timvp
07-17-2010, 11:16 PM
RC Buford was interviewed during the Spurs summer league game against the Clippers. Usually, RC is tightlipped when discussing anything involving the team but I thought he shed a little bit of light on a few subjects.
-(On the Spurs summer league team) The summer league team hasn't exactly shaped up like we wanted it to. We had a lot of guys get injured who we were hoping to get a good look at this summer. But the guys who are here are playing hard and play well together.
-(On Garrett Temple) Garrett got hurt on the first night and is now on crutches. James Gist, who drafted a couple years ago, broke his hand. James Anderson, our draft pick this year, has had hamstring issues so we wanted to keep him out to get him healthy.
-(On what the Spurs need to add to the roster) We've added Tiago Splitter to our program this summer and he's a guy we've wanted for a while. And we're excited to have him. But we need to improve our shooting. Over the last four or five years we've lost Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Roger Mason didn't have as good of year this year as he did in the past. So we've really gotta improve on our shooting -- that was always one of our pluses and now it hasn't been in the last couple of years.
-(On Splitter) He's not our shooter, for sure. He's had a terrific career overseas and has been one of the better players in Spain and in Euroleague for the last five years. He's a 6'11 player who was the MVP of the Spanish league and MVP of the Spanish playoffs this year -- and that hadn't happened since Arvydas Sabonis did it 25 years ago.
-(On whether Richard Jefferson will be back in a Spurs uniform) We're working in that direction and we hope so but free agency has given Richard an opportunity to see what the market is. But our hope is that we can bring him back.
-(On Manu coming back) Manu has been a big part of our program for a long time and you never want to lose, not only a player like that, but also a person who is one of the cornerstones of our character and our values -- and the real fiber of our team. Our intention all along was to bring Manu back. Fortunately, he wanted to be a part of us, too.
-(On the window and injuries) Tony got hurt in national team play last summer and Manu the year before. Our luck with national team play has not been terrific lately. This summer, none of our guys, except for Tiago, are going to play in it. But we've gotta start rebuilding our team and with George Hill and DeJuan Blair and Tiago and hopefully James Anderson, we have some pieces to hopefully start building into the future with. And Tony is only 28 so, although he's played with us for a long, long time, it's not like he's near the end of his career.
-(On if there is a shift of power after the player movement this summer) Obviously, Phoenix losing Stoudemire is not going to be helpful. A lot of the players stayed East who were free agents. But they all did a good job of rebuilding their group. Houston has gotten better -- and they were outside the playoffs this year. The Clippers with a healthy Blake Griffin and the good, young pieces that they are going to add -- they are going to be better. Utah, even with Boozer going, picking up Al Jefferson -- there's no reason to think that a Jerry Sloan team is ever going to take a step backwards. Oklahoma City will be a lot better. Dallas has done a terrific job. Memphis has gotten better. Life is never easy in the West.
-(On getting George Hill late in the first round) We gotta get fortunate and try to rebuild with our draft pieces. Having DeJuan fall to 37, getting George where he got him, getting Manu and Tony where we did in the second round and late in the first round ten years ago -- those are the cornerstone pieces of our franchise through their own personal development and the character they bring. You've gotta get lucky but you also gotta get the right people to build going forward.
-(On what the Spurs saw in DeJuan Blair) I guess we didn't let our doctors get involved in the process. It was strictly a risk-reward play. I think the medical history and all that is very important as you evaluate talent, but there's also a time and place where you have to say he's played since he was a sophomore in high school without ACLs. His body has adapted. He may not have a 20-year career even though he's coming into the league as a 20-year-old, but for what he can give us right now, that's a productive investment in a second round draft pick.
-(More on Blair) On a basketball perspective, there were no questions on what his talent level was. Once the injury issue came up, it was just a matter of how you were going to mitigate the risk. We were fortunate that people were looking at their risk platform a little differently.
-(What Blair brings to the team) He's a tough kid, he plays hard. He's got a great personality and a great spirit. At the age of our team, it was nice to bring in someone who had some freshness and who was a really good fit to bring some personality.
-(On needed moves before training camp) We'll continue to evaluate the market and see where we are as we go to camp. We have 11 spots right now so we have plenty of room to react to the market. But we like what we've done so far and we'll continue to look.
-(On how many players do the Spurs like to bring into training camp) Because of our development program in Austin, we are likely to bring 17 or 18 and use that as a chance to evaluate players for the Toros.
-(On the summer league in general) The summer league continues to get better every year. I think the whole development program the league has through the D-League is raising the level of talent -- not only the rosters in the NBA but also the summer league rosters. The support the community has given is terrific in addition to the crowds in the gym -- it's given a good environment for these guys to come out and perform.
-(On players who have stood out in summer league) The speed of both Wall and Bledsoe from that Kentucky backcourt has just been unbelievable. I'm not sure if you could have found an NBA backcourt with that type of speed between two players. Cousins and that whole group from Kentucky is staggering. Patterson is gonna be a monster for Houston.
-(On why he hasn't talked about the Mavs) I'm not allowed to talk about the Mavericks because we just get angry and scared when we talk about the Mavericks. You know a Mark Cuban team is going to be aggressive in trying to improve his team. It's fun to go in and compete because you know you are going in there every night having to play your best basketball.
-(On Mark Cuban and the Riverwalk) It's one of his favorite spots -- he goes swimming in there a lot. It's exciting in Golden State with the new ownership group. Portland is going to be really, really good -- I love their rookie Luke Babbitt. No easy nights.
