McDonald: After two years, Spurs' Mahinmi finally emerges

[duncan228]

After two years, Spurs' Mahinmi finally emerges (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/After_two_years_Spurs_Mahinmi_finally_emerges.html )
Jeff McDonald

Each night for most of his two-plus NBA seasons, Spurs center Ian Mahinmi donned the same basic game-night uniform. Nice pants, nice shoes and dress coat — the standard attire for players on the inactive list.

So Mahinmi's teammates knew something was different when he arrived at the AT&T Center for Sunday's 97-85 victory over New Jersey sporting a brand new fashion accessory.

An ear-to-ear smile.

“He was smiling from the moment he walked in the locker room and saw a jersey hanging in his locker,” guard George Hill said. “He's been wanting to play for the longest.”

Knowing a game against the league's lowliest team might not bring out the best in every player, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose this moment to give playing time to the one member of his roster guaranteed to approach it like Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

After not logging a single NBA minute since November 2007, Mahinmi was enthused just to be on the floor with anybody, even the Nets (3-34). He responded by providing a career-best 15 points and nine rebounds and — as advertised — stuffed three seasons of stored-up energy into his nearly 21 minutes of floor time.

As he knelt by the scorer's table in the first quarter of the Spurs' 35th game, awaiting a season debut that had seemed an eternity in coming, Mahinmi's mind raced. When Manu Ginobili drew a foul that stopped the clock at 3:02, his time had arrived.

“I thought, ‘There you go, this is your chance,'” said Mahinmi, whose last NBA appearance was a four-minute stint against the Lakers on Nov. 13, 2007. “I was trying to calm myself down, too, because I was (emotionally) high. Then Manu got fouled and boom, that's it. I was in.”

Mahinmi, 23, spent most of his rookie season in the Development League and all of last season on the injured list. He was more than just a bit player Sunday, in a game the Spurs had to have.

In his seventh career NBA game, the 6-foot-11 Mahinmi even outscored Tim Duncan — who had 14 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in less than 28 minutes.

“He's worked hard for two years and had some bad breaks with injuries,” Popovich said. “You don't want to look past anybody, and I knew Ian wouldn't do that.”

A head-turning sequence in the second quarter — Mahinmi blocking Courtney Lee at one end, then filling the lane for a fast-break dunk on the other — finally helped the Spurs break the early-game doldrums that can accompany a game against the league's laughingstock.

“I really felt good after that,” said Mahinmi, who made all six of his shots. “I really was like, ‘OK, you're off to a good start, so keep going.'”

Mahinmi's SportsCenter-worthy swing tied the score at 22. The Spurs began to pull away with a sturdy third quarter in which they surrendered just 18 points.

The victory allowed the Spurs (22-13) to accomplish their most important immediate goal. They were able to get to Tuesday's game against the Lakers without inflicting further damage to their record.

“We couldn't allow ourselves to lose,” said Ginobili, who, with 21 points, was the only Spur to outscore Mahinmi.

Sunday was the first bright spot in an otherwise cloudy season for Mahinmi, the Spurs' first-round pick in 2005. In October, the team declined to pick up his fourth-year option, essentially making him a lame duck for the rest of the season.

Against the Nets, Mahinmi was the Spurs' highest-scoring Frenchman, outpacing All-Star Tony Parker by seven.

“I was very happy for him,” Parker said. “It's very hard to be in the NBA and never play, to always be in a suit.”

That was Mahinmi's dress code for the better part of three seasons. Except on Sunday, when there was no jacket required.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Hopefully he understands why we didn't pick up his option earlier in the season, and if he continues to get better and shows his improvement on the court, we may resign him in the offseason.

[Blackjack]

Knowing a game against the league's lowliest team might not bring out the best in every player, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose this moment to give playing time to the one member of his roster guaranteed to approach it like Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

“He's worked hard for two years and had some bad breaks with injuries,” Popovich said. “You don't want to look past anybody, and I knew Ian wouldn't do that.”

