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http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/237988/Marc-Gasol-Spurs-Are-An-Example-Franchise

Marc Gasol is expected to be pursued in free agency by the San Antonio Spurs.

Gasol's free agency plans have remained a mystery and the common expectation has been he would re-sign with the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I'm a free agent, but I still have not raised anything," said Gasol of his future. "In the next few weeks, I will begin to speak with different franchises. My brother has not advised me about the different possibilities, but the decision will be complicated. My family spends time in Memphis and has even worked in the Saint Jude Hospital."

"San Antonio is an example franchise and I've always admired Tim Duncan," said Gasol. "But we'll see in the summer. "

I've always thought that he was going to stay in Memphis but i'm starting to think that he might be gettable. He didn't look pleased with the way the team was playing in that last series, he's said that he wants to explore his options and now he's flirting with us.

Do you guys think that we have a real shot at getting Marc??

Nolan wrote:
I've always thought that he was going to stay in Memphis but i'm starting to think that he might be gettable. He didn't look pleased with the way the team was playing in that last series, he's said that he wants to explore his options and now he's flirting with us.

Do you guys think that we have a real shot at getting Marc??

I would ask a different question: Should we try and get Marc?

The Cons :
1) He's already 30, will be 31 middle of next season. He's the "future" beside Kawhi, who is 24 next season. I would strongly prefer a younger player (Love to be specific), so as get more of their "prime" years together.

2) Assuming Tim does not retire, how do we play him beside Tim? The combination is not mobile enough defensively, and they both work in the midrange offensively. A Tiago/Gasol pairing works, but are we going to ask Tim to play 3ed big? I can't see it happening.

The Pros:

1) He's an MVP candidate.

Obviously 'ANY' big name is a huge improvement in the short term but I think you make good points with the cons.

The sad (and also amazing) thing when thinking about Gasol and Aldridge is that 40 year old Duncan still seems to be someone you'd prefer to have over those 2. Maybe Kevin Love really is worth the risk due to his age because I see us regretting throwing max money at Gasol or LMA a couple years down the track.

pad300 wrote:

Nolan wrote:
I've always thought that he was going to stay in Memphis but i'm starting to think that he might be gettable. He didn't look pleased with the way the team was playing in that last series, he's said that he wants to explore his options and now he's flirting with us.

Do you guys think that we have a real shot at getting Marc??

I would ask a different question: Should we try and get Marc?

The Cons :
1) He's already 30, will be 31 middle of next season. He's the "future" beside Kawhi, who is 24 next season. I would strongly prefer a younger player (Love to be specific), so as get more of their "prime" years together.

2) Assuming Tim does not retire, how do we play him beside Tim? The combination is not mobile enough defensively, and they both work in the midrange offensively. A Tiago/Gasol pairing works, but are we going to ask Tim to play 3ed big? I can't see it happening.

The Pros:

1) He's an MVP candidate.

His game will age well and him and Duncan will work well together. I think if we get either Gasol or LMA or even Love (not a fan of this idea) Splitter will be gone anyways.

Nolan wrote:His game will age well and him and Duncan will work well together. I think if we get either Gasol or LMA or even Love (not a fan of this idea) Splitter will be gone anyways.

Agreed. Gasol doesn't rely on speed or a lot of athleticism. A 35 year old Gasol should be fine. Look how his brother played at 34. I wonder how they rid themselves of Splitter though?

Duncan seems to be what's making SA attractive to some free agents. Gasol would be an amazing get and would instantly make the Spurs a favorite.

SpursNBucks wrote:

Nolan wrote:His game will age well and him and Duncan will work well together. I think if we get either Gasol or LMA or even Love (not a fan of this idea) Splitter will be gone anyways.

Agreed. Gasol doesn't rely on speed or a lot of athleticism. A 35 year old Gasol should be fine. Look how his brother played at 34. I wonder how they rid themselves of Splitter though?

Duncan seems to be what's making SA attractive to some free agents. Gasol would be an amazing get and would instantly make the Spurs a favorite.

We'd probably have to attach a pick to make a straight salary dump work but i'm sure we could work out a deal to swap bad contracts with someone else as well.

Nolan wrote:

SpursNBucks wrote:

Nolan wrote:His game will age well and him and Duncan will work well together. I think if we get either Gasol or LMA or even Love (not a fan of this idea) Splitter will be gone anyways.

