Neal signs 3-year deal with Spurs

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Gary Neal signed a three year guaranteed contract with the San Antonio Spurs his agent David Bauman confirms to us.
http://twitter.com/DraftExpress

[DesignatedT]

:lol alright. at least he can shoot lights out

[Blackjack]

DraftExpress

Gary Neal signed a three year guaranteed contract with the San Antonio Spurs his agent David Bauman confirms to us.
9 minutes ago via UberTwitter

[ohmwrecker]

Wow. That's kind of shocking.

[TIMMYD!]

Not expecting this...

[ohmwrecker]

Uh-oh. Merge!

[Das Texan]

3 years at the minimum?

shouldnt be too much of a bad thing.

[ElNono]

:wow :wow :wow :wow

[celldweller]

WTH! What about "The Cornerstone"?

actually I Like It!!! The youth movement has begun.

[ElNono]

Lux tax here we come!

[Blackjack]

Mine's better. It's Omnipotent. :smokin

[SenorSpur]

Really SA?

[Spurologist]

dunno what to say......surprise for sure

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

:wow...whaaat?

[Dingle Barry]

Wowowowow

[ElNono]

Well, they were looking for shooters...

Lots of posters eating crow tonight... lol

[Dex]

:lol Dude has one stud game in Summer League and earns himself a three-year gig. Not a bad days work.

Something else to keep an eye on, I suppose. Temple certainly isn't resting as easy tonight.

[jcrod]

Wow, all three guaranteed? I don't believe it.

[DesignatedT]

temple,gee,hairston should get interesting.

[Blackjack]

So we go from he looks like Bowen to he looks like Elie?

[ohmwrecker]

When are they going to ink Anderson?

[admiralsnackbar]

:lol Dude has one stud game in Summer League and earns himself a three-year gig. Not a bad days work.

Something else to keep an eye on, I suppose. Temple certainly isn't resting as easy tonight.

Temple's fine... Hairston and Gee, on the other hand...

[timvp]

Wow. I'm guessing only the first season is guaranteed.

Pretty damn shocking since the Spurs have a lot of depth at shooting guard. Where does Neal fit with Ginobili, Hill and Anderson getting time at shooting guard? Plus, Temple, Gee and Hairston could potentially also play the two.

I liked Neal in summer league but an unathletic 6-foot-4 shooting guard has an uphill climb to make the NBA.

Congrats, Choo Choo.

[timtonymanurich]

WTH! What about "The Cornerstone"?

actually I Like It!!! The youth movement has begun.

So..... Is this supposed to be Sarah Palin...? That's the kinda girl that you wrap that flag around the two of you and "do-er fer your country"!!:hitit:

[celldweller]

:lol Dude has one stud game in Summer League and earns himself a three-year gig. Not a bad days work.

Something else to keep an eye on, I suppose. Temple certainly isn't resting as easy tonight.

Actually he's been tearing it up in Europe....


"DraftExpress Overseas Free Agent Rankings: Players 13-24
December 28, 2009
Now in his third season in Europe after an eventful NCAA career, few American guards are thriving as much as Gary Neal (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Gary-Neal-544/) is in Italy right now. He leads the league in scoring at over 20 points per game, and is managing to do so in an extremely efficient manner (65% 2P, 37% 3P, 5 FTAs per game) despite shouldering an absolutely massive offensive load for retooling Benetton Treviso.

Neal operates as Benetton’s main facilitator and is looking absolutely outstanding creating shots for himself and others on the pick and roll, being arguably the most complete offensive player in that league.

While no one will confuse him with Steve Nash (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Steve-Nash-3719/) anytime soon, he has improved his playmaking skills substantially while keeping his turnovers to a minimum. Neal is very effective off the dribble and possesses a terrific mid-range game, needing very little space to get his shot off thanks to his quick release and excellent body control, being equally dangerous coming off screens.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Gary-Neal-544/#ixzz0uNSE4XDE
http://www.draftexpress.com

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Snip snip for Hairston and Jerrells, I'm guessing.

[DesignatedT]

When are they going to ink Anderson?

that seems to be the next question.

[nbaman99]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i though Gee and Temple still under contract coming year

[ElNono]

Wow. I'm guessing only the first season is guaranteed.

Pretty damn shocking since the Spurs have a lot of depth at shooting guard. Where does Neal fit with Ginobili, Hill and Anderson getting time at shooting guard? Plus, Gee and Hairston could potentially also play the two.

I liked Neal in summer league but an unathletic 6-foot-4 shooting guard has an uphill climb to make the NBA.

Congrats, Choo Choo.

He's probably taking over Mason's spot. Situational off-the-bench guy. Also insurance if Anderson doesn't pan out I guess.

[ElNono]

Either that, or the Spurs are getting ready to move Hill and Gino to PG full-time... :stirpot:

[024]

signing for the toros?

[bigbendbruisebrother]

Good read here:

http://www.towsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21300&ATCLID=204968851

Intro here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Neal

[timtonymanu]

Does this mean bad news for Anderson since he hasnt signed yet?

Hopefully Neal doesnt turn out like a Tolliver signing.

[DesignatedT]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i though Gee and Temple still under contract coming year

Hairston, Gee, Temple and Jerrells all have team options that haven't been picked up yet for the upcoming season.

Spurs signing Neal definitely solidifies them not picking up Jerrells' option but the other 3 should be interesting. that's a lot of youth.

[ohmwrecker]

Man, ceperez is going to be insufferable.

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

what a perfect replacement for mason... can't really play point, can't really defend and god knows if he can really shoot...

[pad300]

Another 1 dimensional shooter...

When will the F'ing stupid FO LEARN!!!

Successful players:

Bowen : Stud Defender & Effective 3 Pt Shooter
Barry : Stud Shooter & excellent passing/ball movement
Elie: Stud Shooter & effective defender

Failed Players

Mason : Stud Shooter & nothing else (ok, big time mental breakdown)
Finley's 2nd contract : Shooter & fuck all else
Jack McClinton : Shooter & fuck all else (didn't even make it out of training camp)


Quit signing people who are shooters and nothing else. PPG & FG%are not the only measure of a players value...

[DesignatedT]

what a perfect replacement for mason... can't really play point, can't really defend and god knows if he can really shoot...

he'll be in a suit anyway.

[ElNono]

what a perfect replacement for mason... can't really play point, can't really defend and god knows if he can really shoot...

:lol

It's not THAT hard to be better than last season's Mason...

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

wow

[Dex]

For some reason I was thinking Neal was a point.

Definitely strange that they'd pick up another player at the 2.

[bigbendbruisebrother]

Pretty damn shocking since the Spurs have a lot of depth at shooting guard. Where does Neal fit with Ginobili, Hill and Anderson getting time at shooting guard? Plus, Temple, Gee and Hairston could potentially also play the two.


Perhaps small ball isn't going away after all.

[024]

so was demps like the brains of the FO? some seriously questionable moves. the FO is handing out contracts like a retarded cripple.

[bigbendbruisebrother]

For some reason I was thinking Neal was a point.

Definitely strange that they'd pick up another player at the 2.

Manu ankle insurance?

[ohmwrecker]

Snip snip for Hairston and Jerrells, I'm guessing.

I think you are right. Sorry, Blackjack.

In fact:

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4525672#post4525672

[Blackjack]

Does this mean bad news for Anderson since he hasnt signed yet?

Hopefully Neal doesnt turn out like a Tolliver signing.

George Hill signed his first-round contract 9-22 and Tony signed his on 9-21.

This ain't unusual.

[ElNono]

This makes me think Hill will see playing time both at the two and backing up RJ at SF. When he goes to the wing, Manu will be the PG and you'll have one of Anderson or Neil playing SG. This is while Tony rests.

It just doesn't look good for Temple, Hairston or Gee, IMO.

I think Jerrels is history.