For whatever reason, I don't believe Pop's being disingenuous here; not completely anyway. It stands to reason, given what we've seen thus far, he'd use Ian in a way that was beneficial to the team short-term and would mean absolutely nothing long-term.

But, having said that, I think Ian's enthusiasm and eagerness was only a part of the equation. I believe the opponent had a lot to do with it and Bruno summed it up quite nicely in another thread:

After this game, I guess there are good chances that Nets are interested to get Ian for a TE.

Spurs could either do a basic Ian for TE trade to save some luxury tax money or he could be part of a bigger trade. If Spurs want to get a player with a quite high salary, they will need to do a 3 for 1 or a 4 for 1 trade. The other team will likely lack of roster spots to absorb the extra players so sending Mahinmi to a third team for a TE will help to make the trade work.
That's pretty much in line with my thinking..


Does anyone know who that guy was that Ian was seemingly congratulated by from the Nets end? It looked like a Nets staff member..

[spurs10]

Thanks duncan228, I've been trying to get some post game reactions. Good for Ian, I'm sure it's been a long, long wait.

[crc21209]

The first game I attend this season...and Ian makes his season debut. When I saw him kneeling at the scorers table...I thought :wow....Pop is actually going to play him! In my mind I thought "C'mon Ian...play well so Pop has no choice but to give you a chance this season and play you some more," and what do you know...the kid did it...:tu. Big props to Ian tonight..

[Leftyventricle]

i like how the put 'emotionally' in "I was (emotionally) high"

[lurker23]

Does anyone know who that guy was that Ian was seemingly congratulated by from the Nets end? It looked like a Nets staff member..

I know Blackjack already saw this in another thread, but here's the info for anyone else who's curious; props to objective:


re: trading him to NJ for a trade exception . . .

One thing I noticed at the end of the game was Ian going over to the Nets bench to give some love to Roy Rogers, who is an AC for the Nets. For anyone who didn't know, Roy Rogers was the assistant to Quinn Snyder in Austin during Ian's all-star d-league season and spent a lot of time working with Ian.

Roy Rogers sitting two chairs from Kiki and being able to speak for Ian's potential could be a dealmaker. What better situation in the NBA for Ian would there be than a team that could not only use help up front next to Lopez but has an assistant coach on the team who already has a rapport with him, a built in support system.

[PublicOption]

this means haislip must really suck. ):

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Despite all the trade bait talk, I really hope Pop gives Ian a few minutes against the Fakers to see how he does. It was the Nyets, but I thought he looked really good out there today, and a lot bigger in the torso than he was 2 years ago - he's grown into his body.

[Supergirl]

wonder if he could take McDyess's place in the rotation some nights. If he plays like that, he should.

[timtonymanu]

I dont expect Ian to play against LA unless one of teams is being blown out, but it'd be nice to see Ian play if Dice is a no show again and Blair fouls too much. I wonder if Ian will even be active next game.

[lurker23]

I dont expect Ian to play against LA unless one of teams is being blown out, but it'd be nice to see Ian play if Dice is a no show again and Blair fouls too much. I wonder if Ian will even be active next game.

For the reasons you just mentioned, I believe he'll be active against the Lakers, though whether he'll get any minutes is anyone's guess. However, with the Lakers size in their frontcourt, having Ian available makes sense. Inactives should be Bonner, Finley, and Hairston/Haislip.

[SenorSpur]

I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be able to get some spot minutes against the taller frontline of the Fakers. In fact, this is one of the reasons I felt it was important for him to get some early season burn and confidence. If the Spurs truly had designs on competing with the Fakers, they need this additional athleticism and length in the frontcourt.

[phyzik]

Lets say we do trade Ian for a trade exception..... exactly how does that help the Spurs?

[Chomag]

Lets say we do trade Ian for a trade exception..... exactly how does that help the Spurs?

Not much other then maybe watering down Richard Jefferson's contract a tad?

[VI_Massive]

Lets say we do trade Ian for a trade exception..... exactly how does that help the Spurs?

