Harvey: FinDog Millionaire

[duncan228]

FinDog millionaire (http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/buckharvey/2009/06/fin-dog-millionaire.html)
By Buck Harvey

Michael Finley has until July 1 to decide whether to opt-out of his Spurs contract, though most everyone has assumed he would be back.

Maybe that's still the case. He's been happy in San Antonio, and he's scheduled to earn $2.5 million. There's a chance another team would offer a 2-year contract, but, in this economy, the bid might be only the veteran's minimum.

Those who know Finley say he wants to keep playing. His body held up well last season, when he appeared in 81 games, and the one game he missed deserves an asterisk. That was in Denver, when Gregg Popovich famously sat most of his starters.

But the personnel changes last week also change the equation. Now, with Richard Jefferson sure to take most of his minutes, does Finley want to come back and play in a limited role?

Bruce Bowen, as accustomed to starting and playing as Finley, struggled last season making the same adjustment.

Popovich likely wants Finley back. He's had as much respect for Finley as for any of his players, and Popovich would reason that Finley's professionalism would contribute in some form.

Still, after the Jefferson trade, this is a franchise that will be paying the luxury tax. If Jefferson gets 32-34 minutes a night, and if Popovich spreads wing minutes between Roger Mason Jr., Manu Ginobili and George Hill, would the Spurs prefer to develop Malik Hairston, Marcus Williams or someone else?

For those who mark the time: If Finley leaves, Tim Duncan becomes the elder Spur.

[Galileo]

for those who mark the time: If finley leaves, tim duncan becomes the elder spur.

yikes!

[45 bank shot]

yikes!

first time in at least 8 years

[Mr. Body]

I favor keeping Finley, unless a great deal comes around. We need some continuity between this year and last, with the role-players. I want one of Bowen or Finley back.

[Mugen]

lol i wonder how timmy would react to being the oldest spur.

[spursbird]

I favor keeping Finley, unless a great deal comes around. We need some continuity between this year and last, with the role-players. I want one of Bowen or Finley back.
Hell NO! Why don't you want Fab or Kurt back?

[baseline bum]

Finley, get the fuck out.

[Blackjack]

I favor keeping Finley, unless a great deal comes around. We need some continuity between this year and last, with the role-players. I want one of Bowen or Finley back.

Agree. (In terms of keeping some of the continuity.:tu)

With the Spurs' lack of defensive-size at the wing though, I'd hope it'd be Bowen.

[timvp]

I want Finley out and Bowen back in.

[baseline bum]

I want Finley out and Bowen back in.

If you had to choose between either
1) Bowen & Finley back
- or -
2) neither back

Which would you choose?

[Mugen]

I want Finley out and Bowen back in.

I'm with ya, timvp

but don't you think Fin exercising his option is a good thing in terms of him being a valuable trade asset this offseason and possibly at the deadline next year?

[Danny.Zhu]

I want Finley out and Bowen back in.

Bowen is surely my first option.

If Bowen doesn't come back, I'm OK with Finely.

[Spursmania]

i want finley out and bowen back in.

+1000

[timvp]

If you had to choose between either
1) Bowen & Finley back
- or -
2) neither back

Which would you choose?

Got damn, that's a tough choice :lmao

That's more difficult than it was picking a team to root for in the '08 Finals.



I'd go with option 1. I don't want this team to get too young and lose that chemistry they've built up (never thought I'd say that). And I'd like to think that RJ will keep Finley off the court.

[Biernutz]

I love you Mike but you will be buried in the bench now. You know how when you come in off the bench how bad you shoot. You have to be a starter to get your shot down but that will be a thing of the past. Ask Bruce. Mike call it a career. You had a good one and Cuban in a few years will hang your shirt from the AAC. Thanks Mike for being a Spurs--You got your ring with us!!

[lefty]

i want finley out and bowen back in.
+1

[ElNono]

Time to move on... Findog, thanks for the memories... GTFO!

[dbestpro]

To me this one is easy. Sign Bowen for the vet minimum and trade Finley as part of something more useful.

[Mr. Body]

I'd take either Bowen or Finley, believing Bowen will not be back (for whatever reason). I'd prefer Bowen, though.

[baseline bum]

Got damn, that's a tough choice :lmao

That's more difficult than it was picking a team to root for in the '08 Finals.



I'd go with option 1. I don't want this team to get too young and lose that chemistry they've built up (never thought I'd say that). And I'd like to think that RJ will keep Finley off the court.

I think I'd take 2), because Bowen won't get a second of meaningful playing time anyways if Finley is here. My best case scenario is Bruce returns and the Spurs package Finley's expiring deal with Bonner's to get a passable big.

[ElNono]

To be more precise, my fear is Pop having the thought of starting him and giving him heavy minutes over guys like Mason. If Fin is there, I'm affraid Pop will be tempted.

[whottt]

Finley will leave. He sucks in a reduced role and he knows it.

