Monday, February 15th, 2010...6:11 am
Looking Ahead for New All-Stars
Yesterday’s All-Star game featured nine new participants. That’s good for the league. The Spurs sent one man, who was, of course, not new to the festivities. I wonder, when will the Spurs next send a new participant to the All-Star game? Someone not named Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili.
The obvious candidates are DeJuan Blair and George Hill, but their career projections don’t necessarily entail All-Star appearances. Maybe. But Blair is not a sure thing like, say, Tyreke Evans is. Same goes for Hill, who is great for the Spurs but remains a top 30 point guard league-wide.
In theory, the Spurs could have gone after an All-Star quality player this summer, but that changed with the Richard Jefferson trade. Now, the Spurs have to wait until at least the summer of 2011 to land an All-Star through free agency. Or, I suppose, they could get lucky in the draft or through the trade market.
Seven out of nine of the new All-Stars represented the teams which originally drafted them. Of the returning players, and limiting ourselves to those who played yesterday, nine still represent the teams which drafted them. In other words, sixteen of twenty-four All-Stars represented the teams which drafted them. Only one of the current All-Stars was acquired by his current team through free agency: Steve Nash. The remaining seven arrived at their current team via trade.
If there is a lesson in this it’s that if you can’t draft an All-Star, then you ought to trade for one. Landing an All-Star talent in free agency, especially as a small market team, is extremely difficult. The Spurs should know this as well as anyone.
The need to add talent, not only to satisfy San Antonio’s current championship aspirations, but to remain competitive in the post-Duncan era was underscored yesterday. Yesterday Tim Duncan made the first of his final All-Star appearances.
Over the weekend, Duncan told the Express-News’ Mike Monroe that he expects to play through his current contract, but not further. Two more seasons after this one, and that final season is threatened by a lock-out. So much will depend on the next CBA, and the free agent classes of 2011 and 2012. But for as much as I’m cheering for the current team to pull it together, and I’m also filled with the curiosity of who’s got next?
12 Comments
February 15th, 2010 at 6:43 am
Blair could possibly be the next “new” Spurs all-star. But this won’t happen until he earns and gets starter minutes. He’ll do that by gaining experience in the years to come. That being said, the only chance he has is to be picked as a reserve (by the coaches) or sub (by the league office).
Duncan, is another story. Whether he plays past his contract depends on many things. Can the team be (semi) competitive? Will he take half of what he’s currently making? Can he play for Pop’s successor (Avery?)? The biggest problem is that Tim is becoming more like the Admiral, rather than MJ, Kobe, KG. Meaning he “has a life”; basketball is not the 1st thing for him anymore. David could have played for 3-4 more years, but he just decided there were other things he wanted to do. Tim probably has similar feelings.
February 15th, 2010 at 9:22 am
I really hope the spurs blow it up and rebuild around Timmy NOW, giving him a reason to extend his stay with the Spurs another 2 years… Tim wants to win, his comments indicate that he’s not enjoying the game much anymore, not having fun. I’m sure he’s thinking how do you compete against what LA is doing, or with the young superstars if they switch teams to play together, and not feeling too inspired by the answer to such questions.
I don’t see how we get it done with Tony Parker leading the charge. Isiah had a dominate defensive squad, as well as Laimbeer and Dumars in their prime… Our only chance is with more dominant length inside, and a pass-first point guard. Generally, you need at least 2 of the top 10 players in the league in a given year, great coaching (Lakers were failures before Jackson took over), and of course great role-players and very good defense.
On the other hand, if Duncan does hang it up, the spurs are instantly in the lottery: maybe we strike gold a few years in a row… aka Sean Elliot + the Admiral… Of course Portland got Greg “Oh No!” Oden to go with Roy… and we’ll see what Sacramento puts next to Evans. It ain’t easy.
As for Blair, will his defense ever make him more than just a “blessing and a curse” a la Zach Randolf or Amare? Not even the original “Round Mound of Rebound” ever won a championship.
