Monroe: Numbers working against Spurs hopefuls

[duncan228]

Numbers working against Spurs hopefuls (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Numbers_working_against_Spurs_hopefuls.html)
Mike Monroe

The deepest training camp roster the Spurs have enjoyed in years heads into the final two weeks of preparation for the regular season with plenty of competition remaining among the 18 players.

At stake: Spots in the regular playing rotation and one spot not already penciled in for players with fully guaranteed contracts.

A few years back, there would have been little debate about keeping the full complement of 15 players the NBA allows.

On the brink of the 2009-10 campaign, however, the general economic downturn that finds teams cutting back on expenses at every turn makes each roster spot beyond the mandated minimum of 13 an expensive luxury.

The Spurs figure to be over the league's luxury tax threshold by at least $10 million. That means each extra roster spot comes at twice the price of the added player's contract. The tax is a dollar-for-dollar addition to a payroll that exceeds the cap, projected to be around $65 million.

The ownership group headed by Peter Holt agreed to become a luxury tax payer so a roster that needed youth and athleticism could get it. There may be limits to the spending when it comes to adding players who aren't likely to be part of the team's rotation.

No wonder, then, that head coach and president of basketball operations Gregg Popovich says the final roster spots are apt to remain vacant — unless there is compelling proof that not filling them would amount to basketball lunacy.

“The way we look at it, (not filling the final spots) is most likely,” Popovich said, “unless somebody shows you that you are crazy to cut them because they have played so damn well.

“There's got to be one or two guys show us we're crazy to cut them. If they play that well, we're going to have to keep one or two more bodies than we probably had planned on.”

Spurs without full guarantees — swingmen Malik Hairston and Marcus Williams, point guard Curtis Jerrells and big man Dwayne Jones — are in the unenviable position of having to prove their worth, not only to the coaches, but to the bean counters.

The candidates do their best to ignore the bottom line while making their best case between the lines.

“I try not to even get involved in the numbers game,” said Hairston, who appeared in 17 Spurs games last season. “The only thing I think about is going out every night and going as hard as I can.

“I want to be the best perimeter defender on the court. That's when I bring the energy and attack and bring some youth to the team. Every opportunity I get, I try to make something positive happen.”

Three games into the preseason, Hairston has shown his versatility and productivity at the offensive end. Playing 16 minutes per game, he has solid averages of 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

He knows his real shot at cracking the roster is convincing Popovich he can be a valuable perimeter defender.

Thus far, he has presented a credible argument.

“Malik's doing a fine job,” Popovich said. “He's obviously concentrating on playing good defense; doing good work in that area. That's an emphasis for everybody, all the young kids. You need to get that part of the program down first, and he's definitely doing that.”

Williams, who played some point guard for the Austin Toros last season, has shot only 28.6 percent.

Jerrells, the former Baylor star, had his best outing in Sunday's victory at Miami, where he scored nine points.

Popovich admits he has formed some definite opinions about the candidates, but he isn't tipping his hand. His fondest wish would be accountant-proof production from one or two of them.

“For me, personally, I like having the extra guys on the team because it's hard to practice when you only have 12 players,” he said.

“It sounds simplistic, but when you only have 12 or 13, often a couple of them are hurt, or somebody is sick, and maybe somebody needs a rest. It's really difficult in the NBA to get practices in as the year goes along.”

[Spursmania]

Bye bye Jones, Williams and Jerells...

[SenorSpur]

Gosh, it's hard not to root for Hairston.

[Spursmania]

Gosh, it's hard not to root for Hairston.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Blackjack]

“I try not to even get involved in the numbers game,” said Hairston, who appeared in 17 Spurs games last season. “The only thing I think about is going out every night and going as hard as I can.

“I want to be the best perimeter defender on the court. That's when I bring the energy and attack and bring some youth to the team. Every opportunity I get, I try to make something positive happen.”


“Malik's doing a fine job,” Popovich said. “He's obviously concentrating on playing good defense; doing good work in that area. That's an emphasis for everybody, all the young kids. You need to get that part of the program down first, and he's definitely doing that.”

C'mon, Pop.

You want him on this team, you NEED him on this team!

[AussieFanKurt]

Gosh, it's hard not to root for Hairston.

yep good point mate
explosive G/F
definitely needed

[ohmwrecker]

Hairston will make the squad. He is a better (obviously) offensive option than Bogans. His chances of cracking the active roster and getting significant minutes will be based on his ability to play solid defense. I think he will cut into Finley's minutes by the end of the year. However, when it comes to playoff time he will have to be significantly better than Finley to sway Pop to play him over a proven vet.

[Das Texan]

Unless Hariston has some sort of major setback in the next two weeks, he is making this roster.

[SenorSpur]

Hairston will make the squad. He is a better (obviously) offensive option than Bogans. His chances of cracking the active roster and getting significant minutes will be based on his ability to play solid defense. I think he will cut into Finley's minutes by the end of the year. However, when it comes to playoff time he will have to be significantly better than Finley to sway Pop to play him over a proven vet.

i agree. I see Hairston making the roster and having a chance to potentially crack the rotation during the grind that is a long season. Knowing Pop though, I can't see him favoring Hairston over Finley come playoff time - even if the results are obvious to us ardent fans.

By the way, if Hairston does make the roster, I wonder what will become of Marcus? It sounds as though he still is an under-developed player, in some respects. I understood the Spurs were high on him, based upon how he was tearing up the D-League last year.

[AussieFanKurt]

Unless Hariston has some sort of major setback in the next two weeks, he is making this roster.

well lets hope

[phyzik]

Hairston is a lock.

[spectator]

if you look at his summer league stats (http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/players/index.jsp?player=malik_hairston), you can't help but love his shooting which has developed ever since d-league. his numbers look good in preseason as well and if his defense is better than finley's (to be read: if he understands the spurs system well enough), then he's going to play. otherwise, he's young, has good strength and mobility and pop likes his character.

on another note, i'm more excited about our youth on the bench (hill, hairston, blair) than the acquisitions this summer; anyone else echo those feelings?

[SenorSpur]

on another note, i'm more excited about our youth on the bench (hill, hairston, blair) than the acquisitions this summer; anyone else echo those feelings?

As one of many who have been pining away for the Spurs to infuse the roster with more youth and athleticism, I have waited for this day for some time. Assuming Hariston is a lock to make the team and when you throw Ian into the mix with Blair and Hill, I can certainly echo your feelings totally.

[celldweller]

All my SpursTalk Cash ($36,900) on Malik Hairston!!! :greedy

[The Truth #6]

We're guaranteed a 14 man roster already unless we trade someone. I think Hairston is anything but a lock even though he's probably going to be better than at least one player already on the team.

[urunobili]

Malik FTW!

[The Truth #6]

I would love to see a second unit captained by Manu with Hill, Hairston, Ian, and Blair.

[urunobili]

I would love to see a second unit captained by Manu with Hill, Hairston, Ian, and Blair.

:drool:

[Solid D]

As Monroe's article suggests, cutting Jones, Jerrells and Williams only gets the roster down to 15. There may be 1 or 2 more cuts after that, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary.

[Biggems]

:drool:

replace Ian with Ratliff, and it is on.

Rat = shot blocker
Blair = rebounder
Hairston = perimeter defender
Manu = sparkplug
Hill = swiper

[The Truth #6]

As Monroe's article suggests, cutting Jones, Jerrells and Williams only gets the roster down to 15. There may be 1 or 2 more cuts after that, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary.

Who can they cut after Malik? Isn't everyone else already guaranteed?

[ceperez]

Doesn't sound good at all... looks like they plan on leaving the 15th (and even the 14th) slot empty!

1. Duncan
2. Manu
3. Parker
4. RJ
5. McDyess
6. Finley
7. Bonner
8. Mason
9. Hill
10. Haislip
11. Blair
12. Mahinmi
13. Ratliff
14. Bogans

Also recall that in the game against Olympiacos Bogans started. Bogans also played 21 minutes in game against the Heat, that is the 3rd most minutes behind Blair and Mahinmi.

Clearly Hairston is out playing Bogans, unfortunately Pop is leaning towards Bogans. Bogans however is showing absolutely nothing for his efforts, so who knows, he also may be cut!

[Em-City]

is it plausible that hairston gets cut along with the others?

[celldweller]

I think were cutting a big - Mahinmi or Hairslip, most likely Haislip.

1. Duncan
2. Manu
3. Parker
4. RJ
5. McDyess
6. Finley
7. Bonner
8. Mason
9. Hill
10. Hairston
11. Blair
12. Mahinmi
13. Ratliff
14. Bogans

[angelbelow]

Malik has definitely improved a great deal since we first got a chance to take a look at him. If he continues to work as hard as he does, who knows what the ceiling is for him. The way I see it, his improvements are a major positive but his room to left to improve and become a better basketball player is another positive.

[HarlemHeat37]

Pop's comments about Hairston are very encouraging, but then he also makes the comments about potentially leaving the spot vacant, which is discouraging..this is really going to be an interesting last week or 2 of pre-season games and camp..

The key with Malik is that he's clearly improved DRAMATICALLY from when we first saw him in last year's Summer League until now..he's completely changed his style of play to fit that of a swingman, which wasn't his game in college..that's one of the main aspects when you want to make it in the NBA or any sport..you have to be a hard worker, and Hairston clearly has a huge work ethic..

I don't know if Pop will really cut him though..his comments are encouraging..Tony mentioned Hairston in an interview a few days ago, and he wasn't even asked about him..not only would Hairston be a great addition to the roster, but he would also be a notch in the belt for the Austin Toros system and another guy that shows the success of the D-league in general..it would be another way to convince future players to play for Austin by pointing out how Hairston has worked hard as a late pick and is now on the roster after developing his game with the Toros..promotes the Spurs farm team, and it'll show our 2nd rounders and late picks that they will have a realistic shot at eventually making the roster..

Another reason is that Hairston has fate on his side..come on..the guy was apart of a Phoenix Suns draft trade..if that doesn't guarantee success, I don't know what does..

[polandprzem]

Good thing is that 'cutting' young guys we can send them to the nbdl
Pop would keep the older guys in the active spurs roster IMO

Or maybe Pop will try to use November as pre-season to develop the players in season level NBA ?

[ceperez]

I think were cutting a big - Mahinmi or Hairslip, most likely Haislip.

1. Duncan
2. Manu
3. Parker
4. RJ
5. McDyess
6. Finley
7. Bonner
8. Mason
9. Hill
10. Hairston
11. Blair
12. Mahinmi
13. Ratliff
14. Bogans

Highly unlikely that Haislip gets cuts.

(1) Doesn't look good for Spurs to bring in a guy from Europe only to cut him in pre-season.

(2) Pop sat him out last game. In short, there's no need to further evaluate the guy. Simply not fair to sit a guy and give him no chance to prove himself in the court.

(3) The guy has a guaranteed contract.

With Bogans I'm not sure with the situation. See, nobody else wanted to sign this veteran. He supposedly got the veteran minimum from the Spurs. However, (although the agent claims that its guaranteed), I'm not so sure (see: http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/spurs.jsp ).

[Solid D]

Bogans and Hairston - who gets their seat in the chair when Pop stops the music?

[HarlemHeat37]

You might be correct, but I find it hard to believe that Haislip has done enough for Pop to just sit him because he doesn't need to see anymore..I don't know if they would cut Haislip, but he hasn't done anything at all in any of the 3 games so far..he's been one of the worst players so far IMO..

I don't see Haislip getting any potential minutes over Duncan, McDyess, Blair, Bonner, Ratliff, AND Ian..that's 6 guys ahead of him..so you could very well be correct about that, but it would be very disappointing if Hairston doesn't make it because of a guy that has no chance of getting any minutes at all, and hasn't played well at all in pre-season..

[ceperez]

Bogans versus Hairston discussed from almost all angles here:

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135419&page=2

[timvp]

Hate to be a downer but I really don't think the Spurs keep Hairston. Personally, I think he's worth a roster spot but the Spurs will cut him knowing that another team isn't likely to scoop him up. Then they'll sign him to the Toros. If at some point another team is about to call him up, they may go ahead and sign him later in the season. If they go down that path, that would save them some money and it's generally low risk.

I don't see a reason to think about keeping Williams, Jerrells or Jones at this point. All three would be good additions to the Toros, though.

The odd aspect of that article is that it makes it seem like the Spurs may try to trim their roster all the way down to 13. Who else is gone? Logically a big would have to go but I don't really think it'd make too much sense to waive Haislip or Mahinmi. Perhaps the Spurs will do Mahinmi "a favor" and buy out his contract and explain that he wasn't going to get minutes and that he needs minutes to further his career. With Haislip, if the Spurs tell him he isn't going to even be on the active roster, perhaps he'll agree to a buyout to go back to Europe or try to join another NBA team.

I've basically been expecting the Spurs to only carry 14. I think going all the way down to 13 would be a mistake -- if only for practice reasons.

[Bruno]

Hairston contract stay non-guaranteed at the end of the training camp. So if Spurs likes him but have some doubts, they can keep him and give him some minutes in November before making their choice It won't cost them a lot of money.

And with the luxury tax, Spurs interest isn't to waive players with guaranteed contracts. If, as example, Haislip shows nothing and Spurs need a roster spot, Spurs best interest it to trade him after December 15th. A trade like Haislip + cash to pay his remaining salary + $250K to motivate the other team to to the trade will save Spurs $600K compared to waiving Haislip.

[silverblackfan]

One aspect of this training camp that I like is all of the players are very motivated to be on this Spurs team. It seems the Spurs history of quality FO, coaching, and players is starting to make San Antonio a prime destination for players who want a ring.

[mountainballer]

the whole article does not make much sense.

yes, we know about economic crisis, cap going down, lux tax, etc.
Spurs knew this for several months.
so, if the Spurs in fact had planned to reduce the roster to 13 or 14 to save some money, why did they sign Haislip, Ratliff and Bogans to guaranteed contracts in the 1st place. the Spurs had a core of 11 players under contract.
it would have made more sense to sign maybe one more veteran to a guaranteed contract, but then to only sign unguaranteed contracts to 4 more players and to decide after camp who to keep. it's not that this #13 and #14 player would be crucial for a championship run.
so I think they decided to pay the tax to get a deep veteran core when they signed the 3. and they decided to keep one of the 2 unguaranteed if they are good enough during camp and go with 15. if either Hairston and Williams would have failed, they of course cut both and go with 14. especially the Bogans signing doesn't make much sense, if reducing the roster was a major goal.

[Chomag]

I'm still not sure how much talent window Hairston has however he is most definitally a NBA calibur player. He may never be an All-Star (as many fans seem to think that all 12 of our players need to be) But he looks like he will be a very good role-player.

As for Hilsap, I'm not sure whats going on there. It was very odd that he did not get to play the last game. IT would be very unfair for him to get cut if he wasnt given the chance to prove what he can do. Pop Played Jones for God sakes!

[Spurs Brazil]

As Monroe's article suggests, cutting Jones, Jerrells and Williams only gets the roster down to 15. There may be 1 or 2 more cuts after that, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary.

I notice that too and Haislip name came to my mind. Maybe his contract is not fully guaranteed.

[loveforthegame]

I didn't like the tone of that article. It seems pretty clear the Spurs are wanting to cut the roster down beyond the obvious choices.

Not sure what else Hairston has to prove but it doesn't sound good for him.

[Riverwalkman]

Hairston did a good job, keep him !!!!!

[rjv]

obviously hairston has the best shot.

[hater]

Hairston is making the team. Stop the crazyness

[I. Hustle]

C'mon Jones!!!!!



Just kidding I had no idea who that nucka was when I saw him playing in the Houston game.

[thispego]

they're already over the cap. they've already gone all in. why cheap out now? fill out the fuckin roster so we dont have to go through a thousand 10-day contracts this season.

