San Antonio Spurs: What to Make of Tony Parker's Controversial Comments

If winning championships is boring, then consider the San Antonio Spurs to be the King of Boring.

Since 1987, only twice has the NBA averaged less then 10 million viewers for a NBA Finals series game, and both times the San Antonio Spurs were playing.

The Spurs have never been the team to make the biggest offseason splash, never signing the biggest free agent in the market, or making the big blockbuster trade. San Antonio instead has won NBA titles the old fashion way; through the draft and signing key free agents.

Their idea has become, in many ways, the blueprint for teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose starting five consist of four original team draft picks and center Kendrick Perkins, who was brought over in a key trade from the Boston Celtics.

The Spurs built their title team around David Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Tim Duncan, and later added Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Key free agent signings like Mario Elie, Stephen Jackson, Jaren Jackson, Steve Kerr, Bruce Bowen, Danny Ferry, Kevin Willis and Robert Horry, to name a few of the contributors, fueled the Spurs title run.

Since 2007 however, the Spurs have failed to reach the Western Conference Finals and, as time has gone on, the Spurs have aged while the rest of the West got younger, stronger, bigger, and faster.

Memphis, Dallas, Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Lakers all knocked out the Spurs in the playoffs following their last NBA Title, and a scrappy team like New Orleans pushed the Spurs to seven games.

This year, the aging Spurs surprised the West with the best record and remained relatively healthy most of the season, until Manu Ginobili went down with a hyper-extended elbow on his non-shooting arm in the final game of the regular season.

The injury cost Ginobili Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs; a game in which San Antonio lost. Ginobili eventually returned although not fully healed.

In the end, the Spurs season came to a sad, and cruel end, as the younger and hungrier Memphis Grizzlies outplayed the Spurs. Most fans and analysts agreed that the Spurs' age had finally caught up to them, and apparently they aren't the only ones who think so.

Earlier this week, Spurs point guard Tony Parker said during a press conference in Paris, France that he didn't think the Spurs could play for a title anymore.

"We have to be realistic. It was kind of our last chance this season because Tim (Duncan) and (Manu) Ginobili are getting older," Parker said.

Parker went on to mention that the Spurs had little room to improve their team in the offseason due to limits in their budget. The most curious, or perhaps maybe we are reading a little too much into it, was Parker's mention that if the Spurs had anybody on their team they could trade, Parker was it.

By his statement, it seems Tony Parker is trying to maneuver a trade out of San Antonio by playing the "what's good for the team" card, allowing for a clean break from the Spurs while still maintaining his good relationship with the fans.

Parker's assessment about the Spurs not being a title contender anymore may be accurate, but the idea that their title run is officially over isn't. The Spurs are one of the best teams when it comes to the draft, and really are only two players away from making a legit title run.

If Tony Parker wants out of San Antonio without literally saying, "I want out of San Antonio," a number of curious opportunities could arise, both before or during the upcoming NBA draft.

Recently, ESPN reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves were interested in trading the No. 2 pick to get Kevin Love some help. Could the Spurs be quiet players and package a deal that includes a combination of Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson and draft picks for Ricky Rubio?

Or what about the New York Knicks, whose youth movement fails to include a slasher point guard. Rumors earlier this season included talks of Parker possibly being traded or signing after this season with the Knicks.

Although these may just be dream scenarios, the fact remains: The Spurs must be players in the offseason if they wish to continue to be among the NBA's elite teams.