David West to Spurs

[RJ87]

Feel bad for Boris Diaw.

Why?  That's a solid 4 man frontcourt unit they've got there and I imagine Boris will get playing time next to all three of the other guys.

And Pop likes to keep minutes down for his starters. 96 minutes at the 4 and 5, Boris will be fine.

[Blaze4G]

wow, Popovich has so many weapons to play with next season. I legit see them winning it all next season. With the departure of Jordan, I see them smashing the Clippers if they meet in the first round again. I don't think Dallas or Houston poses a threat to them as well. Memphis won't pose a threat to them in my opinion. That leaves GSW

that'll be an interesting series

How quickly people forget abut OKC. They are Spurs biggest threat.

[MJohnnyboy]

Feel bad for Boris Diaw.

Why?  That's a solid 4 man frontcourt unit they've got there and I imagine Boris will get playing time next to all three of the other guys.

And Pop likes to keep minutes down for his starters. 96 minutes at the 4 and 5, Boris will be fine.

yeah if anyone loses minutes on the Spurs, its going to be Duncan.

[Who]

Feel bad for Boris Diaw.

Why?  That's a solid 4 man frontcourt unit they've got there and I imagine Boris will get playing time next to all three of the other guys.

Where are his minutes coming from?

How much will he play in the playoffs?

[PhoSita]

Feel bad for Boris Diaw.

Why?  That's a solid 4 man frontcourt unit they've got there and I imagine Boris will get playing time next to all three of the other guys.

Where are his minutes coming from?

How much will he play in the playoffs?

Dunno about the playoffs, but I figure it'll go something like:

Duncan - 28 mpg
Aldridge - 32 mpg
West - 20 mpg
Diaw - 16 mpg

And I'm sure the way it'll actually go is that in some games West plays closer to 25 minutes and in other matchups Diaw does.

Who does San Antonio have as the backup SF, anyway?  Diaw might spend some time at the 3 in certain matchups.

[celticsclay]

Anyone else really hoping the Cavs pull that trigger for Johnson now?! Cavs-Spurs 2015 nba finals is HOLY SCHNEIKES match up. Seriously, I don't think we'll see two teams loaded with that much talent since the 80s Lakers-Celtics!

COME ON MR. GILBERT GET THAT DEAL DONE! I WANT GOOD BASKETBALL!

Joe Johnson really does not make the Cavs any better. He makes the Nets marginally better because they have so few players that can score. On the Cavs they really don't need slow motion isos when Irving and Lebron are much better at getting and hitting shots at this stage of their career. I also think he is awful defensively.

I think they would use him more as offensive firepower to give Lebron and Kyrie rest. Even if he's not what he was, JJ can still put the ball in the hoop. Not to mention with Lebron by his side Johnson would have so many open threes. He'd play the Ray Allen role on the Heat but possibly even better than Ray did.

Not to mention Cleveland's defense came around in the playoffs. They could mask Johnson's inefficiencies.

If you need a three point shooter, there are many players that can hit them at a better clip than Joe Johnson, and most of them don't make 25 million dollars. Jr Smith actually shot better on 3's than him last season when he was with Cleveland. There is also the chance that Johnson just deteriorates even further. I personally kind of like it cause Lebron's teams keep making the same mistake signing name players that are washed up. Do they not remember Shawn Marion? He was coming off his age 36 season when they signed him and saw his game fall off a cliff.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Yes, JR works pretty well in their system of spreading the court and jacking 3s when LBJ is double-teamed. But JJ's ability to create his own shot is something that would be huge for them given Kyrie's questionable health. I don't think they care how it's done, in a fast- or slow-paced offense, as they were a big, laboring team anyway. I really think Kyrie's health will be the determining factor of whether they can win it this year.

[celticsclay]

I do think that there are certain kinds of players that do not like Lebron's personality and persona and to an older player like West it could very well be particularly unappealing. I am saying this because it is pretty interesting he turned down more money to sign with the Cavs who obviously have the easiest route to the finals of any team. Both teams have comparable situations at power forward so it wasn't a minutes issue.

[Drucci]

Kudos to David West, I already liked him and enjoyed watching him play but that's a big sacrifice, especially when you hear so many guys say thay will "take a paycut because winning is the most important thing"... he actually did it, and by far.

I hope he wins the title with the Spurs next year, but their frontcourt will be fun to watch anyway.

[bdm860]

I do think that there are certain kinds of players that do not like Lebron's personality and persona and to an older player like West it could very well be particularly unappealing. I am saying this because it is pretty interesting he turned down more money to sign with the Cavs who obviously have the easiest route to the finals of any team. Both teams have comparable situations at power forward so it wasn't a minutes issue.

It might have less to do with LeBron's personality/persona and more to do with David West having battled against LeBron's teams for 3 straight years in the playoffs.

He's just going the route we all wish Ray Allen took.  Don't join the enemy, join the enemy's enemy.

[Irish Stew]

I'm not suspicious by nature but I'm hoping that the NBA will be monitoring the financial relationship between the Spurs and West. There are many ways to reimburse players who agree to take pay cuts besides cash in a brown paper bag. Incredible investment opportunities with one of Peter Holt's rich friends that involve little up front money with a high return may be available to West.  Higher-than-usual paying promotional appearances are another. There is a history with the Spurs of pushing edges like the Patriots. Just remember David Robinson's suspicious "season ending injury" that allowed them to have a horrible record and give them a real shot at winning the lottery for Tim Duncan, which is exactly what happened and changed the course of history for both the Spurs and Celtics.

[Tr1boy]

financial David West is not very smart.   I would of taken the option for 12 million and then signed on with the Spurs or whoever for the min the season after.

[Greenbean]

The players union cant be happy with West right now. He's not that old.

Always like this guy though. He clearly wants to win really bad. Maybe he's made some great investments but its rare for any human being to wilingly take a pay cut like that.

David West is about to turn 35. He is I believe one of the 20 oldest active players in the NBA after the retirements happening this offseason. How is he not old?

Im just saying hes not in the KG, Pierce, Vince Carter, Andre Miller class of old guys. He still has a few yers left of solid contribution to a winning basketball team and that should be worth alot more than the veteran minimum.

[hardlyyardley]

I guess Cady Lalanne becomes and draft and stash for the Spurs

[PAOBoston]

Not gonna lie. Is it wrong if I start to dislike the Spurs? I respect them but I kind of hope they lose now. That team is stacked.