Bob Ryan On Tim Duncan's Retirement; Celtics Trade Rumors
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tim Duncan announced his retirement on Monday after 19 incredible years with the San Antonio Spurs, winning five NBA Titles and cementing himself as one of the greatest power forwards of all-time -- if not the greatest power forward of all-time.
Toucher & Rich welcomed the great Bob Ryan to their show on Tuesday morning to discuss Duncan's legacy.
"His distinction is very singular, because he was the best combination big, a generic big, who played center and forward. No one has done that better, and the only player to approach that was Kevin McHale," said Ryan, noting that Duncan was a much better center than the Celtics great. "His versatility was so important to that team. Whatever Greg Popovich needed, and his achievements speak for themselves.
"This goes back to his nickname, 'The Big Fundamental.' His game was not based on sheer athleticism," added Ryan. "Granted, he was a great athlete and he could block shots, was a great rebounder, but his footwork, his intelligence, his knowing how to reduce the game to its simple essence, that is always something enables guys guy to be great players until the very end.
Ryan also touched on some interesting rumors regarding the Celtics, with Danny Ainge reportedly working on a big trade that would bring Clippers power forward Blake Griffin to Boston.
To clarify my earlier tweet: BOS would get Griffin, LAC would get Gay and SAC would get Crowder. Other pieces also involved.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 11, 2016
"Blake Griffin is a wonderful talent and the idea of him playing for Brad Stevens, now I'm excited," said Ryan. "He's a fantastic talent. He's had some health issues, but he is still young and can still get better. He is fantastic; now we would be talking."
Ryan is also a fan of Boston's addition of free agent Al Horford, who the team signed to a four-year, $113 million deal last week.
"They're a better team than they were when the season ended because of the presnce of Al Horford," said Ryan. "He's a versatile guy, an inside-outside guy. I wish he was four years younger; he'll play the season at 31. That's the only thing -- whatever is going to happen, it better start happening immediately."
Listen to the full interview below, where Ryan discusses Tim Duncan's unique path through High School basketball and how it molded him into the Hall of Famer he was: