migs21
07-08-2009, 10:36 PM
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
For the first time since David Robinson retired in 2003, Tim Duncan has another All-Star beside him on the Spurs front line.
Antonio McDyess, a 34-year-old veteran of 14 seasons, agreed Wednesday to terms of a free agent contract that will pair him with Duncan on a Spurs team that has re-emerged after a first-round playoff ouster as the primary Western Conference challenger to the 2009 NBA champion Lakers.
It's been eight years since McDyess played in his one-and-only All-Star Game, but he is coming off a season with the Detroit Pistons in which he nearly averaged a double-double in points and rebounds, still regarded as one of the NBA's most reliable post players.
Spurs general manager R.C Buford confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the Spurs had reached agreement with McDyess. A club spokesperson said McDyess, whose off-season home is in Houston, is expected to sign a Spurs contract by week's end.
Sources close to McDyess said the contract is for three seasons, starting at the full, mid-level exception to the NBA's salary cap restrictions, $5.845 million. The third season is believed to be 50 percent guaranteed.
McDyess averaged 9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds as the starting center for the Pistons last season. Though he will turn 35 on Sept. 7, he has played in 109 fewer games, regular season and playoffs, than has 34-year-old Duncan.
McDyess chose the Spurs over the Pistons, who could not match the money the Spurs offered. The Orlando Magic, who played in the NBA Finals in June, also are believed to have offered him full mid-level money. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the NBA's best record last season, also were bidders.
The second pick in the 1995 draft, by the Clippers, McDyess went to the Denver Nuggets in a draft-night deal, and played six of his first seven seasons for them. He averaged 20.8 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Nuggets in 2000-01, representing them in the 2001 All-Star Game.
McDyess also played for the Suns and the Knicks, but he enjoyed his most successful run with the Pistons, an Eastern power that reached the conference finals four times in his five seasons there.
McDyesseHe has career averages of 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. He also has played in 84 playoff games, including the seven games of the 2005 NBA Finals, when the Spurs defeated the Pistons. Then, he was a key backup, behind Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace, showing his willingness to accept any role for the good of the team.
He was one of the Pistons' most productive playoff performers last season, averaging 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in a first-round series against Cleveland.
Fiercely loyal, the decision to join the Spurs was difficult for McDyess. He had returned to the Pistons after Detroit general manager Joe Dumars traded him to the Nuggets in November, part of the blockbuster trade involving Chauncey Billups and Allen Iverson. Since he was in the final season of his contract, the Nuggets negotiated a buyout of the $6.8 million he was owed, and then waived him.
The Spurs were one of many teams that tried to sign him then, but after waiting an NBA-mandated 30 days, he re-signed with the Pistons, mostly out of loyalty to Dumars. It was that loyalty that agonized McDyess on Wednesday.
Ultimately, the Spurs' position as a prime championship contender impacted Wednesday's decision. McDyess considers winning a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the highlight of his basketball career. Ironically, he was named to the 2000 U.S. team as a replacement for Duncan, who withdrew from the team in mid-August, 2000, because of a knee injury.
Now, he hopes to team with Duncan to achieve the only goal he deems greater than winning Olympic gold: An NBA title.
Additional signings: The Spurs also reached agreement Wednesday with free agent power forward Marcus Haislip, the 13th selection, by Milwaukee, in the 2002 NBA draft, and Malik Hairston, a 6-6 swing man who played 15 games with the Spurs last season.
Haislip, 6-10 and 230 pounds, has played in Turkey and Spain since leaving the NBA in 2005. He spent the last two seasons with Unicaja Malaga in the Spanish ACB League, and in Euroleague competition. In 35 games in Spanish League play he averaged 15.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in an average of 28.0 minutes.
The Spurs acquired Hairston in a swap of second-round picks on draft night in 2008. In 15 games with the Spurs, he averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in limited court time. He also appeared in 30 games with the Spurs' Austin Toros NBA D-League team, averaging 22.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
For the first time since David Robinson retired in 2003, Tim Duncan has another All-Star beside him on the Spurs front line.
Antonio McDyess, a 34-year-old veteran of 14 seasons, agreed Wednesday to terms of a free agent contract that will pair him with Duncan on a Spurs team that has re-emerged after a first-round playoff ouster as the primary Western Conference challenger to the 2009 NBA champion Lakers.
It's been eight years since McDyess played in his one-and-only All-Star Game, but he is coming off a season with the Detroit Pistons in which he nearly averaged a double-double in points and rebounds, still regarded as one of the NBA's most reliable post players.
Spurs general manager R.C Buford confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the Spurs had reached agreement with McDyess. A club spokesperson said McDyess, whose off-season home is in Houston, is expected to sign a Spurs contract by week's end.
Sources close to McDyess said the contract is for three seasons, starting at the full, mid-level exception to the NBA's salary cap restrictions, $5.845 million. The third season is believed to be 50 percent guaranteed.
McDyess averaged 9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds as the starting center for the Pistons last season. Though he will turn 35 on Sept. 7, he has played in 109 fewer games, regular season and playoffs, than has 34-year-old Duncan.
McDyess chose the Spurs over the Pistons, who could not match the money the Spurs offered. The Orlando Magic, who played in the NBA Finals in June, also are believed to have offered him full mid-level money. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the NBA's best record last season, also were bidders.
The second pick in the 1995 draft, by the Clippers, McDyess went to the Denver Nuggets in a draft-night deal, and played six of his first seven seasons for them. He averaged 20.8 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Nuggets in 2000-01, representing them in the 2001 All-Star Game.
McDyess also played for the Suns and the Knicks, but he enjoyed his most successful run with the Pistons, an Eastern power that reached the conference finals four times in his five seasons there.
McDyesseHe has career averages of 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. He also has played in 84 playoff games, including the seven games of the 2005 NBA Finals, when the Spurs defeated the Pistons. Then, he was a key backup, behind Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace, showing his willingness to accept any role for the good of the team.
He was one of the Pistons' most productive playoff performers last season, averaging 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in a first-round series against Cleveland.
Fiercely loyal, the decision to join the Spurs was difficult for McDyess. He had returned to the Pistons after Detroit general manager Joe Dumars traded him to the Nuggets in November, part of the blockbuster trade involving Chauncey Billups and Allen Iverson. Since he was in the final season of his contract, the Nuggets negotiated a buyout of the $6.8 million he was owed, and then waived him.
The Spurs were one of many teams that tried to sign him then, but after waiting an NBA-mandated 30 days, he re-signed with the Pistons, mostly out of loyalty to Dumars. It was that loyalty that agonized McDyess on Wednesday.
Ultimately, the Spurs' position as a prime championship contender impacted Wednesday's decision. McDyess considers winning a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the highlight of his basketball career. Ironically, he was named to the 2000 U.S. team as a replacement for Duncan, who withdrew from the team in mid-August, 2000, because of a knee injury.
Now, he hopes to team with Duncan to achieve the only goal he deems greater than winning Olympic gold: An NBA title.
Additional signings: The Spurs also reached agreement Wednesday with free agent power forward Marcus Haislip, the 13th selection, by Milwaukee, in the 2002 NBA draft, and Malik Hairston, a 6-6 swing man who played 15 games with the Spurs last season.
Haislip, 6-10 and 230 pounds, has played in Turkey and Spain since leaving the NBA in 2005. He spent the last two seasons with Unicaja Malaga in the Spanish ACB League, and in Euroleague competition. In 35 games in Spanish League play he averaged 15.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in an average of 28.0 minutes.
The Spurs acquired Hairston in a swap of second-round picks on draft night in 2008. In 15 games with the Spurs, he averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in limited court time. He also appeared in 30 games with the Spurs' Austin Toros NBA D-League team, averaging 22.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.