No Room for Error
After rumors surfaced yesterday evening that the Spurs are potentially interested in Glen Davis, I came to an anxiety-induced realization: In the 2009 offseason arms race, there is no room for error.
Just to be clear, I don’t believe the Spurs are going to sign Davis: In DeJuan Blair we already have a stronger, longer, and I believe fundamentally more talented version of Davis. The rumor is probably just an attempt by Davis’ agent to net his client a larger contract. If a team as savvy as the Spurs is interested, shouldn’t you be too?
That being said, in some people’s opinion, acquiring Davis would not be a disaster. But at this point, the Spurs aren’t trying to avoid disasters: We are trying to build a championship roster. If we spend a significant percentage of our MLE on a player who can’t rebound and can’t defend elite big men, we will be a significant step behind next season’s contenders.
At this point, five organizations have fully committed themselves to the 2010 title hunt: Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Orlando, and San Antonio. On the edge of this group lurks Portland, who still has the financial flexibility to acquire a player that takes them to the next level (although the amount of players who have the talent to do so is rapidly growing smaller). Despite the moves we’ve already made this offseason, I still think the Spurs, as currently composed, are only the 5th best team in the league.
Consider that. This roster, which is probably the most talented roster we have had since 2006, is still surpassed by 4 other franchises. That’s why this Davis rumor is so much more severe than it may appear. Davis is a fine player: a relatively average role player who can be relied upon to hit big shots in big games. A team could do worse. But at this point, the Spurs have specific needs, needs that must be met if we intend to win a fifth ring. And Davis, however likeable he may be, does not fulfill those needs.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Glen-Davis-in-San-Antonio-Fine-by-me?urn=nba,174939
spurs get davis according to yahoo sports but no other source confirms???
Zainnn,
That is the article I linked in my piece. The report is speculative. Dwyer links to a Comcast Sports Network New England story that says Davis “could be gone to San Antonio.”
McDyess. McDyess. McDyess.
Also the fact that he’s a restricted free agent makes it less likely as well, right? We’d have to wait for Boston to decide while unrestrcited FAs are signing contracts. I really hope this is not true.
Listening to Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy, rip apart Glenn Davis all last season has me very scared that we would use our money on a player that basically duplicates what we already have. I would be much more excited about picking up Channing Frye, who in my opinion fits our needs much more.
what about the birdman, I bet we could pick him up very cheap. third in blocked shots last year, coming off the bench. Or I,ve heard rumors that kendrick perkins may be gone as he has had a falling out with doc that may be why they pushed so hard for sheed
McDyess just does not excite me. He’s very solid, but how much of an upgrade is he from Kurt Thomas?
The best options I see are trading for Camby or signing “Birdman” Anderson. There just aren’t that many legit center prospects out there.
Someone on another site mentioned trading for Diop…at this point Rasho is better than nothing…. Maybe we should simply hope and pray for Splitter to come and solve all our problems…
Didn’t I read somewhere that Birdman is really popular in Denver and likely to get resigned?
Travis,
You got it, McDyess. Hopefully it works out. McDyess would be a great compliment to Duncan.
I don’t think we have a chance at either Camby or Birdman. Birdman will be resigned and I don’t know how willing LA will be to trade Camby since they just got rid of Randolph. I agree that McDyess isn’t too big of an upgrade over Thomas (although I think he is defensively on the pick and roll), but he’s our best option left.
And I just can’t shake this feeling that the Spurs know something we don’t and are waiting to pull the trigger on something. Not sure if that means Splitter, but I just have a feeling about it with how they let Sheed go without much fight.
” Despite the moves we’ve already made this offseason, I still think the Spurs, as currently composed, are only the 5th best team in the league.”
I think this statement is true with the exception of Orlando. With Hedo gone and Gortat probably leaving I think they’ll slide a bit.
I’m optimistic, like many comments on this blog, that that the Spurs will surprise us with something good and putting us right there with the Lakers. It’d be nice to have a solid team together for a whole year instead of trying to pick someone up at the trade deadline if needed.