Agreed. Gasol doesn't rely on speed or a lot of athleticism. A 35 year old Gasol should be fine. Look how his brother played at 34. I wonder how they rid themselves of Splitter though?

Duncan seems to be what's making SA attractive to some free agents. Gasol would be an amazing get and would instantly make the Spurs a favorite.

We'd probably have to attach a pick to make a straight salary dump work but i'm sure we could work out a deal to swap bad contracts with someone else as well.

It probably has to be a pick. The Clippers did it with the Bucks a year ago. They dumped Dudley's contract and sent their protected 1st in 2016. Bucks dumped another bad contract in Delfino. They cut Delfino, Dudley played pretty well and will probably opt out this coming year - player option. If Duds doesn't @ $4.25 it looks pretty good. Delfino cost them $3.25 so they only saved $1mil.

Splitter set to make $8.5 and $8.25 next two years- considering he is 30, has history of missing at least 25% of games, and in no better then average - it will be a tough dump. Maybe someone like the Bucks would do it and they could throw back say Bayless $3m or Spurs reportedly liked Ersan - that wouldn't save much, but he's has an expiring contract.

pad300 wrote:

Nolan wrote:
I've always thought that he was going to stay in Memphis but i'm starting to think that he might be gettable. He didn't look pleased with the way the team was playing in that last series, he's said that he wants to explore his options and now he's flirting with us.

Do you guys think that we have a real shot at getting Marc??

I would ask a different question: Should we try and get Marc?

The Cons :
1) He's already 30, will be 31 middle of next season. He's the "future" beside Kawhi, who is 24 next season. I would strongly prefer a younger player (Love to be specific), so as get more of their "prime" years together.

2) Assuming Tim does not retire, how do we play him beside Tim? The combination is not mobile enough defensively, and they both work in the midrange offensively. A Tiago/Gasol pairing works, but are we going to ask Tim to play 3ed big? I can't see it happening.

The Pros:

1) He's an MVP candidate.

Right.. because of the age thing, Love is my first preference. Second is Marc because I think his game age well. Third is LMA because he doesn't impact the game much defensively and I doubt it'll get better as he hits mid 30s.

But on the topic of Marc/Duncan pairing defensively.. Yeah I think that doesn't work. At the same time, I think if we can get a big name guy, then this is the year Duncan will get serious decline in his minutes. I see Duncan starting, but his minutes rotation will probably look like Tiago's. He'll get subbed out in the 6 minute mark of the first quarter and be more like a low to mid 20 minutes per game player. We're going to have a hard time againts small ball lineups though.

co_laper wrote:

pad300 wrote:

Nolan wrote:
I've always thought that he was going to stay in Memphis but i'm starting to think that he might be gettable. He didn't look pleased with the way the team was playing in that last series, he's said that he wants to explore his options and now he's flirting with us.

Do you guys think that we have a real shot at getting Marc??

I would ask a different question: Should we try and get Marc?

The Cons :
1) He's already 30, will be 31 middle of next season. He's the "future" beside Kawhi, who is 24 next season. I would strongly prefer a younger player (Love to be specific), so as get more of their "prime" years together.

2) Assuming Tim does not retire, how do we play him beside Tim? The combination is not mobile enough defensively, and they both work in the midrange offensively. A Tiago/Gasol pairing works, but are we going to ask Tim to play 3ed big? I can't see it happening.

The Pros:

1) He's an MVP candidate.

Right.. because of the age thing, Love is my first preference. Second is Marc because I think his game age well. Third is LMA because he doesn't impact the game much defensively and I doubt it'll get better as he hits mid 30s.

But on the topic of Marc/Duncan pairing defensively.. Yeah I think that doesn't work. At the same time, I think if we can get a big name guy, then this is the year Duncan will get serious decline in his minutes. I see Duncan starting, but his minutes rotation will probably look like Tiago's. He'll get subbed out in the 6 minute mark of the first quarter and be more like a low to mid 20 minutes per game player. We're going to have a hard time againts small ball lineups though.

Doesn't look like Love will be showing any to the Spurs as he is saying he will come back to Cleveland. Why not? They will be the favorite to win it all with another year playing together.

I would be happy with either Gasol or LMA - for different reasons. Defensively Gasol would make them special. LMA be able to do some things offensively we haven't seen in a low post Spurs player in some time.

Pairing Marc along Timmy seems almost unfair.