[DesignatedT]

George Hill signed his first-round contract 9-22 and Tony signed his on 9-21.

This ain't unusual.

didn't even realize that.

[Chomag]

Yikes, Spurs give a guy a guarantied contract after just a couple of summer league games? Either the Fo has completely lost their minds or they are Guinness's.

[cd98]

:lol Dude has one stud game in Summer League and earns himself a three-year gig. Not a bad days work.

Something else to keep an eye on, I suppose. Temple certainly isn't resting as easy tonight.

I think Temple's ability to guard three positions and run the point gets him on this team.

His regular season performance trumps summer league.

[ElNono]

They had to hand a guaranteed deal if they wanted to keep Neil though. He simply could have made more money in Europe than staying in the Toros.

[Dex]

I think Temple's ability to guard three positions and run the point gets him on this team.

His regular season performance trumps summer league.

Yeah, I was thinking Neal was a point as well but stand corrected. As long as he stays healthy, I think Temple will get a shot as a backup PG.

[DesignatedT]

another NBA team would have snagged Neal for sure. The Spurs obviously like his shooting and potential.

[Blackjack]

This makes me think Hill will see playing time both at the two and backing up RJ at SF. When he goes to the wing, Manu will be the PG and you'll have one of Anderson or Neil playing SG. This is while Tony rests.

It just doesn't look good for Temple, Hairston or Gee, IMO.

I think Jerrels is history.

Jerrells I never even saw in the equation.

But I don't know what the hell to think about Hairston and Gee at this point.

All I know is I've got a bag that easily travels (as long as it's hidden from plain sight :smokin).

[SenorSpur]

Does this mean bad news for Anderson since he hasnt signed yet?

Hopefully Neal doesnt turn out like a Tolliver signing.

Speaking of which, if the Spurs needed another shooter why didn't they just go out and resign Tolliver? He's taller and a better passer.

[DPG21920]

Gary "All Aboard" Neal? Come on ride the train, and ride it. Come on it's the choo choo, come on it's the choo choo train.

Spurs are doing some odd things.

[ulosturedge]

Snip snip for Hairston and Jerrells, I'm guessing.

Naw I disagree. I agree Jerrells is out though. I don't think Pop would disown Hairston though without getting a better look at him. He was just saying how Hairston's play through the last years SL earned him that signing. What I think will happen is Hairston and Gee will play for that last spot in training camp, and if Hairston wins out he will get more of a chance to play and I think Gee will get stashed in the D-league for another year. If Gee outplays him then I think they will cut their loses with Hairston and see what Gee can bring.

That's my feeling anyways/

[galvatron3000]

I'm surprised. Didn't see this coming. Wow, I wonder if a trade is in the works. I think Neal is the replacement for last year's draft pick (what's his name?)

[SenorSpur]

Yeah, I was thinking Neal was a point as well but stand corrected. As long as he stays healthy, I think Temple will get a shot as a backup PG.

Temple should be fine - especially since he's Pop's "new" favorite player this year. Personally, I'm worried about Gee and Hairston.

[ElNono]

Whatever it is, the youth movement is coming strong... Gone are the days of looking at the bench and seeing Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire... (well, at least in the case of Jacque, in an uniform)...

[Sisk]

I'm surprised. Didn't see this coming. Wow, I wonder if a trade is in the works. I think Neal is the replacement for last year's draft pick (what's his name?)

Jack McClinton?

[DPG21920]

Neal is not exactly a youngster. Dude is seasoned. I am on the fence w him. He seems to have an NBA shot. He is not very athletic, but he still gets his shot off.

[galvatron3000]

Jack McClinton?

yeah, thanks

[AFBlue]

Man, that's a lot of cheese for 5 games...but it was said that he had to have a bunch of guaranteed money on the table to leave Europe. There it is.

[SenorSpur]

Naw I disagree. I agree Jerrells is out though. I don't think Pop would disown Hairston though without getting a better look at him. He was just saying how Hairston's play through the last years SL earned him that signing. What I think will happen is Hairston and Gee will play for that last spot in training camp, and if Hairston wins out he will get more of a chance to play and I think Gee will get stashed in the D-league for another year. If Gee outplays him then I think they will cut their loses with Hairston and see what Gee can bring.

That's my feeling anyways/

Sounds like a good assumption. Judging from the way the Spurs "pounced" immediately on Gee, after Washington let him go, I doubt the Spurs let him get away a second time. Especially now that after his stellar performance im Summer League. Besides that, Pop's comments at the SL, seem to indicate that they WANT Gee in the program.

As for Hairston, he's must be ever-improving and he's certainly earned a place because of his continued progression.

[timvp]

Anyways, this is probably a worthy risk by the Spurs. Neal was one of the best players in Europe and very likely could have made a lot more than the Spurs gave him. He doesn't seem to fit right now on paper but for a small contract, Neal is a good deal.

Out of Anderson and Neal, the Spurs should have one rookie shooting guard that can help next season. Neal also has two seasons of Toros eligibility, so even if he struggles at first the Spurs have options to help him grow.

Surprising signing but a quality one. We'll see if his lack of size and lack of athleticism is too much to overcome.

[Spursmania]

What the hell? I thought this guy was just a summer league stand-out but a 3 year contract?:wow Probably not guaranteed but damn:wow

The FO must know something we don't. Either that or Pop was drunk.

[galvatron3000]

Spurs trying to get an Eddie House a la 2008 Celtics in 2010 just as they tried to implement some defensive schemes from the 2008 Celtics instead of sticking with what they do best is beyond me especially when they were the defending Champs at that time yet they still trying to copy something from that formula, I always shake my heaad at that. They should just get younger and fins a real Sf one of these years.

[SenorSpur]

Is anyone worried about Anderson?

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

Little Engine That Could can have a few meanings when describing this guy now

[TD 21]

Wow. I'm guessing only the first season is guaranteed.

Pretty damn shocking since the Spurs have a lot of depth at shooting guard. Where does Neal fit with Ginobili, Hill and Anderson getting time at shooting guard? Plus, Temple, Gee and Hairston could potentially also play the two.

I liked Neal in summer league but an unathletic 6-foot-4 shooting guard has an uphill climb to make the NBA.

Congrats, Choo Choo.

The way it reads is as if all three years are guaranteed. I find that hard to believe though.

You've summed it up perfectly. What a perplexing signing.

I'm not going to pretend to know a ton about Neal other than he's a good shooter, but checking his three-point shooting stats from last season on draft express, his percentages aren't great.

I suspect, like Anderson, he was burdened with a lot of ball handling/play making responsibilities as his team's got-to player and with defenses keyed to stop him, he didn't get a lot of open, spot-up looks, like he'll get with the Spurs.

Based on his limitations and the glut the Spurs have at shooting guard, he needs to be verging on being a great shooter for this to make sense. He doesn't have to be Morrow, but just being fairly good isn't good enough to justify this.


Snip snip for Hairston and Jerrells, I'm guessing.

Actually, I think this increases Hairston's chances, if not makes him a lock. There's a realistic - good chance that the Spurs are done this off season, which means no backup SF/established defender will be brought in. The player on the roster with the best chance of filling that role is Hairston.

With the glut of shooting guards on the roster, I suspect the Spurs view him as strictly a small forward. Given his build and lack of ball skills, this makes sense.

[TimmehC]

Is anyone worried about Anderson?

More worried for Hairston/Gee than I am Anderson.

[elemento]

Maybe James Anderson playing as a SF in the Spurs ?

Really didn't expect Neal to be signed.

[Chomag]

Is anyone worried about Anderson?

Kind of strange him not being signed yet, but it still a tad early to start to wander to much into it I think.

[ulosturedge]

Trying to sign another pure shooter. It's obvious the FO thinks they are in dire need of some solid 3 point shooting to spread the floor. Extra insurance in case some others don't deliver.

[ohmwrecker]

Is anyone worried about Anderson?

