Even in Defeat, the NBA has Learned Nothing From the Spurs

Htownballer38 · Jul 11, 2014

SamFisher said: ↑

One of a kind in being lucky.
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Bwhahaha yeah 17 years of luck huh.

Htownballer38 · Jul 11, 2014

torocan said: ↑

Dynasty? Maybe, maybe not.

Perennial play off contender and eventually a championship contending team? Highly likely.

People focus on the idea of drafting Duncan at #1 or getting "lucky" drafting Manu or Parker, but that entirely avoids the point. It doesn't matter HOW you get your star players (draft or trade), what matters is WHAT you do once you have them.

The Spurs are what they are because of the things they do exceedingly well...

-drafting players consistently
-developing their players
-tweaking their system to fit the players available including role players
-signing FA's that are misused and either fitting them into their system, or finding a way to maximize their skill set by tweaking the system
-seeking to maximize the strengths of Every player on their roster from 1-15 and not just their Stars
-places high value on defense as well as offensive skills
-establishing a culture of Team vs individual glory
-unity of purpose and direction between the FO and the HC

And what would Pops do if his All Star had ego issues? Given his choice, he would trade them for another All-star that had fewer issues that fit his system better.

Pops can do that because the FO and Owner implicitly trusts him. You wouldn't see the behind the back stuff you saw with SVG and Howard. And players that aren't prepared to play would either end up on the bench or traded regardless of whether they are "all star" talents or not.

The difference is that Pop understands that while you need talent, All Star talent for the most part is interchangeable. With limited exceptions (Lebron, KD), you can trade almost any all star player and get a similarly talented all star for their position if you work an appropriate trade.

LMA - Love - Millsap ... different talents and strengths, but contribute similar things
Howard - Noah - Lopez ... different talents and strengths, but contribute similar things

Not everyone is directly replaceable of course, but even trading apples and oranges can still yield similar results.

An interesting exercise that I like to engage in is I look at various team rosters and ask:

How would Pops use those players differently?

Who isn't being utilized to the maximum of their ability?
Who is being asked to do things that aren't their strengths?
Who is being asked to do too much?
Who is not being developed well?
Who is being permitted to put sub-par effort on the floor?
Who is being allowed to make poor decisions?

Now apply that to a team like the Pacers. Or last year's Knicks. Or Sacramento. Now to your own team.

Now how much better would those teams be if they asked those basic questions and worked to tweak their organizations to improve in those areas.

And that's before you talk about applying any of the Spurs offense or defense...
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Well said Torocan.

JuanValdez · Jul 11, 2014

steddinotayto said: ↑

Getting credible NBA information from Yahoo! Finance is...well....questionable.
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More credible than Yahoo! Sports.

roflmcwaffles · Jul 11, 2014

Not everyone can have duncan and popovich

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Even in Defeat, the NBA has Learned Nothing From the Spurs

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