crzymdups wrote:http://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/Marc-Gasol-might-be-better-fit-for-Spurs-6293085.php?t=56361a43cae4660723&cmpid=twitter-premium

The NBA’s annual free agent period begins July 1, and the Spurs are poised to be a major player with the possibility of more than $20 million in cap space.

They’ve been most strongly linked to UT product LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland’s four-time All-Star forward. But an even better fit might be Memphis center Marc Gasol, the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year and a spiritual disciple of Tim Duncan with his two-way, team-oriented play.

As difficult as it will be to pry Gasol away from the city with which he has roots dating back to high school, the 30-year-old Spaniard acknowledged what a powerful lure the Spurs will be when he finally begins to evaluate his options in earnest in the coming weeks.

“San Antonio is a model franchise, and I’ve always admired Tim Duncan,” he said, as quoted Thursday by Spanish daily Diario AS. “We’ll see what happens this summer.”

Gasol was speaking to the media in his native Spain, where he’s still deciding whether or not he’ll represent La Roja at the upcoming European championship.

It promises to be only the second-most important choice of his summer.

Leaving Memphis, where he played high school basketball while older brother Pau starred for the Grizzlies before returning as a professional in 2008, will be difficult.

Gasol, however, said he won’t base his decision on the city, but rather the best opportunity to win a championship.

“What matters to me is the team,” he said in the same media session.

The Grizzlies have a strong case here as well, having won 55 games — the second-most in franchise history — while giving heavy title favorite Golden State its toughest battle of the postseason with a six-game series in the second round.

But even after getting bounced in the first round, few can compare to the Spurs when it comes to team building, so Gasol likely has a tough choice.

Gasol enjoyed his best professional season in 2014-15, averaging a career-high 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 blocks to earn first-team All-NBA honors. He was the only player in the league to register at least 1,300 points, 600 rebounds and 300 assists.

Memphis coach Dave Joerger, who said Gasol has not given the Grizzlies any indication of his plans, assessed his value in blunt terms.

“He’s the best player at his position in the league, and it’s the most difficult position in the league to fill,” he said.

Even in a league that continues to skew toward guard play and outside shooting, quality post play remains an immense commodity.

And with Gasol having said earlier this season that he plans listen to all offers, he’ll have no shortage of suitors — including a Spurs team that could have its most transformative offseason in more than decade.

dmccarney@express-news.net

Twitter: @danmccarneySAEN

Also, note that last quote about center being the most difficult position in the league to fill. Hence my interest in WCS.

WaltLongmire wrote:
Hence the abject feeling of terror that grips my very soul when I think about WCS being on the Knicks.

Fair enough.

how's that knicks culture change coming along?

dk7th wrote:spurs have earned the right to keep chugging along. a strong culture of winning is attractive. my god gasol and duncan in the same front court LOL the horror!

how's that knicks culture change coming along?

GustavBahler wrote:

nixluva wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:That would extend the Spurs window by a couple of seasons IMO. Had a feeling that he might bolt. We'll see. Id say in our case that PG is the hardest position to fill.

PG is the least of the Knicks problems. It's not the most critical position in the Triangle offense and never has been. You want good players at every position but it's not necessary in this system to have great PG. Having a great Combo Guard SG is the spot where it makes the most impact. You want a SG that has play making ability but is effective without the ball.

There you go again about the Triangle. Im am 100 percent against passing up on a potentially great player because he may not fit in the Triangle. If we had the luck to potentially draft a game changing PG for the next decade or more, how he fits in the triangle would be the least of my worries. Its like drafting a player strictly on wether or not he would be a good fit in SSOL. Its short term thinking and its a huge mistake IMO.

I agree with this. The Knicks need to do the most intense diligence possible on Mudiay. If Mudiay can be a great floor leader you have to take him. I like WCS, but the Knicks can't miss on Mudiay or Winslow or even a guy like Stanley Johnson or Jerian Grant. The most intense diligence needs to be done on them.

I have fears that the Knicks will pass on a franchise talent and instead go for Triangle fit.

The guy I worry most about passing on Mudiay. But it's so hard to tell how he'd play on a team over here with a ten game sample size. It reminds me a lot of Kyrie Irving. People thought he wasn't explosive and not much of a scorer, but he'd be a steady floor general and pure point guard. Turned out he was one of the most entertaining players and scorers in the league. I don't remember Wade's scouting reports, but I think some thought he was too small to be a good SG and too slow to be a PG and didn't have a good mid-range jumper.

I don't envy the Knicks job here, but I really hope they don't screw it up.

nixluva wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

nixluva wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:That would extend the Spurs window by a couple of seasons IMO. Had a feeling that he might bolt. We'll see. Id say in our case that PG is the hardest position to fill.

PG is the least of the Knicks problems. It's not the most critical position in the Triangle offense and never has been. You want good players at every position but it's not necessary in this system to have great PG. Having a great Combo Guard SG is the spot where it makes the most impact. You want a SG that has play making ability but is effective without the ball.

There you go again about the Triangle. Im am 100 percent against passing up on a potentially great player because he may not fit in the Triangle. If we had the luck to potentially draft a game changing PG for the next decade or more, how he fits in the triangle would be the least of my worries. Its like drafting a player strictly on wether or not he would be a good fit in SSOL. Its short term thinking and its a huge mistake IMO.

I'm not saying that you would necessarily pass on a great Ball Dominant PG if he was the only option. You have to get the best value. Our reality is that we don't know if Mudiay is a great PG. If the Knicks feel he's not going to be an elite level PG and isn't substantially better value than WCS then you take WCS.

If Russell fell to #4 i'd expect the Knicks to take Russell because he's actually more of a Combo guard. He can play well off the ball but has good passing as well. He doesn't have to have the ball all the time in order to be effective. For this system that's a better fit.

Agree with most of what you've written. WCS worries me at 4, a few spots down and I would be more OK with the Knicks taking him. There are rumours that Phil might trade down and take him later for what I dont know. Im pretty sure Phil has different strategies mapped out based on who gets picked from 1 to 3, lets just hope the strategy is sound.

nixluva wrote:

dk7th wrote:spurs have earned the right to keep chugging along. a strong culture of winning is attractive. my god gasol and duncan in the same front court LOL the horror!

how's that knicks culture change coming along?

It's still a bit early to be snickering at the Knicks don't you think? Gasol isn't yet on the Spurs and we have drafted or signed any Free Agents. So what's the point of kicking dirt on the rebuilding process? I could understand the criticism if Phil wasn't clearly trying to improve the franchise from top to bottom, but he is. We're at the very beginning of this process and the Spurs are almost 2 decades into their process.

The problem is who you have at the top, and you know I don't mean Phil.

I can accept Dolan's loyalty to a friend, but giving Isiah Thomas the position he game him tells you a lot about the man. The Spurs have been a class organization for many years, and the class goes from the 15th player on their roster all the way to the top.

There is a reason why guys want to play there. Good leadership in the front office, in the coaching box, and on the playing floor breed the class and continuity that people want to play for, and fans want to root for. You always need some luck to build a great franchise, but you need more than luck to keep things going the way the Spurs have.

In a sport where a GM or Coach can be hired and fired at the whim of an owner, you cannot create a positive culture if the guy on the top is not a good leader worthy of respect.

MS wrote:If Gasol goes to the Spurs, they become a top 2 team, which means the warriors and clippers are better than portland and that may open up a chance for the knicks to sign alridge and take munday.

great ... then our team can have the poorest shot selection in the history of basketball