Have our prayers already been answered?!?!?

[obnoxiousmime]

I really like both Thomas and Crowder.

But no, they aren't the answer.

If you put a couple of perennial All-Star type talents in the starting lineup next to those guys, then heck yeah, that's a formidable group.

Crowder and IT are nice players, and I've been really impressed by what they've done so far this year.  That said, they aren't dominant players.  I don't think either has what it takes to be the best player in a playoff series.  That's what you need if you want to get somewhere in this league.


So whether they stay here, or are traded for that kind of player, I think IT and Crowder are part of the solution.  They're just not "the" solution.

Elite role players as Pho suggests.
IT is more than a role player, and could be the 3rd best player on a championship team, you'd just need your 2 best players to be top 10-15 guys.

7 game playoff series are an entirely different beast for our team of role players.
Grinding out the regular season with stamina and depth is great, but when the rotation is 7 or 8 guys in the playoffs, and 2 of those opponents are top 15 players, it becomes an entirely different strategy.

This is a way of thinking that became popular during the Big 3 era that we largely help create...  The way to win is to trade for 3 All-stars. Apart from us the only other team to succeed using this strategy  was Miami and both the Spurs  and Warriors stand in direct opposition to that chain of thought and have built more sustainable units through drafting talent that fits their system. The last championship run for the spurs arguably only had kawhii that was in the Top 50,  much less 15,  and they dismantled the Heat

What? Where does he mention 3 All-stars? Thomas hasn't made the all-star team yet.

People bring up the Spurs all the time, but they're very unique and extremely difficult to replicate. First of all, it's not definite that we're going to see another Tim Duncan in our lifetime. There just aren't big men like him around anymore.

Secondly, a lot of players on the team take discounts so that the team can maintain depth. They can do this because of the culture they've developed but also because they've already won multiple titles. It'd be difficult for another franchise to do that because this is something they've been building for over 15 years. If the Bucks asked a player to take a discount, they'd laugh. They haven't built up the cachet that the Spurs have.

Third, they have a lot of international players who grew up playing a different style. It's not as easy for a group of American players who all grew up being "the man" to sacrifice individual stats for team goals, unless they're late in their career. Tony Parker and Ginobili could have easily made more money and put up better stats if they left the Spurs, but they chose not to.

It would be impossible for a team to simply say "we want a culture like the Spurs" and just change overnight. Their old "big three" may not be in their primes anymore, but they're still productive and are leaders on the team. What other franchise can maintain that type of continuity? What other franchise has three veteran players who have each won 3-4 titles together working to mentor the next generation? The Lakers only have Kobe remaining. The Heat lost LeBron. There are no Celtics from the 08 title team even on the roster today.

Regarding the Warriors, they do have superstars. Curry was the MVP of the league, a regular season award given before the team won the title. Draymond Green is proving this year that he's a legitimate talent on his own. Thompson is probably a top 3 SG.

Teams that win the title generally have at least one player that has won the MVP. Shaq, Kobe, Nowitzki, Garnett, Curry, LeBron, Duncan, David Robinson, Jordan, Olajuwon. The only outliers are the defensively-driven Piston of 03 and 89-90.

I feel quite confident in saying we need at least one player who has the ability to win an MVP award to win a title. Trying to do so without one is extremely difficult and even if you did it would probably be a fluky one-and-done deal during a transitional year where there isn't a dominant team.