Great hire for the Wolves. Great team for Tom. Thibs has been trying to get this job for months. The Wolves have the best future in the NBA outside Golden State and maybe San Antonio. The West is going to be a bloodbath the next five years. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...-negotiate-tom-thibodeau-coach-scott-layden-g Kind of scary being a Blazer fan; or really any other western conference team. Even if we get Kevin Durant in free agency we're behind the Warriors, probably the Spurs, and the future of the TWolves is better than a Durant Blazers squad 3 years from now. That's with the best available MVP free agent miraculously picking our city. If we as expected don't get Durant; its going to be a hell of a fight to climb out of one and done playoff years. Good lucky Neil Olshey; you're going to need it.
Is the Spurs future really that bright? Outside of Leoanard, most of that team is well into their 30's. Even Aldridge will be 31 in July. They're absolutely one of the best teams in the league right now, but Duncan/Parker/Ginobili can't play forever, and Pops can't be sticking around a hell of a lot longer. I agree that the Warriors have a bright future though. Their core is still pretty young.
Yes its brighter than any team outside Golden State. Duncan/Parker/Ginobili had their least productive seasons ever and it was the teams best record in franchise history. They have Boban, Patty Mills, Simmons, Kyle Anderson, Danny Green all in their 20's. The Spurs aren't going anywhere. Now if Pop retires the rest of the league has a chance.
The question with Thibs will always be if he can turn the team around before he leaves the entire roster injured/alienated/burnt out.
Yeah if I was his boss or owner I'd have doctors, medical and training staff set minute restrictions. Even 40 minutes or whatever it is. If Thibs exceeds those minutes the player rests the next game. If Thibs knows he has a guy for x minutes he'll adjust and be fine; then he can exceed at what he does best.
Sure, but Duncan/Parker/Ginobili are the heart and soul of that team. Leonard hasn't had to shoulder any of the leadership responsibilities, and he has always struck me as a quiet dude. Who will take over once the legacy guys are gone? Leonard? Aldridge? The rest of those guys are role players.
Duncan isn't quiet? He's basically the same personality as Leonard. They have the best coach of all time and all the guys I listed have many years of experience. Young teams like us or the Wolves need leadership. A team with a roster full of guys in their mid to late 20's who've won a title don't need an outspoken vocal leader.
I guess we'll see..... one of their cornerstones going forward is Aldridge.... it's going to take more than one season for me to be convinced that he's not still a selfish diva.
Oh I think he is; but he's the only one. The team and Pop have enough credibility his shit won't work there. Its kind of similar to LeBron in Miami vs Cleveland. In Cleveland LeBron does whatever he likes to his own detriment. In Miami LeBron had to submit to Riley's will and it made him better. In Portland, and most every other NBA city Aldridge gets his childish way. In San Antonio he has to follow Pop and their culture. Stephen Jackson won a title in San Antonio.
Every mention of the Minny organization reminds me of their 2009 draft. That is the draft they went after PGs. Minny drafted Rubio @ #4, Johnny Flynn @ #5, leaving Stephen Curry on the board. Then Minny picked Ty Lawson @ #18 leaving Jeff Teague on the board, Wayne Ellington @ #28, Nick Cathathes @ #45, and Henk Norel @ #47. Hope they finally pick a winner someday, their fans deserve better.
Rubio is actually a good pick. He is the top defensive PG in the game and has elite passing. His contract is locked in for a few years while Teague is expiring. Do you think it's a coincidence Kevin Love had the best stats by far of any PF in the league with Rubio feeding him the ball? Rubio orchestrated that offense which was one of the best in the league when they won 40 games in a brutal west. Of course Curry is vastly superior, he's the best player in the game. Memphis passed on Curry for Hasheem Thabeet and the Kings took Tyreke Evans. Minny made a dozen huge mistakes in recent years; Rubio doesn't make that list. Flynn, Kevin Martin, lowballing Love's extension, Thad Young, Wesley Johsnon, Kurt Rambis, Brandon Roy, Pekovic's contract all do.
I don't see it with SA, if they don't beat the Warriors this year, how many more years are the Duncans/Ginoblis/Parkers/Pops going to stick around? I guess as long as Leonard is there though they won't have a lot of trouble convincing guys to go play there.
One thing we can be sure of....their Defense will improve over time and they will be a tougher team to play almost every night.
If the Spurs lose to the Warriors; would Durant consider going there? LMA/Kawhi/Durant/Green/Mills is a scary starting core with everyone except Aldridge in their 20's. Then a bench with Boban, Simmons, Kyle Anderson; that wouldn't be fair. Durant could only sign for $20 million next season unless the Spurs trade Parker. But Durant could sign a 1+1 year deal for that $20 million per season, opt out; then get a supermax $40 million per year extension in 2017 when the cap goes up again. Durant went to college at UT here in Austin the year after Aldridge.
Sure, but Jackson was just a kid at that point. He was a role player. He was in his second and third years in the league, and only 23/24 years old.
