How would you to attempt to fix this team?

[the southern dandy]

I think this team is being managed atrociously right now. We could blame the players to an extent, but many of them simply aren't being put in a position to succeed.

*Finley needs his role severely reduced. He is playing a hell of a lot better than last season, but the role he's been given extends beyond his talents. Fin is often being started on the opposing team's main wing scorers and it's a recipe for disaster.

*Bruce needs to get back in the game. I'm not convinced he's done yet, he's done some impressive things on defense this season. It's a travesty that Bruce can no longer get off the bench.

*Oberto and Bonner need to be reduced to spot minutes. Duncan, Thomas and Gooden are going to have to shoulder the load. Gooden has shown some promise, Thomas is solid and Tim is still the man.

*George Hill needs to be the backup and his mistakes must be accepted. Hill at least has the ability to produce positively, the best we can get from Vaughn is placeholding.


Of course none of these will ever happen.

[Black_Jack21]

Turn injuries and stamina off in the settings...

I think that the biggest thing is that we need Duncan, Gooden and Thomas as our mainstays in the post.
Bonner has played very well all things considered, but I think he needs to play a role rather than big minutes.
Thomas and Gooden have rebounded fairly well and it will be good for Tim to not have to get all the rebounds for the team.

Manu needs to play himself back into form and come into the playoffs at a run.

[Donald Kaufman]

Turn injuries and stamina off in the settings...

As a 2K9 devotee, I got a big kick out of this.

[saspurebball]

Starting line up
5.Bonner/Oberto
4.Gooden/KT
3.Udoka /Finley
2.Mason/Hairston
1.Hill/JV
Rest Duncan and parker and let these guys play. Just see what happens.

[bishopospurs]

In 2K9 you can also roll the years back on players, that would be sweet, plus David Robinson is in the 90's All Stars, put him back on the team.. boom goes the dynamite.

Seriously, what the f is Vaughn doing playing so much against the Cavs. I understand Hill is a Rookie, but come on! I take speed and inexperience over old career back up any day. Gooden has looked good but they are moving him in slowly. He is only playing around 18 minutes per game. Ginobli is a shell of himself with the bad ankle. It is hard to see them struggle. On the bright side, we are in the playoffs, and there is no chance to get the number 1 seed over all, so these last few games aren't going to kill us. It would be nice to look like we are capable of winning a 7 game series against the Lakers though.

[Nolan]

We need to get a first round draft pick or two in this years draft and get some young talent and get rid of some of the fossils on our team, Vaughn, Bowen and Finely all need to go. We also need to give Hill more minutes and let him play through his mistakes, I think he can be a very valuable player with a little more experience. We also need to play Mahinmi and Hairston and see what we have in those two and see if they're part of our long term plan. Resigning Gooden would be another good move and we need to use the MLE again and bring in a young role player, Linas Kleiza would be great he can play three positions, shoot from outside, rebound and play defense.

[Blame Rasho]

Trade Oberto/Bowen for Caron Butler in a Camby salary dump type deal....

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachi ... eId=d62dlz

[bishopospurs]

totally agree on signing kleiza. I would also want to move up and draft hansbrough. What about prying nate robinson from NY? I think he would be awesome off the bench or paired in the 3rd with tony parker, their speed combined would be awesome. That would make the back court rotation young and athletic. Parker/Hill/Mason/Robinson. Just a thought. I don't think his salary would work though.

[bishopospurs]

Ginobli too, but this injury is going to be tough to overcome.

[Mamba Venom]

I hate to think that our rivalry may be near the end. It doesnt have to be but SA needs to make a few changes. After all 9 of the last 10 championships have run through the Spurs or the Lakers.

An outside opinion is that SA needs to pull out all the stops and get a new legitimate 3 in the big 3. I'm thinking that it is time to bookend Duncans career and instead of looking for another SG or SF ot needs to be an explosive C or PF.

If I were SA I would trade Manu, Finley, Bowen even the young Mason Jr (whos stock is at an alltime high) for a player like Amare or Bosh...

I know SA doesnt need superstar pre-Madonnas... you will have to work w/ one of these young guys and mold him into a winner and a team player but those 2 guys in particular can be team players. All the nonsense you hear is because they don't have a coach like POP to keep them grounded and in check.
It hurts to give up so much and it is a huge gamble but it would have been better to take this gamble a year ago and the Spurs should do it soon. When you have Duncan and Parker the Spurs need to make this trade and shop for a new set of vets on the cheap. Its that or go slow and we know what happened to the Suns and Dallas. Don't trade for an old stud like Shaq or Kidd... unless it actually is Shaq... that would be really interesting and COULD WORK???

[Nolan]

totally agree on signing kleiza. I would also want to move up and draft hansbrough. What about prying nate robinson from NY? I think he would be awesome off the bench or paired in the 3rd with tony parker, their speed combined would be awesome. That would make the back court rotation young and athletic. Parker/Hill/Mason/Robinson. Just a thought. I don't think his salary would work though.