[benefactor]

Hairston contract stay non-guaranteed at the end of the training camp. So if Spurs likes him but have some doubts, they can keep him and give him some minutes in November before making their choice It won't cost them a lot of money.

And with the luxury tax, Spurs interest isn't to waive players with guaranteed contracts. If, as example, Haislip shows nothing and Spurs need a roster spot, Spurs best interest it to trade him after December 15th. A trade like Haislip + cash to pay his remaining salary + $250K to motivate the other team to to the trade will save Spurs $600K compared to waiving Haislip.
Everyone who keeps talking about waiving Haislip or Bogans needs to read this and at least make an attempt at absorbing it.

I agree with others that have said that this article makes very little sense. In order to get the roster down to 13 the Spurs would waive players with guaranteed contracts, still pay tax on them and they might eventually have to sign another player(s) to replace one or both of them. It makes absolutely no sense financially. As Bruno said, they are better off hanging on to them and trading them after Dec. 15th.

[ulosturedge]

Hairston has show to be better then Bogans in every way. He is knocking down shots while Bogans isn't. He is rebounding way better then Bogans(The guy gets up). He is even blocking shots which is something I don't even see in Bogans game. Malik has shown to be just as competent staying with his man as Bogans has. The FO tried to play it safe and sign Bogans as there premiere perimeter defender, but Malik has thus far shown he can do everything Bogans has done but better. The only thing Bogans has going for him is he is an experienced NBA player. But we haven't even seen Malik's ceiling yet and everything he has shown me thus far is equal to if not better then what Bogan's has done.

All I know is if we let Hairston go I hope he gets snatched up by another team during the season. We fuckin' deserve it.

[DPG21920]

This sucks. All in all the off season moves have been great, even though the level of play so far has been a little disappointing. In the long run, I know that these last roster spot decisions won't effect the main goal hardly at all. But it is still a little disappointing to see that a player like Malik may have to go.

I know the reasons why it may happen, but I don't envy Pop's job with regards to player cuts.

[temujin]

Wake me up next time roster spots #13, 14 have made any difference in a championship campaign of any team.

Or #11, 12 for that matter.

[Blackjack]

A lot of good takes in this thread; from the potential to show some fruit-bearing of the farm team to the financial ramifications.:tu

And, yet, despite the sound logic and solid takes, I'm still having a hard time making much sense of the Monroe piece.

One would assume he's reporting on something he's learned about through someone inside the organization, one would at least hope, given the less than stellar basketball acumen he and McDonald have both displayed, so why would the Spurs be looking to trim their roster to as few as 13?

timvp's post is a belief I've shared, as leaving an open roster spot and going with 14 is more of a Spurs-type game plan that leaves a little more roster and financial-flexibility, and Malik would be a very unfortunate, and possibly costly, casualty; basketball-wise.

The all-in mentality just doesn't seem to coincide with worrying about carrying a 14th and 15th low-cost option; even if that low-cost option comes at about twice the price because of luxury-tax.

It's a bit of a half-assed all-in, if you ask me..

Just looking at this from purely basketball-standpoint, this team still has two question marks even if they remain healthy: 1.) Do they have the perimeter defender to contend with the elite wings, and 2.) Do they have the defensive-size/length to contend with the upper-echelon of the league?

The answer to the former just might be Hairston and if they can they adequately picemeal their 3-6 big's to get the job done, they could very well answer the latter as well.

So if your sole intention is to win a title, luxury-tax be damned, cutting a potential cog that might help in that endeavor seems a bit misguided.

Pop's comment about practice, and his preference to have more players for those purposes, leaves me wondering if that wasn't a subtle hint to Holt..

Could it be that Holt asked Pop about maybe going with 13, instead of the full-roster he'd been hinting to during TC?

I know he really opened the wallet and had a real departure in character, but 2-4 million in payroll isn't the same pittance for Holt that it would be for someone like Cuban or Allen...

[The Truth #6]

I agree with Blackjack 21 on some of these points.

I'm guessing that Holt gave Pop and RC free reign to make moves, but now that he feels more confident with what they have, he'd like to save a little money if possible. Otherwise, why bring the economic interpretation into the article? As others have said, the article doesn't make much sense.