Get rid of some money without taking any back. Could be prep for a second trade.

[benefactor]

I don't know why anyone would think he would not be active against the Lakers or Thunder. The worst that could happen is he would get in foul trouble and wind up buried back on the bench. The best case scenario is that he keeps the Spurs from going small while providing valuable rest for the other front line players.

[Despot]

Anyone know when that TE expires?

[Marcus Bryant]

Yeah, let's deal Mahinmi for a TE so that perhaps we can find a young athletic big like him to use it on.

Ugh.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Yeah, let's deal Mahinmi for a TE so that perhaps we can find a young athletic big like him to use it on.

Ugh.

Sad but true.


Honestly, how many 6'11" 23 year olds are out there that are capable of going 15-9 in an NBA game...even against the Nets? 3? 5? 10?

I get it if Ian hasn't shown anything in practice, but he was one of the better D-League players, and has all the physical tools to play in this league.

Him not being given more of an opportunity is almost as head scratching as trading a guy capable of an almost nightly double-double to your in-state rival for nothing.

[dbestpro]

Not much other then maybe watering down Richard Jefferson's contract a tad?

It helps to pay for the fourth string small foward and at the same time gets rid of your only young athletic center so Pop can say he has no choice but to play small ball.

[SenorSpur]

Yeah, let's deal Mahinmi for a TE so that perhaps we can find a young athletic big like him to use it on.

Ugh.

Preach on, my brother. :tu

[SenorSpur]

Reposting my comment from another thread:

I'm watching reruns of this game and I'm falling in love with this kid more and more. That sequence of the block on one end and the dunk on the other is scintillating. I haven't seen a block like that since, well Ratliff. It harked back to the D-Rob era.

As others have stated, I'm wondering why they didn't pick up Ian's option? Frankly, I'm also wondering why there is even a debate about whether this guy should be on the roster? The answer is clear.

Obtaining Ratliff was good insurance, but if this kid and gets some seasoning, they wouldn't need to rely on Ratliff. This guy was the best big man in the D-League last year. It's clear he's hungry and, from all accounts, he works hard. There is no reason he can't be a rotation player. The only thing holding him back is Pop. Pop needs to take his own advice and "get over himself."

I'm sick of the Spurs punishing young talent in favor of old-age veterans, who've exceeded their NBA shelf life. I'd rather have a raw, inexpensive, young player, than an older, experienced player, who is injury-prone and less likely to have it on back-to-back nights. It's better to be young and mediocre than old, expensive and mediocre.

[dbestpro]

McDonald's article title. "After two years, Spurs' Mahinmi finally emerges After two years".

What would you have titled it?

This is mine. "Mahinmi proves French Players for the Spurs can play Defense".

[SenorSpur]

McDonald's article title. "After two years, Spurs' Mahinmi finally emerges After two years".

What would you have titled it?

This is mine. "Mahinmi proves French Players can play Defense".

:lol

[kace]

McDonald's article title. "After two years, Spurs' Mahinmi finally emerges After two years".

What would you have titled it?

This is mine. "Mahinmi proves French Players for the Spurs can play Defense".

wow. dbestpro finding a way to bash TP in a thread that has nothing to do with him. how original !

you're worthless.

[Blackjack]

There's just no rationale that reasonably explains why someone like Mahinmi hasn't seen the court until last night; I think I know why Pop went the route he did, though.

Trust. As in, Pop doesn't feel he can trust Ian to become an integral part of the team because he hasn't seen him be able to maintain his health. As in, he refuses to allow a player whose talent their rotation could become dependent upon, be taken away at a moments notice due to his perceived frailty.

I don't agree with it if that's the case, as all players are one turned ankle from being useless, but Ian's inability to gain Pop's confidence, physically, may have just prevented him from finding the court sooner; last night may have been a showcasing, a need for a hungry player or a minute-eating occurrence, but it could have been something else as well.