I agree, prospects are dim at this point for acquiring an impact big man. Camby and Birdman probably aren’t going anywhere…if there isn’t a Splitter surprise coming the Spurs are likely to remain the 4th or 5th best team in the League….
I agree with Greg. Sheed was too big of a prize for us to pursue passively unless the FO has something else up their sleeves (and we all know Haislip isn’t it). Hmmm….
Signing McDyess would be nice, he plays tough, boards well and can hit that open jumper at least as well as KT. Even with McDyess though, our best hope of winning a championship rests with Ginobili returning to the level he was playing at before the 08 playoffs.
I don’t think the Spurs were prepared to offer Sheed a 2 year deal and hamper the chance to sign Splitter next summer. They probably feel they can sign someone like McDyess and not blow up their future plans.
McDyess nearly averaged a double-double this past season. I’d say that’s a better upgrade than KT.
Why is everyone thinking that we’ve just now identified the missing piece to a championship team and behold, it’s here at the MLE!
The foundation is here already folks.
I agree with NL about the Spurs being the 4th best team in the league (ahead of Orlando) at this point.
But if you’re ranking chances of winning the championship, I think Orlando may be higher just because, ceteris paribus, they have a better chance of making it to the finals (where anything could happen). Even if Orlando has to go through both the Cavs and the Celts to get to the finals, they will have an easier road than the Spurs (who, presumably will have to go through the Lakers).
We have scorers now (parker, manu,RJ, and duncan)we need Defense.Defense. Defense (birdman can block shots) Let’s be boring again and play defense, the offense will come.
Regarding Orlando, I’m not sure — I think they’re a better regular season team, but I think they also just lost the size mis-match that played so much in their favor in the playoffs this year. Carter is the better talent, other things being equal, but Turkoglu and Lewis each made the other more deadly because virtually no one else has athletic guys big enough to defend both of them when they’re on the floor at the same time. I think losing Turkoglu will hurt them more than they realize.
I hear this talk about us signing the big baby davis, and I hope that the spurs have talked to the celtics front office and we’ve agreeded to sign davis, and trade him and finley or bonner or someone else other than the big 4 for kendrick perkins
Gray, I read on espn that david lee(knicks) might only make the qualifying offers of 1.8 or 2.6 mil for one year. any chance the spurs give him a look? he’s a good player and someone who can make a difference. spurs still have the 5.6 mle since they did not use it on sheed. i think Lee would be way better than big baby davis, younger and more athletic than mcdyess, and more developed than a channing frye. plus he is still a young player. think the spurs have looked at him at all?
Kobes great, but the Lakers strength when they kill us has been that Gasol, Bynum, Odom frontline. When we try to match up with Duncan, Bonner, and a Rookie, and whoever else up front that succumbed to the Mavs, a deep playoff run is just not realistic. Shot blocking, shot blocking, shot blocking. It’s really that simple.
TrueFan-
I disagree with the notion that playing the Lakers will be more difficult than getting through the Celtics and Cavs back to back. If we are going on the assumption (which seems fair right now) that there are only 5 legit contenders and that Orlando/San Antonio are 4/5 that would leave standings something like this (apologies to Cleveland):
West:
1 – Lakers
2 – Spurs
East:
1 – Boston
2 – Cleveland
3 – Orlando
Orlando would have to beat Cleveland on the road, then Boston on the road, then the Lakers on the road in the finals.
San Antonio would have to beat the Lakers on the road, then Boston/Cleveland, likely on the road. The conference semifinals would be a home series against a second tier team… Portland? Dallas? 82 games away from the playoffs, this seems to be preferable overall.
Whichever team it happens to be in the semis, I think you have to say the odds are better for the #2 in the West than the #2 or #3 in the East.
I also have a gut feeling that catching Kobe and the Lakers before the title is directly on the line might give the challenger a better chance to win the series. In practice, of course, it may well come down to which teams are healthy at the right time.
