Everyone on this team should be ashamed

the southern dandy · Post #1 » by **the southern dandy** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:20 am

This was one of the most pitiful displays of playoff basketball, and I hate that it's tarnishing the image of a once dominant franchise.

I'm ready for a rebuild now. We've had our dominant years, and to see them go out like this is the worst thing imaginable.
However, I know that management is going to cling onto the past as much as they possibly can. The big 3 deserve to be remembered as champions, not as declining stars baby trying to single handedly carry absolute garbage.

If management has any sense, please let the team move into a new era. As of right now theyr'e stuck in purgatory.

Post #2 » by **Nolan** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:12 am

I agree the players should be ashamed of that game but its not time to rebuild yet people need to realize that we just won 60 games.

The vets have been struggling so far and the younger guys seem to be defering to the vets as well. Blair, Splitter, Neal and Hill all need to step up and take this personally, they have to realize that this is going to be their team in a few years and they really need to step up.

Everyone needs to relax right now.

FaTaL · Post #3 » by **FaTaL** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:19 am

yes this team won 60 games but the regular season is irrelevant, this team needs a infusion of impact players.

Rondo2Hondo · Post #4 » by **Rondo2Hondo** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:35 am

FaTaL wrote:yes this team won 60 games but the regular season is irrelevant, this team needs a infusion of impact players.

The only way for this to happen is to trade in some top talent. The Spurs could probably trade Jefferson for Kaman or something, but anything they do will just be a stop gap. They were lucky to win 60 games during the season. This team is cooked.

Post #5 » by **wizardg** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:16 am

60 games means reload not rebuild.

besides this series is not over yet.

Shootdabull · Post #6 » by **Shootdabull** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:25 pm

wizardg wrote:60 games means reload not rebuild.

besides this series is not over yet.

I agree with wizardg. At 60 wins you are a contender and you can still win this series. Our rebuilding was a very long process and we had some very very bad teams. I would not wish that on any one (well maybe the pistons). Your team is close, they just need that swagger back they had earlier in the year.

Post #7 » by **Nolan** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:56 pm

Rondo2Hondo wrote:The only way for this to happen is to trade in some top talent. The Spurs could probably trade Jefferson for Kaman or something, but anything they do will just be a stop gap. They were lucky to win 60 games during the season. This team is cooked.

You seem to know an awful alot about this team for a someone who doesn't even appear to be a Spurs fan and for a poster I haven't seen around here much. This team isn't "cooked", if we lose this series we're going to have to make some tweaks but we don't need a full rebuild.

the southern dandy · Post #8 » by **the southern dandy** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 3:42 am

I'm feeling a normal level of embarassment rather than total shame right now. This team's time is over. The next few years of seeing this team limp around is going to be worse than any rebuilding phase imaginable.

Blame Rasho · Post #9 » by **Blame Rasho** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:47 pm

We were a flawed team. I mean we knew that size was our biggest weakness... and thought at best we would get killed by the Lakers over a 7 game series. It was just that Memphis exploited our weakness.

Is it really surprising that we lost? Kinda... but not in the manner we lost.

Ballings7 · Post #10 » by **Ballings7** » Mon May 2, 2011 10:14 pm

Very disappointing loss and end to the season, and almost seems like the end for our high-run - congrats to Memphis, imagine if they had Rudy Gay? My gosh. I didn't expect us to lose that series, though.

Size/length and athleticism up front (even at SF), has been this team's biggest weakness since 2008. But most especially the last two years.

Splitter should really help out there, but he's not enough, we still need another guy who'll be an guaranteed impact guy at PF/C. Blair will obviously continue to help, but he ain't got overall size.

Jefferson, questionable at best, I'd look to try and trade him to where he can be less relied on.

Regardless, like said earlier, we need 3-4 impact players added. But the majority have to come from outside the team.

batmana · Post #11 » by **batmana** » Tue May 3, 2011 7:00 am

We really played badly in the series and that's probably why we lost but I feel that Memphis didn't miss Gay at all. I'll even go further and say they are a better team without him. The thing is they are a team, they are not a combination of talents. They have that perfect chemistry on the floor and if he is to take the place of Young or Allen in the starting lineup that chemistry will no longer be the same.

Either way, to the topic, being ashamed is not necessarily a bad thing. The players need to look themselves in the mirror and realize why they lost after such a successful regular season. Jefferson was an absolute non-factor and I don't have any hope anymore that he can work with us. Right now I'd try to trade him without hesitation. I also think we should have played Blair more and just kept the natural regular-season rotation instead of shortening it for the playoffs. We saw guys like Arthur and Vasquez step big-time for Memphis but Blair never had the chance to step up like that because he was on the bench. I don't know whether you agree with me but I feel that Blair is our Arthur and could be equally effective.

co_laper · Post #12 » by **co_laper** » Thu May 5, 2011 10:22 am

It's not likely that we get an impact player without giving up one. We just don't have the assets right now.

I think it can be agreed upon that this year was our last chance of winning a title. With Manu, Splitter, Parker playing international ball this summer, I just don't see it anymore. Add that we're likely to see even less of Tim Duncan. And if the Memphis series tells us anything, gone are the days that we go to Duncan. Even when we need a bucket, Duncan can no longer be counted upon offensively. What we have now is a group of defensive bigs, but no offense.

I'm sure we'll still be making the playoff next year, but if we end up with homecourt advantage, that will be a success.

Right now, our weaknesses are plenty.

Frontline, there is a lack of size. Lack of athleticism. Lack of low post scoring. Lack of shotblocking.

On the perimeter, there is a severe lack of defense and size at SF. Offensively, I think Parker and Manu are good enough scorers, but they need to be complemented by low post scoring. One that used to be provided by Duncan. Because when we talk as first options, I think Manu and Parker are better sidekicks than go to scorers. So now what we have is 2 second options.

