Minnesota Sports Forum

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:The Spurs have had one lottery pick in the last 20 years that they turned into a once in a generation talent. Their last one before that was a 1st ballot hall of famer. So who are they looking at? My best guess is Dennis Smith or Frank. We should not overthink this and take the best upside, even if they are a PG. Smith is my top pick, hope we do it.

Smith is not a Spurs kind of player. Not seeing it. I could definitely see Frank as being more "Spurs-ian", but the problem is he isn't developing in their system, he'd be developing in ours.

What is hard to discern with the Spurs is how much of their magic is related to identifying talent where others don't see it and how much of it is taking similarly evaluated talent and being super good at developing it.....probably some combination of both.

The Spurs need someone to fill the Parker role, who can break down the first defender and start their action. Smith would be excellent in that role.

Understood and I agree on his gifts as a one-on-one player, but I'm not sure he would fit in with the Spurs culture. Not sure he's willing to put in the work to do all the little stuff they demand of their players, especially on defense.

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:The Spurs have had one lottery pick in the last 20 years that they turned into a once in a generation talent. Their last one before that was a 1st ballot hall of famer. So who are they looking at? My best guess is Dennis Smith or Frank. We should not overthink this and take the best upside, even if they are a PG. Smith is my top pick, hope we do it.

Smith is not a Spurs kind of player. Not seeing it. I could definitely see Frank as being more "Spurs-ian", but the problem is he isn't developing in their system, he'd be developing in ours.

What is hard to discern with the Spurs is how much of their magic is related to identifying talent where others don't see it and how much of it is taking similarly evaluated talent and being super good at developing it.....probably some combination of both.

I think it's mostly point B here. They have the best shooting coach in the league. They have the best head coach in the league. They run a system and not iso ball. When you have those factors it makes it much easier to develop a guy into a player who works for what you are trying to do. Turn athletes into shooters into system players and they go from D-League to competent in a hurry. Guys don't just become that overnight in their system either. It takes a couple years for everything to click and then they start to shine.

khans2k5 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:The Spurs have had one lottery pick in the last 20 years that they turned into a once in a generation talent. Their last one before that was a 1st ballot hall of famer. So who are they looking at? My best guess is Dennis Smith or Frank. We should not overthink this and take the best upside, even if they are a PG. Smith is my top pick, hope we do it.

Smith is not a Spurs kind of player. Not seeing it. I could definitely see Frank as being more "Spurs-ian", but the problem is he isn't developing in their system, he'd be developing in ours.

What is hard to discern with the Spurs is how much of their magic is related to identifying talent where others don't see it and how much of it is taking similarly evaluated talent and being super good at developing it.....probably some combination of both.

I think it's mostly point B here. They have the best shooting coach in the league. They have the best head coach in the league. They run a system and not iso ball. When you have those factors it makes it much easier to develop a guy into a player who works for what you are trying to do. Turn athletes into shooters into system players and they go from D-League to competent in a hurry. Guys don't just become that overnight in their system either. It takes a couple years for everything to click and then they start to shine.

Agreed 100%. That's why I see them attempting for frank or Isaac. They both have great size/length as a base + a rounded skillset and don't need/seem to desire above all else to be a #1. They both really fit the spurs mold.

I'm not sure that Tatum, Smith, etc. Really slot in as accustoming to a system vs. Creating a play style.

When it comes to the 1-3 positions for the spurs they seem to value rounded skillsets, quick first step, and non-ego-centrical personalities. That allows them to mold them into their system.

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:The Spurs have had one lottery pick in the last 20 years that they turned into a once in a generation talent. Their last one before that was a 1st ballot hall of famer. So who are they looking at? My best guess is Dennis Smith or Frank. We should not overthink this and take the best upside, even if they are a PG. Smith is my top pick, hope we do it.

Smith is not a Spurs kind of player. Not seeing it. I could definitely see Frank as being more "Spurs-ian", but the problem is he isn't developing in their system, he'd be developing in ours.

What is hard to discern with the Spurs is how much of their magic is related to identifying talent where others don't see it and how much of it is taking similarly evaluated talent and being super good at developing it.....probably some combination of both.

The Spurs need someone to fill the Parker role, who can break down the first defender and start their action. Smith would be excellent in that role.

Understood and I agree on his gifts as a one-on-one player, but I'm not sure he would fit in with the Spurs culture. Not sure he's willing to put in the work to do all the little stuff they demand of their players, especially on defense.

Don't forget they have Dejonte Murray.

TheFuture wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

TheFuture wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:I'd probably do it. What are the odds the guys available at 7 reach his level? He has a game that ages well and fits in right next to KAT at the 4 which is our biggest hole. He cares about winning over market based on his decision to go to the Spurs and he would help us become a playoff team instantly. I think that bodes well for keeping him. He's a good defender which we need in the frontcourt. He was the second best player on the second best team in the league. We could use a guy of that talent level on our team to help us get better during this bridge period of our young guys getting to their prime years.

