Buck Harvey: Driving with Bruce — the road detours
Web Posted: 10/11/2007 12:20 AM CDT
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
Good for Bruce Bowen. In a business where potential is too often rewarded, Bowen earned the contract extension the Spurs gave him last week.
He’s worked for what he has, and what he did to Steve Nash and LeBron James in the playoffs suggests he still has it. Those around San Antonio don’t mind, either; he gets out into the community more than the other Spurs combined.
But the extra millions heading his way also signal a franchise detour. When the Spurs signed Bowen past this season, they officially did away with the possibility that they would restock next summer. The Spurs, with this move, have made it clear they will keep driving with this group.
Even with a steep cliff ahead.
There were signs last season Bowen wanted an extension. There were also signs the Spurs were hesitating. When the Spurs slumped in the winter, Bowen was among those who looked his age.
The Spurs then saw their payroll as a godsend. In the summer of 2008 they were to have only three significant contracts on their books, and those three guys were worth keeping. Adding a fourth, a young free agent, gave the Spurs hope.
Then a few things went the Spurs’ way. One, they melded while suffering no injuries. Two, the Mavericks melted and simply suffered. Jerry Stackhouse wasn’t wrong in his opinion this week; the Mavericks’ choke made the Spurs’ “road” easier.
Phoenix had to be dealt with, naturally, and there are no guarantees the Mavericks would have beaten the Spurs had they gotten past Golden State. Still, this is also unmistakable: Had the Mavericks remained the team that won the division by nine games, the Spurs would have rethought everything.
Eliminated by the same team for the second consecutive season, wouldn’t Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford have wanted to retool? Wouldn’t they have bought out Robert Horry, brought in Luis Scola, traded Brent Barry and seen 2008 as a time to renew?
Also, would they have wanted to extend Bowen past this season?
But that’s what winning does. It causes other franchises to copy the champions (hence the rush for Spurs-like veterans in Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston and Grant Hill). And it causes the Spurs to see themselves differently.
Old? They weren’t after all. The Spurs instead had something to keep together, to cherish, to wring out until every drop of championship sweat had evaporated.
So they kept Horry, re-signed Matt Bonner and Fab Oberto, then extended Bowen. Next summer the Spurs might have enough room for another $3 million annual salary, but that’s about it.
Given who would have been available next summer, maybe the decision makes sense. The Spurs couldn’t have afforded a max contract no matter, so they might have been paying for someone whose greatest attraction, unlike Bowen, was potential.
They know what this group can do. Given similar health — and Tony Parker’s ascent — would anyone bet against the Spurs in a seven-game series next spring?
Bowen will be in the middle of it. He’s been part of the core of the past three championships and now, secure in his position, he will be happier. Who knows? He might even be open to grooming his successor.
As for the cap room the Spurs had created and lost: It was always about payroll flexibility, and it’s this flexibility that allowed the Spurs to keep this group intact.
Still, these players are aging together, and that means they will come apart together. This is where the steep-cliff angle comes into play. One day they will be contenders, and in the span of a 24-second clock they will be weighing their lottery possibilities.
And had the Spurs lost last spring? They would have wanted to see if Bowen’s decline happened this year. They would have been colder and less prone to sentiment, and they would have left themselves more room.
Here’s what changed.
Among other things, Bowen proved his worth against Nash and James.