It’s a little early to pencil the Spurs in as the two seed. In our own conference, look for the Hornets to bounce back. This will be the Trailblazers break through year, with or without Odom, I see there odds of the WCF as on par with San Antonio’s. I don’t see the Nuggets making the WCF’s again, but they will return with the same team, and a still improving JR Smith and Anthony. It’s difficult imagine the Rocket’s losing their Big Three and still competing, but theoretically Houston could still add McDyss and Marion to Ariza. Point is, much too early to pencil in a team whipped by the Mavericks into the number two spot.
oh lol thats cool well nice find man i always go on google news to find news about spurs and i guess you do too. well this aquisition of big baby just brings youth to our team. he also has much future potential as other people have told us before. hopefully he does not take up our mle and we can once again be the lakers nightmare in the finals this year!!!
I can’t see what Big Baby is going to bring to the team that we don’t already have. He is a role player, not a starter. He isn’t worth the MLE nor is it worth the risk that Boston would match or just leaves the Spurs in limbo for a week while other free agents are snatched up.
He is an average defender at best and poor rebounder. These are the two key areas the Spurs need to improve upon. We don’t need another big man who can score but not defend as we already have Bonner for that.
Now that Sheed is gone bring on McDyess.
I agree with ChillFAN about the Lakers’ frontcourt being our problem. Even moreso, I believe Gasol is the ultimate roadblock to another Finals appearance for the Spurs. Throughout the playoffs, a lot of TV and online commentators talked about Odom making the difference for the Lakers in the playoffs. My impression of the Lakers this past playoffs was that without Odom, they might not have won the championship, but without Gasol, they wouldn’t have been in the Finals in the first place. If the Lakers had paid attention to the writings of John Hollinger, they probably wouldn’t have lost more than 1 game to Houston or Denver. I believe our championship aspirations depend on how much we can neutralize Gasol. With that said, I don’t think Davis cuts it in advancing our goals, but McDyess might.
Big Baby is Bonner without a 3 pt shot, but better ball handling. Why would the Spurs waste time wanting him? He’d grab Blair’s minutes and stunt his growth.
The more I think about it, the best option other than McDyess left for the Spurs as a free agent is Rasho Nesterovic. He knows the system, can make a FT jumper or jump hook, and can help defensively.
The Spurs need a big (ie the length(6’10″ or taller) and heft(250 lbs or more)) to deal with the Bynum and Gasol, or Garnett, Wallace, Perkins, or Shaq and Z, or Oden and Pryzbilla, or Yao or Dwight Howard. No way Duncan can endure a regular season and playoff run, dealing with all these bigs by himself and have the energy and less wear on his knees to be effective. We need to replace the heft and savvy of Thomas and Oberto in the post against the better teams.
Birdman isn’t leaving Denver, Odom won’t leave l.a., Bass is good but too short, McDyess seems reluctant to leave Detroit, Gortat seems Dallas bound, Pachulia – is he good enough?, Hollins will get tossed around like a rag doll, Ely and Wilcox have low bball IQ’s, Oberto is his heart fixed?, Varejo is too limited offensively.
Nesterovic seems to be the best option left as a free agent.
Maybe the Spurs have a trade option up their sleeves, but I’m getting depressed. Why would Rasheed want to be a 6th man?
The Case for McDyess
Folks who are saying that McDyess wouldn’t really be an upgrade over Kurt Thomas have it half right and all wrong. The key point is that McD is the player Thomas was…three years ago. Let’s look at the numbers shall we? Both players entered the league in 95-96. KT is 2 years older but McD missed a full season because of his knees. So that’s basically 3 years of comparative basketball youth McD has on KT.
3 seasons ago (05-06), KT was putting 8.6 pts and 7.8 rbs for Phoenix in about 26.6 minutes per game. Those numbers seem like a reasonable predictor as to what McD will put up this season, based on what he did last year, especially since the players skill sets are remarkably similar.
Both are good post defenders, esp. vs. bigger 4′s and 5′s (which would also make things easier on Timmy). Both can hit the open mid-range jumper. Both are smart on-court players and solid off-court citizens.
Now who wouldn’t want a savvy starting big man who gives us about 9 points, 8 boards and 25 minutes a game and wouldn’t mind sharing time w/ young’uns like Blair and Mahinmi?
