Give Me The Rock

Well, since there is no team more dry and boring than the Spurs, now is a great time for a dry and boring team preview. And, of course, the Spurs themselves have made the even easier. Their Big 3 are intact and nothing important has changed. Sure, there might be some more viable options for a second or third center than their were last year. But, thankfully, Matt Bonner’s 155, Francisco Elson’s 189 and Jackie Butler’s 233 aren’t really going to affect your draft charts. So, let’s do a quick rundown so we can get this over with. (Yes, apologies to all the Spurs fans out there, but your team is boring; don’t worry you’re not the only ones)

Remaining:
(36) Tim Duncan
(45) Tony Parker
(52) Manu Ginobili
(146) Bruce Bowen
(171) Michael Finley
(199) Robert Horry
(207) Brent Barry
(305) Nick Van exel
(307) Beno Udrih
(373) Melvin Sanders
(382) Fabricio Oberto
(447) Alex Scales

Additions:
(155) Matt Bonner
(189) Francisco Elson
(233) Jackie Butler
(325) Jacque Vaughn
(374) Eric Williams

BUY

Tim Duncan - Here it kind depends on how people in your league (including you) view Duncan’s last season and playoff performance. He had a solid but unspectacular regular season and then pretty much tore the playoffs apart limb by limb. It is, of course, unreasonable to expect playoff performance from anyon during the regular season, and Duncan is no exception. If you can stomach the free throw percentage, you know what you’re getting with Duncan.

Manu Ginobli - I think a lot of people will probably be down on Ginobli this year because of his fairly poor season last year. While his numbers were off from the previous year, they’re probably not going to get a lot worse, and there is certainly a lot of upside to be had.

HOLD

Tony Parker - He’s probably close to a Buy, and I don’t really know how this whole stock thing works anyway… I just don’t want you to get too bullish on Parker. He had a great season last year, but still only ended up at 45 in our rankings. While 54% is great to have coming from your PG position, it’s also not likely that Tony will be able to repeat that type of shooting. Couple that with his free throw percentage, and you’re not really getting what you should be from your PG. If you can figure out a way to work around that with better free throw shooters at your F and C positions, then you’ll be okay. Someone like Brad Miller would be a great fit.

SELL

Pretty much everyone else.

WATCH

Jackie Butler - Last season he had almost 16 and 10 with 1.7 blocks per 40 minutes. Francisco Elson is probably going to begin the season as the starter, but he didn’t really do much with the limited time he had in Denver, so I wouldn’t expect a lot in San Antonio. Yahoo has him eligible as an FC to give you a little more flexbility too. Fabricio Oberto looked to be the Spurs heir apparent to the Center throne, but Elson and Butler will provide some good competition. Oberto is another player who didn’t really accomplish much in the time given, so Butler should be getting the most minutes at the 5.

10 TEAM DRAFT

Tim Duncan - Late 3rd/Early 4th round. Duncan will probably put up numbers very similar to last season. The Big Fundamental is also boringly reliable.
Tony Parker - 5th round.
Manu Ginobli - 5th round; 6th round if you can, to get some excellent value.
Jackie Butler - Someone to consider near the end of the draft is you need an extra PF or C.

Further Reading:
NBA.com has their preview of the Spurs here. Fantasy Basketblog has their preview of the Spurs here.