Parker, Duncan and Ginobli will only be needed in April, May and June.

dk7th wrote:

smackeddog wrote:Every year there is a move that gets universally praised but somehow blows up in the teams face. I think this will be this years.

explain the "somehow." what do you foresee happening?

He'll disrupt their defense (because he isn't a good defender) and will disrupt their offense, because he is a bit of a chucker.

Were you the person I was arguing last offseason about Lowry?- I said that that season had been a peak career year for him and he'd take a step back, and go back to being injury prone. Someone was saying I was being ridiculous and the Lowry would continue to improve- bwa ha ha!

smackeddog wrote:

dk7th wrote:

smackeddog wrote:Every year there is a move that gets universally praised but somehow blows up in the teams face. I think this will be this years.

explain the "somehow." what do you foresee happening?

He'll disrupt their defense (because he isn't a good defender) and will disrupt their offense, because he is a bit of a chucker.

Were you the person I was arguing last offseason about Lowry?- I said that that season had been a peak career year for him and he'd take a step back, and go back to being injury prone. Someone was saying I was being ridiculous and the Lowry would continue to improve- bwa ha ha!

yes aldridge's defense and shot selection are not what they could be but you're saying that the coaching staff and his teammates will not be able to improve him in the areas he is weak. in other words he is uncoachable.

TripleThreat wrote:

dk7th wrote:yes aldridge's defense and shot selection are not what they could be but you're saying that the coaching staff and his teammates will not be able to improve him in the areas he is weak. in other words he is uncoachable.

IMHO, it's a double edged sword here.

The plus side, the Spurs are only really trying to integrate ( at least for now) one player into an established system. At least it's not like adding 3-4 new starters who have to learn how to gel and mesh together and that find that critical chemistry and synergy needed for winning teams to push themselves over the top.

They've got an elite coach who can put players in a position to succeed and limit their weaknesses by shading them by scheme/circumstance.

They have a very versatile roster that can cover for another player's deficiencies at times, even for long stretches.

They have an established culture, a team basketball environment, where no one player is above the team, which is the best chance anyone has to get a "lone wolf" type Alpha player to fall into line

On the minus side, LMA has always had his team built around his strengths and was never pressured/pushed to work on his weaknesses. It's not that simple to ask a long time veteran to go from the Alpha Dog to a critical cog in a more complex system.

The Spurs are the Spurs because if Danny Green is open, Danny Green takes the shots. If it was formerly Gary Neal, then it's Gary Neal. If it's Bonner, it's Bonner. LMA has always been a ball stopper. Does he buy in? Does he not and revert to his long standing ways?

The best thing about a player who can create his own shot is when the system breaks down, or the team is overwhelmed by matchups, that player can rise above and carry his team.

The worst thing about a player who can create his own shot is knowing exactly when he is needs to rise above and carry his team and when to defer to the greater collective.

From a roster standpoint, Splitter took the brunt of the heavy lifting in terms of banging to shade for Duncan and Diaw. Duncan is still a great player, but he can't be overexposed with minutes and he no longer is suited for heavy close contact game after game. Diaw can be rattled with you go body to body on him enough. Splitter allowed Diaw to seamlessly shift all over the frontline. It's not just LMA coming in, it's Splitter going out.

It wasn't until Kawhi Leonard started making true sacrifices to what he thought he should be to what he realized he had to be, that he became a true franchise core. But he was groomed from the standpoint of an incoming draftee. The Spurs are not at a point where they can just seamlessly build around LMA the way LMA has always played.

Paying Leonard, Green and LMA plus finding reup money for Duncan and Manu will hurt overall depth on the back end of the roster and that back end depth is so critical for a veteran team like this to thrive deep into the season and into the playoffs. One moderate injury could derail their entire season on a dime. Veteran teams simply must pray for good health evenmoreso than other teams.

all valid points. i think aldridge is the type of guy who is seeking exactly what the spurs provide, a place to refine his game and learn how to fit in with everyone else. and the spurs for their part are not the type of franchise to acquire players they believe are intractable.

the main things i expect to see are fewer bad shots so he is not taking more than 16 shots per contest, increased interior passing with 3-4 assists per game, and a drpm that ranks in the top 20 for power forwards.

mreinman wrote:

dk7th wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:

dk7th wrote:yes aldridge's defense and shot selection are not what they could be but you're saying that the coaching staff and his teammates will not be able to improve him in the areas he is weak. in other words he is uncoachable.