This sounds like an ideal fit, one that could move us up from the 5th best team in the NBA pre-season rankings right into the top 3. I think that single move takes us from pretender to contender in one fell swoop.
Ok, I’ve been reading some of the comments and wanted to weigh in.
First as far as ranking the NBA powerhouse I have us tied for 3rd.
1.Lakers- assuming they resign Odom
2.Celtics-close 2nd w/the addition of Sheed
3.Spurs and Cavs-both teams have to be tied until we see how they fill out their rosters, Spurs still need to shore up who is going to start next to Duncan (like I’ve said I am pulling for Mcdyess) and the Cavs still need one more athletic perimeter player not named Lebron. Once we see how these needs are addressed we can then accurately rank them, if the Cavs are able to pull off Marion or Grant Hill that puts them in front of us but if they have to settle for a Matt Barnes type and we do pull of getting Mcdyess I think that puts the Spurs in 3rd by themselves.
5.Orlando-I agree with the comment earlier that they are going to miss Turk more than they realize, it’s like the dont realize what got them past the Cavs, the Cavs werent able to match up with Rashard at the 4 and Turk at the 3, now they are talking of having a more traditional lineup moving Rashard to the 3 and playing VC at the 2, bad move. The only thing that made Rashard so valuable was his ability to pull opposing 4′s out to the perimeter and allow Dwight to dominate inside.
Also one of the comments said it was too early to rank the Spurs as the #2 team in the West and I disagree. The Hornets are trying to shed salary and is rumored to still be willing to dump Chandlers contract any way they can, possibly with a trade that would net them Ben Wallace who they would probably try to buy out. Also Peja and Mo Petterson will be one more year older.
Denver still has to prove to me that they can sustain what they had over a full season when they are no longer the surprise team, you know kinda like what Utah wasnt able to do a couple of years ago and New Orleans last year.
I disagree completely and of course, this centers that each team is basically at full strength. Take Cleveland out of the mix in this respect.
While Lebron is probably the best player in the league, Mo Williams was the second best player on the team. Give me another example where a team had a “Mo Williams” as their second best player and won the NBA Title. Shaq is still a great talent too, but Mo Williams is still your third best player.
As for comparing Big Baby to Blair, that’s wishful thinking. Blair is the better rebounder but Davis has two NBA seasons of proof he can play in this league. His offensive game is also more complete.
If DeJuan Blair ends up being as good as Big Baby is right now, we won’t NEED to pick up anyone in free agency.
The measure of our free agent pickup will be very simple. If he ends up helping to defend the rim and rebound – he’ll be considered a success.
While the Spurs have already have what they need between Blair, Mahinmi, Bonner and Haislip – they also might not. Using the mid level is an insurance policy against it but it can also be more.
The Spurs could stay where they are right now and no team is discernibly better than San Antonio.
I’ve posed this question a million times – who did San Antonio UPSET on the way to 4 different Championships?
It won’t be easy – for San Antonio, LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando included – not the way these teams are equipped. But it should be fun and the Spurs won’t have to upset anyone to be recognized as the best of them. One for the thumb is in his sights and this year Timmy bringing a squad.
Posed this question a million times???–who did San Antonio UPSET on way to championships? Not sure what you even mean with the question. Do you mean that the Spurs CAN upset other teams? Or WILL upset other teams? San Antonio was arguably not the clear best team (on paper) in the West in 99, 01, or in 07 we were probably third best in the west. Meanwhile the Lakers had a great regular season last year and they won. We were never even in striking distance. Again, What’s your point?
It’s all starting to make sense. The Haislip signing, the rumored Davis offer that’s coming, the supposed interest in Bass and Frye, the not reportedly aggressively pursuing Wallace and/or McDyess (which is baffling).
The Spurs are fully committed to getting younger. That’s obvious, but after acquiring Jefferson, Blair, McClinton, and with Hairston and/or Gist expected to make the team in addition to Mahinmi being healthy, I suspect many felt that when coupled with the veterans they lost, that that would suffice, at least this off season, as far as getting younger. Apparently not.
