also feels like the league -- or at least enough teams -- has caught up to the Spurs international scouting department
they really exploited that inefficiency brilliantly in the Duncan era
I hesitate to post this on a thread where rj is active because it will go off the rails, but: the NBA system better rewards players than the NFL and is thus superior, but the NFL system and the hard cap better rewards smart front offices than the NBA (and moreso the MLB) where teams like the Lakers (or Yankees) can be poorly run and give out bad contracts, but recover pretty easily if they're in top tier markets
seems like the best path for the Spurs is something similar to the Kawhi trade where they trade a good known commodity for a mid-lottery pick and the combination of great development and luck results in the next top-10 guy, while also hitting on their mid-round picks and international guys as they've done with as much success as anybody
tough hand to be dealt to have a top front office and a GOAT coach and know that they were a ping pong ball (or frozen envelope or whatever) away from being the Trail Blazers