Kings waive Gooden; Spurs next?

[mountainballer]

wow, quite a few people on this board want to pass on Gooden.
sorry, but what's the point?
I totally agree, that trading for the player Gooden, in other words sacrifice something useful (players, picks) AND add his 7 million salary to the payroll, is something to not like.
but sign him for about 1.4 million and NOT give up anything is a no brainer. a double no brainer considering the needs of the team. a triple no brainer if the alternative is no signing at all.
so what's the point?
yes, he is a really bad defender. but would you rather have the defensive abilities of Pops on the roster? a Pop crash course in defense turned Big Dog Robinson in a somehow useful player on defense in 2005. let's just assume that Goodens defense won't turn worse after some practices with the Spurs.
and btw. when it was reported that the Spurs are interested in Chris Wilcox most people didn't have a problem with this idea. well, there isn't that much of a difference between Wilcox and Gooden. Wilcox isn't as bad on defense, but he also wouldn't exactly qualify for the all defense team. on offense Gooden is slightly better, he has more range and can put the ball on the floor.

size? Gooden isn't a center, but considering the Spurs current big men line up outside Tim, his 6'10'' and 250 lbs are a size upgrade, especially since he will be the most athletic big on the team.

a tough call would be, if the Spurs were in position to chose between Smith and Gooden, but it seems as if the Cavs are in this position anyhow.
but to get either a Gooden or a Smith caliber player from the waiver sweepstakes would be a little miracle and more we could dream about.

[TheSpursFNRule]

wow, quite a few people on this board want to pass on Gooden.
sorry, but what's the point?
I totally agree, that trading for the player Gooden, in other words sacrifice something useful (players, picks) AND add his 7 million salary to the payroll, is something to not like.
but sign him for about 1.4 million and NOT give up anything is a no brainer. a double no brainer considering the needs of the team. a triple no brainer if the alternative is no signing at all.
so what's the point?
yes, he is a really bad defender. but would you rather have the defensive abilities of Pops on the roster? a Pop crash course in defense turned Big Dog Robinson in a somehow useful player on defense in 2005. let's just assume that Goodens defense won't turn worse after some practices with the Spurs.
and btw. when it was reported that the Spurs are interested in Chris Wilcox most people didn't have a problem with this idea. well, there isn't that much of a difference between Wilcox and Gooden. Wilcox isn't as bad on defense, but he also wouldn't exactly qualify for the all defense team. on offense Gooden is slightly better, he has more range and can put the ball on the floor.

size? Gooden isn't a center, but considering the Spurs current big men line up outside Tim, his 6'10'' and 250 lbs are a size upgrade, especially since he will be the most athletic big on the team.

a tough call would be, if the Spurs were in position to chose between Smith and Gooden, but it seems as if the Cavs are in this position anyhow.
but to get either a Gooden or a Smith caliber player from the waiver sweepstakes would be a little miracle and more we could dream about.

beautiful.

[timtonymanu]

i feel this gooden signing will turn out to be the maggette situation. we never get big name players to come to the Spurs.

[whottt]

Scola>Gooden

I don't like Scola because he is an asshole and is over-rated by Spursfans and Argies, but he's not a dumbass. I mean, he's not going to dunk the ball in his own damn basket. He's just not as good as people think he is. Gooden's a dumbass with a lazy at ude on D.

PS: To any zealout like Argies or other Scola Nazis that might take this as some sort of Olive Branch, go eff yourselves. I still don't like the huge over-rated asshole named Scola...but as others have noted, Drew Gooden is arguably the worst defensive player in the NBA, because of his at ude and no other reason...and he's a dumbass.

Assholes always >>>>> dumbasses

[Thomas82]

i think he has underachieved in the league as a number 4 pick. he's an average PF but again, still better than doing nothing. he can definitely grab those boards.

IMO. one of the biggest reasons for it was because of being bounced around so much so soon is his career, and never getting a chance to settle into a system long enough to have a major impact.

[mudyez]

.532=.460 FG% ???

I agree: if we can get gooden for cheap (and only the rest of this season), we should be happy to get him...I dont like him much and we shouldnt give up anything for him, but right now we just need to strenghten our frontline...timmy, kurt, bonner, oberto, pops just isn't enought for the playoffs, coz bonner will be a big questionmark, oberto is a shipwrack and pops will be too young and unproven for the PO's...I'm not a big fan of gooden and probably would prefer joe smith, but right now the biggs are very rare and some teams need one!