If this team signs Davis, count them out in terms of competing for the championship. The front line would be way too undersized, inexperienced, and downright lacking in talent. No length, no shot blocking, limited rebounding. Have a look at the front lines of the other four contenders and the other two teams nipping at the Spurs heals (Blazers, Nuggets). Maybe they could beat the ladder two in a playoff series, but the former four? Not a chance.
Duncan needs to step in now while there’s still time and insist they sign McDyess. Otherwise, he’ll be battling amongst the trees virtually alone next season.
I know at least one person above mentioned Orlando not being better and I agree. They lost Turkoglu, Gortat, and Lee. Replaced them with Carter. That’s a net loss to me. And a big one.
Sensationalism at its best here. Everybody is really caught up in keeping up with other teams moves. How are the spurs the 5th best team? Orlando?? They basically trade Turk, Lee, and Alston for Carter. Its ridiculous to even say thats a break even at this point. The spurs are the only team not giving away or losing pieces to add free agents. Boston might be one of those teams but it seems they might have lost Big Baby.
Spurs dont need (want is another consideration) another superstar/alpha dog. In fact, there isn’t a sport in existence where a team of superstars fields the greatest collective unit. Big Baby effectively guarded Timmy (as much as Timmy can be guarded), and Boston rode the guy in the playoffs this year. He isn’t tipping anybody over the top, and certainly doesn’t deserve star money but he fills a roster nicely, which is exactly what San Antonio should be prioritizing.
Nobody in the NBA has a team head and shoulders above the other contenders, and they shouldn’t. If the Spurs had a choice of a healthy roster as is, or any free agent the choice would be clear. The spurs have their stars, and are currently in the process of building the suppourting cast. This is the best Duncan team assembled so far, and thats saying alot considering Duncan teams have defeated the Shaq/Kobe era. The idea isn’t to build a team that is the most dangerous, but to to develop a group where you know exactly what you’ll get every time, since its consistency that rules the playoffs. The Spurs obviously would have been a more talented team with Sheed, but throw a Big Baby (or any reasonably reliable skill set) in the mix and I’d trust a healthy Spurs team led by Pop to wear down playoff opponents. Health is concern one here, but Boston and San Antonio are the biggest summer winners. Considering injuries, Boston basically added Garnett and Sheed, and Spurs basically added Manu and RJ. The difference is that the spurs did it not only without losing usable role players (which Boston might do too if they keep Big Baby), but by adding them (Blair and these news guys I keep reading about). By the way, they also got younger and more explosive. Also, I’m pretty sure a healthy Spurs beat a healthy Celtics last year. As I’ll get to later, a close match isn’t the worst thing in the world.
The best/only thing you could say about Thomas and Oberto was that they were big. You certainly couldn’t rely on them to be effective against any of the other contenders so who cares if we lost them if our sights are on a title.
I never write on blog posts, but I’m stuck studying a lot recently and felt the urge. I’d say to trust the Front Office, and not be too dissapointed at trying to find a savior for a team that doesn’t need one. Use that money to find what they do need; anyone who will make them better than they already are when playing the contenders. They have already built a team that can win a title, and thats about all you can ask. Spurs fans have been spoiled, and should remember that when Spurs rosters have a capability to win they usually do.
ChillFAN-
I’m starting those standings with the widely (but loosely) held assumption that there are only 5 contenders for the NBA crown next year and that all of them stay healthy enough that they are slotted by overall quality.
Portland: These guys may indeed make a breakthrough this year. In fairness, they were a tiebreaker removed from being the #2 last year and it seems fair to say that they have room to improve with such a young, deep roster. Aside from the RJ pick up, the Spurs are getting Manu back. It seems to me that the Spurs have the considerable edge there.
Houston: Without Yao, this team is not a threat over the course of a season.
Denver: This team could certainly compete in the West. They’ll be fielding a team much like last years by all appearances and they really hit their stride near the end of the season. Again, a team that finished with the same regular season record as the Spurs. The Nuggets have stayed put so far. The Spurs have improved greatly. Ad in.
