milkyway21
02-26-2005, 12:00 AM
'I'm ready to work'
Popovich, Spurs ready to give Muhammed a chance
Posted: Friday February 25, 2005 8:13PM; Updated: Friday February 25, 2005 8:13PM
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Even at 6-foot-10, Nazr Muhammed will have a hard time filling the San Antonio Spurs roster slot left behind by the smaller Malik Rose.
Muhammed arrived in San Antonio on Friday, a day after the Spurs acquired him from the New York Knicks in a trade for the 6-foot-7 Rose, an energetic and overachieving reserve who was one of the most beloved players in team history.
Muhammed said Thursday's deal caught him by surprise, but that it was a pleasant surprise.
"I'm very fortunate because I'm coming to the best team in the league," he said. "I'm ready to work, and we'll go from there."
Even though he's coming late in the season, Muhammed believes he'll be an asset as San Antonio tries to win its third NBA title.
"I feel I'm one of the better rebounders in this league, and I feel at the center position I'm as good as most centers or better than most centers in this league," he said.
Muhammed started as the Knicks' center in all 54 games through Thursday, averaging 10.9 points and 8.1 rebounds.
His stats are better than those of San Antonio starting center Rasho Nesterovic, whose averages of 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds are both down from last year.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wouldn't say Friday whether he envisioned Muhammed as a backup to Nesterovic or a starter.
"Nazr's a player," he said. "We'll see." :rolleyes
Spurs players said Friday that they were stunned by the deal that shook up their hoops family, and that they already miss Rose's presence on the court and in the locker room.
"Sometimes loved ones go -- it's part of the business," forward Bruce Bowen said after a team practice. "It's just that San Antonio is such a great organization and the community is so great that you forget that."
At the same time, they're ready to embrace Muhammed in the hope that he can help them win another championship.
"I think we are smart guys and we are good people and will try to make him fit in the team as well as Malik did," guard Manu Ginobili said. "That's the only goal."
Bowen, a teammate of Muhammed's in Philadelphia for part of the 1999-2000 season, said he expects the Spurs and their fans to quickly accept their new player.
"Nazr's a good guy," he said. "He didn't have anything to do with this (trade). I think it's important for us that we welcome him and let him know what we're about as a community, as an organization, as a family."
Popovich, whose relationship with the emotional Rose has been at times rocky, said he was downhearted about the deal. But, he said, it was still the right thing to do.
"You don't not trade somebody because he's a good guy," said Popovich, who brought Rose to San Antonio as a free agent in 1997. "This is about winning."
This season the Spurs got out to their best-ever start, and they now sport the league's best record at 42-12.
But Rose's role on the team was in near constant flux for the past two seasons, and with four-plus years left on a $42 million contract signed in 2002, management didn't hide its desire to unload him to free up salary-cap space.
After posting a career-high 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in the 2002-03 championship season, Rose lost playing time to Robert Horry last year and his production fell off to 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.
This season, still sharing time with Horry, Rose averaged 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds
Popovich, Spurs ready to give Muhammed a chance
Posted: Friday February 25, 2005 8:13PM; Updated: Friday February 25, 2005 8:13PM
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Even at 6-foot-10, Nazr Muhammed will have a hard time filling the San Antonio Spurs roster slot left behind by the smaller Malik Rose.
Muhammed arrived in San Antonio on Friday, a day after the Spurs acquired him from the New York Knicks in a trade for the 6-foot-7 Rose, an energetic and overachieving reserve who was one of the most beloved players in team history.
Muhammed said Thursday's deal caught him by surprise, but that it was a pleasant surprise.
"I'm very fortunate because I'm coming to the best team in the league," he said. "I'm ready to work, and we'll go from there."
Even though he's coming late in the season, Muhammed believes he'll be an asset as San Antonio tries to win its third NBA title.
"I feel I'm one of the better rebounders in this league, and I feel at the center position I'm as good as most centers or better than most centers in this league," he said.
Muhammed started as the Knicks' center in all 54 games through Thursday, averaging 10.9 points and 8.1 rebounds.
His stats are better than those of San Antonio starting center Rasho Nesterovic, whose averages of 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds are both down from last year.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wouldn't say Friday whether he envisioned Muhammed as a backup to Nesterovic or a starter.
"Nazr's a player," he said. "We'll see." :rolleyes
Spurs players said Friday that they were stunned by the deal that shook up their hoops family, and that they already miss Rose's presence on the court and in the locker room.
"Sometimes loved ones go -- it's part of the business," forward Bruce Bowen said after a team practice. "It's just that San Antonio is such a great organization and the community is so great that you forget that."
At the same time, they're ready to embrace Muhammed in the hope that he can help them win another championship.
"I think we are smart guys and we are good people and will try to make him fit in the team as well as Malik did," guard Manu Ginobili said. "That's the only goal."
Bowen, a teammate of Muhammed's in Philadelphia for part of the 1999-2000 season, said he expects the Spurs and their fans to quickly accept their new player.
"Nazr's a good guy," he said. "He didn't have anything to do with this (trade). I think it's important for us that we welcome him and let him know what we're about as a community, as an organization, as a family."
Popovich, whose relationship with the emotional Rose has been at times rocky, said he was downhearted about the deal. But, he said, it was still the right thing to do.
"You don't not trade somebody because he's a good guy," said Popovich, who brought Rose to San Antonio as a free agent in 1997. "This is about winning."
This season the Spurs got out to their best-ever start, and they now sport the league's best record at 42-12.
But Rose's role on the team was in near constant flux for the past two seasons, and with four-plus years left on a $42 million contract signed in 2002, management didn't hide its desire to unload him to free up salary-cap space.
After posting a career-high 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in the 2002-03 championship season, Rose lost playing time to Robert Horry last year and his production fell off to 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.
This season, still sharing time with Horry, Rose averaged 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds