Mahinmi's Free Agency Decision Based On Playing Time

[chrisrod2008]

May 27, 2010 9:41 AM EST
http://www.realgm.com/images/nba/4.2/profiles/photos/2006/Mahinmi_Ian_san.jpg Ian Mahinmi will be a free agent this summer, as the Spurs did not pick up their option on his contract for the 10-11 season.
In an interview with the French radio station RTL-L'Equipe, Mahinmi had this to say about his future with the Spurs and the NBA.
“My decision will be only based on the playing time,” he said. “If a team offers me a consequent playing time, I will thus sign with it. If the Spurs offered me a good project, I will stay in San Antonio. I would love to stay in San Antonio.”

[PDXSpursFan]

"If the Spurs offered me a good project"

???? Lost in translation???

[Shifty]

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155167

[Mel_13]

"If the Spurs offered me a good project"

???? Lost in translation???

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GGm9A2UpL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

[rjv]

would he be willing to be on the summer league team again ?

[ducks]

he wants playing time I would imagine he would be

[8FOR!3]

I'm done with Mahinmi, doesn't move natural at all, wasn't anything special in France, way too raw. There's a reason why this guy didn't get any playing time. He'd foul out in about 5 minutes.

[dbestpro]

I'm done with Mahinmi, doesn't move natural at all, wasn't anything special in France, way too raw. There's a reason why this guy didn't get any playing time. He'd foul out in about 5 minutes.

Yes, I agree. This is what we need to keep telling ourselves.

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

Give him some ice cream sticks to build a house in San Antonio. Thats a great project!

[rascal]

How can any team guarantee him playing time. He needs to earn it.

[Dex]

he wants playing time I would imagine he would be

Classic ducks-ese.

[Dr. Gonzo]

How can any team guarantee him playing time. He needs to earn it.

But he earned it during his 20 minutes this season. Well that's according to most of the posters here at least.

[Chomag]

My God Dr.Gonzo did Ian run over your dog or something? You have been bashing him every-time someone just makes the slightest mention of his name like you have a some kind of personal vendetta against him. I don't think there is a thread on him where you haven't failed to post negatively on.

Just an observation.

[bigfan]

The way I look at it Blair was a second rounder and immediately was an asset to the team. Ian, nice kid that he is, has been on the team now, what three years? and hasnt done squat. If he had anything the coaches would have developed it by now. If he will play in Austin thats fine otherwise aurevior mon frere

[Big P]

The way I look at it Blair was a second rounder and immediately was an asset to the team. Ian, nice kid that he is, has been on the team now, what three years? and hasnt done squat. If he had anything the coaches would have developed it by now. If he will play in Austin thats fine otherwise aurevior mon frere

It would have been great for Ian's injury to have been diagnosed correctly in a timely manner.

[NewJerSpur]

Good luck to you Ian.

[ceperez]

The way I look at it Blair was a second rounder and immediately was an asset to the team. Ian, nice kid that he is, has been on the team now, what three years? and hasnt done squat. If he had anything the coaches would have developed it by now. If he will play in Austin thats fine otherwise aurevior mon frere

I think that's the problem with the Spurs, there's not a lot of opportunity to develop as a player. You either got it the instincts to figure out the system, or you just don't play. That's why a lot of talent has been avoiding the Spurs lately. We aren't anymore the favorite destination to jump on the bandwagon to win a championship. I mean, Finley saw it from the inside and he jumped ship.

By comparison, look at the team that beat us, the Suns. Who would have known that guys like Dragic, Dudley, Frye could be so productive. Who would have known that Grant Hill still could make a contribution in the defensive end. Heck, Grant Hill (who was a free agent last summer) plays so much better on the defensive end than RJ.

We got one player George Hill that the Spurs have developed that's playing at a high level.... but remember, that's after so many years of not developing anyone else.

[objective]

Mahinmi could have easily become the Spurs version of Robin Lopez if he wasn't Popped.

Lopez was another guy who was villified because he was a foul machine who'd have terrible games when he would play, had experienced players ahead of him on paper, and then compounded things by getting hurt in camp and missing the early part of the season.

