Kori Ellis
02-25-2005, 01:16 AM
Spurs shed Rose, gain size: Forward, a fan favorite, goes to Knicks for Mohammed
Web Posted: 02/25/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
In the end, after almost three years of rumors and speculation, after he nearly was sent to New York at last season's trade deadline, Malik Rose still was surprised.
Rose practiced with the Spurs on Thursday morning at the team's facility, then stayed to work out alone. He was joking around in the players' lounge and training room when someone said coach Gregg Popovich wanted to see him.
Only then did Rose sense something had happened. He met Popovich in his office. His coach of eight seasons told him he was being traded to the Knicks for center Nazr Mohammed.
"I was very shocked," Rose said late Thursday, about 90 minutes before he was to board a charter flight to New York. "The worst I've ever felt was when I lost my brother. But this is the worst I've felt since then. It just hurts."
The Spurs also sent New York a pair of first-round picks: the one Phoenix owed them this season as well as their own in the 2006 draft. In addition to Mohammed, they received point guard Jamison Brewer, who will be waived.
Though the 6-foot-10 Mohammed gives the Spurs the backup center they had been seeking, it also helps them shed more than $21 million in future payroll. Mohammed has only one year worth $5.5 million remaining on his contract after this season compared to the four years and $27.3 million Rose has left on his deal.
The Spurs agreed to pay the 10 percent trade kicker in Rose's contract for the Knicks. The trade bonus is worth almost $3million and must be paid within 30 days.
Rose signed his seven-year, $42million contract in the summer of 2002. Though the deal was considered market value at the time, the team since has handed longterm contracts to Tim Duncan ($120 million), Tony Parker ($66 million), Manu Ginobili ($52 million) and Rasho Nesterovic ($42 million). The flexibility the Spurs gain from Thursday's trade also could help them this summer if they try to sign one of their former draft picks, Argentine forward Luis Scola.
"We've been together a long time," Popovich said of Rose. "He doesn't want to go, and were it not for the business involved, we wouldn't want him to go."
To open a roster spot to complete the deal, the Spurs waived Romain Sato and placed Mike Wilks on the injured list. The team will evaluate its needs but will consider re-signing Sato if he clears waivers.
Mohammed, 27, is three inches taller than Rose, which should help the Spurs better measure up with Shaquille O'Neal and Miami if the teams meet in the NBA Finals. He had started all 54 games for the Knicks this season, averaging 10.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and .98 blocks in 28.1 minutes.
The Spurs had pursued Mohammed because of his size and potential. New York officials initially did not want to let him go unless they received Nesterovic in return. The Spurs were hesitant about parting with their starting center for Mohammed even in a package that would have included Rose and Knicks center Kurt Thomas.
On Wednesday night, Knicks officials said they didn't have any interest in doing a Rose-Mohammed deal. They changed their mind Thursday morning, perhaps because they also had agreed to acquire Houston forward Maurice Taylor.
The trade was not made official until almost five hours after Thursday's 2 p.m. deadline. Mohammed will fly to San Antonio today but is not expected to play Saturday against Memphis, Popovich said.
"If Nazr buys into the system, he might be able to really help us," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "What's also exciting is that he's improved every year of his career."
Buford admitted Mohammed's acquisition comes "at a huge expense."
"Malik is somebody we're all close to," Buford said, "and he's been a big part of our fiber and chemistry."
In his eight seasons with the Spurs, Rose played in 509 games, averaging 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Tim Duncan and Johnny Moore — who all already or will have their jersey numbers retired — are the only players to have appeared in more games with the franchise.
Rose signed with the Spurs before the 1997-98 season, the same season Duncan joined the team. The two became good friends, and Rose hired Lon Babby as his agent on Duncan's recommendation. Dallas' Michael Finley and Shawn Bradley are the only current teammates with a longer tenure together.
Though Duncan and several teammates called Thursday, Rose did not speak with them because "I'm just too upset right now."
Rose was a significant piece of the Spurs' 1999 and 2003 championship teams, though his minutes declined the past two seasons with the addition of Robert Horry. His sense of humor fit well in the locker room, and his work ethic and community involvement also made him a favorite of the fans.
"I'm so grateful for everything he's done for us, on and off the court," Popovich said. "But our responsibility is to the team as a whole, not one individual."
Rose and Popovich bickered in recent years — "They were like an old married couple," said one team source — but they continued to share respect for each other. Even in recent weeks, when Rose again was frustrated by his inconsistent role, he said he hoped to remain with the team.
"I'm upset, but I'm not angry," Rose said, his voice cracking. "Pop did what he had to do for the organization, and I'll always understand that.
"I didn't always agree with the things he did and he didn't always agree with the things I did, but we loved each other. There are so many things he taught me that I've adopted into my lifestyle."
The Spurs were minutes away from finalizing a deal last season that would have sent Rose to the Knicks for Thomas before New York president Steve Mills quashed the deal after learning how much money Rose had left on his contract. Even after that, Rose was hopeful he would survive another trade deadline.
The trade moves Rose closer to his native Philadelphia, but in the past two years most of his family — including his mother and two brothers — had moved to San Antonio. Rose also was in the process of opening his second restaurant in town.
Rose thinks his businesses will remain here. As will his family.
"They're Texans now," he said. "Not only has everybody here been so nice to me, they've been great to my family.