-(On the Spurs summer league team) The summer league team hasn't exactly shaped up like we wanted it to. We had a lot of guys get injured who we were hoping to get a good look at this summer. But the guys who are here are playing hard and play well together.
-(On Garrett Temple) Garrett got hurt on the first night and is now on crutches. James Gist, who drafted a couple years ago, broke his hand. James Anderson, our draft pick this year, has had hamstring issues so we wanted to keep him out to get him healthy.
-(On what the Spurs need to add to the roster) We've added Tiago Splitter to our program this summer and he's a guy we've wanted for a while. And we're excited to have him. But we need to improve our shooting. Over the last four or five years we've lost Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Roger Mason didn't have as good of year this year as he did in the past. So we've really gotta improve on our shooting -- that was always one of our pluses and now it hasn't been in the last couple of years.
-(On Splitter) He's not our shooter, for sure. He's had a terrific career overseas and has been one of the better players in Spain and in Euroleague for the last five years. He's a 6'11 player who was the MVP of the Spanish league and MVP of the Spanish playoffs this year -- and that hadn't happened since Arvydas Sabonis did it 25 years ago.
-(On whether Richard Jefferson will be back in a Spurs uniform) We're working in that direction and we hope so but free agency has given Richard an opportunity to see what the market is. But our hope is that we can bring him back.
-(On Manu coming back) Manu has been a big part of our program for a long time and you never want to lose, not only a player like that, but also a person who is one of the cornerstones of our character and our values -- and the real fiber of our team. Our intention all along was to bring Manu back. Fortunately, he wanted to be a part of us, too.
-(On the window and injuries) Tony got hurt in national team play last summer and Manu the year before. Our luck with national team play has not been terrific lately. This summer, none of our guys, except for Tiago, are going to play in it. But we've gotta start rebuilding our team and with George Hill and DeJuan Blair and Tiago and hopefully James Anderson, we have some pieces to hopefully start building into the future with. And Tony is only 28 so, although he's played with us for a long, long time, it's not like he's near the end of his career.
-(On if there is a shift of power after the player movement this summer) Obviously, Phoenix losing Stoudemire is not going to be helpful. A lot of the players stayed East who were free agents. But they all did a good job of rebuilding their group. Houston has gotten better -- and they were outside the playoffs this year. The Clippers with a healthy Blake Griffin and the good, young pieces that they are going to add -- they are going to be better. Utah, even with Boozer going, picking up Al Jefferson -- there's no reason to think that a Jerry Sloan team is ever going to take a step backwards. Oklahoma City will be a lot better. Dallas has done a terrific job. Memphis has gotten better. Life is never easy in the West.
-(On getting George Hill late in the first round) We gotta get fortunate and try to rebuild with our draft pieces. Having DeJuan fall to 37, getting George where he got him, getting Manu and Tony where we did in the second round and late in the first round ten years ago -- those are the cornerstone pieces of our franchise through their own personal development and the character they bring. You've gotta get lucky but you also gotta get the right people to build going forward.
-(On what the Spurs saw in DeJuan Blair) I guess we didn't let our doctors get involved in the process. It was strictly a risk-reward play. I think the medical history and all that is very important as you evaluate talent, but there's also a time and place where you have to say he's played since he was a sophomore in high school without ACLs. His body has adapted. He may not have a 20-year career even though he's coming into the league as a 20-year-old, but for what he can give us right now, that's a productive investment in a second round draft pick.
-(More on Blair) On a basketball perspective, there were no questions on what his talent level was. Once the injury issue came up, it was just a matter of how you were going to mitigate the risk. We were fortunate that people were looking at their risk platform a little differently.
-(What Blair brings to the team) He's a tough kid, he plays hard. He's got a great personality and a great spirit. At the age of our team, it was nice to bring in someone who had some freshness and who was a really good fit to bring some personality.
-(On needed moves before training camp) We'll continue to evaluate the market and see where we are as we go to camp. We have 11 spots right now so we have plenty of room to react to the market. But we like what we've done so far and we'll continue to look.
-(On how many players do the Spurs like to bring into training camp) Because of our development program in Austin, we are likely to bring 17 or 18 and use that as a chance to evaluate players for the Toros.
-(On the summer league in general) The summer league continues to get better every year. I think the whole development program the league has through the D-League is raising the level of talent -- not only the rosters in the NBA but also the summer league rosters. The support the community has given is terrific in addition to the crowds in the gym -- it's given a good environment for these guys to come out and perform.
-(On players who have stood out in summer league) The speed of both Wall and Bledsoe from that Kentucky backcourt has just been unbelievable. I'm not sure if you could have found an NBA backcourt with that type of speed between two players. Cousins and that whole group from Kentucky is staggering. Patterson is gonna be a monster for Houston.
-(On why he hasn't talked about the Mavs) I'm not allowed to talk about the Mavericks because we just get angry and scared when we talk about the Mavericks. You know a Mark Cuban team is going to be aggressive in trying to improve his team. It's fun to go in and compete because you know you are going in there every night having to play your best basketball.
-(On Mark Cuban and the Riverwalk) It's one of his favorite spots -- he goes swimming in there a lot. It's exciting in Golden State with the new ownership group. Portland is going to be really, really good -- I love their rookie Luke Babbitt. No easy nights.