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LaMarcus Aldridge

Free agency winners, losers: Spurs assemble title team as flagship franchises falter

Sam Amick
USA TODAY Sports
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs confer as they play the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7.

When the San Antonio Spurs partied late into the night on May 2, their Game 7 loss in the first round to the Los Angeles Clippers having led to a surreal scene outside a Hollywood club where the local paparazzi were waiting, it was only natural to wonder if this was their end.

The end of Tim Duncan's career, perhaps, and by association the end of their storied run. Even they didn't know what would happen.

"No idea," Spurs small forward Boris Diaw had told the cameraman who asked about their uncertain future. "All we know right now is that we're pissed that we lost."

Rest assured, they're not angry anymore. The Spurs won the day in NBA free agency by such an unfair margin that it's their rivals who may now be driven to drink.

Not only are Duncan and Manu Ginobili coming back, and not only did young studs like Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green also agree to return, but the Spurs landed one of the best big men on the planet in LaMarcus Aldridge and thus changed everything about their story. From a failed title defense and possible end of an era to a bold and bright new beginning.

Go Spurs, go, indeed.

Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs defend against LaMarcus Aldridge back in a 2014 playoff game.

Even with the Dallas Mavericks wrestling center DeAndre Jordan away from the Clippers, and with Marc Gasol remaining in Memphis, Kevin Love staying in Cleveland and Paul Millsap re-upping in Atlanta, that sensational sequence of Spurs moves would have been more than enough to qualify as a free agency trump card. And then, as if the basketball gods were rewarding them for so many years of selfless service to the game, David West happened.

The two-time All-Star's decision to leave a $12.2 million player option behind in Indiana in order to sign with the Spurs on a $1.4 million, veteran's minimum deal was the stuff of Gregg Popovich's dreams. Not only because he'll be a fantastic fit coming off of the Spurs coach's bench, but because it sets the perfect tone for their latest championship charge.

Say what you will about the fact that West had already earned approximately $87 million in his 12-year career, but sacrifice is sacrifice. And in today's NBA, let alone today's professional sports world, this was the kind of money move that we rarely see.

Yet West isn't the only one whose willingness to put his money where his mouth is had a significant impact on this summer. Dirk Nowitzki should be lauded here, too, as the 13-time All-Star's decision to sign a three-year, $24 million deal with Dallas a year ago paved the way for the Mavericks' rebuild. Without the financial flexibility that came with his below-market deal, there's simply no way the Mavs land Jordan (four years, $80 million) and former Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews (four years, $47 million). Ditto for Duncan, whose final salary has yet to be determined but who made it clear to the Spurs throughout the free agency process that he'd take whatever was left over after their roster remodel was over (likely well below $10 million annually).

Meanwhile, the NBA's flagship franchises continue to falter.

DeAndre Jordan chose the Mavericks over several other courting teams.

If anyone still thought this league-wide leveling of the playing field was a fleeting trend, this last week dispelled that notion yet again. Whether it was big man Greg Monroe spurning the New York Knicks for the Milwaukee Bucks or Aldridge, Jordan and others passing up a chance to join the Los Angeles Lakers, it's quite clear that market size hardly matters anymore in today's NBA. There are lessons to be learned here, too, chief among them the fact that recruiting top talent gets incrementally tougher when the incumbent superstars send such a strong message that they're still the top talent.

In stark contrast to the Mavericks and Spurs with Nowitzki and Duncan, the Lakers gave the then-35-year-old Kobe Bryant a two-year, $48.5 million extension in Nov. 2013 and the Knicks re-signed Carmelo Anthony to a five-year, $124 million deal last summer. Both players are worth their contracts in terms of the impact they have on revenue produced, but both teams have been shooting airballs in free agency ever since doing those deals. Could there be a correlation here? It's impossible not to wonder.

When you're a young star being pitched by a team in pursuit, it's one thing to hear about how you'll be The Man one day and quite another to know that – even with Hall of Fame caliber players sharing the same locker room – you'll be the highest paid player on the team right from the start. Money does indeed talk, after all, and sometimes it's more eloquent than any of these general managers and coaches in the free agent chase. And while the Lakers and Knicks both had enough salary cap room left over to add a maximum-salary star, it speaks volumes that they couldn't get any of the top-tier players to buy in.

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson had a decent free agency, but didn't land any stars.

Phil Jackson and his Knicks recovered nicely, if not spectacularly, getting veteran guard Arron Afflalo (two years, $16 million), big man Robin Lopez (four years, $54 million) and forward Kyle O'Quinn via sign-and-trade (four years, $16 million. The Lakers added a superb scorer in reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams (three years, $21 million) and veteran forward Brandon Bass, but their biggest acquisition – both literally and figuratively – was that of center Roy Hibbert via trade with the Indiana Pacers.

The only silver lining for Lakers fans? Jordan's departure from Los Angeles means the title talk coming from the Clipper Nation is put on hold for the foreseeable future.

Even the reigning champion Golden State Warriors – who re-signed forward Draymond Green (five years, $82 million) and reserve point guard LeAndro Barbosa (one year, $2.5 million) – would have to admit that it's the Spurs who upped their championship chances. But owner Dan Gilbert and his Eastern Conference champion Cavs, who are expected to re-sign LeBron James as a final order of business after he opted out, may be a close second. So long as Gilbert (net worth $4.8 billion, according to Forbes) doesn't go broke first.

They already have Love back in the fold on a five-year deal worth approximately $110 million, not to mention Iman Shumpert (four years, $40 million), but also reportedly added an oldie-but-goodie in Mo Williams (two years, $4.4 million) who was with James in his first go-round with the Cavs. They appear likely to come to terms on a deal with restricted free agent forward Tristan Thompson, who shares the same agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports) as James and will almost assuredly reap the benefits that come with that synergy. Cleveland still has guards J.R. Smith (unrestricted) and Matthew Dellavedova (restricted) to deal with as well.

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