He is not a good defender. what have you been watching?

What have you been watching? He's averaged basically +3 defensive win shares for his career. That's better than anyone on our team. He was second on the Spurs in defensive wins shares last year and they were the best defensive team in the league. He's a very solid defender. He's not elite, but he's 1 step below. He's super long which allows him to easily challenge shots even if he doesn't block them. Whatever your watching doesn't match up with the stats at all. He's on the same level as Milsap defensively.

I don't care about his career average. I care about what we are actually getting from him. He may have been 2nd best in win shares on the Spurs last year but that's the Spurs. I'd attribu53 that to the system more so than him being a real defensive talent. It should be obvious to anyone that he is slowing down significantly. His offense isn't coming as easy (also what would be his usage here) and he is becoming a plodder defensively. Yes, he is a smart defender, and can handle in the mid range and post against big men. Switch a guard onto him and he is toast at this point in his career.

1 team torched him. And nobody can compete with that team. That's not a good barometer to judge him. He put up the same defensive numbers in Portland. That's the defender he is. Is he an ideal fit? No, but he's better than 90% of the available options and so far costs the least when it comes to the other 10%. 1 team is built to take advantage of him. That's not a good enough reason to pass imo. Pairing him with a generational talent in Towns would probably give us the best frontcourt in the NBA. That's the kind of zig you have to make to the Warriors zag to even have a chance at beating them. Then when they age out we'll have our big 3 of Lavine, Wiggins, Towns in their prime coming off multiple competitive seasons and we'd finally have a winning culture to build off.

I get going against the deal because of the risk of him leaving. I absolutely don't get the idea that he's not good enough for us because 1 look can expose him when that 1 look doesn't even have to happen if you scheme properly. Your bigs don't have to switch onto guards. Problem solved. He was the second best player on the second best team in the league. That means something.

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:The Spurs have had one lottery pick in the last 20 years that they turned into a once in a generation talent. Their last one before that was a 1st ballot hall of famer. So who are they looking at? My best guess is Dennis Smith or Frank. We should not overthink this and take the best upside, even if they are a PG. Smith is my top pick, hope we do it.

Smith is not a Spurs kind of player. Not seeing it. I could definitely see Frank as being more "Spurs-ian", but the problem is he isn't developing in their system, he'd be developing in ours.

What is hard to discern with the Spurs is how much of their magic is related to identifying talent where others don't see it and how much of it is taking similarly evaluated talent and being super good at developing it.....probably some combination of both.

The Spurs need someone to fill the Parker role, who can break down the first defender and start their action. Smith would be excellent in that role.

Understood and I agree on his gifts as a one-on-one player, but I'm not sure he would fit in with the Spurs culture. Not sure he's willing to put in the work to do all the little stuff they demand of their players, especially on defense.

That's a huge assumption of character from reading vague musings on the internet. I haven't heard anything negative about his work ethic from those close to him. A good reference would be his assistant coach who was just interviewed by the Pioneer Press. There have been people who have cited defensive lapses in game footage. What what player didn't have those before going to the Spurs, Issac and Frank included in that? I don't think the Spurs have ever shied away from talent. They just make the most of the talent they acquire. They have rarely been in a position to acquire top level talent in the lottery. But when they do it works out nice. I guess we will see how all these players end up. I think Smith is going to be at or near the top of all of them. Amazing how seemingly deep this draft is. I'd usually be depressed about a #7 pick.

We should go after Aldrige and Lowry so we can boast the the most potent All-NBA choke artist squad in the league

BloopOracle wrote:We should go after Aldrige and Lowry so we can boast the the most potent All-NBA choke artist squad in the league

It definitely makes sense the message board for a team who hasn't made the playoffs for over a decade criticizes playoff performances of other players.

khans2k5 wrote:

BloopOracle wrote:We should go after Aldrige and Lowry so we can boast the the most potent All-NBA choke artist squad in the league

It definitely makes sense the message board for a team who hasn't made the playoffs for over a decade criticizes playoff performances of other players.

Do you want me to lie to you? We've all had a chance to be neutral fans during the NBA Playoffs for over a decade like you alluded to, I think we can call a choke artist when we see one.

BloopOracle wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

BloopOracle wrote:We should go after Aldrige and Lowry so we can boast the the most potent All-NBA choke artist squad in the league

It definitely makes sense the message board for a team who hasn't made the playoffs for over a decade criticizes playoff performances of other players.

Do you want me to lie to you? We've all had a chance to be neutral fans during the NBA Playoffs for over a decade like you alluded to, I think we can call a choke artist when we see one.

It's more the alluding to it being a bad thing if we got Lowry and LA when in reality that would make us a power house team to deal with.