It may just be that Pop believes Ian has become a necessary evil, frailty be damned, because what they need he has the potential to deliver and the Spurs urgency to win now has forced Pop to do something he's never been keen to do: roll the dice.

[rvman21]

Ian is this years Narz Mahamed,this years Elson, this years glen robinson, this years rasho, give the guy a chance, he already knows the system, anyone who thinks otherwise are you blind or just on the pop can do no wrong band wagon

[Obstructed_View]

Ian is this years Narz Mahamed,this years Elson, this years glen robinson, this years rasho, give the guy a chance, he already knows the system, anyone who thinks otherwise are you blind or just on the pop can do no wrong band wagon

Not sure what you're saying. Two of those guys were key parts of chamionship runs, two of those guys were basically useless. Most people can't even agree on which of those guys belong in each group.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

The scary thing is you can totally see Pop signing off on trading him, which would be stupid.

The fact is that as Pop has aged, he's come around to the Larry Brown school of coaching which leads to aged veterans getting preference over youthful exuberance and inexperience in the name of corporate knowledge.

In any other year where the Spurs were their typical geriatric selves, Pop could be tolerant of Ian's mistakes that he is bound to make. But in a year where the other talent brought in (including the vets) is struggling to grasp the Spurs system, you have to wonder if he's got the patience for that.

The more likely scenario is that he's being showcased, which would be a horrible front office move...

[SenorSpur]

There's just no rationale that reasonably explains why someone like Mahinmi hasn't seen the court until last night; I think I know why Pop went the route he did, though.

Trust. As in, Pop doesn't feel he can trust Ian to become an integral part of the team because he hasn't seen him be able to maintain his health. As in, he refuses to allow a player whose talent their rotation could become dependent upon, be taken away at a moments notice due to his perceived frailty.

I don't agree with it if that's the case, as all players are one turned ankle from being useless, but Ian's inability to gain Pop's confidence, physically, may have just prevented him from finding the court sooner; last night may have been a showcasing, a need for a hungry player or a minute-eating occurrence, but it could have been something else as well.

It may just be that Pop believes Ian has become a necessary evil, frailty be damned, because what they need he has the potential to deliver and the Spurs urgency to win now has forced Pop to do something he's never been keen to do: roll the dice.

You may be onto something. After all, trust is the reason he benched George Hill last year, when it was obvious to everyone on this board that the kid was the right answer at the backup PG position. In fact, he went onto bench Hill during the season - even after that prolonged stint, where he started in place of an injured Parker at the beginning of the season, for about a 2-3 week stretch, and more than held his own. He simply trusted Jacque Vaughn more, even though he was the inferior player. Of course, by the time Pop elected to go back to Hill, the season was over, as the Spurs were going down to the Mavs in that playoff series.

He screwed around with Beno in the same way - even though Beno was clearly better than a raggedy Nick Van Exel. That meltdown Beno had in the 2005 NBA finals sealed his fate with Pop. Of course, in Beno's case he didn't do the work to maintain Pop's trust. However, it was very interesting that after Beno was traded, Pop admitted that he handled his development the wrong way.

He's repeating the same stubborn mistake with Ian, too. If he doesn't allow this kid to continue developing in this organization, he will have screwed up another key personnel move - a la Scola. I thought he would've learned his lesson by now. I don't understand why Pop is allowing his ego and stubborn pride to intervene. This shit is checkers, it aint chess. This shouldn't be a hard call to make.

[Sigz]

Go Ian. Make me eat crow.

[blkroadrunners]

You may be onto something. After all, trust is the reason he benched George Hill last year, when it was obvious to everyone on this board that the kid was the right answer at the backup PG position. In fact, he went onto bench Hill during the season - even after that prolonged stint, where he started in place of an injured Parker at the beginning of the season, for about a 2-3 week stretch, and more than held his own. He simply trusted Jacque Vaughn more, even though he was the inferior player. Of course, by the time Pop elected to go back to Hill, the season was over, as the Spurs were going down to the Mavs in that playoff series.