But the Suns had a coach who recognized that if he gave the kid a chance and stuck with him he could grow into a talent that would change the dynamic of the team and give them something they didn't have otherwise.

[BackHome]

i'm done with mahinmi, doesn't move natural at all, wasn't anything special in france, way too raw. There's a reason why this guy didn't get any playing time. He'd foul out in about 5 minutes.

+ 1

[Cane]

The way I look at it Blair was a second rounder and immediately was an asset to the team. Ian, nice kid that he is, has been on the team now, what three years? and hasnt done squat. If he had anything the coaches would have developed it by now. If he will play in Austin thats fine otherwise aurevior mon frere

True that. I'd rather give the minutes to a guy with real talent like Blair and Splitter.

I don't think Ian can log anymore D-league minutes unfortunately. The Spurs have invested $$$ and time into him so maybe if Tiago doesn't come over he'll still be here.

His main problem was his tendency to commit boneheaded fouls/turnovers; the latter of which was a problem for the entire team all year so you can see why he sat on the bench.

[ChuckD]

While Mahinmi is a stupendous athlete, he's a marginal basketball player. Blair came in and basically took his spot by just being a savvy basketball player with great instincts, great hands, and a large ass to use for rebounding. The death knell of Ian's Spurs career was the medical reports that came out before the draft about DeJuan's knees, causing his freefall in the '09 draft right into the Spurs lap. No one knew it at the time, but the clock had already started counting down to his exit this summer, and yes, if he's looking for a situation with PT, he'll be going elsewhere. He's not cracking Tim/Dice/Blair, let alone if you add Splitter to the mix.

[ChuckD]

The way I look at it Blair was a second rounder and immediately was an asset to the team. Ian, nice kid that he is, has been on the team now, what three years? and hasnt done squat. If he had anything the coaches would have developed it by now. If he will play in Austin thats fine otherwise aurevior mon frere

The Spurs cannot use an NBA roster spot and assign him to Austin because he's beyond his second year in the NBA. Pop was bemoaning that LAST year, when they could have gotten him some reps there.

[wildbill2u]

We're gonna have a lot of roster spots to fill if all of the expected departures occur. Mahinimi will probably be one of the departures.

But if Pop wouldn't give Finley a guarantee on his minutes, what chance do you think Mahinim would have for a guarantee?

[Bruno]

Ian is still a young player who has great physical qualities alongside some good skills but who needs playing time to be a more consistent player and do less mistakes. He is doing the right thing by looking at playing time.

And he isn't asking guarantee playing time but it's obvious that Spurs' moves this summer will have an impact on the playing time he could get with them. In another interview, Ian said that he will talk with Pop on July 1st to see if Spurs want him back and in what role.

I also think Spurs won't want him back if they don't plan to develop him by giving him some playing time. If Spurs want a player at the end of the bench who will collect DNP-CD, an experienced vet or a prospect eligible to play in Austin makes way more sense than Mahinmi.

[itzsoweezee]

Ian was productive every time he got a chance to play. It was the coaching stay, ie, popovich, that dropped the ball. The spurs would've been much better off giving Boner's playing time to Ian. Popovich outsmarted himself, once again. And we'll all see it when Ian is having a much more productive season than Boner next year.

[Blackjack]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GGm9A2UpL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

http://ewpopwatch.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/upsmokecheechchong_l.jpg

I keep on clickin' ... but I can't get in. :smokin

[ChuckD]

Ian could very well go elsewhere and put up decent numbers. That's doesn't mean he'd ever crack the Spurs rotation or do well here.

There are somewhere between 390 and 450 players in the NBA at any time. Probably 15-20% of them have the smartness, mental toughness, basketball IQ, and maturity to play on the Spurs. Now, take a cross section of that small group for players who are athletic, and it's a vanishingly small and colossally expensive group. The Spurs are usually constrained to bring in players from one of three groups: Smart, mentally tough, or physically gifted. Occasionally, you get someone like Bowen who hits two of the groups, smart and tough. I think Blair may be in those two groups, too. Usually, it's just one, though. Udoka was tough. Mason was smart. They have tried a veritable herd of physically gifteds: just recently PMB, White, and Ian. So far, none of them have developed another attribute, and they've been sent on their way.

