My thoughts on the Spurs FO

A series of post in this thread on LakersGround.net on 8/19/07 and 8/20/07.

Man, I am so sick of the "Spurs always do the right thing" posts

ajaxxx wrote:
Spurs continue to make the right moves no matter how small they are. Udoka will log on heavy minutes behind the aging Bowen.

B_P wrote:
It would have been a real smart, subtle "low risk, high reward" signing for us. You get A LOT of value out of what you sign Udoka for.

But really, you could see SA picking him up from a mile away.
SA continues to do what SA does.

...and so do we.

I just don't get our FO sometimes.

The Spurs were one of the oldest teams, if not the oldest team, in the NBA. Last season, Horry was 36, Barry and Bowen were 35, Finley was 33, Oberto was 31, Duncan was 30 and Ginobili was 29. The Spurs FO made the following moves last off-season:
1. Traded Nesterovic (30) for Matt Bonner (26) and Eric Williams (34) and a 2009 2nd round pick
2. Signed Jacque Vaughn (31)
3. Signed Jackie Butler (21)
4. Signed Francisco Elson (30)
5. Signed James White (24)
6. In Feb, traded for Melvin Ely (28)

That means the Spurs players under 30 besides Parker and Ginobili were:
Udrih - In his 3rd season, put up numbers very similar to Sasha
Bonner - Averaged 11.7 mpg in 56 games
White - Played in 6 games, cut after the season
Butler - Played in 11 games, traded after the season
Ely - Played in 6 games, not re-signed

This off-season, the Spurs traded Butler and the draft rights to Luis Scola (27) to Houston for Vassilis Spanoulis (25), who averaged 8.8 mpg in 31 games last season and who has since gone back to Europe.

Given that next season the Spurs will have more players who are over 33 and on the last year of their contract than players under 30, I would think that signing some youth would be paramount. But instead, the Spurs sign a project player who is 30! And the move earns kudos for many Laker fans for its brilliance!
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Socks wrote:
I never said every single player they signed was a home run. But look at SA's strategy of acquiring veteran players over the years and good role players who do contribute. The championships tell me their FO is getting it right more than they are getting it wrong.

I think the championships mean that Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Bowen are a championship-caliber group and have cover up the fact that the FO has screwed up consistently the last 5 years (with the exception of Finley, who was a gift from the NBA).

Socks wrote:
IMO, Udoke is one of them. You're going to tell me SA is NOT acquiring players that help Duncan win now?

I don't know what the Spurs FO is doing and it's not clear to me that the Spurs FO knows what it is doing. Last off-season, the Spurs made a bunch of moves to bring youth on to the roster. This off-season, they let most of their youth go and, as their major acquisition, signed someone who is 30. They are very close to becoming Tony Parker and the Over-The-Hill gang.

Socks wrote:
You're going to tell me Udoke at $2 M is not a good deal? Or do you just believe that Udoke can't really contribute? I'm afraid I'm not really understanding the argument here.

I am saying that the Spurs didn't address their primary need this off-season, which was to get some youth. Udoke at $2M is a good deal, but he is not what the Spurs needed. The Lakers addressed their primary need this off-season, which was to upgrade the PG position. And yet posters think the Spurs FO is doing a much better job than the Lakers FO.
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Socks wrote:
[S]ome of the nice role player signings for the other 3 championship years include:
:

I don't want to get into the details of a team that I don't know well. However, many posters hold Mitch to the standard that he should have drafted or acquired a young, quality starter during the championship years and that he didn't means he is an incompetent GM. To me, the Spurs also fail to meet that standard. Yet the same posters who think Mitch should have acquired a young, quality starter sing the praises of the Spurs FO.

Socks wrote:
I agree the Spurs are old. I would also say everything is based of TD - he is the guy that keeps that championship window open. So if the Spurs FO can continue to bring in quality role players that can play with TD over the next 5 years then they are doing their best to take advantage of TD - no matter how old those players are.

I think this season is likely it for the Spurs, particularly if Finley leaves after this season. Last season was a really lucky one for the Spurs - Dallas getting knocked out in the first round and no major injuries despite being an old team.

Socks wrote:
I also feel like the Lakers didn't necessarily accomplish their goal as well as they could have. Yeah, Fish is an upgrade. But how much of one? And at what cost? I would've rather our FO signed both Brevin Knight and Udoke if possible - splitting the MLE instead of spending the whole MLE on Fish. This would help our permiter D as well as the PG slot. So I think where some Laker fans are coming is that SA signed a small piece of their puzzle at an undeniable good deal. The Lakers signed a small piece of their puzzle at a much more expensive rate when it seems as though there was greater opportunity.

This isn't a Lakers thread, so I will just say I disagree. I state my opinion of Knight here.