Oberto question

[Gant]

I'm not sure if this should go on the Spurs or NBA forum, but could you please give me your overall opinion of Oberto? Thank you.

[coyotes_geek]

Pros: Incredibly smart player, great vision and court sense, great glue guy for a team.

Cons: Undersized, very limited athletic ability.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Pop once referred to him as "the best ugly player" he'd ever seen. From the neck up he might be the best in the league, and he has to be because he just might be as bad as anyone from the neck down.

[manufan10]

pros: Incredibly smart player, great vision and court sense, great glue guy for a team.

Cons: Undersized, very limited athletic ability.

+1

[DBMethos]

Also we don't know if his heart condition is going to persist, making him very limited in his availability.

[nkdlunch]

dude is the only NBA player with a grill. what else can you say, he is a bad ass

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

He also the only player I know that can still look reasonably manly in a hairband.

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6715/obertovsphxti2.jpg

That's not as easy as you might think.
http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/mike-miller-breasts.jpg

[SenorSpur]

Pop once referred to him as "the best ugly player" he'd ever seen. From the neck up he might be the best in the league, and he has to be because he just might be as bad as anyone from the neck down.

:lol +1

[Dex]

I still :lol when I think about him going for 11/11 against the Suns.

For what Oberto lacked in skill, he made up for with hustle and craftiness. For a guy as slow and nonathletic as he is, he made a considerable living earning bunnie buckets by being sneaky around the basket.

[MB20]

100% coachable.
Will accept any role given to him.

[Bukefal]

Glad he's gone .

[Marcus Bryant]

Watch the 2007 NBA Finals. Oberto is a savvy player, but unfortunately the flesh can no longer do what the spirit knows must be done. I'd like Oberto back as the 6th big. In terms of knowing the Spurs' system and mentoring the young bigs, he'd be a nice fit.

[mytespurs]

When and why did the Spurs acquire him?

I haven't been that overly impressed with him. And he's getting up there...isn't he like 35 or 36? And then there is his heart condition......

[VivaPopovich]

good floor vision, good on-court chemistry with team

weak, can't rebound, can't post, can't defend the post, can't block shots

[Tully365]

If Oberto's brain was in Elson's body, the Spurs would have their starting center.

[buttsR4rebounding]

When and why did the Spurs acquire him?

I haven't been that overly impressed with him. And he's getting up there...isn't he like 35 or 36? And then there is his heart condition......

One of the many years that Scola wasn't coming over the Spurs went with plan B: Oberto. He actually signed for about the same as Scola did w/ the Rockets.

[draft87]

When and why did the Spurs acquire him?

I haven't been that overly impressed with him. And he's getting up there...isn't he like 35 or 36? And then there is his heart condition......

he's 34. it was the right move to trade him especially considering who we got in return. i'd gladly take him back, but as you said the heart condition is a serious concern. i'm sure he's considering that as much as the spurs are.

spurs got him summer of '05. he was signed as an undrafted free agent when it was clear that scola was not coming to the team. i'm still not 100% clear as to why scola never signed, i've heard buyout, salary, minutes, position, rotation, etc but nothing totally makes sense considering the trade and the contract/minutes he got with houston. although someone mentioned how getting rid of jackie butler was a big part of it. i'd believe it, but what was jbs salary?

if you put oberto up against scola then oberto is a bust but the #s don't tell the whole story. oberto is clearly less skilled but he's very smart and crafty like everyone is mentioning. he's always accepted whatever challenge the team put on him. he plays the system and because of that even though he has never put up huge #s there are plenty of highlights including him grabbing key rebounds, assists, backdoor cuts, etc

[Drom John]

Oberto set great picks.
While Oberto didn't get many rebounds, he blocked out superbly.

[TampaDude]

Lotta mileage on that body, but he has a high basketball IQ.

[draft87]

Oberto set great picks.
While Oberto didn't get many rebounds, he blocked out superbly.

absolutely. the finley 3 against phoenix in game 1 2008 was off an oberto screen!

[Libri]

Oberto set great picks.
While Oberto didn't get many rebounds, he blocked out superbly.

Good points.

Manu said that Oberto often dances with the ugly one. In other words, Fab has had to guard difficult opponents regularly. Oberto doesn't score many points but has high IQ. He has lived in the paint doing the dirty work like boxing out, setting picks, fighting for rebounds, helping on double teams, and tipping the ball out, stuff like that.

[barbacoataco]

I thought Thomas was much better at setting picks, and I think the Spurs will miss it if no one else steps up.

[pad300]

if oberto's brain was in elson's body, the spurs would have a three time all-star...

fify...

[chasky]

Pros: Team Player, Passing ability, good Rebounder, good picks And Smart player.

Cons: 34 years, Heart condition, undersized and slow.

[Gant]

Thank you everyone. This has been very helpful. Good luck and good health to the Spurs next season!

[MmP]

Actually Oberto is a great offensive player. A statement that probably is going to be argued. In europe was the center of his team's offense. But (as wise as he is) in SA he understood he was next to Duncan so it was nonsense to try score and did what his team and coach were asking for somebody to do next to Tim. Probably the same reason why Scola is not with us.

[Thompson]

I'd like Oberto back as the 6th big. In terms of knowing the Spurs' system and mentoring the young bigs, he'd be a nice fit.

I'd prefer Kurt Thomas if they were both available. He was much better than Oberto last year (Fab barely played anyway because of his heart condition), and I would still like to see Thomas get a ring with the Spurs.