I'd love to move up and grab Hansbrough, he'd be a good fit here and i'm sure Pops would just love the guy.

I don't think Nate Robinson would be a good fit, i'd rather take my chances and see what Hill can do as the full time back up to Tony. Hills show that he can fit that role so i'd use that money to get another wing or another big. As i've said before I think Kleiza would be a very good fit but I think guys like Trevor Ariza, Rodney Carney, Matt Barnes, Zaza Pachulia and Chris Andersen would all be good options for as well.

[pad300]

Well I think this season, as Manu is out, is a write off (as far as another LOB). It therefore behooves us to use the rest of season constructively, to build for next season. This implies certain coaching policies for the rest of the season; these may look close to tanking (PS falling to spot 8* would be viable strategy for us. It improves our 2nd round pick, and meeting the Lakers round 1 might be more interesting than most suppose, waiting longer just means a better integrated Bynum). 1) Recall and Play Hairston and Mahinmi (if fitness is permissable). While neither of these guys would make the playoff roster with a fit Manu, now they get burn just develop them. 2) Play Hill as backup PG. 3) Vaughn or Udoka joins Manu and Oberto as the 3 guys in suits (assuming Mahinmi is fit enough to come up, otherwise Mahinmi, Manu and Oberto are the guys in suits).

Minutes for the rest of the season
Bigs:
C- Duncan (15), Thomas (15), Gooden (10), Mahinmi (8)
PF - Duncan (10), Bonner (15), Gooden (15), Mahinmi (8)
In particular 1) figure out which spot Mahinmi should play optimally. 2) Try out the Combinations with Gooden and the other roster players. In fairness to Gooden, showcase him a bit, as he is a FA and signed for a championship shot that he no longer has - we owe him a decent shot at an FA contract. 4) Rest Duncan. If the medical staff thinks it best, sit Duncan, although he will require a lot of convincing...
Smalls:
SF - Hairston (30)
SG - Mason (30)

The remaining 38 minutes at SF&SG get parcelled out between Finley, Bowen and Udoka as Pop sees fit. Force feed minutes to Hairston and Mason. Hairston for development. Mason to get his confidence back, and to get him back into a groove - I suspect he is our starting SG until further notice. I would definately see if Bowen still has it... When he's been on the floor this season, it has looked like he is still a legit perimeter stopper; it'd be good to know if he still has it with regards to decisions for next season.

PG - Parker (30), Hill (18)
Rest Parker as much as possible (as in even try starting Hill regularly, I don't think we will get away with less than 30 minutes a night though). Force feed Hill as many minutes as possible as part of his development. In particular make him work on being the offensive initiator.

For the next season, next post...

[pad300]

All right, next season. Let's group the players a bit (note that some people appear in more than 1 category)
1) Guaranteed Keepers (IMO)
Bigs - Duncan, Mahinmi
Wings - Hairston
PG - Parker, Hill
1.5) Only for a STRONG OFFER (We might shop some of these guys...One in particular)
Bigs - KT
Wings - Manu, Mason. Bowen
2) Trade Bait (happily move these guys as filler)
Bigs - Bonner, Oberto
Wings - Finley (I understand his no-trade will expire effetively after this season...)
3) Gone
Bigs - Gooden (I suspect he will get a decent offer, approaching the MLE, and we will be unwilling to spend that much for him), Oberto (if he is not traded for someone, his contract will almost assuredly be bought out for the savings and the roster spot)
Wings - Udoka (No upside, hasn't been good enough, need the roster spot...) Bowen (Similar to Oberto, if not traded, he will almost certainly be bought out for savings. I think he might be a strong candidate to bring back on a vet min after a buyout...)
PG - Vaughn

There are key issues 1) Big trade possibilities. Bowen and Oberto's partial guarantees make them potentially strong trade values in the current economic climate. At least one trade board suggestion has included Butler for Oberto and Bowen, just for the cap relief... (not saying that'd happen, but that is the kind of scale I am talking). Also, Manu is in the mix, see next. 2) Manu.1 HUGE ISSUE. When healthy, he's a massive difference maker. His injuries have scuttled championship shots in the last 2 years. No player, however talented, can win games in a suit on the sidelines...And he's taking up 10 million of our usable capspace. The big question is, does he feel enough (loyalty? guilt? championship hunger? whatever?) to re-sign cheap (ie MLE or so, 3 to 5 years) in 2010? If so, you keep him. If not, you have to look at moving him, due to his injuries.

Assuming Manu, KT and Mason stay, the core, not including trades looks like :

Bigs - Duncan, Mahinmi, KT
WIngs - Manu, Mason, Hairston
PG - Parker, Hill

Needs - 3 Bigs, 3 Wings, 1 PG.

