5 reasons why Tim Duncan should retire
By David Rouben
1: The Spurs will be better off
If the Spurs want to keep winning, Duncan retiring would perhaps be in the team’s best interest. If there’s one thing that Gregg Popovich abhors, it’s distractions, and even if he won’t ask for it, the media will be hounding him with questions all year-long about how next season will be his last.
It’s not like Kobe Bryant, or even Derek Jeter, where both teams failed to make the playoffs, and thus needed the storyline of the franchise player’s last year as a distraction. The Spurs are expected to contend again next year, with or without Duncan, and while it will be hard to replace him, they won’t have to look far.
Kawhi Leonard seems poised to take the reigns as the new franchise player, and the person to build around. They also have a great replacement at the power forward in LaMarcus Aldridge in terms of production – although, in terms of legacy, he still has a long way to go to catch up to Timmy. Besides, as long as the Spurs have Gregg Popovich, they will keep on winning. He really is the NBA’s Bill Belichick.
Will the Spurs miss Tim Duncan? Most definitely. Will they miss him on the court? Not this version of him. There’s plenty of guys in tow who can take over his role and form a new Big Three, and if they need a big-name free agent, they have no problem courting those – all they need to do is flash their rings.
While the Spurs will move on from Duncan relatively quickly, his place in franchise history is already cemented. There’s no reason for him to come back for one more, potentially cringeworthy, season.
Visit our NBA page for more related content.