Tony, three weeks after your elimination against Lakers in the WCF, how do you judge this 2008 season?
When you play for a team like Spurs, there is a lot of pressure. The only goal is to win the title. We really wanted to realize a back to back this year. Despite our elimination, I find that we have made a good season. Our team is going old and some players weren’t at 100%. As an example, I think at Manu Ginobili, who played the WCF with a bad ankle. On top of that, we had really difficult play-offs. We first played against Phoenix. Mentally and physically, that pumped us a lot of energy. We won the series in five games but we had the feeling that it was in seven. Then we had to play against Hornets , a team that drove us to the wall. They are young and athletic. In years to come, they are the team to look after. So we were a little tired against Lakers. We hadn’t enough resources to beat them. As a whole, it is a good season but you are for sure disappointed to stop that close to the NBA final…
Can one speak about the end of a cycle for San Antonio?
I would not speak about the end of a cycle. I think that the team won’t change a lot this summer. It will be the same players at 80%. We only need some rotation players. They are the ones who can allow us to win it all. In any case, it isn’t the Spurs way to do a lot of changes. Gregg Popovich likes stability and it has always paid off. When we were eliminated in 2004 and 2006, we have won the title the following year. Don’t wait for crazy things in the months to come. Two or three players will come, nothing more.
In which areas to you need improvements ?
we need an athletic swingman, a point guard and a bigman. About the bigman, we had to see what Ian Mahinmi can bring to us. The door has opened still a little more for him since Splitter, who was drafted in 2007, has decided to stay in Europe. Spurs were disappointed by his choice, they had high expectations on him for the next year. So, Ian could benefit from that.
About French NT, will you play qualifications of the Euro this summer ?
Not I will not play. My decision is made for a long time and I won’t change it. Michel Gomez (French NT coach) knows that.
Quel va être votre programme pour cet été ?
Comme j’ai du temps pour moi, je travaille sur différents projets. Il y a par exemple un documentaire qui sortira au mois d’octobre. C’est un 52 minutes qui retrace le début de ma carrière. On travaille dessus depuis un bout de temps. Vous y verrez des images inédites ainsi que des interviews de Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Zidane… Vous verrez, il y aura du très beau monde. J’ai également prévu de travailler mon shoot cet été. Comme j’ai du temps devant moi, je vais en profiter pour bien bosser.
He says that he will work a lot on his shoot this summer
http://www.rmc.fr/edito/sport/52271/parker-ce-nest-pas-une-fin-de-cycle-/