He screwed around with Beno in the same way - even though Beno was clearly better than a raggedy Nick Van Exel. That meltdown Beno had in the 2005 NBA finals sealed his fate with Pop. Of course, in Beno's case he didn't do the work to maintain Pop's trust. However, it was very interesting that after Beno was traded, Pop admitted that he handled his development the wrong way.

He's repeating the same stubborn mistake with Ian, too. If he doesn't allow this kid to continue developing in this organization, he will have screwed up another key personnel move - a la Scola. I thought he would've learned his lesson by now. I don't understand why Pop is allowing his ego and stubborn pride to intervene. This shit is checkers, it aint chess. This shouldn't be a hard call to make.


It's really tough to be in Pop's shoes, and most ppl don't realize it. This team has been the most winningest franchise for the past decade, won 4 ships, and still have their core of Tim, Tony, and Manu, so obviously the organization still feels that if they can bring in players of experience and talent, the Spurs would still be in the group of contenders. For the Spurs and coaching staff sake, why bring in players like Ian and Hairston into the regular lineup when they still don't have true NBA experience and young and while most of the players whom are still productive and the team is still (fairly) a contender? I'm well aware that Ian and Malik have to start somewhere, but at the same time, the organization must feel that players like McDyess, Finley, Bogans, and even Ratliff still have enough left to bring bball IQ and the talent to win a championship, or at least be one of the top 5 teams in the league. That's just my opinion....

[Bruno]

There is no mystery around Mahinmi not having played in the first 34 games of the season.

Ian got his chance during the preseason. Pop gave him some playing time in the preseason games (he was even a starter in one). After 5 preseason games, they obviously decided that he wasn't good enough to pick his option so he went in the doghouse. There's nothing shocking in that way to do.

Had Ian do well enough during the preseason, the option would have been picked and he would have played like Blair do this year.

Spurs could have given more playing time to Ian at the end of the training camp and some playing time in the first two games of the season but they fell that it wasn't necessary and that there were few doubts that giving up on him was the good choice.

Future will tell if Spurs have make a mistake or not with Ian. I've always liked him so I think that they have. However, it's just my opinion and one good game against Nets isn't enough at all to say that I was right.

[SenorSpur]

For the Spurs and coaching staff sake, why bring in players like Ian and Hairston into the regular lineup when they still don't have true NBA experience and young and while most of the players whom are still productive and the team is still (fairly) a contender?

I'll tell you why. In fact, I"ll give you a few reasons:

1. Roster Depth. Because you cannot comprise a roster of strictly the Big Three and a bunch of older free agent aquisitions. The Big Three dominate the bulk of the salary cap space. Therefore, the roster must be supplemented with younger, cheaper, talent. Free agent acquisitions can be costly (see RJ's salary) and many veterans aren't willing to play for the minimum.

2. Long-Term versus Short Term view. It is the responsibility of the GM, for any team, in any sport, to keep an eye on the future of the franchise. It's fine that the Spurs FO have seriously loaded up for a possible two-year run, but what happens after that? Are they going to gut the roster and re-enter the lottery in hopes of landing another Tim Duncan or David Robinson? It doesn't work that way. Therefore, a GM must begin to identify and acquire younger talent that can be mined and developed in the short term or used for tradeable assets as down the road.

3. Injuries and Fatigue. It's a fact that older players are more prone to injury and fatigue because of natural wear and tear. The reason the Spurs have sucked in back-to-back games is because they're veterans have been literally worn down. As players get older, the B2B games are tougher to deal with.

4. Improving the overall talent. All of the contending teams in the Western Conference have players that present various matchup problems. Many of them are either young or in the prime of their careers. Look around the NBA rosters. Things have changed since the Spurs last won the title. Fielding the "oldest roster in the NBA" on an annual basis, does not increase a team's chances of winning a title. Increasing the overall athleticism is a necesssary step in keeping up with the competition. It's one of the reasons why the Spurs finally made the decision to overhaul the roster this past summer.