Isn't he, as a first rounder, guaranteed a contract?

[galvatron3000]

I'd be surprised if Temple doesn't make the team, but the Gist experiment is probably over.

[ElNono]

Is anyone worried about Anderson?

Don't the Spurs HAVE TO sign him to a rookie deal?

I thought you couldn't not sign first-round rookies. Anyone?

[DPG21920]

Isn't he, as a first rounder, guaranteed a contract?

No, but his draft position does lock him into a pay scale should he sign a contract. The spurs do not have to sign him though.

[DesignatedT]

stated by blackjack already in the thread.

George Hill signed his first-round contract 9-22 and Tony signed his on 9-21.

were only in july.

[ElNono]

No, but his draft position does lock him into a pay scale should he sign a contract. The spurs do not have to sign him though.

Really? This is what I could find:

Under current NBA draft rules, all first-round picks receive guaranteed two-year contracts, with team options for three additional years. It's also possible for second-round picks or even undrafted free agents to negotiate for guaranteed contracts, although that is uncommon.

From here (http://www.wral.com/sports/blogpost/2953499/)

[cd98]

:lol Dude has one stud game in Summer League and earns himself a three-year gig. Not a bad days work.

Something else to keep an eye on, I suppose. Temple certainly isn't resting as easy tonight.

I think Temple's ability to guard three positions and run the point gets him on this team.

His regular season performance trumps summer league.

[Blackjack]

Is anyone worried about Anderson?


George Hill signed his first-round contract 9-22 and Tony signed his on 9-21.

This ain't unusual.

[TD 21]

Hairston and Temple, I don't expect to be affected by this. Even though their natural positions are both SG and the Spurs have a glut at the position, on this team one will play SF and the other PG.

Anderson can and I suspect will play some SF (even though he's a natural SG), Neal is strictly an SG and obviously Ginobili and Hill will eat up most of the SG minutes.

Gee, if he's to make the team, will have to be strictly an SF (not that he'd be in the rotation; he'll probably spend the majority of the season with the Toros).

Jerrells, I agree with Blackjack, I never saw him as a serious threat to make this team. I expect he'll be back with the Toros.

[elemento]

I really think James Anderson is going to be used as a SF backup.

[ohmwrecker]

No, but his draft position does lock him into a pay scale should he sign a contract. The spurs do not have to sign him though.

::in Beavis voice::

Oh, yeah . . .

[TJastal]

My first impression: good signing, a guy with some seasoning overseas and some moxie to boot. Spurs need a knockdown 3pt shooter to come off the bench (or maybe if good enough start alongside Parker!?).

My guess is the F.O. puts Temple, Gee and Jerrels on the backburner now. I think Hairston sticks as a defensive specialist SF.

Gee has lousy handles and Temple isn't needed with Parker, Hill, and Ginobili all taking turns at PG.

Anderson will be glued to the bench in learning mode most of the season.

[slick'81]

spurs most of saw something from neal and didnt let him get away be fun to see how he progresses this season

i hope temple stays on as well

[DPG21920]

They do have to at least tender an offer though to Anderson. If they don't, which is uncommon for first rounders, they renounce his rights I believe.

[benefactor]

The Spurs need another true SG(Manu is really the only one if we are being honest) and they needed to do it for cheap. He's got a really sweet stroke, so I think his shot will translate. He's also played a lot of minutes over several seasons in Europe as his team's primary offensive facilitator, which can't be a bad thing.

If he can bury his threes and work hard enough on defense to at the very least not be a liability, then he should be ok in the gunner role off the bench. Let him have a couple of good games in a row and ST will anoint him as the next Ray Allen.

[ElNono]

They do have to at least tender an offer though to Anderson. If the don't, which is uncommon for first rounders, they renounce his rights I believe.

You're right. Just looked at the NBA Salary Cap FAQ (http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q46):

46. If a first round draft pick is renounced, is he still bound to the salary scale for a first round pick?

No. The salary scale only applies to the team that drafts the player or the team to which the player's draft rights are traded. When Chicago renounced first round pick Travis Knight in 1996, he then signed with the Lakers for one year at the league minimum salary.

Thanks :toast

[ohmwrecker]

My guess is the F.O. puts Temple, Gee and Jerrels on the backburner now. I think Hairston sticks as a defensive specialist SF.

Gee has lousy handles and Temple isn't needed with Parker, Hill, and Ginobili all taking turns at PG.

Anderson will be glued to the bench in learning mode most of the season.

I don't think so. Temple is Pop's new "favorite player" and both he and RC seem pretty high on Gee in interviews. RC has indicated that Anderson should be a big and immediate help. Jerrels is obviously out. I am a little concerned about Hairston honestly.

[oligarchy]

They have to tender an offer -- which I think was by July 16th. So, he'd be a free agent already if they hadn't and renounced him.

[SpursTillTheEnd]

thread of the mutherfucking year finally some good news after this rj shit i was questioning the spurs but this is a great move fuck yea now only if hariston is named starter

[bigfan]

Im pretty sure they will keep Temple. The other guys, well....

[DesignatedT]

That's a lot of youth in the organization now.

Gee,Temple,Neal,Hairston,Jerrells,Blair,Anderson,H ill. wow. how times have changed.

[timtonymanu]

Parker/Hill/Temple
Manu/Anderson/Neal
RJ/Hairston/Gee
Duncan/Blair/Bonner
Splitter/McDyess

I'd actually be pretty fine with this roster. I dont want Hairston or Gee gone but we'll see.

[TD 21]

The Spurs need another true SG(Manu is really the only one if we are being honest) and they needed to do it for cheap. He's got a really sweet stroke, so I think his shot will translate. He's also played a lot of minutes over several seasons in Europe as his team's primary offensive facilitator, which can't be a bad thing.

If he can bury his threes and work hard enough on defense to at the very least not be a liability, then he should be ok in the gunner role off the bench. Let him have a couple of good games in a row and ST will anoint him as the next Ray Allen.

You don't consider Anderson a true SG? I agree with the rest: Hill and Temple are combo guards and Hairston and Gee are wings, but Anderson I see as a true SG (even though he'll more than likely split time between the two positions on this team, more out of necessity than anything).

[SpursTillTheEnd]

That's a lot of youth in the organization now.

Gee,Temple,Neal,Hairston,Jerrells,Blair,Anderson,H ill. wow. how times have changed.
hell yea especially with blair and hariston and hill the mutherfucking future we gripped like a bitch for the future

[admiralsnackbar]

exactly, im all for the neal signing, but what about our first round pick, isnt he better than neal? whats taking so long?

Spurs may choose to wait until training camp to make a decision in order to build the best team they think they can, although I agree that Anderson playing back-up SF seems fairly reasonable given he's the same size as Udoka, Hairston, and Gee.

[EricB]

The 2010 version of jaren Jackson survived I see...0

[DPG21920]

There is no reason to worry about Anderson.

[DesignatedT]

hell yea especially with blair and hariston and hill the mutherfucking future we gripped like a bitch for the future

how exactly will you react if the spurs release hairston?

[SpursTillTheEnd]

who wants to put money down that neal will be better than bonner this season

[bigfan]

Hairston, Jerrels and Gee are my bet to be gonners.

[Cane]

I wonder if Anderson's hamstring injury might be more of a concern than we think but I'm happy with the Neal signing. He looks like he can help address at least one of the Spurs weaknesses which is spacing the floor and he has experience overseas FWIW. And the other options on the market aren't exactly that great anyway.

[admiralsnackbar]

Hairston, Jerrels and Gee are my bet to be gonners.

Unless training camp brings in some kind of stud the Spurs can't pass on, I only think two from your list will get cut.

