BLAAAAIIIIRRR!

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The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have picked up the option for the 2010-11 season for guard George Hill.

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EDIT: BlasE's post already started a conversation on this question but I'll leave this up just in case some of you people need to be updated on 48 moh. 

From our soulmates over at 48 minutes of hell.

As many of you may already know, Stephen Jackson has stated publicly that he would like to be traded by the Golden State Warriors. He mentioned the Texas Three-Step, Cleveland, and New York as potential landing spots. This all begs the question: should the Spurs attempt to trade for Stephen Jackson?

Well, PtR junkies... should they?  

Jackson back in silver and black? Some of us would be shocked too.

Power rankings by SI's Chris Mannix. We all know the five teams at the top of the list but I'm a little surprised with the order.

Who are your top five teams?

My thoughts on Mannix's top five

5. Magic. (EDITED) Any questions the sports world has about Dwight Howard should be answered this season. I'm not saying they will, I'm saying they should. Howard needs to prove that he is more than an athletic freak of nature. They let Turkey-Glue walk but traded for Carter. Carter is a better player but Hedo is a better team mate. Also, the Magic traded away valuable depth in Alston and C. Lee for Carter. They did create a solid starting lineup with the addition of Carter but who do they have on the bench? Past Bass and Gortat their fornt court is weak and they might as well hold walk-on tryouts for the back court. Magic fans need to pray their starters stay healthy. I expect this team to dive into mid-season salary dumps.

4. Celtics. A rich man's Spurs. This title-contender was bought instead of built but results are results. This is a great team that solidifed their bench (front court is scary) and will be playing with a chip on their shoulder.  If you ignore the looming age and health issues (their "window" is smaller than the Spurs), the finals should easily be Celtics - Lakers/Spurs. Celtics/Spurs should tie for #2.

3. Lakers.  Really? 3 spot? Regardless of what people think of the Artest signing (Yes, he can accept a #3 role in LA), I don't think you can knock the 08-09 champions off the top of the list. And I really don't like how they're behind Mannix's #2 team... a team with questionable depth, the current albatross of title hope's, and a super nova prima donna whose pros can't seem to outweight his cons.

2. Cavaliers. This team should be ranked fourth. The team made a flurry of offseason moves with Anthony Parker (easily the best move), Jamario Moon (athletic and versatile), and Leon Powe. However, the aquisiton of Snaq throws a wrench into the gameplan/play style/chemistry of this team. Also, who is going to come in to play while the Big Cuyahoga gets a breather and tweet time? Z? Powe? Watkins? This team is loaded with good/great players at the 1, 2, and 3 but lacks a compatible front court. 

1. Yay, Spurs love.

I don't like it.

I prefer the usual "Yeah, they're great but..." from the media. There are also quite a few questions with this team. Health, chemistry, backcourt depth, matchups, etc., etc., etc... everything we've already talked about.

On paper? Phenomenal. On the court? Its going to take a bit before we (hopefully) see Holt's vision of Frankenstein's monster.

(Pesonal) Four things I prefer with the Spurs: Little bit behind at half time (they tend to cough up half time leads but come out on fire when behind), finish  #1 in the division, #2 in the conference, and ignored by mainstream sports media.

So... I have it:

5. Magic

4. Cavaliers

2. Celtics/Spurs (I can't decide)

1. Lakers.

 BlaseE asked that I submit a wallpaper to help contribute to his and LatinD's wishes for new desktop decor.

LatinD and I want to make wallpapers a more regular post, so if you have an idea, post it and LatinD will feature it on the Wallpapers page linked on the left.  It doesn't have to be explicitly Spurs related either.  You can focus on PTR or something PTR related.

While mine isn't shiny and sharp as BlaseE's submission or as fiery as LatinD's... I hope this submission will find a temporary home on a few screens.

May I present to you, Vitruvian Manu:

(1024 x 768)

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Update

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

Apologies for any distortion (shouldn't be much) Next time I will start at 1600 x 1200 and go down. I went the wrong direction.

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The salary cap for the NBA has been established at $57.7 million, nearly $1 million less from '08 - '09. The real story traveling around the league is the estimated drop, $6 - 10 million, from this season's cap to the '10 - '11 salary cap.

The small to medium market teams that have spent the last year or two clearing cap are now faced with an even tougher battle of signing big name free agents in 2010. Overvalued players looking for a big payday will be even more likely to resign with their current team.

The Spurs were already minor players in 2010 prior to the Dick Jefferson trade. If the Spurs would have stayed put and protected their numbers, the dramatic drop in cap would have certainly killed any chance of adding a "big name" or any kind of upgrade to the roster without a major shakeup.

RC, Pop, and Holt's (magnificent bastards) decision to improve this offseason (thank FSM) is looking even better.

Additional note: The luxury tax for '09 - '10 is at $69.92 million. That is almost a $2 million drop from last season.

Magic Unlikely To Match Offers For Gortat

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