Also, there's a lot of talk about end of bench players never contributing to a championship. While that's true in general, I don't think Hairston is an end of the bench player any more than several players. The pecking order after the top 7 or 8 players is going to be up for grabs this season in my opinion. Finley, Hairston, Mahinmi, Haislip, Bogans, and Ratliff - it's a balance of promise versus deterioration, and by the end of the season it is unclear if the vets will have anything left as well as if the new guys become legitimate players.

Given that, it doesn't make any sense to start cutting players if the sole concern is talent and production. If it comes down to money and convenience, then yeah, Hairston might be screwed.

Blackjack 21 - any chance you write by a pseudonym of "Timothy Varner"? Ha. Your posts seem eerily similar to 48 Minutes of Hell.

[dbestpro]

Spurs will go with 14 players. Hairston and Williams will get cut. You have been primed. There just is not enough minutes to justify a tax that doubles their salary. The 14 guaranteed contracts will be the team.

[HarlemHeat37]

We'll just have to hope that Hairston shows enough to warrant the $ in these last few games..I'd like to see him play with the 1st unit..he's had success playing with Tony every time they're together, and he had success playing with the rotation players when he was with the Spurs last season..

Bogans got his chance to play with them and hasn't impressed, same with Haislip..at least IMO..

[Blackjack]

Blackjack 21 - any chance you write by a pseudonym of "Timothy Varner"? Ha. Your posts seem eerily similar to 48 Minutes of Hell.

I'm not sure if you're implying I'm a plagiarist or just making an observation of style, but I'll take it as a compliment either way; plagiarism, done well, is a talent nonetheless.:hat

I enjoy 48MoH and have posted quite a few of their pieces, but I can assure you I'm not Tim.

I'm just a basketball-loving junky, with absolutely no writing-experience and barely a high-school diploma.

So what I might take it as a compliment, well..

I'm not sure Varner would feel the same.:lol

[ulosturedge]

I understand where Holt and the FO are coming from. I mean considering the state of the economy atm there is no need to be wasteful and frivolous with your money. I'm just dissapointed that the FO didn't slam on the breaks sooner. I mean they had signed plenty of free agents to fill in gaps left after the RJ trade(Dice, Ratliff, and Haslip). I thought they were done. Wasn't RJ suppose to try and take over duties for the retired Bowen? Why did they have to take it one step further and try and add an additional piece on top of all this.

As far as I was concerned the youth was gonna take care of the rest(hill, hairston, blair, mahinmi). Personally everything I saw in the past year from Hairston told me he was the closest thing to being Bowen's successor. But then the FO decided to keep pressing and sign Bogans to a guaranteed contract. I didn't see that added piece coming did any of you guys? Everything so far has shown that move to look more and more idiotic by the day. Bottom line is Malik looks like he is doing everything Bogans was suppose to be doing and more. Bogan even seems like a liability on offense at this point. Which even makes him less likely to be the ideal guy to put out there as our defensive stopper.

I dunno i'm just really routing for Malik and have been for awhile now. He still might be a little green, but I believe he is ready to grow the rest of his game in the NBA. He's putting himself more on the radar out in the league with each game he plays. It scares me to think there would be an outside chance that another team heeds notice and could possibly snatch him up from us.

[The Truth #6]

I'm not sure if you're implying I'm a plagiarist or just making an observation of style, but I'll take it as a compliment either way; plagiarism, done well, is a talent nonetheless.:hat

I enjoy 48MoH and have posted quite a few of their pieces, but I can assure you I'm not Tim.

I'm just a basketball-loving junky, with absolutely no writing-experience and barely a high-school diploma.

So what I might take it as a compliment, well..

I'm not sure Varner would feel the same.:lol

Only a compliment! Spurstalk and 48MOH seem to have a nice synergy.

[The Truth #6]

I can understand signing Bogans because they had no established defensive stopper at the time. Whether Bogans will fit the bill is another matter, but I can understand getting Bogans on board rather than wait and hope to see what Hairston could deliver. Guaranteeing the contract was the problem.