Unless we hit the jackpot in a trade and gets a huge steal in FA, it's just not likely we can fix all of our problems to become an elite title contender.

Post #13 » by **Nolan** » Thu May 5, 2011 11:27 pm

^
What do you think about my Grant Hill idea Co? He addresses all of our needs at SF and I know he'll only be a short term solution but he'll be a major improvement over RJ and he'll probably be willing to take less money to play for a contendor.

co_laper · Post #14 » by **co_laper** » Fri May 6, 2011 6:08 am

I don't think any of us can complain about what happen in the regular season. We had a great great run and not many teams can defend us like Memphis did, so I think we are still a 50 win team unless we had a big time injury.

Anyways, what I focus now is how Memphis showed us our weaknesses and how we can fix it.

I was a huge fan of the prime Grant Hill and he did show us a lot of defense in last year's series, but does his skills actually fit in with the group that we have?

Even when Richard Jefferson was a success early in the season, it was because he gave us athleticism, gave us the size to actually defend an opposing SF, and he was knocking down his 3s in a high rate. Personally, I don't see Grant Hill giving us that better than RJ. I would say Jefferson is a better 3 point shooter and more athletic than Hill right now for our system. Hill is a better defensive player, but I feel like this is the time we should start to focus on the future.

Had we gone further in the playoff or if this was 3 years ago, I'll be screaming for guys like Battier or Grant Hill or Tayshawn Prince this offseason. But we have to be realistic and if we want to keep the tradition of being a hardworking team with class and defensive identity, I think Mbah a Moute is the way to go. Despite his limitation offensively, he's a perfect fit for a future SF in the Bowen mold. He can be our defensive stopper.

But what to do about that lowpost scoring?

Donald Kaufman · Post #15 » by **Donald Kaufman** » Fri May 6, 2011 9:40 am

Yep. We need another Bowen type. Unfortunately those kinds of players are tough to come by. Battier would be a nice fit. Anything but RJ. He showed his true worth, or lack thereof, in the playoffs. He was garbage.

I wasn't impressed by Splitter at all this season, but it was his rookie year and the Spurs system is notoriously tough to crack in that first year. I think he should start next season alongside Timmy. If there is a next season, that is. I like Blair, I think he has great potential to be a poor man's LJ, and think we should hang onto him.

The Big 3 -- it's been mentioned somewhere in here that we would be better off hanging onto them as they are more valuable to us than anything we could possibly get back in a trade. I tend to agree with this, but it doesn't help us much. Manu can still affect the outcome of a game, I don't want him traded. TD looked pretty awful against Memphis, Gasol just manhandled him in the post. It's pretty embarrassing that Pop was saving TD for the playoffs, and that was all we got?

Parker seems to be the only one who might be moved. His body language in the playoffs was not encouraging. He made bad plays, heaps of turnovers, he yelled at teammates more than I've ever seen him do. He was outplayed by Mike Freaking Conley of all players. I don't know what's up with him. Maybe he misses Eva.

batmana · Post #16 » by **batmana** » Fri May 6, 2011 12:17 pm

I also think we should keep the big 3 as we cannot get decent value for them in trades, plus they are absolute icons here and it would be awesome to have them play for no other team in their NBA careers.

About the discussion of being a playoff team with no chance of the title versus being a lottery team, I'd rather be in the playoffs. I don't want to see this team be like Minnesota or Toronto, plus being in the lottery doesn't necessarily guarantee you a game-changer. In a weak draft, even drafting well, you will get nothing more than a role player. That's how teams reach when there is nothing better and end up drafting busts early in the draft.

I wanted to discuss something different - if we somehow manage to trade Jefferson, a player I think could fit well is Sacramento's Omri Casspi. He already expressed his displeasure with the Kings this season while we have a history of accomodating international players very well. Casspi is a young athletic wing who has some offense (including a 3-point shot) but I see more upside in his defense. Basically I picture him as a Shane Battier waiting to happen. Now obviously salaries don't match and even though a straight-up trade works due to Sacramento's cap space, they have absolutely no reason to just absorb Jefferson's salary. Since I'm not a trade expert, I cannot tell you what would be the best way to work this trade but what do you guys think about Casspi instead of Jefferson?

Donald Kaufman · Post #17 » by **Donald Kaufman** » Fri May 6, 2011 12:44 pm

I'd trade RJ for Casspi straight up right now if I could. Casspi had a strong rookie season but struggled a bit this year as the team floundered. I'm sure he could flourish in the right situation, ie. San Antone. I say bring it on, let's get him.

Post #18 » by **Nolan** » Fri May 6, 2011 4:13 pm

Donald Kaufman wrote:I'd trade RJ for Casspi straight up right now if I could. Casspi had a strong rookie season but struggled a bit this year as the team floundered. I'm sure he could flourish in the right situation, ie. San Antone. I say bring it on, let's get him.

I 2nd that. Casspi had a rough sophmore year but he's a talented kid. He can knock down 3's and he plays aggressive defense. Bring him in and sign Grant Hill to tutor him. I love Mbah a Moute but I have a feeling he's going to be out of our price range, either the Bucks are going to pay hill or someone else will.

Donald Kaufman · Post #19 » by **Donald Kaufman** » Sat May 7, 2011 12:07 am

We need to go in another direction at the 3. If that's the only move we make in the offseason I'll be happy.

Blame Rasho · Post #20 » by **Blame Rasho** » Sat May 7, 2011 3:14 am

Donald Kaufman wrote:We need to go in another direction at the 3. If that's the only move we make in the offseason I'll be happy.

It has been a while since we have had a crappy contract... but Jefferson for so many years is among the worst that this team has had.