What San Antonio stands to lose in the NBA lockout

A Fan’s Perspective
by By Lisa Mason for yahoo.com

One blogger says the Spurs may have the most to lose in the NBA lockout. However, is this really the case? Depending on how to lockout goes, this could prove to be more advantageous to the Spurs if they play their cards right.

While it's true that this is not exactly a great time for any team in the NBA due to the lockout, one blogger at Yard Barker ranked San Antonio as having the most to lose. It's true that some teams have more to lose based on their rosters and how their seasons ended. While Paul M. Banks had some valid points with his evaluation of the Spurs, I'm not sure I agree 100% with all of it.

He ranks the Spurs as the biggest losers from the NBA lockout, saying:

"San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs have the odd situation of entering a sort of rebuilding stage in the midst of a lockout. While they had a solid draft, none of those players will likely be able to contribute significantly in a shortened season next year and it is obvious that the Spurs are looking to deal Tony Parker(notes) as they see that Tim Duncan's(notes) career is winding down and their core seems significantly out of whack right now as it's anchored by a mix of vets and great potential in the youth department.

"But, the lockout hampers their efforts to deal Parker and leaves Duncan and the oft-injured Manu Ginobili(notes) sitting on the shelf collecting dust so to speak when they could be trying to make one final push for a run after getting bounced in the first round by the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies."

Again, good points and I mostly agree. It could be that as a Spurs' fan, I am looking to the positive of it all but I do think there are a couple of things the Spurs might still have going for them. A shorter season could actually be a good thing for the Spurs with most of the team's strong vets being significantly older than the core of rival teams. Since Ginobili is injury-prone, a shorter season means less risk for this and less stress on the core players.

On another note, since the NBA lockout could shorten the 2011-2012 season (how much is still anyone's guess), it could be a good thing for San Antonio, who after coming back from a disappointing end in the first seed to a powerful season, will be fired up and ready to prove themselves worthy. You can bet the vets still have that disappointing season finale in their minds and they are ready to show they are not "too old" yet and they still have some good days of basketball left in them.

The Spurs are going to need some work to be at their best for a new season but the NBA lockout might end up working to their advantage, surprising Banks and many others.