[DesignatedT]

who wants to put money down that neal will be better than bonner this season

you're broke ass can't pay anybody :lol

[TJastal]

I don't think so. Temple is Pop's new "favorite player" and both he and RC seem pretty high on Gee in interviews. RC has indicated that Anderson should be a big and immediate help. Jerrels is obviously out. I am a little concerned about Hairston honestly.

He might have been a week ago, but I think Gary Neal has now replaced him, quite literally and figuratively

[SpursTillTheEnd]

if hariston is released or traded idont wanna think about what i would do

[Lebowski Brickowski]

Cool i like the signing, but really now, that's all that needs to be said.

lol 5 pages on Gary Neal

lol 260 users viewing this thread

[MaNu4Tres]

He might have been a week ago, but I think Gary Neal has now replaced him, quite literally and figuratively

I highly doubt that.

The only player I see getting cut is Jerrels.

Neal puts the roster at 14 (Which includes Hairston, Gee, Temple). I expect Spurs to fill the 15th spot with a young promising big man to stash in Austin.

[slick'81]

i hope temple joins neal as locks jerrels is gone but do the spurs keep gee and hairston??

[Chomag]

Cool i like the signing, but really now, that's all that needs to be said.

lol 5 pages on Gary Neal

lol 260 users viewing this thread

You are one of the 260.

[ohmwrecker]

how exactly will you react if the spurs release hairston?

It might go something like this:

Aw hell naw but yeah fuck the spurs! they ain't gon win shit now cuz they jus throwed the championship away and got rid of they best player fuck that shit i'm gonna go punch a speeding UPS truck upside it's grill fuck! i'm out y'all!

[ElNono]

Cool i like the signing, but really now, that's all that needs to be said.

lol 5 pages on Gary Neal

lol 260 users viewing this thread

He's new and exciting! lol

[DesignatedT]

It might go something like this:

Aw hell naw but yeah fuck the spurs! they ain't gon win shit now cuz they jus throwed the championship away and got rid of they best player fuck that shit i'm gonna go punch a speeding UPS truck upside it's grill fuck! i'm out y'all!

:lmao:lmao

pretty good... pretty good.

[mattyc]

Wowee. Interesting move. Spurs must love him.

Can't say we aren't adding young guys.

[Nathan89]

We signed mario ellie 2.0. We are officially contenders.

[SpursTillTheEnd]

you're broke ass can't pay anybody :lol
u trippin i got grips and stacks all over homie, say did u ever get that money from that contest shit

[DesignatedT]

u trippin i got grips and stacks all over homie, say did u ever get that money from that contest shit

im afraid to ask what contest you're talking about.

[timtonymanu]

SpursTillTheEnd is a huge Malik homer but he still cant spell his last name right.

[admiralsnackbar]

We signed mario ellie 2.0. We are officially contenders.

:lol

[Lebowski Brickowski]

He's new and exciting! lol

Yes the irony doesn't escape you. I just thought it was funny that a 4th string sg is getting so much attention. This thread absolutely exploded in 30 minutes. Mark it down: this is going to be the longest thred Neal ever gets, EVER, in this forum.

[TJastal]

I highly doubt that.

The only player I see getting cut is Jerrels.

Neal puts the roster at 14 (Which includes Hairston, Gee, Temple). I expect Spurs to fill the 15th spot with a young promising big man to stash in Austin.

I wasn't talking about guys getting cut, I was talking about guys who's roles just became obsolete.

Temple is now officially obsolete. The spurs might still have him sitting behind the bench in a suit as insurance but I don't really see how he fits with the current rotation now unless one of Parker, Hill, or Ginobili misses games.

Granted, accurately predicting anything Pop will do when it comes to rotations is a crapshoot at best.

[ohmwrecker]

Yes the irony doesn't escape you. I just thought it was funny that a 4th string sg is getting so much attention. This thread absolutely exploded in 30 minutes. Mark it down: this is going to be the longest thred Neal ever gets, EVER, in this forum.

I'm just in here because my spirit is broken from all the RJ threads.

[SpursTillTheEnd]

well ginobili will sit some games out just like tim and dice so temple will get playing time

[BackHome]

The kid can shoot but man getting minutes at PG and SG is going to be a bitch.

SG: Manu, Anderson, Hill, Neal "Jerrells will be released"

PG: Tony, Hill, Temple

Now at SF the question is Hairston and Gee which probably won't be answered until training camp is over.

[DesignatedT]

i have two serious questions? who is going on the inactive list? and who will be on the active list? as the roster is constructed now we only have two active spots but all togather we have five open spots. but gee, hairston and temple are going to be pretty disappointed if there going to be on the inactive list. we know that out five big man will be there. hill, parker, manu, RJ, james anderson. those are the given that will be on there and only twelve players can be active so that leaves gee, hairston, temple, neal, having to fight for two active spots on the roster, but everyone can be on the roster, that not the problem, but pop said that temple is his new favorite player, so he has to play, they gave neal a guaranteed contract so he has to play, what about alonzo gee and malik hairston, this is confusing.

I think training camp is going to have a lot to do with it. Gee is still eligible for the Toros I believe while Hairston isn't so Gee could see some time down there and with the spurs in a suit.

[DesignatedT]

Jerrells is gone for sure. I don't think Temple is a lock to stay either even with pops recent comments but who knows.

[ohmwrecker]

I wasn't talking about guys getting cut, I was talking about guys who's roles just became obsolete.

Temple is now officially obsolete. The spurs might still have him sitting behind the bench in a suit as insurance but I don't really see how he fits with the current rotation now unless one of Parker, Hill, or Ginobili misses games.

The only hole in your theory is that Hill and Ginobili aren't really point guards.

[Man In Black]

He didn't just play for Benetton Treviso. The dates listed in the link below show that he also played for Unicaja Spain.
http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=ESP&PlayerID=99289

[GSH]

For the record, a first round draft pick does not automatically get a contract with the team that drafted them. If they do get signed, they are guaranteed the rookie scale - more or less. The contract can be for as little as 80% of the rookie scale, or as much as 120%.

If the team decides they don't want the drafted player, they can renounce his rights, and he becomes a free agent. (The Bulls renounced Travis Knight after they drafted him.)

Theoretically, if the team and the player can't agree on a deal, the team retains his rights until the next draft. Then the player can enter the next year's draft. (If he decides to play overseas, the meter stops running.)

If the Spurs don't want to sign him, they could renounce him and he would be free to sign with anyone. I suppose they could also offer him 80% of rookie scale. He could refuse to sign for that, and wind up entering next year's draft, so long as he sat out the entire season.

[coyotes_geek]

Now at SF the question is Hairston and Gee which probably won't be answered until training camp is over.

The answer to that question might just be "neither". If the Spurs inked Neal with the intention of him actually being a part of things then it looks like they're thinking Anderson can play some SF.

RJ got big bucks. Anderson is going to be guaranteed some bucks. Neal got some guaranteed bucks. Gee is guaranteed some small bucks. Hairston is guaranteed no bucks. Not looking good for Malik right now.

[ChuckD]

:lol Dude has one stud game in Summer League and earns himself a three-year gig. Not a bad days work.

Something else to keep an eye on, I suppose. Temple certainly isn't resting as easy tonight.

Temple's fine. He's got something the other 6'5" - 6'6" players don't: PG skills. He's also Pop's new "favorite player". Temple will have to play his way OFF the team. Hairston should be shitting. He has no more Toros options. If the Spurs don't think he's a rotation player getting floor time, he's not worth keeping. He can't be sent down to keep his skills sharp and learn more.

[SpursTillTheEnd]

aight look hariston and temple will make this team they have to much spurs in em to not make it and plus they are apart of the future gee and jerrels are gone

[Nathan89]

The only hole in your theory is that Hill and Ginobili aren't really point guards.

Hill is a point guard now and for the rest of his career. Get over it. He is definitely not a NBA sg and he is a decent pg. So if he is better a pg than sg what position does he play coach?

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Cool i like the signing, but really now, that's all that needs to be said.

lol 5 pages on Gary Neal

lol 260 users viewing this thread


When I first saw title...I thought we signed Shaquille O'Neal.

[Sisk]

aight look hariston and temple will make this team they have to much spurs in em to not make it and plus they are apart of the future gee and jerrels are gone

Hariston? He's the worst player to ever play basketball. A scrub

[benefactor]

You don't consider Anderson a true SG? I agree with the rest: Hill and Temple are combo guards and Hairston and Gee are wings, but Anderson I see as a true SG (even though he'll more than likely split time between the two positions on this team, more out of necessity than anything).
I do, but he's still a true rookie with no experience beyond college. Neal has several years of overseas experience playing lots of minutes in a big role...which makes him more NBA ready at this point. He's decent, cheap insurance.

[ohmwrecker]

Hill is a point guard now and for the rest of his career. Get over it. He is definitely not a NBA sg and he is a decent pg. So if he is better a pg than sg what position does he play coach?

He is a combo guard and his skills don't really favor one over the other. I think he is a natural SG who is learning the PG position on the fly and doing a pretty good job.

[tdunk21]

good for neal....hopefully he can maintain his consistency

[Stringer_Bell]

Impressive game, looks like a hard worker and he knows how to deal with adversity (La Salle scandal and going undrafted). I'm going out on a limb here, but I wouldn't be surprised that he's effective in the minutes he's used and could grow into a helpful offensive threat and play some defense.

[tdunk21]

so thismeans mason is not coming back

[tomtom]

Pretty surprising. Who's gonna play behind RJ now. Are they planning on sliding Manu or Anderson over to the 3? That might pose a size problem once again

[TJastal]

The only hole in your theory is that Hill and Ginobili aren't really point guards.

They do most of the ballhandling which in fact does mean they are performing point guard duties. I'm not sure what your point is, other than getting into a semantic debate. Temple might have had a tenuous hold on a roster spot before the Neal signing as a kind of jack of all trades combo guard who might see some action at the 2, but it appears the spurs are going to give Neal those minutes.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

It might go something like this:

Aw hell naw but yeah fuck the spurs! they ain't gon win shit now cuz they jus throwed the championship away and got rid of they best player fuck that shit i'm gonna go punch a speeding UPS truck upside it's grill fuck! i'm out y'all!

:rollin:rollin:rollin

[TJastal]

Hariston? He's the worst player to ever play basketball. A scrub

Hoose the bestest players in yore opineons?

[toki9]

Wow, that came out of nowhere...as someone once said, "This s#it just got real" (on behalf of Hairston/Temple/Gee)...

[ohmwrecker]

They do most of the ballhandling which in fact does mean they are performing point guard duties. I'm not sure what your point is, other than getting into a semantic debate. Temple might have had a tenuous hold on a roster spot before the Neal signing as a kind of jack of all trades combo guard who might see some action at the 2, but it appears the spurs are going to give Neal those minutes.

Garrett Temple is a point guard. It's not a semantic argument. We have no idea what kind of minutes Neal is going to get. The Spurs may have signed him to keep him off the market and as insurance. I would be willing to bet that Temple has a spot on the roster opening night.

[TJastal]

Garrett Temple is a point guard. It's not a semantic argument. We have no idea what kind of minutes Neal is going to get. The Spurs may have signed him to keep him off the market and as insurance. I would be willing to bet that Temple has a spot on the roster opening night.

Yah, he'll have a spot, right behind Popovich in Ian's vacated seat. :lol

So according to your book of wisdom, Temple is a point guard but George Hill isn't?

In my book, they are almost identical players, save for a few inches of height. With a guy like Neal aboard on a guaranteed contract, the spurs don't have the minutes nor do they really need Garret Temple

[murpjf88]

Garrett Temple is a point guard. It's not a semantic argument. We have no idea what kind of minutes Neal is going to get. The Spurs may have signed him to keep him off the market and as insurance. I would be willing to bet that Temple has a spot on the roster opening night.

Sure we do, 0-1 minutes. If he isn't balling for the Toros that is.

[crc21209]

I like the signing. Let Gee, Hairston, Temple, Anderson, and now Neal battle it out to fill out the roster. :tu. While the rest can go and develop with the Toros...

[crc21209]

so thismeans mason is not coming back

Please. That choker wasnt coming back anyway...

[Darkwaters]

Man, that's a lot of cheese for 5 games...but it was said that he had to have a bunch of guaranteed money on the table to leave Europe. There it is.

We're not exactly talking about a kid that just missed the draft this season but then had a monster summer league. This is a guy that has been dominating as the go-to guy in Europe and has already established himself as a difference maker on a fairly high level. A lot of people were saying that he was a darkhorse to get a contract before summer league even began. Don't act like summer league is the only thing driving this decision. Thats just asinine.

[ElNono]

Is this the guy that EricB's source mentioned we were getting with the LLE? :lol

[DesignatedT]

Is this the guy that EricB's source mentioned we were getting with the LLE? :lol

:lol I forgot about that.

[Vic Petro]

I'm a little surprised you guys are so surprised by this signing. It makes a lot of sense, imo.

Again, after last year we all saw our need for more shooters. I don't think you can say the need is filled with 1 draft pick. If Anderson were to get hurt, what guard off the bench would you describe as a shooter? Hill is getting better, but he's no marksman. Neal is a great safety net.

[Solid D]

Cool!!! Glad the Spurs snagged Neal!

As was stated in the Memphis Summer League game blog and elsewhere, Neal is more than just your average D-Leaguer. He was the Italian League scoring leader. He showed that he was strong, savvy and could really score with no fear of putting the ball up.

It was going to take a decent commitment to bring him in. I'm much happier about this signing than I was with the Marcus Haislip signing last year.

Anderson replaces Mason
Neal probably replaces Bogans

[TJastal]

We're not exactly talking about a kid that just missed the draft this season but then had a monster summer league. This is a guy that has been dominating as the go-to guy in Europe and has already established himself as a difference maker on a fairly high level. A lot of people were saying that he was a darkhorse to get a contract before summer league even began. Don't act like summer league is the only thing driving this decision. Thats just asinine.

You might want to make sure he knows where Europe is first

[ChuckD]

No, but his draft position does lock him into a pay scale should he sign a contract. The spurs do not have to sign him though.

They have to do one of three things:

1 tender him guaranteed contract offer

2 renounce his rights

3 get HIM to agree to defer the contract to later. He is under no obligation to do so and can demand the contract offer immediately. US players almost never do this.

[toki9]

But this is another signing that favors offense over defense...i thought the Spurs were looking to shore up its defensive liabilities this season...odd...

So who're the good defenders on the team now?
Duncan (team defense, not so much individual defense anymore), Hairston, Temple, Hill (Maybe?), Splitter (Once he gets used to the NBA rules?), Manu?

[jjktkk]

But this is another signing that favors offense over defense...i thought the Spurs were looking to shore up its defensive liabilities this season...odd...

So who're the good defenders on the team now?
Duncan (team defense, not so much individual defense anymore), Hairston, Temple, Hill (Maybe?), Splitter (Once he gets used to the NBA rules?), Manu?

The Spurs were also looking to improve their overall 3-point shooting.

[5in10]

Kind of reminds me of a poor mans Ben Gordon. Do you think maybe we signed him to use in a trade later?

[SPURSGOAT]

WOW! Another SG!? We need another SF.... we have a glutton of guards now...:wakeup

[xellos88330]

Another 1 dimensional shooter...

When will the F'ing stupid FO LEARN!!!

Successful players:

Bowen : Stud Defender & Effective 3 Pt Shooter
Barry : Stud Shooter & excellent passing/ball movement
Elie: Stud Shooter & effective defender

Failed Players

Mason : Stud Shooter & nothing else (ok, big time mental breakdown)
Finley's 2nd contract : Shooter & fuck all else
Jack McClinton : Shooter & fuck all else (didn't even make it out of training camp)


Quit signing people who are shooters and nothing else. PPG & FG%are not the only measure of a players value...