[whottt]

I hope.

[Dre_7]

Finley in a very limited role? Absolutely. But Fin playing heavy minutes? No way.

[EmantheSpursFan]

I would hope to see Bowen back, he can mentor the youngins ie G. Hill, Gist, Hairston, Blair. and off the court make jokes with Sean and do HEB commercials!!!!!!!!

[loveforthegame]

The Spurs might decide to rent Finley as a backup this year. The Jefferson trade shows they know they can't rely on Finley starting and playing heavy minutes.

I see no temptation whatsoever for Pop to play Finley over Mason and Ginobli either.

The luck of drafting Blair unexpectedly without giving up anything also plays into this. The Spurs can basically focus on one last move of getting a big man through free agency.

If a trade comes up later then I'm sure they'll go for it. But as someone else pointed out above having some continuity would be nice. This roster could end up being one of the best balances of vets and youth in a while.

[wildbill2u]

I wonder if Finley has any trade value? We need to get younger and let some of the younger guys have some minutes.

[EricB]

How much younger do they need to damn get....

Shit they just added a 29 year old wing, a 20 year old PF, and a 22 year old SG.


Thats pretty damn young..

[EricB]

Finley will come back based on the no duh factor.

Lets see, retire, or pick up 2.5 million.

Gee let me think.....

[Pucho!!!]

Lets see, retire, or pick up 2.5 million and have a chance at a championship!

Gee let me think.....

I don't mind Fin in a limited role

[objective]

If you had to choose between either
1) Bowen & Finley back
- or -
2) neither back

Which would you choose?

neither back

[loveforthegame]

I think the Spurs have done a damn good job at getting younger this season so having Finley off the bench for a year isn't going to drag the team down.

If a deal comes up and it's a no brainer then I'm sure the Spurs will do so. I don't think Finley has trade value by himself but certainly if he's packaged with Bonner and/or Mason.

Even if Finley declines his option or the Spurs do trade him away it's not like Hairston or Gist or anyone else they bring in is going to log meaniful minutes. Just like Finley won't if he's here.

[TDMVPDPOY]

finley should goto miami....they will make use of them banners they had made for him a few seasons ago, unless they burnt it

[loveforthegame]

Finley will go to a contender if he's not here or retiring.

I don't see the Lakers wanting him so East would be more likely.

Cleveland, Boston, Orlando is about it.

[Mel_13]

Finley will go to a contender if he's not here or retiring.

I don't see the Lakers wanting him so East would be more likely.

Cleveland, Boston, Orlando is about it.

Or end his career playing for his hometown team in Chicago.

[mingus]

Finley would be instant offense of the bench in a llmited role ... for the other team !

maybe the only bad thing about loisng Finley is he's good at threes. this Spurs team has Manu, Mase, Bonner, McClinton* (* asterisk because we haven't seen him in the NBA and don't know what, or if, he'll even produce in any way, shape or form for this team) as pretty much the only reliable three point shooters, and for team that's built around penetration and kick out, or inside out game with TD, that's kind problematic.

[TDMVPDPOY]

if finley picks up the option

fuck him, play him out till the trade deadline see if theres anything we need

package him + bonner + any crap we dont need it

[spursfaninla]

I don't get how Fin's expiring is not an asset....really, he and Bonner, plus maybe Mason has potential for one more move to help a team needing/wanting cap space...

[TimDunkem]

I don't get how Fin's expiring is not an asset....really, he and Bonner, plus maybe Mason has potential for one more move to help a team needing/wanting cap space...

We'd have no depth at the 2 if we traded Mason.

[spursfaninla]

Hill is really a 2. One of the rookies is a 2. And Hairson can play the 2/3; in fact, the 2/3 are interchangable i the spurs system, so manu/richardson/hill/2 rookies would be fine...

[TDMVPDPOY]

dont we need his agreement since its in his contract whether to accept to be traded or not....

[SenorSpur]

If Jefferson gets 32-34 minutes a night, and if Popovich spreads wing minutes between Roger Mason Jr., Manu Ginobili and George Hill, would the Spurs prefer to develop Malik Hairston, Marcus Williams or someone else?

I would prefer the latter. Develop Hairston and Williams on the fly. Finley has ultimately proven to be a liability whether he's a starter or in a bench role.

[ivanfromwestwood]

I would prefer the latter. Develop Hairston and Williams on the fly. Finley has ultimately proven to be a liability whether he's a starter or in a bench role. no shit. i cried last time we resigned him. hope his agent is looking for another team for him to sign with.

[crc21209]

As a backup and in limited mins, sure why not? With Jefferson now Pop has GOT to stop with the man-crush on Fin. Though if I had to choose between Fin & Bowen...give me Bruce.