Dallas, Utah and New Orleans all have some compelling things working for them, but I don’t think any of them have 60 win potential. That could reasonably be what it takes to get the #2 seed in the West.
As with all predictions (however flawless), this is all subject to change. Injuries will happen. Good players will inexplicably lose it. Players that are off the radar right now will shift the landscape in a meaningful way. Some team will drop off as quickly as The Mighty Ducks between the first and second movies. Another team will improve as quickly as The Mighty Ducks during the movies.
Free agents can’t even sign yet… it is very early. Countless things will unfold before the first tip off and it only picks up from there. In the meantime, there is only the comfort of speculation… sweet, sweet speculation. I’m not suggesting we skip to the playoffs and take the 2 seed. I also do not think it is an unreasonable projection.
I know Dallas is reporting that Gortat is their man but until he signs the dotted line, anything is possible. Has Gortat and the Spurs held any meetings?
Why are people talking about signing Davis? The rumor came from a source that one of the writers for 48MoH verified as an unreliable source. Glen Davis adds nothing to our team. I’d be very upset if the FO signs him. He’s undersized, not superbly defensive, and not the rebounder we need. Blair is what Davis would be for us.
What we need is a rebounder-shotblocker-big man defender. So I really wanted Sheed for SA. He could help Duncan guard the Shaqs, Paus, and Dwights of the world. (I personally believe in order to get through LA, we need to have two quality post defenders to match Bynum and Gasol). So who fits the bill? McDyess, Nesterovic, and (in my dreams) Splitter. McDyess fills the hole that Kurt Thomas left but slightly better (check syndeylla’s comment). Even though he’s not a superstar, he gives us the defense and rebounding we need. I like what Chi living spurs fan said. We don’t need another superstar such as Sheed. However, we NEED another post presence. Why oh why can’t we get Tiago Splitter?
Personally, I don’t understand why people are saying that we can’t sign someone to a two year deal at the MLE because we want to sign Splitter next year. In order to get in the NBA, Splitter will have to take a huge pay cut because he’ll be on a first round rookie contract. We should be able to pick him up easy with the biannual exception. Am I right? Plus, does anyone know the chances he comes this year?
He’s the center we need so Duncan can go where he’s best, the power forward position. Although Splitter isn’t the stellar rebounder we need, he would help immensely, especially defensively. I think of him like a Marcus Camby with average rebounding skill. If we could get him, I think every question would be answered. We could let Pop do the rest.
But as it stands right now, we need another post presence. Not necessarily another superstar. We already have 4 stars – and thats more than usual for a Spurs team. So anybody have any insight on the Splitter situation?
I’m not really sold on McDyess or Davis. While both are somewhat known factors, I don’t think either adds enough to the team to be worth the MLE. McDyess will get you 9-10 points and rebounds per game, on solid defense and efficient offense, that’s it. It’s solid, but with teams improving, is it enough? I’m not so certain, especially with any falloff due to age on the part of Manu and Timmy. Davis could put up similar numbers, and is younger and therefore has more upside, however, I’m not really convinced that an undersized power forward is really the key to what the Spurs need in their roster let alone starting rotation. If that’s the case, then you still end up starting Bonner, I’m under the understanding that the Spurs want an upgrade from Bonner, not necessarily someone that will replicate his production (3 pt shooting and height) but someone that can produce at least as if not more effectively than he does. Therefore, if we’re looking at players who we’re not going to pay the MLE for, and are a.) athletic and b.) have room to improve, I think Chris Wilcox deserves a shot. While he may not have had a good run around the Clippers, Sonics, Thunder, or Knicks, he certainly is a.) athletic and considering he’s only 26, I would say he still has some room for improvement, especially playing with such a singular talent as Tim Duncan. I think he hasn’t really had a chance, and I think he could be had for cheap. It certainly gives us options to work with, and I see him as possibly the Roger Mason of this year’s free agency.
