rimmy, I did not start this thread to bash the Spurs. Some Spurs fans have made claims several times that the team will be making roster moves to try to convince Tim Duncan to stay after his contract runs out. I have asked in some of those threads, and gotten no response, what those moves might be. I thought a thread about only those roster moves might elicit a response from said Spurs fans. I happen to think that the Spurs have a legitimate shot at the title this season, and perhaps next as well, although that will be tougher. I will open this up, does anyone, Spur fan or not, know of a top tier free agent that the Spurs might be looking at to team with Duncan in the next two years?
i heard insane chatter about vince carter LAUGHING MY ASS OFF!!!!! before he resigned. udder dan dat, i ain't herd sh33333ittt! spurs fan where are youuuuuuu? who are these captivating free agents you're hoping to "lure" to san antonio in A SINGLE OFFSEASON?????
First off..nice points Cat, RocksMil, & Hydra. What free agents will be available for the Spurs to re-load around Duncan? To be honest, I'm not sure who will be available at that time. Perhaps Jason Kidd. However, the Spurs will definately be in position cap-wise to pursue any free agent, or make a big trade. For what it's worth.... In 2003, the Spurs should have more cap-room than any other team, as I think only Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose will be under contract. The Spurs are entering a period where for the first time in years, the GM (Pop) is in control of the cap situation. Ever notice that in the 90's the Spurs were never part of any blockbuster trades, or major free agent signings? Too many coaches, too many philosophies, resulted in a mish-mash of players and contracts that tied up the cap. What's the big deal about Bruce Bowen? He is a defensive stopper, someone who can stop Kobe, and fill that role Sean Elliott served us. Offensively, he is not outstanding, but the offense will go thru Tim, Dave, and Steve Smith anyway. The addition of Cherokee Parks? In the short term he is a capable backup to Drob. Long term? He could be the starting center after Drob retires, and keep Tim at power forward where he wants to be, rather than center. Why would Tim stay in SA? One of his main concerns is IF the Spurs can surround him with quality players to remain competitive and win. With the cap room we'll have in 2003, we'll have the money to give it a shot. He is also best buddies with Malik Rose and especially Antonio Daniels. Rumor has it that not wanting to leave these two guys played a part in re-signing. Malik and Antonio were really the only two guys that had trade value last year....rumor has it Pop wouldn't even consider trades because they are close to Tim. It's no coincidence they are the only two signed up long term. Tim has said that if he was to leave the Spurs, he'd prefer a locale similar to his native Virgin Islands. Thats one reason why Orlando appealed to him. So Hydra, I don't know exactly who the FA's are.....but the Spurs will at least be in a position $cap-wise$ to reload around Tim either thru trade or free agent signings.
STOP RIGHT THERE. I KNOW YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING US. i couldn't get past this line to read the rest of your post. i going to try it again....
Let me re-phrase that.... Bowen is a guy that can hold Kobe to 30 points or so, sometimes less...sometimes more, and have that considered a success. The key is to prevent Kobe from scoring at will, and make him work his arse off for his points. Something we could not do last year, something Bowen can be effective at this year. Whew! Did I actually say STOP KOBE? Thanks Shandon...a bit dramatic, but you helped me catch this guffaw.
I shudder to think of what kind of wisecrack Shandon will come back with. Whatever it is, it is deserved and I'll take it like a man.
Haven is right on. Right now the Lakers are by far the best team, they were clearly the best last year and they have better insurance this year (increased depth with Mitch, Hunter and Walker). If you look at it objectively, the Kings go in as the #2 team in the West. Their wasn't much difference in the Spurs-Kings regular season performance last year, though the Kings did play the Lakers much more competitively in the playoffs though. The Kings clearly got significantly better in the offseason. Anyone who thinks Williams is better or even the equal of Bibby isn't looking at the overall game. The Kings also have hope in younger players that should progress, the Spurs have no young guys whose development could be hoped to keep pace with Peja's. The Spurs got worse. Bowen couldn't even slow down Mashburn or the Charlotte guards at all when the games actually mattered, how the heck is he going to do anything against Kobe? Bowen is decent back-up, but he is a 30 year old with zero playoff success and has not put in a quality season as a starting 3 before. Further, either you go with the aging and onedimensional Porter or a high draft pick 1 who has been in the league a number of years with all the oppertunnities of being picked so high and never got farther than being an excellent back-up 1/2 combination (being a starting 1 that runs the team requires quite a bit more discipline nad mettle out of a player). To be blunt, going into next season you could not find a single playoff or near playoff team with a worse starting 1-2-3 than the Spurs. In fact maybe only the Bulls and Gizzards have a worse PG, SG & SF combination, and their could be some argument as the whether the Spurs trio (which ever they setttle one) is better than those teams trio. This is not to knock the Spurs offseason, you can look at it as they were screwed by DA (you could also say they blew those negotiations) and did the best the could in their circumstances. Also, Bowen and Jackson aren't bad signings, but there is a reason they could be had for around the vet minimum, and it is because they are not quality starting players. DA was the 2nd leading scorer and BY FAR the 3rd best player on that team. Replacing him with a shooting (the aging and knee wearing down Smith) and defensive (Bowen) specialist does not come close to compensate for this loss. AJ and Elliott, though we know they were declining, also provided essential mettle and leadership that team are now gone. Chemistry and all-around athleticism are bigger questions with the Spurs bunch going into next year than the previous 2 seasons. Having said this, TD is a good enough all around player (among the 4 best in the league) and D-Rob is a good enough defensive player that the Spurs go in as the 3rd best team in the West. Now I admit this is just my idle speculation, but if I were them I'd be looking over my should at Portland as much as worrying about trying to catch the Kings, let alone the Lakers. And I hate the Blazers so you know I am not happy coming to this conclusion, but that is how I see it.
