Let's try this again. My previous post on Duncan seemed to implode on itself with little constructive discussion because most people took the trade at face value as an improbable and dreamy proposal and failed to see my underlying point: If we are going to win a championship we need a dominant big man (apart from Detroit what's the last team to win a championship without an elite big man?). There are three ways to obtain players: 1. Draft 2. Free Agency 3. Trade. Getting a dominant big man through the draft is unlikely given the fact that we have too much talent to ever draft high enough for that. As for free agency, we already known no one wants to come here unless we pay them at least 10 % more money as everyone else (eg Maggette) so that is out of the question. So we are left with the option of trade. If we think realistically, it is obvious that big men are highly coveted and teams are not going to let go of them easily. The two situations where getting such a player is possible are a.) losing teams who are looking to cut costs to rebuild  and b.) big men leaving their prime (but still dominant) on teams not contending for championships. In both these cases, the teams will probably looking for cheap young talent and expiring contracts, both of which we happen to have. Considering all this with the current state of affairs, making a shot at a big man would probably be better than anything else we can do at this point: Wright and Randolph may be decent starters at best but they are never going to have the dominance necessary for a championship. Hopefully this post is more conducive to constructive discussion than the last one. Some questions for discussion:

Do we need an elite big man for a championship? If not, what about our team makes you think that we can win it all without such a player when so few teams in the past have succeeded in doing so?

If you agree that such a player is neccessary, can you conceive of any that we can obtain this player through a means other than trade? Do you actually think that Randolph and Wright will be dominant enough to one day fill this role? Are we bad enough this year and possibly next year to obtain such a player to draft? Is there any way besides money that we would be able to entice someone to come to the bay?

If you agree that trade is necessary, do you agree that using our young cheap talent and expiring contracts as bait for teams looking to 2010 FA is the best way to obtain this big man or do you have some other idea? Boston, Miami, and LA all went from average or below average to champions and finalists after obtaining their elite big men with the same type of trade bait (young talent and expiring contracts). What can we do to be next?

The post about the 2010 Free Agency made me realize that a superstar will only come our way through trade and considering all the superstars the one we might have the best chance of getting is Duncan. In my opinion the Spurs are done and will never contend for a championship without getting rid of one of their Big 3. With both Manu and Parker out indefinitely, they are currently quite possibly the worst team in the West. Besides Duncan everyone else on that team is either well past their prime or just not good. I think it is quite likely that this team doesn't make the playoffs, let alone contend for a championship. If I were the Spurs, I would learn from the Kings who are still suffering for not getting rid of Webber while he still had some value. Therefore, I think if we provide enough young talent getting Duncan might be quite possible. I would try something along the lines of Harrington, Jackson, Wright, Randolph, and Belinelli for Duncan and Udoka (It works on the trade machine). Our lineup would be
PG: Monta/Watson/Nelson
SG: Azubuike/Udoka
SF: Maggette/???
PF: Duncan/Hendrix/???
C: Biedrins/Turiaf
The bench looks somewhat weak but we would still have money to sign a solid swingman to back up the SF/PF spots and you know everyone would be knocking on our door to play with a starting lineup like that. Our starting lineup is easily one of the top five in the league with three border line all-stars and one superstar. I think this makes us title contenders for two or three years until Duncan becomes old after which we will return to being mediocre but after so many years of failure that's a tradeoff I am fine with. Don't tell me that starting lineup doesn't make you salivate. Just for comparison see how this matches up with the 2007 champions:
Monta is a quicker version of Parker (though he may have worse court vision) - EQUAL
Azubuike is admittedly not as good Ginobili (though he is probably a better rebounder)- SPURS
Maggette is better offensively than Bowen is defensively - WARRIORS
Duncan=Duncan - EQUAL
Biedrins is easily better than whoever the Spurs started at center - WARRIORS
Bench is probably not as deep as the Spurs - SPURS
All in all, this would be quite a big lineup with excellent rebounding and multiple scoring threats and is about on par with the 2007 Spurs talentwise. I am not saying this will guarantee us a championship but we will most certainly contend and the thought of the Warriors actually contending for a championship even if its only for two years is definitely appealing and is more than we can say about the last few decades. .

OK I am ready for all the comments ripping this as another stupid trade proposal.