Spurs the new dynasty?

Foundation already laid for Spurs dynasty

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By David Aldridge
Special to ESPN.com


They stand back to back (to back), dominating the NBA landscape. The rest of the league cowers like church mice in their wake, churned under their wheels. Shaq and Kobe and Phil and the Lakers cannot be beaten, and everybody knows it. They will be the champs until one of the Big Two (or Phil) leaves. One of them would be hard enough to deal with. Together, they are nuclear.

But there are 12 men laying in wait for the dynasty to end. They know that just as the Greeks built on the discoveries of the Egyptians, just as Johnny Carson reinvented the late night talk show of Steve Allen and Jack Paar, just as "Grady" replaced "Sanford and Son," that somebody has to be the heir apparent to the Lakers, just as the Lakers were to the Bulls, and as the Bulls were to the Pistons, and as the Pistons were to the Lakers ... but we're talking about the Old Lakers, not these New ones ... this could get confusing. Let me move on.

Simply, the NBA's Next Dynasty is a team with all the attributes necessary to win over and over: solid ownership, strong management, a coach who has a relationship with his best player that's strong enough for the coach to be able to motivate said player, and raucous fans in a building that provides true homecourt advantage. Most importantly, it has a true superstar, a dominant performer who's just now hitting the peak of his career.


Tim Duncan isn't just a lone star in Texas. He actually has a supporting cast.
That team is not in Sacramento. It is not in Dallas. It is in Texas, though.

Ladies and gentlemen, your San Antonio Spurs.

We start with the new building, the SBC Center, just a few miles from --

David, did you read the fine print?

Um, the fine print?

Yes. You don't sign a mortgage or buy a car without reading the fine print, do you?

Come to think of it, no. Lemme get my magnifying glass out. Oh, yes. There it is ...

(Caution: Void if Tim Duncan leaves. In fact, if Duncan leaves, the franchise may move.)

Uh, come to think of it, where are we with that?

The Big Fundamental can become a free agent at season's end, and even though he's built a new house in the 'Tone, what's to keep Riles from offering him Micky Arison's millions next summer? Or to keep the Magic from trying again where they came so close three years ago? With T Mac, Grant and Duncan, Orlando runs the table in the East, makes the Finals and gets the new building it's been hankering for. Kind of like what happened in San Antonio, come to think of it. Will Duncan bolt once his partner in low-post crime, David Robinson, calls it a career after this season?

I don't think so.

First, the Spurs have been a great defensive team for several seasons. Last season, they were top-three in field-goal percentage allowed and there's no reason to believe that won't continue even if Robinson's shot blocking and low-post defense is no longer on the scene. The teams that can guard people win titles again and again, and San Antonio is ahead of the other contenders to the throne in that key category.

Second, Gregg Popovich has as good a relationship with a superstar as any coach can have with an employee that makes five or six times what the coach makes. He earned Duncan's respect and eternal gratitude for not asking him his plans every five seconds when Duncan first tested free agency three years ago. But like Jackson with Shaq or MJ, Popovich can also needle his best player when he needs a little more.

"I told him this summer, 'I know you were the MVP. I'm not impressed,' " Pop said.

Popovich has made two things clear to Duncan: He has to dominate more games when he can, but when he can't, he has to trust his teammates. That can't be easy for TD, after watching Steve Smith, Bruce Bowen and Danny Ferry miss open shots in those fourth quarters against L.A. last spring, while Kobe cleaned up at the other end. (It's Kobe who's killed the Spurs the last three years, not Shaq.)


