Harvey: Mailman rings late? More delay, more risk

[Kori Ellis]

Harvey: Mailman rings late? More delay, more risk
Web Posted: 02/08/2005 12:00 AM CST

San Antonio Express-News

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA020805.1D.harvey.874cdb1a.html

I thought Karl Malone made sense for the Spurs. And about a month ago, in a casual conversation, a Spurs player did, too.

But his opinion came with an asterisk. Malone needs to get here soon, the Spur said. The longer Malone waits, the harder everything gets.

So, weeks went by, and wins followed wins. Tony Massenburg started and scored at Sacramento, Malik Rose emerged from his annual bad-dog status with good-dog numbers and Robert Horry played like he did last season. The group filled in for Rasho Nesterovic and helped create the league's best record.

Now, as Malone tries to decide what he wants to do before an All-Star break deadline, I wonder as a few likely do within the Spurs' locker room.

Hasn't the deadline already passed?

Something as simple as Monday, when Tim Duncan sprained an ankle, could always change opinions. But this angle goes back more than a day. The first NBA team I covered, the Boston Celtics of 25 years ago, faced a similar decision.

The Celtics also put together one of the league's best records by midseason, then signed their own aging star. They, too, loved the reasons.

He came at a budget price. He had been a big scorer for the Utah Jazz, only to be slowed by a sore knee. Surely he would be driven to win his first ring before his career ended. And the Celtics figured his Hall of Fame pedigree would help in the playoffs.

Before Malone, there was Pete Maravich.

Malone has his own assets. He is a pro, for example, and he stood last season as the voice of reason in the otherwise dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers locker room. He isn't the villain Spurs fans think he is.

If Malone's knee has healed, he would give the Spurs a banger. His 15-foot jumper would be a reliable playoff option. Romain Sato would cost about as much. And then there's the byproduct of Malone in San Antonio.

That would guarantee he wouldn't be in, say, Miami.

Malone, if healthy, is better than Horry, Rose and Massenburg. But is he better when arriving in late February — after the others have taken turns winning games?

Malone is smart enough to see potential friction, which is what he relayed to coach Gregg Popovich in their meeting. "He doesn't want to disrupt anything," Popovich told another Express-News reporter earlier this week. "He doesn't want people to be mad at him. He wants to feel welcome. He wants to be part of it, but he doesn't want to screw anything up."

Popovich said he reassured Malone by telling him: "We've got great people."

True. The spiciest banter Malone might face in the Spurs' camp is with Eva Longoria.

If Malone contributes and the Spurs win, the dissension will ease. But he's in his 40s, coming off an injury and he hasn't played since June. Those who have been here since October — and longer — won't enjoy seeing Malone use their minutes to play his way into shape.

And if the Spurs lose a few games with Malone? Even if the other Spurs keep their opinions to themselves, that doesn't mean everything is good.

Maravich, a quarter-century ago, is an example. The Celtics were eliminated in the conference finals then, looking dispirited and tired at the end. Maybe they simply weren't good enough; they lost to Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers.

But several Celtics complained after the season that Maravich, butting ahead in line, had cut into what the team had built. Those Celtics, too, were decent guys.

Real or not, Maravich became an easy one to pin it on. And Malone would make for a far better target. Celtics fans, after all, didn't have any anger toward Maravich.

Why not enjoy one of the game's great showmen? When Maravich retired that summer, few fans in Boston saw the experiment as a disaster.

Malone, instead, comes with built-in resentment. If Malone plays well and the Spurs win, none of it will matter. But if Malone struggles and the Spurs lose, Popovich will hear how he "screwed" up the best team in the league.

A month ago, Malone could have worked his way in, been part of the Rodeo Road Trip and grown with the success. Now he would be the unessential extra, brought in to fix the unbroken.

And with every passing day?

The harder everything gets.

[timvp]

Looks like someone else can see when Pop and TD are wrong.

Nice call, Buck.

[SPARKY]

Amen.

[Rick Von Braun]

Malone, if healthy, is better than Horry, Rose and Massenburg. But is he better when arriving in late February — after the others have taken turns winning games?
I think that is the real question. How bad would be to have Malone chemistry wise? I think Horry might be OK with it, TonyM may not be happy if that means going to IR, and Malik will take a hit. In addition, if Rasho gets further reduced minutes, his self-esteem would be crashed.

This is the only risk, and only Pop knows the group well enough to make that call. You only see problems in bad times, and there is risk if the Spurs lose a couple of games. I only hope Pop doesn't screw up and put Malone's ass on the bench if he doesn't play well. I also hope Tim does something about it if the chemistry is broken.

[Rick Von Braun]

I think that is the real question. How bad would be to have Malone chemistry wise? I think Horry might be OK with it,...Well, may be Horry is still a little resentful...

http://www.makingpages.org/hoops/malonekickhorry.jpg

[baseline bum]

Man, Malone would ruin such a perfect season. I'd rather they went out and signed OJ or even Steve Smith.

[PM5K]

I don't agree with any of this. They didn't mention other situations like last year when Detroit traded for Rasheed Wallace at just about the same time (Feb 19) and went on to be a team that broke or set many NBA defensive records, and went on to be the NBA champions with some solid work from Wallace.

They don't mention when the Bulls (who had won 69 games that year) signed Brian Williams with nine games left in the season or how much he helped them in the playoffs.

If you can sign a good player at anytime in the season you do it, no mattter how late. If Karl Malone really wants a championship he should realize that the more he plays with this team the better they are likely to be, and the later he signs the less he has earned his championship, but make no mistake about it he will prove to be an assett to this team.

[usckk]

Nice points. But you also mentioned an alumni from Arizona--Brian Williams. However, this is a sad story, since he was murdered. :( RIP.

[mattyc]

Astute article.

Hope Pop reads it... :depressed

[Karl Mundt]

Well, may be Horry is still a little resentful...

http://www.makingpages.org/hoops/malonekickhorry.jpg

Look at Malone's face on that pic. He clearly isn't even looking towards the basket.

[PM5K]

Well duh he is passing the ball. These haters will pull shit out of their asses to try and make him look bad...

"Man those shoes look pointier than a normal (whatever brand shoe it is)"

[Karl Mundt]

Well duh he is passing the ball. These haters will pull shit out of their asses to try and make him look bad...

Oops, i haven't thought about that.

[dougp]

I've always liked Malone, except for the elbow to DRob's face awhile ago. Quite honestly, I'd like to see Malik put into IR and maybe waive Linton. What do we lose? If Malone does bad, or screws some things up, pull Malik off IR and put Malone, while we lose someone that hasn't played in 3 years? Worse comes to worse, we could sign Linton back during the summer.

Give the guy a chance, Pop knows what he's doing ... if he didn't, JC wouldn't allow him and Duncan to feel out the situation. Atleast Malone cares about his teammates liking him coming into the team, and not worry about it after he steals 10+ minutes from Rose/TMass and outperforms them (pending).

[BronxCowboy]

Well duh he is passing the ball. These haters will pull shit out of their asses to try and make him look bad...

Dude, you've got to be kidding me. Malone didn't swing that foot out there on every drive to the basket just to look pretty.

[BronxCowboy]

Pop knows what he's doing
Haven't we heard this bullshit enough? If Pop thinks it's right, it must be right. :rolleyes The guy doesn't walk on water, you know. Take your head out of his ass once in a while.

[vanvannen]

Why the hell would you bring this old wasted bum to a winning team?
Hell, even TMass is playing fairly good...

DON'T RUIN THE CHEMISTRY POP! :pctoss

[dougp]

Haven't we heard this bullshit enough? If Pop thinks it's right, it must be right. :rolleyes The guy doesn't walk on water, you know. Take your head out of his ass once in a while.My head is out of his ass ... Last I checked, he was the coach ... if he didn't know what he was doing, he'd be in your position, posting on boards acting better than people and dissing a coach for trying to make his team better.

[BronxCowboy]

He is the coach, but that doesn't mean he's right. Sure, he knows more about basketball than I do, but he still makes mistakes. If you want to argue the merits of bringing in Malone, you have to use something better than "because Pop says its a good idea."

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I don't agree with any of this. They didn't mention other situations like last year when Detroit traded for Rasheed Wallace at just about the same time (Feb 19) and went on to be a team that broke or set many NBA defensive records, and went on to be the NBA champions with some solid work from Wallace.

They don't mention when the Bulls (who had won 69 games that year) signed Brian Williams with nine games left in the season or how much he helped them in the playoffs.

If you can sign a good player at anytime in the season you do it, no mattter how late. If Karl Malone really wants a championship he should realize that the more he plays with this team the better they are likely to be, and the later he signs the less he has earned his championship, but make no mistake about it he will prove to be an assett to this team.


This might be the best post I've read in awhile.


It's not like the Spurs have a bunch of people at the 4 and the 5 spot who are clicking on all cylinders right now. Malik has been inconsistent and Horry has been nursing injuries. Rasho is almost more of an asset when he's hurt. As for Mass and Marks.....please don't tell me we're pinning our hopes on those two as being quality backups for any extended period of time.

