Post by RManske2 on Dec 5, 2010 22:49:15 GMT -5
After taking over the San Antonio Spurs last season, the team's new GM quickly learned that there were many positive, and negative, aspects about leading the team from the Alamo City. One of the positives is that the team's new leader was able to step into a franchise that has a tradition of winning as it is one of five teams to make the playoffs all six seasons and has a championship banner in the rafters. In addition to taking over a franchise with a winning tradition, the new general manager inherited some talented players, most notably superstar swingman Tracy McGrady and point guard Steve Nash.
However, in accepting this position it quickly became evident that the good of having a pair of star players can also be a negative in trying to shape the franchise according to his vision. While there is no question that it is good if players are going to be paid that they perform at a high level, which both Nash and McGrady have done year after year. The issue then becomes that the team's cap space is basically tied up in four players:
Tracy McGrady: 3 years / $33.4 million
Steve Nash: 2 years / $23.2 million
Cuttino Mobley: 3 years / $30 million
Brad Miller: 4 years / $40.7 million
Along with having these contracts on the books, the team's new GM quickly realized that while the team is good enough to make the playoffs that the current structure is not good enough to win a championship. Therefore, the Spurs find themselves stuck in the middle as being too good to earn solid draft picks but not good enough to bring a second banner to the Alamo City.
Perhaps the biggest question in San Antonio is whether Tracy McGrady is the future of the franchise or the trade piece to build the franchise for the future.
Prior to the trade deadline, San Antonio decided to test the trade market to determine the value of its players around the league. It did not take long to determine that the overwhelming interest was in Tracy McGrady, a player who is just only 25 years old and is coming off a career high 26.0 points per game. While the team did consider some trade possibilities, it reached the conclusion that it would probably be worse in the long run if it accepted any of the proposed offers.
The logic for this thinking, according to sources within the organization, was not based on what the team would have received back, but what the team would look like. While it is believed that San Antonio will continue to explore options to reshape the team for the future, there are a few pitfalls in doing so. One pitfall is the fact that it appears many teams around the league are looking for the standard "youth and picks" in trade deals, something that the Spurs do not have much to offer. Based on this fact, the team's leadership may find itself handicapped to make any significant trades. The other factors that quickly become evident is even if the team was able to strike a mega deal involving Tracy McGrady that it will be stuck with the contracts of Brad Miller and Cuttino Mobley, keeping the team over the salary cap.
Due to the situation San Antonio finds itself in, the question becomes will the team look to sacrifice its future in an attempt to win now with its current roster or possibly look to move players and get less value in order to build for the future? At this point, many within the organization are uncertain which direction the team's new GM will take this historically successful franchise.