[buttsR4rebounding]

While I like Bruce more I hate to say it, but if you are going to keep one of them I think it needs to be Finley. The only way either will play is a limited role and the likelihood is if needed instant offense would be required over instant defense. Remember, Bruce needs his minutes to be the shut down defender he can be. He needs to get into a defensive rythem to be effective. He is not anywhere near as effective and fouls much more when he just gets a few minutes here and there. Finley might be a candidate for the Steve Kerr role.

[ivanfromwestwood]

does anyone have a clip of bruce hitting finely with an elbow. i remember finley getting up and running back at bowen just to hit him back. man i miss when we used to beat up the mavs. literaly.lol

[kobyz]

Finley last year played 28 minutes per game because of Manu injury and because the other options were Mason and Udoka so you can understand why Pop give him 28 minutes.
but for a bench player who give you veteran present and some minutes in the rotation he has a good value, Pop will not give him 28 minutes cause now he has RJ and hopefully Manu healthy.

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

My feeling is that Finley will opt out and resign a 1+1 year deal with the Spurs for the Veteran's minimum. Lest everyone forget, Cuban is still paying him.

[DBMethos]

My fear is that there will be no "limited" role for Finley while he's on the roster. As long as Pop sees him on that bench, he's going to want to put him in.

[TheChillFactor]

worst article title ever.

[Darkwaters]

How much younger do they need to damn get....

Shit they just added a 29 year old wing, a 20 year old PF, and a 22 year old SG.


Thats pretty damn young..

While at the same time trading away Oberto, Bowen and Thomas.

Plus Vaughn and Finley might walk.

Our average age is going to be well under 30 this upcoming year.

[Darkwaters]

My feeling is that Finley will opt out and resign a 1+1 year deal with the Spurs for the Veteran's minimum. Lest everyone forget, Cuban is still paying him.

Unless they renegotiated the payment of that contract then Cuban hasn't owed him anything for a while.

[ploto]

I don't know the particulars of Finley's contract, but the one thing he may need to consider is control over his destiny. If he exercises his option, he very well may immediately become trade bait and he may not want that. Instead, if he does not exercise his option and he signs a new one year deal anywhere, then he has security of knowing where he will be all season. Since he has made a ton of money, he may opt for a situation where he has the say-so.

[sook]

I want Finley out and Bowen back in.

seriously dude?

I can't count how many HUGE shots he hit for you guys. If he hadn't you guys would have ended up as the 6th seed in the playoffs.

[lotr1trekkie]

Where does Finley fit? Backup for Jerfferson? SG will be overcrowded with Mason, Manu, and Hill sharing minutes. If he opts in we should trade him for a prospect.

[1Parker1]

After the lovefest I've seen from Pop these past few seasons with his continuing insistence to play Finley more and more...even sacrificing Bruce Bowen's minutes, I don't want to chance it. If RJ goes into a mini-slump, which I'm sure he will as most Spurs players in their first season take time to adjust, I can see Pop pulling Michael Finley from off the bench and playing him big minutes instead of letting RJ work through the slump. :pctoss

Retire Finley, or Leave!

[PM5K]

Without question Finley is one of the most underrated Spurs in recent memory.

[baseline bum]

Finley last year played 28 minutes per game because of Manu injury and because the other options were Mason and Udoka so you can understand why Pop give him 28 minutes.
but for a bench player who give you veteran present and some minutes in the rotation he has a good value, Pop will not give him 28 minutes cause now he has RJ and hopefully Manu healthy.

The other option was Bowen, who turned out to be the Spurs 3rd best player by far when the games meant anything. Finley has to fucking go.

[loveforthegame]

Mason, Ginobli, and Hill will have their hands full filling all the shooting guard minutes and the rest of the back up point guard minutes. Do we really need to tack on more wear for them to fill out the rest of the small forward minutes as well?

I'm sure Pop has his limits of how many young players he's going to play. Blair and Hill are locks, possibly Gist and Mahinmi as well. I don't see a guy like Williams or Hairston or McClinton getting the nod this season too.

[EricB]

I'm interested to see if Finley leaves who the Spurstalk armchair quarterback's new whipping boy will be.

[coyotes_geek]

I'm interested to see if Finley leaves who the Spurstalk armchair quarterback's new whipping boy will be.

Bonner.

[loveforthegame]

I'm interested to see if Finley leaves who the Spurstalk armchair quarterback's new whipping boy will be.

Mason and/or Bonner.

[kobyz]

The other option was Bowen, who turned out to be the Spurs 3rd best player by far when the games meant anything. Finley has to fucking go.

Finley was deserve for the 28 minutes in the situation of last year he was Better option than Udoka and Mason, Bowen was takin minutes by Mason and Udoka.
Finely didn't played bad last season, he was deserve for the minutes, Pop didn't make eny preferring for Finley that was not justified, so enough to say all the things like Pop will play finley more than RJ cause he love him and all that crap, this is bullshit!!
Finley for a littler role like 10 minutes and veteran present is excellent!