Tim Duncan – The Spurs desperate gamble
October 3, 2009 by James Edwards
Filed under NBA Playoffs, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Tim Duncan has had an incredible career filled with winning that dates back to the David Robinson era. As Robinson grew older he was paired with Duncan to make a twin towers that dominated the court.
Now the time for Tim Duncan is growing short and he knows it. San Antonio’s management also knows it, so they took a desperate gamble.
The original thinking was to find a Super Star player in the up and coming free agency of 2010. Every team in the league wants to be involved in the 2010 free agent battle. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, maybe Dwyane Wade, and others will be available as free agents. San Antonio started to clear salary cap to prepare, but then realized that it may not do any good if Tim Duncan is no longer around.
Tim Duncan needs to win now!
Last year Dallas bounced Duncan and the Spurs out of the playoffs in 5 games in the very first series. That just does not happen to Duncan. The Spurs realized that and immediately decided to sign players right now. They signed Jefferson from the Bucks and free agent Antonio McDyess from the Pistons, and tried to sign Rasheed Wallace from the Pistons. The clock was ticking on the knees of Duncan.
So they elected not to wait. A few days before scoring DeJuan Blair with the 37th overall pick in what immediately was trumpeted as the steal of the draft, San Antonio traded three expiring contracts to Milwaukee — Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas and defensive mainstay Bruce Bowen — for the right to inherit the final two years and nearly $30 million left on Richard Jefferson’s contract. The Spurs then extended two guaranteed years at $9.4 million and a partially guaranteed third year to free-agent forward Antonio McDyess, who just turned 35.
They are well over the luxury tax threshold now and no longer involved in the chase for Chris Bosh, but that does not matter, because the Spurs feel they can win right now!
Photo source Newscom
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