David West opts out

Just a few days ago, New Orleans Hornets forward David West officially declined his player option for the 2011-2012 NBA season.

"After many months of talking with the people around me, this is the best decision for myself as a player and my future," West said.

Before anything else, it must be said that the move is a smart one from West. During the season, he repeatedly expressed his desire to opt out and test the free agent market, strongly believing he could fetch more than the $7.5 million owed him in the final year of his deal. Coming off a season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee has made the decision-making process longer, but c'mon. Shouldn't the injury actually make the decision quicker? Bee Ball's Andrew Juge, writing on West's option before he officially opted out, said it best:

I still believe he's likely to waive the final year of his deal. Why? Because uncertainty over how he'll recover is a better position to be in that KNOWING he can't play anymore.

If he plays very poorly next year following the injury, then the league will label him as damaged goods. The uncertainty of this offseason will yield him a better contract than the certainty that he's not the same player.

From the Hornets' perspective, the power forward's decision is not particularly good news.

However, the situation is not so bleak. West's camp has reiterated that the Hornets are still very much a possibility. “David wants to win, whether it’s in New Orleans or someplace else,” Lance Young, West's agent, said Monday morning. “He wants a fair shot to look and see what else is out there. He loved the Hornets, but it’s about finding the perfect place to win."

Not so cool from New Orleans' side, but West is keeping the front office accountable for making this team a playoff contender in years to come.

Currently, the Hornets have a core of Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, and Jarrett Jack locked up for at least next season (with Carl Landry and Marco Belinelli thrown into the mix if re-signed). That's a playoff core right there, but does West want to play on a team with just a playoff core?

Two teams who are said to have a major interest (and cap space, at least under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) in signing West are the New Jersey Nets and the Indiana Pacers.

The Nets could have 2-time All Star West join up with fellow 2-time All-Star Deron Williams and rising big man Brook Lopez to form their own Big 3 (how many of those are in the NBA these days?). Add to that a complementary cast of Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar, Kris Humphries, and Sasha Vujacic (assuming the last two are re-signed), and you have a team that is as good, if not better than the Hornets.

On the other hand, the Pacers' most accomplished player would be Danny Granger, who made the All-Star team in 2009. They can, however, boast of a deeper roster with a nice blend of veterans and up-and-coming players: big man Roy Hibbert, point guard Darren Collison (whom West played with in New Orleans), second year wing Paul George, Tyler Hansbrough, newly acquired combo guard George Hill, veterans James Posey, Brandon Rush, and defensive specialist Dahntay Jones.

'Spur'ring to another title?

Let’s see.. odd-numbered years, right?

2003. Check.

2005. Check

2007. Check.

2009. Uhm.. Must be a blip.

2011. No, didn’t win either.

What? It’s been two odd-numbered years since the San Antonio Spurs last won an NBA championship?

The average NBA fan might take them for granted (heck, even call ‘em boring), but certainly it’s amazing just how good this team has been for the past decade.

Excluding the lockout-shortened 1998-1999 season, San Antonio has won at least 50 regular season games since drafting then-Wake Forest big man Tim Duncan in the 1997 NBA Draft.

However, their last NBA title came four years ago in 2007, a relative drought for current Spurs fans who experienced championship parades in 2005, 2003, and 1999.

While they've come into recent seasons as part of the championship mix, they just haven't gotten back to the top of the NBA mountain, even losing twice in the first round in the last three years. Moving forward, are they capable of winning another one before Duncan rides into the sunset?

Answering that question begins with their offseason moves. Entering the 2011 NBA Draft, the Spurs had the 29^th and 59^th overall selections which they used on Texas guard Cory Joseph and Hungary shooting guard Adam Hanga, respectively. However, the bigger move came earlier. In what must have been a surprise to Spurs fans, combo guard and fan favorite George Hill was sent to the Indiana Pacers in a package which included the draft rights to 15^th overall pick Kawhi Leonard, an athletic wingman from San Diego State; Davis Bertans, a 6-10 shooter in the Rashard Lewis mold; and Erazem Lorbek, who was selected 46th overall by the Pacers in the 2005 NBA Draft.

It’s interesting to note the implications of the Spurs’ first offseason transaction.

First, with Hill gone, the Spurs are left with no point guard to back up Tony Parker. Joseph will be given a shot to come in and get rotation minutes right away, but he’ll have to earn it. Otherwise, the Spurs could move into the free agent market to get Parker’s backup and then bring Joseph in more slowly. One thing going in Joseph's favor, though, is that he was the front office's target going into the draft. “Another part of the decision-making process through the whole draft was an opportunity to get Cory Joseph.", Spurs General Manager RC Buford said. "Going into the draft.. we knew we had 29 and we knew the guy we were focused on was Cory and to have that play out is exciting for us. We think he’s got terrific defensive qualities, terrific Spur qualities.” While Joseph will never replace what George Hill brought to the table, all indications point to him being given the chance to claim a rotation spot on this team.

Also, the fact that the Spurs were willing to give up Hill—a major roster piece and a favorite of head coach Gregg Popovich—for Leonard shows they are really high on him, perhaps viewing him as their Bruce Bowen replacement and long-term starter at small forward. Make no mistake, Leonard is NBA-ready defensively, and, with a freakish 7-3 wingspan? Whooh. “The expectation level would be, I’d hope he would [be able to contribute right away]”, Buford would later say.

In the last couple of years the Spurs have slowly re-invented themselves, going from a defensive juggernaut built around Duncan's interior presence and Bowen's nasty, physical perimeter defense to an offensive-oriented team essentially built around its quick, penetrating guards (Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Hill) who break down defenses and find open shooters.

Make no mistake, they’re still a good defensive team (11^th overall in defensive efficiency last year), and Duncan is still their franchise player, but in recent years they’ve adjusted their schemes to keep in step with the overall change in the NBA landscape to a more perimeter-oriented offensive style. By doing so, the Spurs have kept themselves competitive.. in the regular season.

The deal for Leonard signals an intention to revert back to a more Spurs-like defensive style moving forward, perhaps finding more playoff success along the way.

In any case, moves are on the horizon.

“We’re probably gonna impact our roster via trade more than.. through the draft. Organizationally, I think we’ve just been willing to look in areas that maybe in the past we would’ve maintained a different position on our roster”, Buford said. “Do I envision more moves being made? Nobody’s roster is ever [completed] at the draft, I think there’s a lot that always happens in the summer prior to training camp.”