I’m not too high on Wilcox but maybe he deserves a shot. other options will be Gooden, Bass, and McDyess to name a few…
Jaceman,
McDyess is a solid litany of jabs over several rounds. Wilcox is a roundhouse swing. The Spurs have all the roundhouses they need in Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Jefferson. Aim small, miss small. Plus, I’d put good money on one of Blair, Mahinmi or Haislip (or more than one) exceeding expectations this season. 9/10 times the Spurs find people who can contribute, and in surprisingly good ways. You know this. You’ve written about it.
Re: Wilcox. The Spurs have no doubt talked with Presti about him. They probably voted him up or down based on that report.
If we’re looking for under-the-wire big men that might be available, what about Detroit’s other former Wallace from the championship season — Big Ben? This, of course, assumes that Phoenix buys him out this summer to save more cash.
I know that he’s stated his intention to retire, but maybe he could be talked into one more year at the right price.
Episode IV: Manu Hope — You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I stand by my contention that, as currently constituted, the Spurs are the 4th best (of the top five “favorites” for next season), but will have a harder time making the finals than Orlando.
As others have noted, Orlando has lost much more this offseason than Vince Carter could ever hope to replace. Nonetheless, I frankly don’t see much difference between Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando. I don’t think Shaq is enough (at this stage of his career) to put Cleveland over the hump. I have concerns about Garnett’s mileage and whether he will ever be the same player for Boston. Without him, they aren’t much of a contender, notwithstanding their “success” (overrated, in my opinion) this past postseason. Plus, Ray Allen is a year older, and though he has surprised me by extending his career this long, it really will start catching up to him at some point.
The Lakers, on the other hand, were clearly the most talented team in the league this year — it was the inconsistency of their effort that made them their own worst enemy. While I agree with others who have suggested that LA may ultimately regret letting Ariza go in favor of Artest, I think Artest brings a toughness that COULD be the mental toughness that would make the Lakers a truly great team. I know, I can’t believe I just implied that Artest could be considered a mentally tough player, but compared to the rest of the divas on that team….
Thus, even if Orlando had to beat the Cavs and the Celts on the road as you posit, they would merely be playing two teams of talent roughly equal to their own. For all the Spurs’ brilliance and, quite frankly, luck so far this offseason, their front court issues leave them a clear second to the Lakers (as much as I hate to admit it) in the West at this point, and thus, in my opinion, with a tougher road to hoe than Orlando to make the finals.
Ben Wallace? No thanks I would prefer Drew Gooden coming back over him.
Whatever happened to Yiannis Bourousis? weren’t the spurs going to offer him a contract? he would make an awesome starting center
well said Tim,
Can’t wait to see the Spurs final roster… i hope Blair, Mahinmi and McClinton or maybe Gists makes the team…
The only question left is who plays along TD? and who plays behind RJ? we know Finley is there… but i think we can imporve on that… Hairston might be the man… unless we still have trades coming up…
Drew,
The Splitter situation is a little different than you suppose. Splitter is not tied to the rookie scale as of next summer. The Spurs just used their BAE on Haislip, so it won’t be available again until 2011. Plus, Splitter will command more cash than that. He projects–via the fairly reliable wizardry of John Hollinger–as a 16/10 guy.
And besides, the rookie scale and BAE are exclusive of one another. Plus, there is the provision discussed in the first URL below. After we published the story contained within that link, everyone changed their language on Splitter. For example, Hollinger writes, “Tiago Splitter (Spurs) likely will be jumping to San Antonio a year from now, when the Spurs will no longer be bound by the rookie salary scale in signing him.” Prior to the post in question–and the work of those cited within it–everyone assumed and wrote that Splitter was bound by the rookie scale. No more.
http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/04/23/tiago-splitter-news/
http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/07/03/the-bucher-tweet/
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=EuropeanProspects-090623
The Express News is now refuting that the Spurs are close to making an offer to Big Baby. link here: http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/07/no-big-baby-off.html
Just saw this posted on express news about big baby, I think we can relax, for now..”No Big Baby offer imminent”
http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/07/no-big-baby-off.html
Martin,
He resigned with Olympiacos. Some think the Greek reports were cooked up by his agent. Although, dozens of Euro news outlets reported them. Of course, there was never any word from the Spurs one way or the other.
Whoo-hoo! Color me happy.