Spurs still neglecting 'biggest' issue
After rumors started floating around that the San Antonio Spurs might actually be 
genuinely interested in former Washington Wizards big man Andray Blatche, there was a little excitement generated by the fact that the team may be addressing their big weakness.
The Spurs have all the talent they need at the guard spot, but the post players leave a lot to be desired. Of course, Tim Duncan has showed that even in the waning years of his career he can still be productive, but we’ve also seen it’s not enough for him to carry the load in the post all by himself.
Blatche more than likely is going to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, which doesn’t leave a lot of options out there for the Spurs. It looks like they’ll be stuck with the same cast of characters they’ve had for a few years: DeJuan Blair, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner and new acquisition Boris Diaw. Diaw has been a very valuable pickup for the Spurs, but they need more. Especially since the Los Angeles Lakers just got the best center in all the NBA.
While Blair, Splitter and Bonner have all had their moments where we thought, “hey, maybe this could work after all.” They’ve proven over the years to be too inconsistent to complement Duncan down low.
I don’t have a quick fix for the Spurs. Quality big men are scarce in this league and you can’t just say, “I want that guy” and he magically appears on your team. Guys like Bonner and Blair are probably pretty hard to shop around because I don’t see them fitting in well with many other teams.
I hate to say the season is hopeless for the Spurs, especially after they grabbed the top seed in the Western Conference two years in a row, but it’s pretty clear they need some help. San Antonio has a very talented front office and I’m sure they’re always on the lookout for the potential to improve the post positions. They should be looking extra hard this season if the Spurs want to have a chance to contend for a title again.
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@16xworldchampionl8keshow I think bonner's trade would hurt us the least, but the problem is that if we know that he disapears in crunch time you better believe the other teams gm will, that is getting paid the big bucks will know it too. I think bonnet is going to be pretty hard to move, at least for us to get someone decent in return.
@spursfan80 @16xworldchampionl8keshow Knowing Failshow like I do 80, he is likely just being a smartas*..hard to tell sometimes though because he quite often makes little sense lol
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The only way the Spurs can contend for an NBA title before Tim Duncan retires is to part ways with some of their assets. It is entirely up to the front office on who to part with, but it is a necessity. Guard play alone cannot win a title in today's NBA, Timmy needs help, and their/window of opportunity is closing fast.Chances are that when Tim Duncan retires, Manu will follow.
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@wayneburnett Like who? For who? Imo, the only guy that may go that could bring back someone decent is jax 10 mil expiring, but that would very likely not be possible until around the deadline when teams look for expiring deals. And then it will leave a hole at SF possibly, and losing possibly our most clutch guy (arguable ,ya) You do have a point, but it's kind of a double edged sword.
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@Spursfan66 @wayneburnett well, parker might bring us some talent too, but are we ready to leave the team in the hands of pm, cj and nd? I'm not sure about that. But parker is our biggest talent trade chip (jackson is more likely, but only for his expiring contract like you said most teams are scared of him like everyone was with blatche). In this point in their careers, I don't think we could get fair value for timmy or manu even if the fo was crazy enough to decide to shop them....
@spursfan80 @Spursfan66 @wayneburnett Ya, TP could be too, but I didn't mention him because Spurs just wouldn't get fair value for him, so it would likely be a lateral move AT BEST. I thought I saw somewhere that TD had a no trade clause, but that may not be the case.
Actually, Diaw and Jackson do some things that make Bonner easier to move, but Matty is a locker room favorite and a big that can spread the floor.
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This is a business & not a beauty contest.When you hire an assasin to be a sniper(3 pt. shooter) & he fails repeatedly to show up to the gun fight(playoffs)-you have an incompetent that will cost you the war(championship).I would rather go to battle with a warrior then with Mr Conginiality.
@jhhein The spurs loyalty to some players has weakened them because they can't make the hard decisions which to the rest of the ppl would've said I traded bonner yesterday he doesn't make love to pressure
@jhhein @16xworldchampionl8keshow You're welcome jh..16x has only recently chosen to add this site to Spurs sites he trolls, so you will soon see that I speak the truth.
@jhhein @16xworldchampionl8keshow lol jhhein, people pretty often have to consult a gibberish-to-english dictionary to understand what FL8KESHOW tries to say. I SUSPECT he is TRYING to contend that Spurs have just chosen to NOT try to move bonner just out of loyalty..of course he has NO WAY of knowing if Spurs have tried or not, so his PRESUMPTION simply cant be proven. This is his thing..constant passive aggressive jabs to belittle Spurs and their fans.
@16xworldchampionl8keshow @jhhein That is ASSuming Spurs have not actually already tried to trade Matt..but ASSuming is your thing FL8KE, so, par for the course
Bonner being a locker room and fan favorite is the only reason he is on thive team, because Spurs had Steve Novak and did not resign him but he playing fairly well on the biggest NBA stageain. When Bonner hits his 3 pt shot he spreads the floor, but in the playoffs and on the road he cannot make a shot. Against OKC in WCR he was 1 for 10. Bonner cannot make shots under pressure.
I think probably the best move worth the risk at this point is to try to trade Bonner for Epke Udoh! L like Tyrus Thomas, but the money vs the risk I don't like. Spurs need Udoh and Bucks need Bonner, so I think it work well for both teams!
@prjSpurRon Tyrus has a terrible contract, has underachieved greatly, and has a stomach condition that makes it nearly impossible for him to gain weight, and he really needs to.