"What hurts so much is I had a place I called home. Now it's no more."
Web Posted: 02/25/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
In the end, after almost three years of rumors and speculation, after he nearly was sent to New York at last season's trade deadline, Malik Rose still was surprised.
Rose practiced with the Spurs on Thursday morning at the team's facility, then stayed to work out alone. He was joking around in the players' lounge and training room when someone said coach Gregg Popovich wanted to see him.
Only then did Rose sense something had happened. He met Popovich in his office. His coach of eight seasons told him he was being traded to the Knicks for center Nazr Mohammed.
"I was very shocked," Rose said late Thursday, about 90 minutes before he was to board a charter flight to New York. "The worst I've ever felt was when I lost my brother. But this is the worst I've felt since then. It just hurts."
The Spurs also sent New York a pair of first-round picks: the one Phoenix owed them this season as well as their own in the 2006 draft. In addition to Mohammed, they received point guard Jamison Brewer, who will be waived.
Though the 6-foot-10 Mohammed gives the Spurs the backup center they had been seeking, it also helps them shed more than $21 million in future payroll. Mohammed has only one year worth $5.5 million remaining on his contract after this season compared to the four years and $27.3 million Rose has left on his deal.
The Spurs agreed to pay the 10 percent trade kicker in Rose's contract for the Knicks. The trade bonus is worth almost $3million and must be paid within 30 days.
Rose signed his seven-year, $42million contract in the summer of 2002. Though the deal was considered market value at the time, the team since has handed longterm contracts to Tim Duncan ($120 million), Tony Parker ($66 million), Manu Ginobili ($52 million) and Rasho Nesterovic ($42 million). The flexibility the Spurs gain from Thursday's trade also could help them this summer if they try to sign one of their former draft picks, Argentine forward Luis Scola.
"We've been together a long time," Popovich said of Rose. "He doesn't want to go, and were it not for the business involved, we wouldn't want him to go."
To open a roster spot to complete the deal, the Spurs waived Romain Sato and placed Mike Wilks on the injured list. The team will evaluate its needs but will consider re-signing Sato if he clears waivers.
Mohammed, 27, is three inches taller than Rose, which should help the Spurs better measure up with Shaquille O'Neal and Miami if the teams meet in the NBA Finals. He had started all 54 games for the Knicks this season, averaging 10.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and .98 blocks in 28.1 minutes.
The Spurs had pursued Mohammed because of his size and potential. New York officials initially did not want to let him go unless they received Nesterovic in return. The Spurs were hesitant about parting with their starting center for Mohammed even in a package that would have included Rose and Knicks center Kurt Thomas.
On Wednesday night, Knicks officials said they didn't have any interest in doing a Rose-Mohammed deal. They changed their mind Thursday morning, perhaps because they also had agreed to acquire Houston forward Maurice Taylor.
The trade was not made official until almost five hours after Thursday's 2 p.m. deadline. Mohammed will fly to San Antonio today but is not expected to play Saturday against Memphis, Popovich said.
"If Nazr buys into the system, he might be able to really help us," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "What's also exciting is that he's improved every year of his career."
Buford admitted Mohammed's acquisition comes "at a huge expense."
"Malik is somebody we're all close to," Buford said, "and he's been a big part of our fiber and chemistry."
In his eight seasons with the Spurs, Rose played in 509 games, averaging 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Tim Duncan and Johnny Moore — who all already or will have their jersey numbers retired — are the only players to have appeared in more games with the franchise.
Rose signed with the Spurs before the 1997-98 season, the same season Duncan joined the team. The two became good friends, and Rose hired Lon Babby as his agent on Duncan's recommendation. Dallas' Michael Finley and Shawn Bradley are the only current teammates with a longer tenure together.
Though Duncan and several teammates called Thursday, Rose did not speak with them because "I'm just too upset right now."
Rose was a significant piece of the Spurs' 1999 and 2003 championship teams, though his minutes declined the past two seasons with the addition of Robert Horry. His sense of humor fit well in the locker room, and his work ethic and community involvement also made him a favorite of the fans.
"I'm so grateful for everything he's done for us, on and off the court," Popovich said. "But our responsibility is to the team as a whole, not one individual."
Rose and Popovich bickered in recent years — "They were like an old married couple," said one team source — but they continued to share respect for each other. Even in recent weeks, when Rose again was frustrated by his inconsistent role, he said he hoped to remain with the team.
"I'm upset, but I'm not angry," Rose said, his voice cracking. "Pop did what he had to do for the organization, and I'll always understand that.
"I didn't always agree with the things he did and he didn't always agree with the things I did, but we loved each other. There are so many things he taught me that I've adopted into my lifestyle."
The Spurs were minutes away from finalizing a deal last season that would have sent Rose to the Knicks for Thomas before New York president Steve Mills quashed the deal after learning how much money Rose had left on his contract. Even after that, Rose was hopeful he would survive another trade deadline.
The trade moves Rose closer to his native Philadelphia, but in the past two years most of his family — including his mother and two brothers — had moved to San Antonio. Rose also was in the process of opening his second restaurant in town.
Rose thinks his businesses will remain here. As will his family.
"They're Texans now," he said. "Not only has everybody here been so nice to me, they've been great to my family.
"What hurts so much is I had a place I called home. Now it's no more."