Dime Magazine thinks the Spurs are overrated

Apr 22, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with guard Tony Parker (left) on the bench during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the AT

As a Spurs fan, it doesn’t come as a surprise when a writer or NBA pundit bashes the San Antonio Spurs, who have succeeded in continually proving the naysayers wrong for the entire decade.

Stephen A. Smith has been pretty vocal as has the majority of the sports universe, waiting patiently and calculating every day until the Spurs’ eventual demise.

Add Dylan Murphy of Dime Magazine to the list. He wrote an admittedly interesting piece on why the Spurs’ vaunted front office really isn’t that great for Dime Magazine.

Here’s one particular biting paragraph:

“Some still cling to the Spurs as is, citing their temporary eradication of the youth-galvanizing Thunder as     The Proof. And there’s the apocryphal speculation, that San Antonio would have stood a better chance     against Miami. But the Spurs face a body-bruising reality in the coming years. If they want to recapture the     NBA title, they’ll have to get through the Lakers or Thunder and Heat. And, if they can’t quite snag another     top two seed, they’ll have to go through all three. So that secret is no longer so secretive. Really, it’s just     tired adulation because San Antonio is behind the curve.”

Ouch. That burned deep. Murphy also correctly mentioned that the Spurs haven’t done much this offseason — which is obvious to anyone following basketball — and didn’t put themselves into a better position to win a title. True.

But by keeping their core intact, which Murphy seems to believe is a bad thing even though Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are all effective at this point in their careers, they simply made a sound move. Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News compared the Spurs’ offseason to check-calling in poker; which makes a ton of sense because it’s boring but it prevents exorbitant fiscal expenditure and is generally the sound mathematical play with the roster components the Spurs currently have.

For instance, when you are a lottery bound team, check-raising is a more equitable move. San Antonio can’t afford to go that route right now.

(Side note: Zach Lowe, who was recently added to the Grantland staff, mentioned a few weeks ago that San Antonio has the ability to accrue max-level cap room in a strong free agent class.)

Blindly believing in the Spurs front office is probably a naive move but it’s justified because they are so deft at manipulating cap space and finding gems.

And even though Murphy believes they are behind the curve, a vantage point I don’t necessarily concur with, he still realizes the Spurs are championship contenders — albeit on the outskirts of contention.

If that constitutes behind the curve, then I rather be in the Spurs’ position than the majority of the NBA

Hat-tip McCarney of the Express-News.