Neal signs 3-year deal with Spurs

[Bruno]

Neal is a cheap good player and shooter. Spurs badly needed a shooter and had limited resources, so it makes sense.

What makes a little less sense is position wise. Spurs only have 1 perimeter player (RJ) over 6'6" and are crowded at the SG spot. I wonder if Spurs will still sign a vet SF or will go with their perimeter rotation that lacks size and experience. I hope it's the former and Spurs will sign a player like Bobby Simmons or Jarvis Hayes.

[analyzed]

[What makes a little less sense is position wise. Spurs only have 1 perimeter player (RJ) over 6'6" and are crowded at the SG spot. I wonder if Spurs will still sign a vet SF or will go with their perimeter rotation that lacks size and experience. I hope it's the former and Spurs will sign a player like Bobby Simmons or Jarvis Hayes.[/QUOTE]

I don't see it happening, unless their is a realistic chance of a Bobby Simmons getting significant minutes ( 20 Min) I don't see the point in spending to get another wing, especially if we do it at the expense of developing Anderson. Somethings got to give, if we get another wing like Simmons minutes to add on top of the minutes RJ, Manu and Hill are getting at the wing Anderson is bound not to get minutes , similar to Finley and Mason hardly getting PT last year with Bogans getting minutes

[buttsR4rebounding]

Temple should be fine - especially since he's Pop's "new" favorite player this year. Personally, I'm worried about Gee and Hairston.

Gee has a partially guaranteed deal, so he will be on the roster to start the year. This is bad news for Hairston...

[kobyz]

i was hoping if we won't sign proven SF that Temple, Anderson, Gee will get significant minutes, i see good potential in those guys and this signing hurt them to get minutes.

[Obstructed_View]

They had to hand a guaranteed deal if they wanted to keep Neil though. He simply could have made more money in Europe than staying in the Toros.

This. He's not guaranteed a spot, they just had to pay him more to keep him from going to Europe. If they wanted to give him a shot at camp then this is how it had to happen. He and Gee are going to have to play lights out to jump past Hairston on the depth chart.

[Obstructed_View]

You want to explain this rape thing?

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=3572883

Long story short: No more Kobe jokes for Spursfan.

[toki9]

You want to explain this rape thing?

Hope this helps:

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/...110405acc.html

Nov. 4, 2005

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A jury acquitted two former La Salle basketball players of rape Friday, discounting prosecutors' contention that the woman involved was too drunk to consent to sex.

Attorneys for Gary Neal and Michael Cleaves maintained that the sex was consensual and that the woman, then 19, made up the allegation out of embarrassment after other female basketball players began to gossip.

"We put our faith in the jury system and they didn't let us down," said Wendy Goldstein, who represented Neal.

But even with the acquittal, Cleaves' attorney, Michael McDermott, said the men "are going to have a stigma attached to them for quite a while."

The case - plus a separate rape allegation involving a third La Salle player - ultimately led to the removal of both men's coach Billy Hahn and women's coach John Miller.

Prosecutors claimed Neal and Cleaves raped the visiting University of New Haven player, who was finishing up a one-week stint as a La Salle basketball camp counselor, as she vomited in a sink after drinking eight shots of high-proof alcohol.

Cathie Abookire, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney's office, said they accepted the jurors' verdict.

"We believed our victim. Our evidence was good," Abookire said. "But we do accept the jury's decision."

Neal, 21, of Baltimore, and Cleaves, 23, of Paterson, N.J., are no longer enrolled in the school.

Goldstein didn't comment specifically on Neal's future.

"I hope he can get his life in order," she said. "His life has been on hold for a couple years."

McDermott said his client wants to play basketball again and graduate from college, though not necessarily at La Salle.

"He's going to take a look around and find out what's out there for him," McDermott said.

Joseph Cicala, dean of students at the Roman Catholic school, said Friday that student privacy rules would not allow him to comment on whether either man would be allowed back at La Salle. Cicala said the school respects the jurors' decision, but added that "the behavior discussed in the courtroom was reprehensible."

"We are all deeply saddened by this situation," Cicala said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the parties involved."
A third former La Salle player, Dzaflo Larkai, has also been charged with rape, sexual assault and related offenses for an alleged April 2003 encounter with a female La Salle player.

