Spurs get Finley!!!

I think this is a huge signing. Finley has a lot of game in him, and playing the more limited minutes that he will be playing with the Spurs, I think he can make great contributions. So here is how the team shapes up going into training camp in the Virgin Islands:

Point: Tony Parker, Van Exel, Beno Udrih (NBADL?)
Wings: Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Brent Barry, Devin Brown (?)
Bigs: Tim Duncan, Nazr Muhammed, Robert Horry, Fabrizio Oberto, Rasho Nesterovich

My goodness, that is a good team. I don't think the Spurs will be able to sign Brown now; that is probably asking too much, so they will get somebody to come in and be the 12th guy. And the other interesting question that remains is where does Brent Barry fit in to this roster. Does he become a guy who is the fourth swing man? It seems like a rotation of Manu - 36 minutes, Bowen, 30 minutes, and Finley 24 minutes only leaves 6 per game, and a two guard lineup of Van Exel and Parker might be used to get Nick up to 18 minutes or so. Although with the depth of this team, I doubt any player averages more than 32 minutes per game, and that will be gigantic if that can happen come play-off time.

Tim Duncan did not play as many minutes in any single game last year as he averaged in the 2002-2003 season. And they won the title. And they have gotten better.

Very interesting, but the main thing I like about the two signings this week is that it brings in contributors that are hungry for winning. They both sniffed it two years ago, being 5 quarters away from the NBA Finals against the Nets - easily the worst team to make the finals in my lifetime. So they have been close enough to taste it.

I really like this Spurs team.