Gregg Popovich has been an anomaly in the NBA for years. One of the best coaches ever, yet at the same time, one of the most unorthodox. The goodwill and reputation that Popovich has built in his time in San Antonio has given him the ability to make moves and do things on his team that no other coach in the league would have the ability to do.
The past couple years, as his stars have aged, Popovich has frequently rested multiple starters on the same night. It just so happens that it happened multiple times last season when the team was scheduled to play a nationally televised game. That brought the attention to the coach and his tendencies.
Whether you agree with his tactics or not, there is no denying that San Antonio is rolling, and the closest thing we have seen to a dynasty since the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
What the Spurs have done, in a small market similar to Portland, is build their team through the draft. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Kawhi Leonard were either drafted by the team or traded for on draft day. This core has built a reputation and resume that has attracted free agents to come to the small market team. Not only have the Spurs been able to keep this group together, each one of the stars has sacrificed money to keep the team together.
Portland is in a similar situation. LaMarcus Aldridge was drafted by the Chicago Bulls but acquired on draft day by the Blazers. Nicolas Batum was drafted by Portland. Damian Lillard was Portland’s 6th pick in the 2012 draft. The core is assembled. Now the question is, can they keep them together? And even more important, can they find or develop suitable role player around them?
This summer is going to be one of the most important summers in franchise history. The team is going to have some very important decisions to make when it comes to the expiring contracts of Aldridge, Robin Lopez, and Wesley Matthews (60% of the starting lineup). While there is no expectation that Portland’s stars will follow the lead of the Spurs stars in taking less money in order to stay together, the contracts signed this summer will go a long ways in showing how committed this core is to winning.
It is hard to ever tell someone to take less money on a contract, especially with the short and unpredictable careers of professional athletes. Money always seems to be the leading factor when it comes to where a player will sign. Over the past few years however, there have been more than a handful of stars that have sacrificed millions of dollars on their contract to either stay with a team or help put together a team of stars.
There is little question about the contract that the Blazers will offer Aldridge this summer 5 years, $108 million. That is the max deal.
The biggest question surrounding the upcoming off-season is the figures on the Lopez and Matthews contracts.
Two All-Stars can’t complete a team; there needs to be other major contributors and role players. That is where San Antonio has exceled, signing and retaining major contributing pieces to surround Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker.
When the Spurs come into the Moda Center on Monday night, there is always a strange mix of competitiveness and respect. It is not very often that there is a strong sense of admiration to the team sitting on the opposite bench, but that is the case every time the Blazers play the Spurs.
After losing to the Spurs in the second round of last year’s playoffs, Aldridge said, “It definitely shows us the quality of basketball we have to get to be on their level or to be one of these elite teams to win a championship. They showed us how to move the ball around. They made five to six passes every possession. It makes your defense tired and makes guys make mistakes. It showed us where we are trying to go, and we came to the series and learned some valuable things.”
Aldridge addressed the on-the-court ways that the Blazers can emulate the Spurs, but for the team to make the next step into the future, they need to emulate the Spurs off the court as well.
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