Larkai, a 23-year-old from England, was a roommate of Neal and Cleaves.

[Obstructed_View]

Where was it mentioned that Choo Choo is going to be on the Spurs team and not in Austin?

[tuncaboylu]

I can't understand how he proved himself to get 3 years long contract in just 5 summer league games?

Our FO is moving very interesting.

[Obstructed_View]

I can't understand how he proved himself to get 3 years long contract in just 5 summer league games?

Our FO is moving very interesting.

Don't you remember Anthony Tolliver?

It's pretty doubtful that all three years are guaranteed, and Neal has two years of D League eligibility. The odds that he ends up on the main roster this season are very slim.

[ceperez]

Don't you remember Anthony Tolliver?

It's pretty doubtful that all three years are guaranteed, and Neal has two years of D League eligibility. The odds that he ends up on the main roster this season are very slim.

Dude, are you feeling like an idiot today?

Three years... so my guess it is more like a Haislip deal where the first year is guaranteed. All Tolliver got was an invite for Summer camp.

Like I said earlier (despite a ton of detractors), Neal should be part of the team.

But now that you bring this up, Tolliver is still a good option if he is available.

[Darkwaters]

Neal went to La Salle? Ironic.

So did Rasual Butler.

I wonder if we, in part, traded one La Salle Explorer for another.

[Obstructed_View]

Dude, are you feeling like an idiot today?

Three years... so my guess it is more like a Haislip deal where the first year is guaranteed. All Tolliver got was an invite for Summer camp.

Like I said earlier (despite a ton of detractors), Neal should be part of the team.

But now that you bring this up, Tolliver is still a good option if he is available.

Tolliver was a crappy player who hit some three pointers and the Spurs fell in love with him and gave him a spot on the team that he didn't deserve, and ultimately couldn't keep. It's that same fascination with three pointers that made them sign Neal. The length of the contract is completely immaterial to my point.

[JonNOKC]

Another 1 dimensional shooter...

When will the F'ing stupid FO LEARN!!!

Successful players:

Bowen : Stud Defender & Effective 3 Pt Shooter
Barry : Stud Shooter & excellent passing/ball movement
Elie: Stud Shooter & effective defender

Failed Players

Mason : Stud Shooter & nothing else (ok, big time mental breakdown)
Finley's 2nd contract : Shooter & all else
Jack McClinton : Shooter & all else (didn't even make it out of training camp)


Quit signing people who are shooters and nothing else. PPG & FG%are not the only measure of a players value...

If you have watch Neal play in Europe then you would know he is also a very good pick and roll player much better than Mason becuase his realease is quicker and his range is incredible - opposing defenders have to go top of screen or get big hedge from big defender - while not a PG most of the offense for his Italian team was run through him he looks to shoot first off pick and roll but also does good job of hitting big guy or if other team makes good rotations he looks to wing for open player - not a defender but does have more offensive game than just 3 - one more thing this guy can hit any type of 3 not just spot up and recieve pass, but in transition, or off dribble

[ceperez]

Tolliver was a crappy player who hit some three pointers and the Spurs fell in love with him and gave him a spot on the team that he didn't deserve, and ultimately couldn't keep. It's that same fascination with three pointers that made them sign Neal. The length of the contract is completely immaterial to my point.

Wow... looks like your are sounding more and more like an idiot lately.

Neal was signed for a 3 year deal, like the Spurs are committed for at least a year.

Tolliver was signed to a deal that promised that if he made it through training camp, he *could* be sign. Well he never got a multi-year deal nor did he even get a one year deal.

Massive difference.

You are now claiming that the F.O. are idiots for signing Neal. That's idiotic.

Difference between you and me is that you don't have a handle as to what the Spurs F.O. is doing and I do.

[admiralsnackbar]

Wow... looks like your are sounding more and more like an idiot lately.

Neal was signed for a 3 year deal, like the Spurs are committed for at least a year.

Tolliver was signed to a deal that promised that if he made it through training camp, he *could* be sign. Well he never got a multi-year deal nor did he even get a one year deal.

Massive difference.

You are now claiming that the F.O. are idiots for signing Neal. That's idiotic.