Does this include Kerr? IIRC he got us past Dallas after riding the pine.

[toki9]

The Spurs were also looking to improve their overall 3-point shooting.

Right, which was one of the reasons for drafting Anderson...

[admiralsnackbar]

But this is another signing that favors offense over defense...i thought the Spurs were looking to shore up its defensive liabilities this season...odd...

So who're the good defenders on the team now?
Duncan (team defense, not so much individual defense anymore), Hairston, Temple, Hill (Maybe?), Splitter (Once he gets used to the NBA rules?), Manu?

We have legit defenders at every position even if we don't have a designated stopper like we used to. Do we have Bowen? No. Are there any Bowen-level defenders available? No.

Usually (as in, not Miami) teams have to cobble together the best team they can, not the best team, period. There was a need for shooters this offseason, and Neil seems like a safe bet to fill that need even if his defense is still an unknown quantity.

Bear in mind that he's been expected to shoulder the bulk of scoring on the teams he's been on and may have gotten in the habit of shirking defense in order to keep himself out of foul trouble. We do know he's a shooter and play-maker, and some coaching may help round him out, so I see this as a low-risk/high-reward move by the FO.

[admiralsnackbar]

Kind of reminds me of a poor mans Ben Gordon. Do you think maybe we signed him to use in a trade later?

No, but it could work out that way down the line, I guess.

[Darkwaters]

Neal puts the roster at 14 (Which includes Hairston, Gee, Temple). I expect Spurs to fill the 15th spot with a young promising big man to stash in Austin.

I'm curious - how many players are the Spurs allowed to stash in Austin at one time? I believe it's either 2 or 3. For the sake of this post I'm going to assume 3.

Lets consider that the roster likely looks something like this:

Parker/Hill/Temple
Ginobili/Anderson/Neal
Jefferson/Hairston/Gee
Duncan/Splitter/Bonner
Blair/McDyess/Developmental Bigman?

So who among those players is even elligible for the Toros?

Garrett Temple (1 season)
James Anderson (2 seasons)
Gary Neal (2 seasons)
Alonzo Gee (1 season)
Tiago Splitter (2 seasons)
DeJuan Blair (1 season)
Developmental Bigman (Unknown - likely 1-2 seasons though)

Of the players listed, we know several will definitely not be in Austin (Splitter, Blair) and we can hopefully assume that several players will not need it based on their draft position or previous experience (Anderson, Neal).

Based on this roster I think Gee is a lock to be in Austin next season. His game is oozing with potential, but still lacks refinement. If the Spurs sign a developmental big (which is hardly a sure thing) then I don't see any option other than Austin.

So based on the aforementioned roster, we have to place 3 players in Austin and we have already placed 2 there (Gee, Developmental big). Based on this 15 man roster we still need to to make one more player inactive or send them to Austin. There are a few choices:

1) Send another player to Austin. Who? Pick one of Splitter, Blair, Temple, Anderson or Neal. I'm going to assume that Blair and Splitter are locks to be active all year, so that leaves Temple, Anderson and Neal.

2) Waive a player, placing the roster at 14, and requiring only 2 inactive players. Who do you waive? Probably Hairston. I doubt any of Parker, Hill, Ginobili, Jefferson, Duncan, Bonner (and his shiny new contract) or McDyess would be waived before Hairston.

3) IR a player without Toros eligibility. Who would that be? Best guess is either Hairston or Bonner.

4) Make a trade. Anybody's guess.

So, who is active and who isn't?

[Leonard Curse]

you guys are too damn paranoid, did you not see the press conference on the anderson signing?? i mean hes all over their site of course hes going to be signed!!! they feel they are just as lucky this year, as they were last to get that type of player. so with tiago/RJ/neal/anderson signed do we have room for temple/hairston/gee?

[wildbill2u]

One of the 6'6" guys is gonna have to back up at SF. Gee and Temple can shoot and defend. Gee is a tough rebounder from the look of him in SL. Both can play a little PG and I think Neal was also trying to make that shift on his Euro team.

And if someone has to go, My guess is Hairston since he can't shoot worth a damn from the perimeter.

[toki9]

One of the 6'6" guys is gonna have to back up at SF. Gee and Temple can shoot and defend. Gee is a tough rebounder from the look of him in SL. Both can play a little PG and I think Neal was also trying to make that shift on his Euro team.

And if someone has to go, My guess is Hairston since he can't shoot worth a damn from the perimeter.

Gee's outside shot didn't look all that great, either...at least in the limited 5 game sample of the SL...

[TJastal]

you guys are too damn paranoid, did you not see the press conference on the anderson signing?? i mean hes all over their site of course hes going to be signed!!! they feel they are just as lucky this year, as they were last to get that type of player. so with tiago/RJ/neal/anderson signed do we have room for temple/hairston/gee?

I'm starting to have doubts those guys will be on the opening day roster. They'll most likely be on IR/toros or gone. Feel a bit bad for Hairston, but he's been languishing so long trying to get opportunities that never came, I think a new team and a fresh start is the only solution now. RIP Malik.

I'm comfortable with this roster on opening day

C Duncan | McDyess
PF Splitter | Blair | Bonner
SF Jefferson | Anderson
SG Manu | Neal
PG Parker | Hill

IR/Toros: Temple | Gee | ?
Gone: Hairston

[SpursTillTheEnd]

stop doubting haristom faggots

[TJastal]

stop doubting haristom faggots

You think he can beat out Anderson for RJ's backup gig?

[MaNu4Tres]

I'm starting to have doubts those guys will be on the opening day roster. They'll most likely be on IR/toros or gone. Feel a bit bad for Hairston, but he's been languishing so long trying to get opportunities that never came, I think a new team and a fresh start is the only solution now. RIP Malik.

I'm comfortable with this roster on opening day

C Duncan | McDyess
PF Splitter | Blair | Bonner
SF Jefferson | Anderson
SG Manu | Neal
PG Parker | Hill

IR/Toros: Temple | Gee | ?
Gone: Hairston

You're missing a player on the active roster-You only have 11 players.

C Duncan - McDyess
PF Splitter - Blair - Bonner
SF Jefferson - Hairston
SG Manu - Anderson
PG Parker- Hill - Temple

Will be the 12 man active roster IMO

IR/Toros: Neal/Gee/ F.A young Big

[Leonard Curse]

Pops Wet Dream:

On the floor

PG - Hill
SG - Neal
SF - Anderson
PF - Bonner
C - Duncan

4 Shooters to surround Duncan
i agree with u, and thats every spurs fan nightmare to see that 4spot against elite teams. only for pop to act perplexed& pissed after we lose :rolleyes.

[wildbill2u]

Gee's outside shot didn't look all that great, either...at least in the limited 5 game sample of the SL...

Maybe not all that great, but at least he's willing to shoot it. In D League he averaged over 21 pts per game and over 39% on 3s in the regular season.

Hairston is strictly a slasher. He's shot .167 % on 3s over two seasons. Bowen was able to stick as a defensive specialist because he was not only so good at defense, but he could occasionally stick the 3. I don't think Hairston is anywhere near Bowen as a defensive player--so what's left?

[Leonard Curse]

You're missing a player on the active roster-You only have 11 players.

C Duncan - McDyess
PF Splitter - Blair - Bonner
SF Jefferson - Hairston
SG Manu - Anderson
PG Parker- Hill - Temple

Will be the 12 man active roster IMO

IR/Toros: Neal/Gee/ F.A young Big
(asking in curiosity)

active or not lets look at whos signed already
Duncan
Ginobili
Parker
Hill
Splitter
Blair
McDyess
Jefferson
Bonner
Neal
*Anderson (theres no way in hell we dnt sign him trust me)

ok thats 11 players (if i 4got one sorry) why is everyone acting like we cant sign
Temple/Gee/Hairston <----all 3 of them and have room for a shotblocker inside now my next ques is are we already over the lux tax?? if so are we able to obtain all these players realistically??? (part of mle and lle??)

