The laughter in San Antonio must be deafening.
Last I checked, the Spurs were the reigning NBA champions. Miami’s dwindling Big Three crumbled to the likes of Patty Mills, Boris Diaw, Kawhi Leonard and San Antonio’s trusty trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
The repeat of last year’s Finals was compelling for a number of reasons: LeBron James, the greatest player on the planet, aiming for a three-peat; the before-your-eyes breakdown of Dwyane Wade’s career; the nearly decade-old trope of “can the Spurs do it one more time?” But there was bigger narrative at play.
The Spurs represent the old-fashioned way of building a champion– drafting well, smart free-agent signings, standing by a demanding coach. They are a well-rounded team loaded with players willing to take less money to stick together and win. Tim Duncan made $10.3 million last year. Parker made $12.5 million. Ginobili played for $7.5 million.
The recent Spurs re-signings have not been cheap, but they would be impossible were it not for their three best players all playing under contracts well below their market value. Diaw re-upped for three years, $22 million. Mills signed a three-year, $12 million deal. After a monster playoffs — he scored 31 combined points in Games 4 and 5 — Mills’ value was diminished when teams learned he would undergo shoulder surgery that would keep him out for eight months. At the end of the day, the Spurs look primed to return largely unchanged from last season’s championship run. (Your middle school gym teacher, I mean Matt Bonner, remains available).
Miami, on the other hand, represented the new model. Criticisms of Miami are difficult. LeBron, Chris Bosh and Wade all took slightly less than maximum money to play together. Despite the lack of cap space, important veterans like 2013 Game 6 hero Ray Allen and Shane Battier turned down richer avenues to chase greatness. The ESPN/Disney machine went into full marketing mode to produce a false dichotomy on the Heat: you had to either love them or hate them. I chose to respect their defensive efforts, their at-times selfless offense and ability to remain at ease under unprecedented microscopes.
I also vehemently wanted them to lose.
Ultimately, the Miami model for success operated on an incredibly thin margin. LeBron had to be superhuman all the time. He had to run the offense without a quality point guard on the floor. He had to rebound without a real center. And, of course, people expected this to not be an issue. I mean, he’s LeBron.
Don’t forget the Heat were at their best when Bosh was clicking on offense, opening the lane for Wade and James. When Bosh became even more of a perimeter player and Wade broke down, the LeBron load was incredible. And still, he won two rings. Had the Spurs not blown 2013 Game 6, it would have been one, but still.
Trust me, this all relates to the Bulls. As they, and everyone else, waits for the Carmelo domino to fall and finally kick off free agency, Chicago fans should be pleased to know their team is, almost certainly, out of the Anthony sweepstakes. Signing Carmelo would leave no room for 2011 draft pick Nikola Mirotic. The 23-year-old Euro big man can stroke it, and the Bulls appear close to signing him to an NBA deal.
Combine Mirotic with 2014 draft pick Doug McDermott and the Bulls have two legitimate scoring options off the bench. Of course, Chicago is waiting to see what exactly they have in former MVP Derrick Rose. If Rose can return to at least All-Star level, two strong shooters will help tremendously. Say what you want about McDermott’s potential, he could not have done more in college. He is a USA Basketball member who can score down low, pick and pop or spot up. The scouting report on Mirotic is similar.
Should the Bulls add Mirotic, cap space will remain for a final addition after the long-awaited amnestying of Carlos Boozer. Much remains to be seen, but trading Mike Dunleavy sounds like a strong possibility. While McDermott and Mirotic both project as possible small forwards, the Bulls could go after another three-man and get away with either rookie playing the stretch four in today’s league. In that case, the hyper-talented Lance Stephenson remains an intriguing possibility. If anyone could hone Stephenson’s game, it would be Tom Thibodeau. Stephenson is already an outstanding defender, and his bulldog attitude would fit right in with the Bulls. Imagine running out Rose, Butler, Stephenson, Gibson and Noah with McDermott, Mirotic, D.J. Augustin on the bench.
While the mega-team fantasies continue to dominate NBA conversations, the BUlls are better off pursuing a San Antonio model. Mirotic may never be a Dirk or Manu, but reports on his game sound similar to the ones heard before Ginobili and Nowitzki’s arrivals. I hate to say it, but the biggest knock on McDermott seems to be his race. Those quiet misconceptions will quickly fade when he starts lighting teams up the way he did in the Big East. The Bulls need scoring, and while Carmelo certainly offers that, so do McDermott, Mirotic and a healthy Rose.
Carmelo has never been an all-around player, team-first player the kind we saw win the Finals this year, and, to be fair, the last 12 seasons. What reason is there to expect Carmel will change now?
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