Difference between you and me is that you don't have a handle as to what the Spurs F.O. is doing and I do.

Yeah, I'm sure Pop was thinking "Mario Elie" when he signed Neal up...

I like this signing, and I agree that Tolliver was never expected to be more than a deep-bench roll-player, but half the reason come at you so hard on this board is that you make waaaaay too much of your limited facilities.

[Obstructed_View]

Wow... looks like your are sounding more and more like an idiot lately.

Neal was signed for a 3 year deal, like the Spurs are committed for at least a year.

Tolliver was signed to a deal that promised that if he made it through training camp, he *could* be sign. Well he never got a multi-year deal nor did he even get a one year deal.

Massive difference.

You are now claiming that the F.O. are idiots for signing Neal. That's idiotic.

Difference between you and me is that you don't have a handle as to what the Spurs F.O. is doing and I do.

I already told you it has nothing to do with the contracts, it has to do with the mindset. The Spurs loved Tolliver because he hit a hot streak in summer league, and it didn't pan out.

Just to provide you with some prespective, you compared Neal's contract to Haislp's. Where is Haislip? The contract has zero to do with how long he's going to be around. Neal does stand a far better chance of getting playing time even if he stinks because they're paying him. That's a pretty well-established pattern with the Spurs.

Let me be clear: Neal is not on the team, he got signed to a contract to keep him from going back to Europe. I've been on the record for a long time that the Spurs are idiots for falling in love with three pointers, because it's taken them out of what put those banners in the rafters. I'm well aware that the Spurs fall in love with three point shooters to the detriment of everything else. I just don't think it's a good idea. I never said they wouldn't sign Neal, I'm simply of the opinion that they shouldn't.

[admiralsnackbar]

I already told you it has nothing to do with the contracts, it has to do with the mindset. The Spurs loved Tolliver because he hit a hot streak in summer league, and it didn't pan out.

Just to provide you with some prespective, you compared Neal's contract to Haislp's. Where is Haislip? The contract has zero to do with how long he's going to be around. Neal does stand a far better chance of getting playing time even if he stinks because they're paying him. That's a pretty well-established pattern with the Spurs.

Let me be clear: Neal is not on the team, he got signed to a contract to keep him from going back to Europe. I've been on the record for a long time that the Spurs are idiots for falling in love with three pointers, because it's taken them out of what put those banners in the rafters. I'm well aware that the Spurs fall in love with three point shooters to the detriment of everything else. I just don't think it's a good idea. I never said they wouldn't sign Neal, I'm simply of the opinion that they shouldn't.

Every ring we've won with maybe the exception of 99 has been predicated on Tim forcing opponents to pick their poison: let him own the paint, or double him and let the 3's come down. The issue you're raising isn't 3-pt shooting, it's defense -- and they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'll grant you that defense was a huge component of ALL our wins, but Kerr, Barry, and Finley were not great defenders, and we wouldn't have had the success we did without them without them.

[SenorSpur]

That's a lot of youth in the organization now.

Gee,Temple,Neal,Hairston,Jerrells,Blair,Anderson,H ill. wow. how times have changed.

WTH! What about "The Cornerstone"?

actually I Like It!!! The youth movement has begun.

Love the impending youth movement. It's very smart on the part of RC. I just wish he would add some length to go along with it.

[ceperez]

Every ring we've won with maybe the exception of 99 has been predicated on Tim forcing opponents to pick their poison: let him own the paint, or double him and let the 3's come down. The issue you're raising isn't 3-pt shooting, it's defense -- and they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'll grant you that defense was a huge component of ALL our wins, but Kerr, Barry, and Finley were not great defenders, and we wouldn't have had the success we did without them without them.

Agree. We could not have won without these 3 point shooting folks.

The problem with Haislip was his defense appeared to be even worse than Bonner.

[ChuckD]

Hairston and Neal have very different skill sets so i don't really see this signing as something that pushes Hairston down/out of the roster. I'll be surprised if the Spurs keep both Gee and Hairston. And considering the time they've put in to developing Malik, i can't imagine the Spurs favoring Gee.

Gee has another year of Toros options off the big club roster and Hairston doesn't. Gee also hasn't proven himself totally inept at shooting the NBA 3 pointer.