@Spursfan66 @prjSpurRon Maybe Tyrus needs to be surrounded by the right players in a good system to work better!
@16xworldchampionl8keshow @Spursfan66 @prjSpurRon That won't cure his medical problem or lessen his insanely terrible contract.
Since Diaw does some of things Bonner did and also plays defense, I would probably look to move Bonner before Blair, plus Bonner is owed more money than Blair.
Bonner for DJ White might work
By the way, I love the re-signing of Boris Diaw. He brings an array of skills to the Spurs, but we're still kidding ourselves if we believe that we have enough depth on the front line to provide the defensive presence that's needed to compete against the upper echelon teams in the post season.
I think the Spurs are looking for an potential all-star at center or keep the front line they have. The Spurs were grooming Ian Mahini for several years to help relieve Tim and help Parker for years, but it didn't work out. Now unless the Spurs get very fortunate in the draft or find a foreign steal, then they have to wait until they get more cap space to go after the Center they really want. By that time it may be to late to help Tim or Tony!
@prjSpurRon Funny now, that Manhini is good enough to provide the Spurs what our current front line is missing. We don't need an all-star at C/PF, just someone who understands their role. Don't forget that it usually takes Pop some time to trust younger or newer players,
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If no one else is going to say it I will, maybe Peter Holt is just being cheap. I have no other reason why I could possibly understand the lack of attetion to their main problem since The Admiral left. I know big men don't grow on trees but they defenitly will not trade for a quality center, the spurs only seem to try and draft prospects on the cheap or try and get someone to play for the veteran minimum. It seemed to work in '05 and '07 but times have changed in the league and 2 or even 3 centers that can really play are a must to contend for a title. I know Im probably wrong, maybe a prisoner of the moment, but after a while, season after season, player after player go by, spurs missed out again and possibly the last time we really have a chance to win with this core, so disappointed and im not even that big on blatche...is greg oden still available??
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I like that fact that Holt and RC don't go crazy like many NBA FOs and overpay marginal players, but I want to scream when I hear RC or Pop declare that they are happy with the squad that we have right now. It's like they don't even try hard to get a quality big man. There are always several big men that we could snag to simply rebound, block shots and play D. I wondered why we didn't pursue Darrell Arthur from Memphis, Jason Thompson from Sac or Tyrus Thomas from Charlotte, and most recently Andre Blatche,
What is the point of promoting a D-League player who is only going to play garbage time minutes? Spurs need an impact player on par with our second unit and good enough to play with the first unit for certain match-ups.
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One cannot help but be pessimistic. The Spurs have virtually ignored their "lack of size" issue, not just this summer, but for the past 2-3 years. They were already at a supreme disadvantage against bigger teams like the Grizz, Fakers and Thunder. Adding Howard to the conference only makes matters worse. Obviously the Spurs can't simply snap their fingers and add a big, yet there other things they could've done. They could've move more swiftly on Blatche. He was a low-risk signing. They could've drafted a guy like Robert Sacre from Gonzaga in the second round. He's 7'0" shot-blocking center, who was available to the Spurs at their pick. Instead the Fakers nabbed him. To me, it just seems that the Spurs FO has no desire to get bigger, tougher and more skilled in the frontcourt. They seem perfectly content to allow Duncan to do all the work, while scrubs like Blair and Bonner ride the pine in the playoffs because their assorted weaknesses become exposed.
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We may not have made a big move this year, but we should have some cap space next year and I think the FO doesn't want to pick up just "someone" to take up that cap space when they can select who they want next year. I enjoy watching our guys play even if they don't win the championship, but with the Spurs there is always that chance. Everything is situational. Perhaps we'll do better against OKC if it comes down to it. Or we can play small, fast ball so DH can't effectively enforce the paint. I think the Spurs have some of the best ball movement in the league, and bringing back the same group will make that better.
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No, it's definitely not hopeless, but it is frustrating to watch teams exploit the Spurs weakness upfront to victory. For the record, I thought the Spurs were a better team than OKC in 2012 and Memphis in 2011, but he playoffs is about matchups. When our shooters don't perform, and we lose the battle in the front court, we lose. Simple as that. Tim Duncan is NOT the problem, offensively nor defensively. He just can't beat the other team by himself anymore like the old days. After TD, there is not enough size, defensive presence, rebounding or toughness among our bigs. How many times do we have to have this same conversation?!
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You hit right on the nail. If we do not improve the Bigs, the Spurs do not have a chance. The Spurs can fill up the arena, but they will not win another ring with the current Bigs.
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Sounds a little bit too pessimistic to me. I don't think they're "neglecting" the big issue. Otherwise, the Spurs wouldn't have given any thoughts to sign Blatche. I really think Blatche's mental issues is the reason why the Spurs didn't sign him (especially with some of the stuff I've heard he's been involved with). I don't think this season is hopeless because if the favorites (Heat, Lakers, & Tnunder) somehow all fail in their runs to the championship, who's next in line? Pacers, Celtics, Nuggets, Clippers? In my opinion, I think the Spurs should be the next favorite to win. I really feel like our young guys will improve enough to make us a legitimate threat.
Make Tim Duncan learn to shoot behind the arch, that way him and Splitter can play together better. They have no choice but to slow the game down once again mainly because the obvious age factor.
"Make Tim Duncan learn to shoot behind the arch"? What a cilly assumption. You cannot "make" Tim do anything.