The Spurs success is due in large part to the steadiness of Duncan and Bowen and the improved play of Gino and Parker. Malone wouldn't mess any of that up. In fact, with his passing skill he'll probably only help our guard play, and he should free Duncan up to be even more effective.

PM5K, I'm with you, sign Malone if given the chance.

[boutons]

The All-Star break starts 18th Feb? dammit, another 10-days of the Malone Soap Opera.

Why TF is a decision taking him so long?
WTF has he been thinking about all these months?
The longer he waits, the less personal inconvenience and playing he has to do, the less help he really is, to win a ring.

==========================

ESPN.com news services

Malone says he'll decide this week

LOS ANGELES -- If Karl Malone decides to play again, it probably will be for the San Antonio Spurs, according to Malone and his agent.

Malone will make an announcement about his future before the All-Star break. The All-Star Game is Feb. 20 in Denver.

"If he would choose to play, the likeliest candidate would be the Spurs, which is a team he almost played for a year and a half ago," Dwight Manley said Monday. "He's already basically retired because he's not playing. That would be a big step for him, to essentially come out of quasi-retirement and play.

"There are two possibilities. He's leaned toward staying where he already is. Where he goes forward, only he knows. He'll say that real soon. I'm not in the job of speculating. It's out of my hands. It's going to be what it's going to be."

Manley said that Malone, who underwent knee surgery last summer, is healthy and works out every day, but has not been playing basketball.

The forward stopped in San Antonio to meet with Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich, The San Antonio Express-News reported in Sunday's editions.

"Me and my wife [Kay] will meet [Sunday] and have a decision by the end of the week," Malone told The Riverside Press-Enterprise. "It was a good meeting with Tim and Gregg and it's exactly what I thought it would be. There was no fakeness. I got straight-up answers."

Malone was en route to his home in California from his Arkansas Ranch.

The 41-year-old Malone is the second-leading scorer in NBA history, 1,459 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Malone played 18 seasons for Utah before joining the Lakers for the 2003-2004 season at a greatly reduced salary, saying he wanted to win a championship before retirement.

He missed 39 games last season after injuring his right knee, and was hurt again during the playoffs, missing the last three games of the NBA Finals, all of which the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons.

Malone opted out of his $1.65 million contract following last season, making him a free agent. He and his family live in nearby Newport Beach.

"He's got to decide if he wants to play, if the juice is there," Popovich said before the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 103-91 on Feb. 3.

"He's somebody we've been interested in for a couple of years. He's a leader -- he's got the whole package. I thought he did a great job in the playoffs last year."

Malone was a key factor in the Lakers' victories over the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals.

Manley said in October that his client wasn't ready to play, but if he returned, it would only be with the Lakers.

That changed late last year after Malone was accused by Kobe Bryant of making a pass at his wife. Malone, through Manley, denied the accusation and apologized to Bryant and his wife for any remarks she might have considered inappropriate.

[GoSpurs21]

then again these are IFs. If the Spurs win the championship with Malone then all this hoopla is bunk.

[johnny00]

The All-Star break starts 18th Feb? dammit, another 10-days of the Malone Soap Opera.

Why TF is a decision taking him so long?
WTF has he been thinking about all these months?
The longer he waits, the less personal inconvenience and playing he has to do, the less help he really is, to win a ring.
I've said all along three months ago, I would've loved to have him on this team but with all this waiting and "I'm not sure if I'll retire or not yet" crap has really wore on me (and I'm sure with members of the team). San Antonio will win this ring with or without Malone all he brings now is distraction and division. But we probably will sign him now 'cause Pop has already pitched a tent over him and he's panic stricken because of a few injuries to our bigs.

[T Park]

Rasho is almost more of an asset when he's hurt

Yeah Ed, but, did you watch the portland game, or Sacramento, or,,

All the other games were the opposing bigs went off for big points, and guards slashed to the interior at will?


Another hater swilling the corporate Rasho and Pop sucks line.

[mrblonde17]

Yeah, I'm sure Pop spends a lot of time reading fan message boards. Why do you think he's the head coach with two championships (with probably more to come) and we're out here in cyberspace spouting off our theories on successful basketball?