[admiralsnackbar]

Agree. We could not have won without these 3 point shooting folks.

The problem with Haislip was his defense appeared to be even worse than Bonner.

There were just a few more problems than that with Haislip, I think.

[Obstructed_View]

Every ring we've won with maybe the exception of 99 has been predicated on Tim forcing opponents to pick their poison: let him own the paint, or double him and let the 3's come down. The issue you're raising isn't 3-pt shooting, it's defense -- and they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'll grant you that defense was a huge component of ALL our wins, but Kerr, Barry, and Finley were not great defenders, and we wouldn't have had the success we did without them without them.

We're pretty much saying the same thing. I'll attempt to explain my position.

Three pointers were really helpful in 2003 when the team was really young and would get themselves down by double digits. It's nice to have, but it's way overstated, because as recent Spurs teams have discovered: You can't make a comeback if you can't get stops, even if you're hitting threes. The comebacks that they staged were indeed due to a combination of timely shooting and great defense, but the ratio of defense to shooting was 80-20 for those teams. It's probably been closer to the opposite the last few years as the Spurs' defensive numbers have slid but their focus continues to be on shooters.

Kerr's best play against the Mavericks was on the defensive end, but most people only remember the threes. Defense has been so taken for granted that the Spurs have slowly replaced it thinking that three point shooting is enough. Michael Finley has had some great moments for the Spurs, but being able to fill it up so that you make up for all your mistakes with the extra 50 percent from an outside shot is fool's gold. Always has been, always will be.

Let's also make one other thing perfectly clear: Tim Duncan hasn't forced opponents to pick their poison in quite some time. That philosophy has slowly given way to the "he spreads the floor" disaster, which has the team seeing the next Steve Kerr or Stephen Jackson or Robert Horry in any guy who gets hot from outside with no thought of all the other things that made those players so special. It's the same lack of perspective that caused the Spurs to give so much burn to a guy who physically resembles Bruce Bowen or to get excited about yet another guy who goes on a hot streak in summer league.

[ceperez]

Let me be clear: Neal is not on the team, he got signed to a contract to keep him from going back to Europe. I've been on the record for a long time that the Spurs are idiots for falling in love with three pointers, because it's taken them out of what put those banners in the rafters. I'm well aware that the Spurs fall in love with three point shooters to the detriment of everything else. I just don't think it's a good idea. I never said they wouldn't sign Neal, I'm simply of the opinion that they shouldn't.

Clearly you don't grok the Spurs system at all.

If you've ever watched their games, they would stick around even if they were playing a very poor game. The opponent would be making incredible plays and runs and the Spurs were always in the game.

Well that's how I felt when the Suns played the Spurs last season. The Spurs played quite well on offense, yet the Suns were always hanging around. Do you know why? We could not stop their 3 point offense.

Now if you looked on record against the Suns, we in fact have over the years limited their output. But even through all those years, we had the ability to out 3 point them. That combo of defense and offense wins the Spurs game. Take out one of them, and the Spurs aren't contenders.

I'm glad the Spurs signed Neal, of course it would be even better if he did have some length. But big men like Robert Horry who can shoot and defend are a dime a dozen? Wait a minute here... Horry did make a lot of good defensive plays but I don't ever recall him being a good defensive player.

[Gagnrath]

I like this Neal deal. The spurs are fairly heavily loaded at SG however they've also got a bunch of combo guards.

You also won't see some combinations of these guys on the floor at the same time save in garbage situations. 6'-6" is also respectable for an NBA small forward Its not big but its also not undersized.

RJ starting SF - Anderson back-up Gee active for some games here both Temple and Manu see some minutes here.

Parker Starting PG Hill Back-up Temple and Manu some minutes here.

Hill and Temple compliment each other pretty well on the floor as do manu and hill. a Parker Neal Back-court is kinda small but not terribly so an sorta defensively weak but the drive and dish is strong with that combo.

I think they will be putting Anderson into the weight room and saying you are a small forward more than a shooting guard and gee is a small forward. I don't see hairston around. For all of you guys concerned about Malik, I believe Mr. Rose was traded years ago and is pretty much retired at this point