[NFGIII]

Ian is still a young player who has great physical qualities alongside some good skills but who needs playing time to be a more consistent player and do less mistakes. He is doing the right thing by looking at playing time.

And he isn't asking guarantee playing time but it's obvious that Spurs' moves this summer will have an impact on the playing time he could get with them. In another interview, Ian said that he will talk with Pop on July 1st to see if Spurs want him back and in what role.

I also think Spurs won't want him back if they don't plan to develop him by giving him some playing time. If Spurs want a player at the end of the bench who will collect DNP-CD, an experienced vet or a prospect eligible to play in Austin makes way more sense than Mahinmi.

Agreed. I've advocated in the past that I wouldn't mind Ian coming back and trying to earn some minutes. But upon further consideration it's seems that you're right that he probably won't be back next year. He has had numerous opportunities to show what he can do and that didn't earn him any significant minutes. Though Pop has proven to be stuborn and Ian's injuries not withstanding I still think he hasn't earned the respect of Pop and staff. Now I would be surprised if he is given an invite to TC. I just think his run here in SA is over.


Ian could very well go elsewhere and put up decent numbers. That's doesn't mean he'd ever crack the Spurs rotation or do well here.

I think he needs to go to a bottom feeding club with low expectations and just play. He may or may not put up decent numbers but I really don't think he will crack the rotation, especially if Splitter comes over, which I think has a very good chance of happening.



There are somewhere between 390 and 450 players in the NBA at any time. Probably 15-20% of them have the smartness, mental toughness, basketball IQ, and maturity to play on the Spurs. Now, take a cross section of that small group for players who are athletic, and it's a vanishingly small and colossally expensive group. The Spurs are usually constrained to bring in players from one of three groups: Smart, mentally tough, or physically gifted. Occasionally, you get someone like Bowen who hits two of the groups, smart and tough. I think Blair may be in those two groups, too. Usually, it's just one, though. Udoka was tough. Mason was smart. They have tried a veritable herd of physically gifteds: just recently PMB, White, and Ian. So far, none of them have developed another attribute, and they've been sent on their way.

Ian is a very good athlete with size and mobility but frankly I think is lacking inf the IQ department. I just haven't seen significant improvement on D neccessary to crack this team. I don't believe Pop wants to take that kind of chance on him with TD and Manu's window closing.

Sad since initially I thought when he was drafted that we had a very good 5 in couple of years- approx around '07 and beyond.

[Mel_13]

Ian could very well go elsewhere and put up decent numbers. That's doesn't mean he'd ever crack the Spurs rotation or do well here.

There are somewhere between 390 and 450 players in the NBA at any time. Probably 15-20% of them have the smartness, mental toughness, basketball IQ, and maturity to play on the Spurs. Now, take a cross section of that small group for players who are athletic, and it's a vanishingly small and colossally expensive group. The Spurs are usually constrained to bring in players from one of three groups: Smart, mentally tough, or physically gifted. Occasionally, you get someone like Bowen who hits two of the groups, smart and tough. I think Blair may be in those two groups, too. Usually, it's just one, though. Udoka was tough. Mason was smart. They have tried a veritable herd of physically gifteds: just recently PMB, White, and Ian. So far, none of them have developed another attribute, and they've been sent on their way.

I see that you have recently started posting again after a two year hiatus. There has been a call to 'raise the bar' around here and informed and literate posters like you contribute to that cause.

Welcome back.:toast

[ChuckD]

I see that you have recently started posting again after a two year hiatus. There has been a call to 'raise the bar' around here and informed and literate posters like you contribute to that cause.

Welcome back.:toast

thx. I usually have just enough time to read, but you know, sometimes you just have to post. ;) I missed the off-season last year, but it's such a critical part of the NBA cycle.