IMHO, it's a double edged sword here.

The plus side, the Spurs are only really trying to integrate ( at least for now) one player into an established system. At least it's not like adding 3-4 new starters who have to learn how to gel and mesh together and that find that critical chemistry and synergy needed for winning teams to push themselves over the top.

They've got an elite coach who can put players in a position to succeed and limit their weaknesses by shading them by scheme/circumstance.

They have a very versatile roster that can cover for another player's deficiencies at times, even for long stretches.

They have an established culture, a team basketball environment, where no one player is above the team, which is the best chance anyone has to get a "lone wolf" type Alpha player to fall into line

On the minus side, LMA has always had his team built around his strengths and was never pressured/pushed to work on his weaknesses. It's not that simple to ask a long time veteran to go from the Alpha Dog to a critical cog in a more complex system.

The Spurs are the Spurs because if Danny Green is open, Danny Green takes the shots. If it was formerly Gary Neal, then it's Gary Neal. If it's Bonner, it's Bonner. LMA has always been a ball stopper. Does he buy in? Does he not and revert to his long standing ways?

The best thing about a player who can create his own shot is when the system breaks down, or the team is overwhelmed by matchups, that player can rise above and carry his team.

The worst thing about a player who can create his own shot is knowing exactly when he is needs to rise above and carry his team and when to defer to the greater collective.

From a roster standpoint, Splitter took the brunt of the heavy lifting in terms of banging to shade for Duncan and Diaw. Duncan is still a great player, but he can't be overexposed with minutes and he no longer is suited for heavy close contact game after game. Diaw can be rattled with you go body to body on him enough. Splitter allowed Diaw to seamlessly shift all over the frontline. It's not just LMA coming in, it's Splitter going out.

It wasn't until Kawhi Leonard started making true sacrifices to what he thought he should be to what he realized he had to be, that he became a true franchise core. But he was groomed from the standpoint of an incoming draftee. The Spurs are not at a point where they can just seamlessly build around LMA the way LMA has always played.

Paying Leonard, Green and LMA plus finding reup money for Duncan and Manu will hurt overall depth on the back end of the roster and that back end depth is so critical for a veteran team like this to thrive deep into the season and into the playoffs. One moderate injury could derail their entire season on a dime. Veteran teams simply must pray for good health evenmoreso than other teams.

all valid points. i think aldridge is the type of guy who is seeking exactly what the spurs provide, a place to refine his game and learn how to fit in with everyone else. and the spurs for their part are not the type of franchise to acquire players they believe are intractable.

the main things i expect to see are fewer bad shots so he is not taking more than 16 shots per contest, increased interior passing with 3-4 assists per game, and a drpm that ranks in the top 20 for power forwards.

I found it very interesting how Aldridge cares so much about analytic pitches this off season. Its as if he knows that he will never be viewed as a great player with his shaky shot selection.

He was hoping that Stotts would help him get to the next level and even bought into the idea of shooting more threes.

Aldridge wants to better his game and believes that SA would be the right place to make that happen.

Pretty impressed with him and the way he has taken the criticism to heart and would like to address it.

Would love if our you know who had the same mindset at this point.

this is anecdotal, but he has always come across as a highly intelligent person, and yet his game belied that. so it may not come down to basketball IQ and skills but character. your old pal often said "character = destiny".

if there is one nba club that has demonstrated it can build character it is san antonio. i don't think it's a coincidence that popovich is a military man.

more to the point, however, is what you can learn about popovich's history with buford and others in the career section... fascinating stuff:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Popovich