[angelbelow]

Wow.. I must say that I am surprised. Not in a disappointed way but not in a happy way. I think that Neal has some ways to go before becoming a contributor. But with our depth at the 1 and 2, the only thing that's required of him would probably be to just shoot until he drops. In that sense its not terrible. Hopefully, like Bonner, hes not asked to do more than shoot.

Neal from what I saw needs to make on:
-ball handling, when pressured he appears to get nervous, he also did not look for the drive at all. This could possibly be a difference in athleticism from Europe to the NBA. Perhaps hes just not comfortable with driving the ball yet.
-defense, he plays hard on D, but doesnt have the speed and agility to keep up with some of the NBA caliber players. he also likes to gamble but does not possess great anticipation..
-playmaking, theres a chance hes gonna be asked to play the point. I believe he plays some point in europe. Neal himself said that hes not a point but is willing to work on it.. that just tells me that hes not too confident about the position and is just saying what teams what to hear.

[analyzed]

So isn't the regular season roster 13. So that makes one of the 4: temple , gee , neel or Hariston plaers we can rotate in and out of the Toros and spurs depending on injuries.
With the ff as a regualr 10:
Duncan
Ginobili
Parker
Hill
Splitter
Blair
McDyess
Jefferson
Bonner
Anderson

I think we are done , as far a line-up . now depending on which 3 of the 4 players play well . will make the final 13 playoff roster. personally i think Gee or Hariston will be droped to the Toros, their roles are redudant

[Darkwaters]

No, you always have 12 active players and up to 3 inactive players.

Minimum roster requirements according to the league is 13.

[scottspurs]

Let's hope Neal isn't Marcus Haislip 2.0 experiment gone wrong only it being a 3 year instead of 1 year mistake. Anderson is definitely strong enough to play SF so I can see him getting minutes there. I don't know what this means for Hairston/Gee. I think Temple is safe.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Surprising move, but can't really believe it's all guaranteed. Looks more like a Haislip type of thing, a long shot but worth trying on the cheap.

Doesn't bode well for Hairston and Gee, though. How about Hill? He's not a PG and likely would be looking at more minutes at the 2. Now there's a logjam there. Could he find himself on the trading block?

[L.I.T]

Eh. Haven't read all the way through, but coupled with the Anderson draft pick (and the failed pursuit of James Jones) just seems that the Spurs are trying to address their poor three point shooting on the cheap. Since they're stymied by cap considerations.

I still wouldn't be surprised to see the rest of the MLE used to bring in a vet shooter/average defender.

[admiralsnackbar]

Surprising move, but can't really believe it's all guaranteed. Looks more like a Haislip type of thing, a long shot but worth trying on the cheap.

Doesn't bode well for Hairston and Gee, though. How about Hill? He's not a PG and likely would be looking at more minutes at the 2. Now there's a logjam there. Could he find himself on the trading block?

I'm not saying you're wrong, but one big difference is Haislip couldn't ever cut it in the NBA, whereas Neal had to go to Europe based on the red flags brought up by his rape trial. All to say that it isn't a clear comparison.

As for Hill finding himself on the block... it could only be as a sweetener to a bigger trade considering he doesn't make much money. By the same token, the FO would have to really want to unload somebody badly to get rid of a guy who plays several times beyond what he's paid.

[Ice009]

whereas Neal had to go to Europe based on the red flags brought up by his rape trial.

You want to explain this rape thing?

[admiralsnackbar]

You want to explain this rape thing?

Just google it. Long story short, he was acquitted.

[DMX7]

http://twitter.com/DraftExpress

You goddamn son of a bitch.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but one big difference is Haislip couldn't ever cut it in the NBA, whereas Neal had to go to Europe based on the red flags brought up by his rape trial. All to say that it isn't a clear comparison.

As for Hill finding himself on the block... it could only be as a sweetener to a bigger trade considering he doesn't make much money. By the same token, the FO would have to really want to unload somebody badly to get rid of a guy who plays several times beyond what he's paid.

You're right about Hill, however, if there's a deal on the table for a player who would currently bring more on a position of bigger need, say Batum ( I know it's a long shot ), then I think Hill could easily find himself out of Pop's fav player mantra.

[stéphane]

For once I'm not that shocked. Spurs are known to scout intensively euro ball and it'd have been hard not to be interested in him (major exposition). Hopefully he'll get to master the system and will be an asset in years to come.

[bigdog]

The 2 is now crowded as ever. I think the one that should be concerned is Hairston. I think this means Hill moves over to the 1 as his main position. This is how I see the roster.

PG-Parker/Hill/Temple
SG-Ginobili/Anderson/Neal
SF-Jefferson/Gee/Hairston?
PF-Duncan/Blair/Bonner
C-Splitter/McDyess/Cheap project big

I can easily see Gee giving Hairston a very hard push for his spot. I can see Hairston getting cut and leaving that spot open for a D-leaguer or just leave it open, period.

[jag]

Hairston and Neal have very different skill sets so i don't really see this signing as something that pushes Hairston down/out of the roster. I'll be surprised if the Spurs keep both Gee and Hairston. And considering the time they've put in to developing Malik, i can't imagine the Spurs favoring Gee.

[admiralsnackbar]

You're right about Hill, however, if there's a deal on the table for a player who would currently bring more on a position of bigger need, say Batum ( I know it's a long shot ), then I think Hill could easily find himself out of Pop's fav player mantra.

I agree completely but, as you say: it's a long-shot. Odds are somebody would feel the pinch of a trade before Hill would -- especially given the uncertainty about Parker's return next season.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm curious - how many players are the Spurs allowed to stash in Austin at one time? I believe it's either 2 or 3. For the sake of this post I'm going to assume 3.An NBA team with an exclusive D-League team relationship can send down three players.

[mattyc]

Far too many doomsayers getting around here. Relax people. We are working with a constrained budget and I'm fairly confident that that Spurs know what they are doing. It's not like they've plucked him out of nowhere. He's been with the team for a few weeks now and the Spurs will know him fairly well.

[analyzed]

One thing the Spurs would want to avoid, is to spend half the season figuring out their rotation. If you remember last year the Spurs played a lot better when Finley left and guys like Bogans and Hill knew they were going to get minutes and when. Players play a lot better when they know their going to play and with who. If Blair knows he is coming of the bench late in the 1st with Manu on the court, he probably will know what to do

[mingus]

he'll get Bogan's or Mason's situational minutes:

TP/Hill
Manu/Neal
RJ/Anderson

that's what i'm guessing the Spurs are going for. i guess Anderson will play the three.

i don't think it's a bad signing. i was expecting someone like Butler as a back-up SF rather than another sg, but Neal might be a better player than Butler.

at this point the Spurs have a pretty undersized backcourt. that could be a problem. that and there's still no one there that can call his defense a strong point (other than Manu maybe).

[analyzed]

Yup between a shooter (Neal) and a defender (Gee or Hariston) I say a spcialist shooter has a better shot in getting situational minutes ( max 5 min a game).

With RJ , Manu and Hill all avg around 25 min a game. plus Anderson maybe 20 min, there's just not much minutes left for anyone else

[Bruno]

Neal is a cheap good player and shooter. Spurs badly needed a shooter and had limited resources, so it makes sense.

What makes a little less sense is position wise. Spurs only have 1 perimeter player (RJ) over 6'6" and are crowded at the SG spot. I wonder if Spurs will still sign a vet SF or will go with their perimeter rotation that lacks size and experience. I hope it's the former and Spurs will sign a player like Bobby Simmons or Jarvis Hayes.