Point guard Tony Parker fills another dynasty requisite: fearlessness.
So, the Spurs bolstered their lineup, which is the third reason San Antonio is going to be the next dynasty. Their backcourt of the future is David Stern's fantasy, an international marriage of the 20-year-old Frenchman, Tony Parker -- the only NBA player I'm aware of with his own traveling press corps -- and 25-year-old Argentine Manu Ginobili, who'll come off the bench to start the season behind Smith. The rest of the world saw Ginobili's talents in Indianapolis last August; he's coming to a city near you soon. They are both talented enough to play in big games, but young enough to be utterly fearless about it. The Spurs noticed that Parker was one of Duncan's few teammates that didn't shrink in the heat of facing the Lakers. And Parker finds the ex-Air Force coach a hoot, not a pain.

"I like Pop-Pop," Parker said. "He's tough with me. He's tough with me. It's normal. He don't want to hear that I'm (young) and I've got time. He wants now. Sometimes I make some mistakes, so he always screams at me. But it's good for me. It makes me push me."

Fourth, just as the Celtics had their Frank Ramsays and Havliceks and Cornbread Maxwells, and as the Old Lakers brought Michael Cooper and Mychal Thompson off their bench, and the Pistons could sic John Salley and Dennis Rodman on unsuspecting offenses, the Spurs have role players coming out of their ears. They didn't waste a second re-signing Malik Rose for $42 million and Bowen for $11 million this summer, money that some franchises would have balked at to keep guys who aren't all-stars. They brought in 40-year-old Kevin Willis in case Robinson's back acts up ("They have two phenomenal players," Rose says, "and I think that's the main difference. We don't have two superstars. We have one and a former one.") And in case Willis doesn't have anything left with which to back up Robinson, the Spurs craftily traded for Chinese big man Mengke Bateer to back up Willis.

And the Spurs are good enough that they can make specific improvements to address specific needs. Last season, Terry Porter was on his last legs backing up Parker and had nothing left. Presto: San Antonio trades for third-year point Speedy Claxton, who could keep the Spurs' bench running for years to come.

"I want them to keep the pace that Parker has with the starting team," Popovich says. "It's still potent offensively but very good defensively. Danny's a smart player. He's not quick, but he's really smart. Manu's a hell of a defender. So is Malik. It's a good combination for us, because usually off the bench you get scoring or you get defense. Those guys, I think, give us both."

Fifth, while the Kings have gotten all the ink for the bad blood between themselves and the Lakers, the Spurs have a healthy dose of dislike for the three-time champs, too. Building up a good hatred is a key component when you're trying to supplant the king.

“ I still think we play (the Lakers) the best, and they know that. That's why they're always talking about us in the media and all that other crap. We're in the back of their minds. ”
— Malik Rose

"They're not that much better than us," Rose snorts. "All five of those games last year was very close. We could have gotten both of them in L.A., and they got both of them in San Antonio. I still think we play them the best, and they know that. That's why they're always talking about us in the media and all that other crap. We're in the back of their minds."

Sixth, Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford have planned for Life After Robinson pretty meticulously. They know that they can't shrug their shoulders and ask Duncan to carry the full load once the Admiral is off the stage. They know he's not interested in being part of a rebuilding program -- which is why Miami, wonderful though South Beach may be, doesn't have a chance to snag Duncan's formidable talents.

Right now, San Antonio is committed only to Rose, Bowen and Parker and Ginobili after this season. Duncan is on the books for $13.2 million next season but can opt out of the last year of his deal. But even if he does, counting the cap hold the Spurs would have to put on him and other free agents they may want to retain, they will only have $26.5 million on their cap. The Spurs will have to decide whether to pick up the option year on Claxton ($1.65 million). If they don't, they'll lose a vital cog, but that will probably give them enough cap room for a maximum free agent contract offer -- 35 percent of their cap -- just as they're settling into their brand-spanking-new building full of those brand-spanking-new suites that can fill an owner's pockets with new-found loot.

Anybody got Jason Kidd's number? Who's got Michael Olowokandi's two-way?

Why, Tim might! Let's ask him!

Not that I'm accusing anybody of anything, but I can't shake the feeling that one of those fellows is destined to wear silver and black.