February 15th, 2010 at 10:21 am
I know that you said that there would need to be a wait untill the summer of 2011 to compete in the free agent frenzy, but is there a chance for the spurs to land someone like Chris Bosh? He’s a Texas native that has already expressed interest in coming back to his home town. Is it possible to drop or trade some of these expiring contracts to free up cap space to make room for him, and then fill in the holes made to bring him in with draft picks and Splitter?
Just a thought, not sure how will it would work.
February 15th, 2010 at 11:49 am
DNITCH, there’s essentially no hope at this point of making a big free agency splash this year. A lot of our contracts currently run through the end of next season so there will be no money to do that; that was the reality we accepted when we traded for Jefferson. But it was a good idea anyways; like Tim said, you rarely find an all-star level talent via free-agency, and even if some of those mega-free agents like Bosh do move around in the off-season, they’re going to go play with a young LeBron or DWade or Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant rather than an aging Tim Duncan.
Free agency is the biggest false hope out there. Teams will clear all kinds of money to reel in that “big fish”… and then wind up with Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. Or Larry Hughes. Or Elton Brand. So I think the Spurs’ best hope to improve while still in the Duncan era has to be via trades.
February 15th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Excellent question and one worth pondering.
February 15th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I think Dejaun will get better with age, will that be enough though? The ceiling has to be pretty high to get there and his legs (specifically his Non ACL knees) have to hold up for long enough.
George is a chance I suppose. He doesnt look it at the moment but he has the right kind of attitude and work ethic.
You only have to look at Chauncey Billups. I never would have given him a shot at being an All Star, just as well he (and no one else for that matter) ever listen to me.
February 15th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Blair could become an all-star. If he develops a great jumper and some defensive skills (including defensive rebounding) his ceiling is Elton Brand/Carlos Boozer. He’s only 20.
George is more of a long shot. He’s not a natural PG and doesn’t show the instincts needed to become one. As a 2 he’s up against guys 5-6 inches taller like Kobe, Brandon Roy, etc.
Even Splitter might have all-star potential. No way to know ’til he gets here.
February 15th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Hill could be one down the road, but only by playing for a over-performing star-less team. Houston nosedived in the standings right as the backup selections were being done, but if they hadn’t I think they could have gotten somebody on the team.
Someday Cubits could be a starter of that quality on a team like that, but I wouldn’t wish it on him. No stars means no championships, even scrappy Houston is in a holding pattern for when Yao comes back. I’d rather him be on the kind of team where, when playing well around the All-star break, sends Manu or Tim or some other player and lets George fly under the radar.
Dejuan Blair has a long-shot at playing in the big cheesy game someday too but I’d rather see him as a role-player on a legit contender than as the token All-Star from an also-ran.
February 15th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
I like the idea of going after bosh. He hs made it clear he wants to be the man and have a team built around him and not a “super role player/side kick” to someone else. Duncan already had great character and robinson could only further ingrain character and a team first mentality. Who couldnt see duncan taking a back seat to bosh a la robinson did with duncan. This would give bosh the chance to be the man and still have a great supporting cast. The only question is could bosh be a franchise player? I dont think he can carry a franchise like bron or wade but not many players can. With enough young talent, i think the spurs would have a smooth transition into the teens and have a championship caliber team for years to come on top of being a contender currently.
February 15th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Yeah I don’t see George getting there. I think Dejaun could just on the basis of his rebounding if he starts to get to those crazy Rodman like numbers a coach will put him in there as a reserve, I don’t see Fans voting him in though.
February 15th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
We ain’t gonna win anything this year.
Spurs need to get focused on the outside chance of winning next year.
Please let us get Splitter next year. I will be sick if we give away Splitter only to be second round fodder this year and next.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Blair is a sure thing. He is already one of the most productive per-minute players in the league, and is by far the most productive per-minute rookie. If he can handle 30+ mpg, he’ll be in a few all-star games.
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