Duncan will not go anywhere, for the same reason Webber didn't -- he can get 30 million extra dollars by staying in SA. What percentage of max-level free agents sign outright with another team? The Spurs don't have to worry about losing Duncan for this reason. Seems like a pretty simple formula. Are turnovers factored into this? What if Bowen forces Bryant into more turnovers, giving his team (SA) more chances to score? What if he keeps him off of the glass, again giving his team more chances to score? What if he bothers him to the point of Bryant getting into a personal scoring duel, thus taking other Lakers out of the game? Are you saying that it is only a one-on-one contest between Bowen and Bryant, and that's it? Does this mean all you have to do to win a championship is go out and get the highest scoring players you can at each position?
looks like they won't have Eilliot back either. They will start to fade as teams are able to zone in on the towers.
If teams try to play a zone against David and Tim, the Spurs have by far the best 3 point shooting team in the league. Yes, I know DA shot over 40% from the three point line, but so will Smith and Bowen this year because of the awesome looks they'll get.
Cat, the problem with the Spurs is not their 3 point shooting per se. The better teams will not allow the Spurs to get many wide open looks (e.g., what the Lakers did to them). The problem with the current team is now you can cheat even more on Duncan and be ready to cover their spot of shooters upon kick out (also the way Seattle beat the Rockets before we got Barkley). That is why the loss of DA is so significant. You couldn't overplay him without him beating you off the dribble enough to make it an ineffective strategy. This was also true of the way Elliott and Mario played in their lone title run. The Spurs simply have fewer ways to attack you than last year team, or the 99 team. Meanwhile, the Lakers and Kings have more ways to attack you than the Spurs and can better react to overplaying defenses because of their superior stable of multiple-threat and versatile players surrounding their superstars.
I disagree with that Scar. This year's Spurs team will be more of a running team. Daniels, Bowens, and Smith to a degree can get out on the break. Smith did a decent job of that on Portland. They have a ton of slashers, and their defense will be much better. Bowens will be an excellent on the ball defender for the Spurs. It'll be interesting to see what they fully look like, but I think this Spurs team will be more balanced and athletic then last year's team.
VS. KOBE BRYANT Dec. 19 vs. Lakers Kobe: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists. Bowen: 8 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists. Jan. 21 vs. Lakers Kobe: 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals. Bowen: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists. Decent first game against Kobe, 'cept that the Heat lost, and Rick Fox went off for 14. Still a -15 point differential ain't gonna get it done. Second game, Kobe did whatever he wanted to until he fouled out. The Heat won, largely because of the job Eddie Jones did with his 26, 8 & 1 plus making Kobe PLAY DEFENSE.
I agree that Smith has a great chance of shooting over 40%, but do you seriously think Bowen can shoot that good of a percentage from the 3-point land? His career FG% is 37%, and his career 3-pt % is 35%. Exactly what about the guy has convinced you that he can shoot well enough to get 40% from behind the arc?
Scar, IMO opinion spurs will be more athletic. Take the aging Porter and Ferry off the starting rotaion, and they go back to the bench were they should have been all along if not due to injury. Replacing with Antonio and Bowen you get younger, more athletic starters, and experienced, rested reserves. The Spurs gameplan is inside to Tim/Dave, or outside to a great 3pt core. Derek's slashing was great....it was a good element of the offense but not the core of it. Derek more often than not was the safety option: Inside/out not working, 3 seconds left on the clock-put it in Dereks hands. Some very good off season moves.
The Spurs offense is not more versitile or athletic offensively, especially in comparison with their one successful team (1999). Bowen shoots absolutely horribly overall, as mentioned by another. As Bowen isn't quite as terrible from the 3 point line (though he is near as good as shooter as Ferry), that means Bowen is terribly inefficient at scoring in any other way. Bowen should help the defense, but he hurts the offense considerably. That is why Riley couldn't have him out there much with the season on the line (not that he slowed the Charlotte swingmen when he was out there). Also, ya'll act like AD wasn't on the team last year. The only reason he may start now is Porter is a year older, Avery's game is gone as is he, and AD is the only semi-athletic guard or wing left on the team. You can't call his addition to the starting line-up as much of a "net gain", because if it was much of gain he would have been starting the last two years. Again, I challenge anyone to find a playoff team with a worse set of 1-2-3s in the league. A fairer challenge would be finding 4 teams in the whole league with a less talented set. Now if you can't do this, you can try to argue it doesn't matter the Spurs are so weak there because Duncan and D-Rob are so good of pair. But guess what, the Lakers have an even better pair and Sac has a real good and deep front line too, and both teams have more quality all-around players to surround their stars.
In that case you could've said the same thing about their last year 1-2-3 starters. That team was good enough to have the best record in the league. The starting combo of Daniels, Smith, and Bowen, is no worse than last year's combo of Porter, AD, and Ferry. Where are you seeing this significant difference? Ferry is a scrub. Him being replaced in the starting lineup can only help.
Exactly Freak, I don't think the Spurs and their fans are losing sleep over Ferry! And if Bowens is shooting 35% from 3pt range why couldn't he up it to 40%! And what's the difference between 35% and 40%, 35% is still pretty good! You can't compare Bowen's matchup against Kobe because Eddie Jones did most of the work! Bowens gets a chance to get more playing time. He wasn't a 2nd team All-Defensive player for nothing!
Add another team to the '03 Duncan Sweepstakes, as Anthony Mason's agent spills the beans: <i>"I can tell you firsthand, he had no problems with (Heat coach) Pat Riley, and the only reason they're letting him go is they are on this mission to empty their roster in two years to get (San Antonio's) Tim Duncan."</i>