Seventh, of course, is the most important reason. Duncan has one ring, and once a great player gets the blood of a title in his mouth he usually can't be stopped from getting more. He's a battle-tested, fearless superstar. He genuinely likes his teammates and the city he lives in. So does his wife. They've got a big new house in the area, and I just can't believe you'd put roots down in San Antonio if you weren't planning to live in San Antonio. It's not like you'd summer there. And the Spurs are the only team that can give Duncan a nine-figure deal. I'm not saying money is the only thing that matters, but I've still yet to see someone leave $20 million on the table as a matter of principle.

And like every anchor of every championship team, Duncan's greatness is rooted in the simplicity of his game. He's not a project. He's a fully-formed, equal-opportunity destroyer with the best footwork since Astaire and Bojangles.

"I wasn't really a post player coming into college," Duncan recalls. "I didn't have a whole lot of post moves, a whole lot of post game, but I became that and I put on some weight, (and) they put me down on the block, they taught me the post moves. I knew that was where I would have to survive with my size. So I kind of developed throughout college ... I would have been leaps and bounds behind (if he had left Wake Forest early)."

When Shaq and Kobe can't put their superpowers together, Tim Duncan can deal with one or the other. And the Spurs will provide him with the rest.

As long as they read the fine print.




Why does DA always sell the rockets short?

let's just evaluate long term potential here for a second:

Francis, Mobley, Norris v. Parker, Ginobli, Claxton

Let's see, maybe if they invent a formula that makes you into a great player, Parker and Manu Cantguardmobli might be able to take some and be as good as Francis and Cat are today at around age 25, oh wait, Manu already is 25. Claxton may end up better than Norris. Huurrrah, the spurs may have a better back up point guard someday.

Ming, Griffin, Taylor, Nachbar, Morris v. Duncan Rose Bowen Bateer
(No KT as he is likely gone after this year)

I'll give you Duncan over Ming, hell if Ming is half as good I'll be happy. Ming and Griffin however are already both superior shotblockers than Duncan and are dripping with potential at the tender ages of 22 and 19 respectively, not to mention Maurice Taylor, who's no oldtimer himself. Nachbar has shown little so far, but would any GM want bowen over him? or even bowen over morris? Bateer? yeah, he was so great Denver expelled him from their rebuilding program. Hell, you can throw in Olowokandi if you want on the Spurs side, the Rockets group is still better.

Some foundation for your dynasty, one 6 year veteran superstar (who will be an 8 or 9 year veteran when shaq retires), an above average young point guard, and Cantguardmobli, and an overpaid and used up Rose and Bowen who were 1 dimensional any way.

Sure, they will be contenders in the future, but dynasty? get the hell out of here.

Meanwhile, down I-10, the Rockets will be entering their prime if still together....

 

C'mon, Bruce Bowen is 31, in a few years he will discover a magic lamp and Kazzam will grant his wish to be a zillionaire so that he will be able to buy a basket every now and then. Then the DYNASTY begins!

 

That is the sweetest projectile vomit pic I have ever seen!

 

Well first your formula isn't quite right because your "another star" will likely be Michael Olowokandi at best, who is a free agent, but is definitely no star.

Second, the formula works for any team with a great player. San Antonio has one good player and a bunch of maybes. Why not Orlando? they have McGrady (who is YOUNGER than Duncan, and former Rookie of the Year Mike Miller?) or why not the Lakers? they have Bryant (who is YOUNGER than Duncan) and better role players than the spurs, considering they help kick their asses the last few years. Why not Dallas, who has Nowizitzki (who is YOUNGER than Duncan) and has better young players around him? But maybe they are all Dynastys in waiting. Why not Philadelphia last year? Why not anybody except Utah?

To say that they will be decent for the near future is one thing, to project a dynasty to a team that hasn't won a damn thing based on several huge ifs is silly.


P.S. You assume too much about Duncan. Yes, he won the MVP, but the majority of voters disagreed, he's not far and away the best and may be surpassed in the future.