For the Wings -
Bring in Gist at the Wing (similar contract to Hairston), Resign Bowen at the Vet min (after buyout, post trade), Last spot either filled by trade, or Finley, or draft pick/Nbdl/cheap veteran

For the Bigs -
Bring In Javtokas (LLE, 2 years), Lot of Possible variables - Pick 2 : a) Keep Bonner, b) get a big by trading Oberto, Bowen, and X c) Draft pick, d) NBDL/Cheap veteran (Birdman Anderson?)

For the PG - Pick 1 : a) Cheap Vet b) Marcus Williams (see the following madman http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/04/ ... int-guard/ )? Or other NBDL? c) Draft Pick

As you can see, I see one big trade, Bowen, Oberto, and either Bonner or Finley, for a significant wing or a big. Who, I don't know. Names like Tyson, Butler, even Dunleavy come to mind... Alternatively that might be for a not to bad contract (say 8 million, a serviceable player, and a draft pick or two ...). Alternatively, we might see a smaller trade. Say Finley and a second to Denver for Balkman/ Kleiza (as a sign and trade), while Bowen and Oberto are simply payed off for the savings...

I would also look at moving up in this draft. We don't really have a lot of roster spots available, so moving our 3 or so seconds for a late first might be a good idea. In particular, I am looking to the draft for either a serviceable wing or big... and to move Finley, because Pop's man love ends up mucking up the rotation. The roster ends up looking

Bigs - Duncan, KT, Mahinmi, Javtokas, Draft Pick/Player traded for, Bonner
Wings - Manu, Mason, Bowen (resigned), Hairston, Gist, Draft Pick/Player traded for
PG - Parker, Hill, Cheap veteran (Travis Deiner? James Hart? Mike James? Not Vaughn please...)

1. Don't scream at me about Manu being the heart of the team. If there was guy who was the HEART of the spurs for this dynasty, it was Bruce Bowen. We sidelined him this year, apparently for no reason. Tim, Manu and Tony were the talent, don't get me wrong. But Bruce was the heart of what it meant to play Spurs ball for this dynasty.

[SD2042]

If the Spurs fail to draft a SF in this year's draft, what if they decide to go after Kelenna Azibuike instead?

[batmana]

OK, I have a couple of things to address. First, we have to focus on getting one, maybe two free agents this postseason. My best-case scenario is us getting Rasheed Wallace (my mouth is watering - perfect fit for our system, plus he and Tim Duncan have tremendous respect for each other, they can complete each other perfectly) or Chris Andersen (helluva season) at center, and then a wing player like Matt Barnes (hard-working Bruce Bowen type of player, doesn't need plays run for him, has range and plays tough defense, also can move to the 4 and allow us to play small) or Rodney Carney (love his upside, he could become very very good).
Then, the draft. I admit I don't have very good knowledge about the college players that everyone is talking about but I know that every year there are sleepers in the second round. We have a semi-early pick in the second round and we could get someone, we have to be astute and patient with the guy, whoever he is. I mean, just look at where we got Ginobili. There have been good players in every single draft in the second round, it's just a matter of good scouting. So, for me, moving up in the draft is not a must - if we decide to keep the picks we have, I'll be equally happy.
Hope Manu returns healthy next season and I also hope George Hill develops and re-establishes himself in the rotation. This will be crucial in the longrun.
As for this season, I hope we make a hell of a playoff run with the guys we have and go out with a bang!
GO SPURS GO!

[co_laper]

Oh alrite.. I haven't been on this board for so long I didn't know if others actually felt the same way about Finley's role needs to be reduced.

As for fixing, I personally would like the Spurs to everything they have to sign either Shawn Marion or Rasheed Wallace.

Rasheed I think is the best partner for Tim Duncan in this league. Shoots the 3, plays tough defense, strong post up game.

or Shawn Marion. I've seen the Spurs go small and small ball will never work if the small 4 can't rebound. If we go the traditional lineup, Marion is our best defender. He's just our perfect SF.

I think MLE is gonna be their value unless they get S&T.

[Donald Kaufman]

Well apparently Matrix wants to play for a winner. With him and healthy Big 3, we would be. But he seems to be too much of a malcontent to bother with. Plus we've all seen his game since he left Phx, not much to get too excited about.

[Black_Jack21]

I dunno he's a legit 15-20 point 10 rebound kinda guy who can defend most positions and shoot the ball as well as play PF, i'd sure as hell pick him up for the MLE.

[wizardg]

Great question obviously you hang on to Tim and Tony.

The Spurs have had the worst 2nd and 3rd bigs in the league for a while.

1. Try to sign Rasheed. To beat the lakers the Spurs need Big help.

[Blame Rasho]

We need to get younger and more people who can go iso and get buckets. A good big man would be nice as well.