, all these guys' developmental clocks are ticking. Bonner is fine for an end of the bench vet min guy.

I think you have to spend the MLE in Duncan's last years. You never know what you might find there that can help the team and the Spurs are doing great in revenue so it isn't like there is a point in saving it from a fan's perspective.

At least Baynes showed flashes during the playoffs and sets hard screens and will bang with people. Daye is still pretty young and provides some SF depth in the worse case scenario and there is a small glimmer of hope he may develop a little.

I don't see Ayers as giving this team anything at the PF position. Plus he is getting almost $2 million a year, which is not chump change for a complete non-contributor. Especially when a guy like Granger just committed to the Heat for just a bit more.

Heck even if Holt wants to go cheap and not spend the entire MLE, at least cut Ayers and Daye and go for a couple cheap vets or minimum guys like Allen, Lewis, Carter, etc that have a chance of contributing.