[whottt]

.532=.460 FG% ???

I agree: if we can get gooden for cheap (and only the rest of this season), we should be happy to get him...I dont like him much and we shouldnt give up anything for him, but right now we just need to strenghten our frontline...timmy, kurt, bonner, oberto, pops just isn't enought for the playoffs, coz bonner will be a big questionmark, oberto is a shipwrack and pops will be too young and unproven for the PO's...I'm not a big fan of gooden and probably would prefer joe smith, but right now the biggs are very rare and some teams need one!

A PF shooting 46% is a liability...it's a joke people are somehow thinking he's going to be some kind of positive on offense compared to Bonner...freaking Bonner is shooting better from 3 than Gooden is from the field.

[Thomas82]

Any particular reason the Spurs are more likely to get him? I would think he might like to return to Cleveland, unless there was some sort of locker room conflict there.

Too late, they got Joe Smith.

[angelbelow]

A PF shooting 46% is a liability...it's a joke people are somehow thinking he's going to be some kind of positive on offense compared to Bonner...freaking Bonner is shooting better from 3 than Gooden is from the field.

he was the best post player on the bulls. its likely he saw the other teams best defender.

[whottt]

he was the best post player on the bulls. its likely he saw the other teams best defender.

And sucked ass because of it.

[TheSpursFNRule]

And sucked ass because of it.

yeah man because pretty much averaging double-double's sucks ass.

[stéphane]

Wow Drew Gooden.
No, the beard isn't enough of an excuse already?

[westbound17]

Drew Gooden for MVP!

[m33p0]

he was the best post player on the bulls. its likely he saw the other teams best defender.

that doesn't say much. bulls don't have any offensive post presence.

[manufor3]

come here and well give you a ring drew!

[BlackSwordsMan]

doesn't matter if spurs sign him now
deadline is over

[lurker23]

doesn't matter if spurs sign him now
deadline is over

Players must be waived by March 1st at the latest to be eligible for the playoffs, but do not have to be signed by that date. All of the guys waived yesterday (3/1) (Smith, Gooden, Swift) will be playoff eligible.

[BlackSwordsMan]

players must be waived by march 1st at the latest to be eligible for the playoffs, but do not have to be signed by that date. All of the guys waived yesterday (3/1) (smith, gooden, swift) will be playoff eligible.

i c

[urunobili]

Bye bye Pops... it was nice while it lasted...

[L.I.T]

he was the best post player on the bulls. its likely he saw the other teams best defender.

He shoots 47% from the field for his career.

[Agloco]

Assuming they come to terms with him, which roster spot will the Spurs open up for Gooden? Who will they let go?

Dump Parkers inconsistent ass......

[tav1]

Gooden : 27 years old 6'10" PF who averages 13.1/8.7 in 29.5 mpg this year.
Scola : 28 years old 6'9" PF who averages 12.5/8.4 in 29.4mpg this year.

Both have the complete package on the offensive end and are bad defenders.

What we say in English ? Separated at birth ?

Bruno, killer comparison. I wouldn't have connected those dots, but you're a smart dude.

[Silverheart80]

I'm not ready to give up on Pops for Drew Gooden. If we can sign Gooden w/o giving up on Pops, I guess....but when I see Gooden, I see a lazy defender who's been with 5(!) NBA teams in only 6 pro seasons. Pretty big red flag to me, when you consider how much all 4 Spurs championships have been hung on defense and team chemistry. Gooden fails on both of those.

When I see Pops, I see a young talent that already knows the Spurs playbook and already has shown more defensive footwork and hustle than ever seen out of Gooden. Frankly, any offensive gain w/ Gooden will be outweighed by his lack of defense. And again, if a guy has already gone through 5 NBA teams in that short of a span, what makes anyone think he's gonna be a better fit here, much less be the missing piece to a championship?

[buttsR4rebounding]

I could be wrong but the deadline just passed, didn't it?

Yes, you are wrong. If a player was waived by 12 p.m. EST on March 1 he is eligible for the playoffs if signed by another team.

[benefactor]

If we sign Gooden Pops will likely be waived. As much as the majority of us want to see Udoka walk out the door it is not going to happen. I like Pops as much as the next guy, but if you are making a choice between him and a 13/9 PF in the NBA there is not much to decide.

As others have said, Gooden is a pretty bad defender. I like the idea of playing him with Duncan to mask some of that. Having his ability to score and rebound is good enough for someone signed at the minimum. He may not even come here...so we will see how it plays out.