Answer: because he knows what he's doing and we're a bunch of NBA wannabes

[SpursChampsIII]

Any time you get a chance to add a low post player who can defend KG, Amare, etc., you don't even blink...you do it. He can also give us some double-digit rebounding. I don't like what he did to Five-0 either, but who really cares now? Get over it already...it's just another excuse for Malone haters to not bring him in. He has given out cheap shots (like other NBA players) his whole career, and unless those cheap shots were directed only at Spurs, who really gives a damn. Malik had a chance to step up...he did not. Rasho, Horry, and Timmy D are all banged up, so why not add more front court depth? Why is everyone so worried about whether he gets a ring? I just care about us winning one. Can we win the title without him? Sure! Can we increase our chances of winning the title with him? Absolutely. I can see the first time he is introduced to our home fans getting booed by about 10,000...I can also see him get a standing ovation the first time he sends KG, Kobe or Shaq to the floor with an elbow.

[SPARKY]

Why couldn't Malone have joined the team back in the preseason?

[T Park]

That wouldn't have been cool enough.

[boutons]

"Why couldn't Malone have joined the team back in the preseason?"

He wanted to wait as long as he could, to see which team be in best mid-season position for getting him a ring, to take the smallest risk, least work, least personal inconvenience, for the greatest payback.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Yeah Ed, but, did you watch the portland game, or Sacramento, or,,

All the other games were the opposing bigs went off for big points, and guards slashed to the interior at will?


Another hater swilling the corporate Rasho and Pop sucks line.


T Park, point out one time when I've ever said Pop sucks. . .ever.

My take on Rauncho is that I've actually watched him play. On the talent meter he ranks somewhere in the middle for centers, but on an effort meter I'd put him pretty low. You've got to come to play and Rauncho looks like a big complacent goof out there on most nights.

Unfortunately the talent pool for centers is so bad that Pop is stuck with him, but I'd bet you a ride on the merry-go-round that Pop would unload him if he could. Heck, he's already tried this season to do exactly that with no takers.

Do you really think Pop would be so hot for Malone if he had any confidence in your boy Rasho? He knows we need help in the post, how come you don't?

[GrandeDavid]

I agree 100% with SpursChamps. WTF, people!? Bring his old Hall of Fame big banging body in! I see more positives than negatives. I think that the damage to chemistry thing is overrated. He can only help the Spurs' frontcourt and I'm pretty sure if he couldn't, then its hard to fathom Popovich etc. still pursuing him. Besides, nothing would please me more than for Malone to get his ring courtesy of Tim & Co. and NOT Kobe and Shaq.

[Dre_7]

I agree 100% with SpursChamps. WTF, people!? Bring his old Hall of Fame big banging body in! I see more positives than negatives. I think that the damage to chemistry thing is overrated. He can only help the Spurs' frontcourt and I'm pretty sure if he couldn't, then its hard to fathom Popovich etc. still pursuing him. Besides, nothing would please me more than for Malone to get his ring courtesy of Tim & Co. and NOT Kobe and Shaq.

AMEN!

[Timothy Dunkan]

I don't agree with any of this. They didn't mention other situations like last year when Detroit traded for Rasheed Wallace at just about the same time (Feb 19) and went on to be a team that broke or set many NBA defensive records, and went on to be the NBA champions with some solid work from Wallace.

They don't mention when the Bulls (who had won 69 games that year) signed Brian Williams with nine games left in the season or how much he helped them in the playoffs.

If you can sign a good player at anytime in the season you do it, no mattter how late. If Karl Malone really wants a championship he should realize that the more he plays with this team the better they are likely to be, and the later he signs the less he has earned his championship, but make no mistake about it he will prove to be an assett to this team.

Big Difference!
Prior to acquisition of Rasheed, Detroit held the #4 in the East standings (iirc Ind,NJ,NO was ahead of them)...clearly their front office felt that an additional upgrade is needed for the title run. In our case, we are already on the top of the league, why make some personnel's change.
As for Brian 'Bison' Williams, was he an All Star/HoF media hype, chasing the cheap way to get ring also...
Let me ask this, if we hold the #2 or #3 spot in the league, would the drama bitch ever consider the wining/dining with tim and pop...Where was he when we needed him the most like last year.

There are so many reasons to hate the bastard as discuss already in here as well as in the previous threads. And again I will say this that in no way shape or form that bastard deserves the ring.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

jesus! you people need to calm down! What the hell has Malone ever done to deserve such hatred (other than the elbow to DR, and even DR forgave him for that). All he has done is play for the opposite team, if you guys take that rivalry out of the court its your problem not his. Personally I don't mind extra help to win the championship, and if he gets a ring by helping us get a ring, its fine with me.

[SequSpur]

Buck is a tool. A waste of words, A waste of paper, a wasted topic.

He has nothing.

No opinion, right in the middle.