I don't know when it started, but for a while now people have thought the Spurs might be active players in FA. Maybe it was the most apparent aging yet for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, or the tough luck loss in the 1st round to the Clips, of maybe it was just the idea that it was time to make one last. Whatever it was, for the first time I could remember, the Spurs were expected to do something.
Well, they did.
The Spurs were always big favorites for LMA assuming they could clear the cap space. Somehow though, the equation to keep the cap space meant still keeping Danny Green at a reduced rate, and losing a lot of players. What were the players? There's Corey Joseph, the guy many though was going to replace Patty Mills as the main backup PG. There's Marco Belinelli, who had some nice moments but was overall replaceable. And then there was Jeff Ayres, the main the Spurs tried out as the next Tiago Splitter. Of course, there was also Tiago Splitter, leaving a nice whole for good old LaMarcus Alridge to fill.
But the real story started when the Spurs signed David West for the league minimum. You just don't do that without ruffling some feathers around the league. Soon the stories started. The Spurs are ruining the league, reducing all other competition to little minnows. The Spurs were charged wth playing an unfair game; charged with convincing someone to sign for the minimum. Charged with doing what the Heat did, or all the other teams that were accused of unfairly stockpiling talent for way under market.
But is there really a problem with that. Is there a real issue with the Spurs having created such a good culture, such a good environment for players to excel far beyond their wildest abilities, that maybe they should be rewarded for creating that culture. David West didn't give up money just to chase a title. He did it to chase a title in a place that was going to make his life fun, to give him the freedom to play less minutes, monitor his health, and rest a body that has banging starter minutes for 12 years.
When we get past all the 'Are the Spurs cheating the system' questions, we have to ask ourselves whether this will actually work. The Spurs have relied on depth, something the lost some of this last offseason with other teams stealing away Joseph, Belinelli, Ayres and Splitter. Of course, those guys themselves represent one mid-level free agent signing, one stash player, and two low draft picks. More than anything else, that is the Spurs way. They have the most depth because they develop in. Aaron Baynes can take over for Jeff Ayres. Kyle Anderson can get better. And now they can run this as their second unit:
PG: Mills
SG: Ginobili
SF: Diaw
PF: West
C: Baynes
That's somehow better depth than they had last season, better than they even had during the Title season two years ago. The Spurs are ready, they are loaded. This is going to be a fun 15-16 season... just don't say they broke the system.
Well, they did.
The Spurs were always big favorites for LMA assuming they could clear the cap space. Somehow though, the equation to keep the cap space meant still keeping Danny Green at a reduced rate, and losing a lot of players. What were the players? There's Corey Joseph, the guy many though was going to replace Patty Mills as the main backup PG. There's Marco Belinelli, who had some nice moments but was overall replaceable. And then there was Jeff Ayres, the main the Spurs tried out as the next Tiago Splitter. Of course, there was also Tiago Splitter, leaving a nice whole for good old LaMarcus Alridge to fill.
But the real story started when the Spurs signed David West for the league minimum. You just don't do that without ruffling some feathers around the league. Soon the stories started. The Spurs are ruining the league, reducing all other competition to little minnows. The Spurs were charged wth playing an unfair game; charged with convincing someone to sign for the minimum. Charged with doing what the Heat did, or all the other teams that were accused of unfairly stockpiling talent for way under market.
But is there really a problem with that. Is there a real issue with the Spurs having created such a good culture, such a good environment for players to excel far beyond their wildest abilities, that maybe they should be rewarded for creating that culture. David West didn't give up money just to chase a title. He did it to chase a title in a place that was going to make his life fun, to give him the freedom to play less minutes, monitor his health, and rest a body that has banging starter minutes for 12 years.
When we get past all the 'Are the Spurs cheating the system' questions, we have to ask ourselves whether this will actually work. The Spurs have relied on depth, something the lost some of this last offseason with other teams stealing away Joseph, Belinelli, Ayres and Splitter. Of course, those guys themselves represent one mid-level free agent signing, one stash player, and two low draft picks. More than anything else, that is the Spurs way. They have the most depth because they develop in. Aaron Baynes can take over for Jeff Ayres. Kyle Anderson can get better. And now they can run this as their second unit:
PG: Mills
SG: Ginobili
SF: Diaw
PF: West
C: Baynes
That's somehow better depth than they had last season, better than they even had during the Title season two years ago. The Spurs are ready, they are loaded. This is going to be a fun 15-16 season... just don't say they broke the system.