I think Haislip's signing also filled a void - an athletic 4. I imagine the FO considered Ian the same they did Hairston - unproven. Whether Haislip had proved anything before is also a legitimate question.

On the whole, it seem wrong to totally throw Bogans under the bus so soon. If Hairston can improve within the system, then so too can Bogans, as well as Haislip. However, according to many here who have seen them play, their initial showings were not that great. I wish I had seen more of the preseason games, but I was too busy downloading spyware from China, I mean, trying to find a stream to watch the games...

[Sham]

For the record:

1. Bogans is fully guaranteed.
2. Hairston is $50,000 of $736,420 guaranteed.
3. Jerrells is $75,000 of $457,588 guaranteed.
4. Jones was fully unguaranteed.

Don't know about Williams.

[mountainballer]

wow, Sham himself. great site. welcome!:toast
(let's call it the Blair effect. Sham wanted his Bulls to pick Blair that badly, that he will now follow Blair's path and join whatever is related to the Spurs:flag:)

[mountainballer]

Bruno mentioned, that Hairston's contract will not get fully guaranteed after camp. does anybody know at what date it becomes guaranteed? as mentioned, it would not make much sense to cut him immediately, if he was the remaining #15 on the roster.
(currently it doesn't look as if either Jerrells or Williams have the slightest chance to outplay him). it would indeed make some sense to keep him till December 15th, this would be 22 games, which means about 220K in salary (+220K in tax). considering his 50K guarantee, that's 170K+170K=340K additional costs the Spurs. but that way he would also still be a trade asset, after December 15th we will see some moves of FAs who didn't fit like some teams thought.
of course that's not the scenario I want to see. best case is, that Hairston stays on the roster, proves to be a legit NBA player, outplays Bogans for the 5 spot in the wing rotation and 2010 it is out of any question, that he is part of the Spurs future.

[timvp]

2. Hairston is $50,000 of $736,420 guaranteed.
3. Jerrells is $75,000 of $457,588 guaranteed.


Interesting. That tells me the market for Hairston isn't too large. It also tells me that someone in the FO was drunk when they guaranteed $75K to Jerrells. They must have really thought he could make the team. That also explains why he left Detroit to come to Spurs training camp.

[Bruno]

Thanks Sham for the infos.

$75K for Jerrels is a lot of money but I'm not sure it's because they thought he could have been Spurs' 3rd string PG. If Spurs were looking for a 3rd PG, they could have done better than Jerrels and given that the backup PG (Hill) is a sophomore, a vet PG would have made more sense.

There could could have a deal under the table with Jerrels: Spurs gives him $75K and in exchange he goes in D-League and not overseas when he is waived. If Jerrels enter in the D-league, he has a good chance of being directly affiliated with Toros given his local roots. However, does it makes for Spurs/Toros to spend an additional $150K to have a good PG in Austin? Maybe they also think that Jerrels will draw additional people to Toros games.

[Bruno]

Bruno mentioned, that Hairston's contract will not get fully guaranteed after camp. does anybody know at what date it becomes guaranteed?

NBA contracts becomes fully guaranteed on Jan 10th.



as mentioned, it would not make much sense to cut him immediately, if he was the remaining #15 on the roster.


Well, if you keep Hairston after Nov 3rd, he will cost you money. It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep him if you doesn't like him. The trade asset edge is very marginal given his low salary.

[mountainballer]

Well, if you keep Hairston after Nov 3rd, he will cost you money. It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep him if you doesn't like him. The trade asset edge is very marginal given his low salary.

sure, he won't be a crucial part of a blockbuster trade. I was thinking about the additional trade value of the unguaranteed contract. if Spurs decide to make some moves between December 15th and January 10th, maybe to get rid of FAs like Haislip or Bogans AND dumping salary isn't the major concern, then the contract of Hairston might be somehow helpful. there will still be plenty of teams out there, that try harder to dump salary than the Spurs need to. In December things might look totally different, we can't rule out injuries. or maybe Spurs find out that the PG situation still needs another solution. who knows. then the option to trow in an unguaranteed contract could be a powerful asset.