[analyzed]

[What makes a little less sense is position wise. Spurs only have 1 perimeter player (RJ) over 6'6" and are crowded at the SG spot. I wonder if Spurs will still sign a vet SF or will go with their perimeter rotation that lacks size and experience. I hope it's the former and Spurs will sign a player like Bobby Simmons or Jarvis Hayes.[/QUOTE]

I don't see it happening, unless their is a realistic chance of a Bobby Simmons getting significant minutes ( 20 Min) I don't see the point in spending to get another wing, especially if we do it at the expense of developing Anderson. Somethings got to give, if we get another wing like Simmons minutes to add on top of the minutes RJ, Manu and Hill are getting at the wing Anderson is bound not to get minutes , similar to Finley and Mason hardly getting PT last year with Bogans getting minutes

[buttsR4rebounding]

Temple should be fine - especially since he's Pop's "new" favorite player this year. Personally, I'm worried about Gee and Hairston.

Gee has a partially guaranteed deal, so he will be on the roster to start the year. This is bad news for Hairston...

[kobyz]

i was hoping if we won't sign proven SF that Temple, Anderson, Gee will get significant minutes, i see good potential in those guys and this signing hurt them to get minutes.

[Obstructed_View]

They had to hand a guaranteed deal if they wanted to keep Neil though. He simply could have made more money in Europe than staying in the Toros.

This. He's not guaranteed a spot, they just had to pay him more to keep him from going to Europe. If they wanted to give him a shot at camp then this is how it had to happen. He and Gee are going to have to play lights out to jump past Hairston on the depth chart.

[Obstructed_View]

You want to explain this rape thing?

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=3572883

Long story short: No more Kobe jokes for Spursfan.

[toki9]

You want to explain this rape thing?

Hope this helps:

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/110405acc.html

Nov. 4, 2005

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A jury acquitted two former La Salle basketball players of rape Friday, discounting prosecutors' contention that the woman involved was too drunk to consent to sex.

Attorneys for Gary Neal and Michael Cleaves maintained that the sex was consensual and that the woman, then 19, made up the allegation out of embarrassment after other female basketball players began to gossip.

"We put our faith in the jury system and they didn't let us down," said Wendy Goldstein, who represented Neal.

But even with the acquittal, Cleaves' attorney, Michael McDermott, said the men "are going to have a stigma attached to them for quite a while."

The case - plus a separate rape allegation involving a third La Salle player - ultimately led to the removal of both men's coach Billy Hahn and women's coach John Miller.

Prosecutors claimed Neal and Cleaves raped the visiting University of New Haven player, who was finishing up a one-week stint as a La Salle basketball camp counselor, as she vomited in a sink after drinking eight shots of high-proof alcohol.

Cathie Abookire, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney's office, said they accepted the jurors' verdict.

"We believed our victim. Our evidence was good," Abookire said. "But we do accept the jury's decision."

Neal, 21, of Baltimore, and Cleaves, 23, of Paterson, N.J., are no longer enrolled in the school.

Goldstein didn't comment specifically on Neal's future.

"I hope he can get his life in order," she said. "His life has been on hold for a couple years."

McDermott said his client wants to play basketball again and graduate from college, though not necessarily at La Salle.

"He's going to take a look around and find out what's out there for him," McDermott said.

Joseph Cicala, dean of students at the Roman Catholic school, said Friday that student privacy rules would not allow him to comment on whether either man would be allowed back at La Salle. Cicala said the school respects the jurors' decision, but added that "the behavior discussed in the courtroom was reprehensible."

"We are all deeply saddened by this situation," Cicala said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the parties involved."
A third former La Salle player, Dzaflo Larkai, has also been charged with rape, sexual assault and related offenses for an alleged April 2003 encounter with a female La Salle player.

Larkai, a 23-year-old from England, was a roommate of Neal and Cleaves.

[Obstructed_View]

Where was it mentioned that Choo Choo is going to be on the Spurs team and not in Austin?

[tuncaboylu]

I can't understand how he proved himself to get 3 years long contract in just 5 summer league games?

Our FO is moving very interesting.

[Obstructed_View]

I can't understand how he proved himself to get 3 years long contract in just 5 summer league games?

Our FO is moving very interesting.

Don't you remember Anthony Tolliver?

It's pretty doubtful that all three years are guaranteed, and Neal has two years of D League eligibility. The odds that he ends up on the main roster this season are very slim.

[ceperez]

Don't you remember Anthony Tolliver?

It's pretty doubtful that all three years are guaranteed, and Neal has two years of D League eligibility. The odds that he ends up on the main roster this season are very slim.

Dude, are you feeling like an idiot today?

Three years... so my guess it is more like a Haislip deal where the first year is guaranteed. All Tolliver got was an invite for Summer camp.

Like I said earlier (despite a ton of detractors), Neal should be part of the team.

But now that you bring this up, Tolliver is still a good option if he is available.

[Darkwaters]

Neal went to La Salle? Ironic.

So did Rasual Butler.

I wonder if we, in part, traded one La Salle Explorer for another.

[Obstructed_View]

Dude, are you feeling like an idiot today?

Three years... so my guess it is more like a Haislip deal where the first year is guaranteed. All Tolliver got was an invite for Summer camp.

Like I said earlier (despite a ton of detractors), Neal should be part of the team.

But now that you bring this up, Tolliver is still a good option if he is available.

Tolliver was a crappy player who hit some three pointers and the Spurs fell in love with him and gave him a spot on the team that he didn't deserve, and ultimately couldn't keep. It's that same fascination with three pointers that made them sign Neal. The length of the contract is completely immaterial to my point.

[JonNOKC]

Another 1 dimensional shooter...

When will the F'ing stupid FO LEARN!!!

Successful players:

Bowen : Stud Defender & Effective 3 Pt Shooter
Barry : Stud Shooter & excellent passing/ball movement
Elie: Stud Shooter & effective defender

Failed Players

Mason : Stud Shooter & nothing else (ok, big time mental breakdown)
Finley's 2nd contract : Shooter & fuck all else
Jack McClinton : Shooter & fuck all else (didn't even make it out of training camp)


Quit signing people who are shooters and nothing else. PPG & FG%are not the only measure of a players value...

If you have watch Neal play in Europe then you would know he is also a very good pick and roll player much better than Mason becuase his realease is quicker and his range is incredible - opposing defenders have to go top of screen or get big hedge from big defender - while not a PG most of the offense for his Italian team was run through him he looks to shoot first off pick and roll but also does good job of hitting big guy or if other team makes good rotations he looks to wing for open player - not a defender but does have more offensive game than just 3 - one more thing this guy can hit any type of 3 not just spot up and recieve pass, but in transition, or off dribble

[ceperez]

Tolliver was a crappy player who hit some three pointers and the Spurs fell in love with him and gave him a spot on the team that he didn't deserve, and ultimately couldn't keep. It's that same fascination with three pointers that made them sign Neal. The length of the contract is completely immaterial to my point.

Wow... looks like your are sounding more and more like an idiot lately.

Neal was signed for a 3 year deal, like the Spurs are committed for at least a year.

Tolliver was signed to a deal that promised that if he made it through training camp, he *could* be sign. Well he never got a multi-year deal nor did he even get a one year deal.

Massive difference.

You are now claiming that the F.O. are idiots for signing Neal. That's idiotic.

Difference between you and me is that you don't have a handle as to what the Spurs F.O. is doing and I do.

[admiralsnackbar]

Wow... looks like your are sounding more and more like an idiot lately.

Neal was signed for a 3 year deal, like the Spurs are committed for at least a year.

Tolliver was signed to a deal that promised that if he made it through training camp, he *could* be sign. Well he never got a multi-year deal nor did he even get a one year deal.

Massive difference.

You are now claiming that the F.O. are idiots for signing Neal. That's idiotic.

Difference between you and me is that you don't have a handle as to what the Spurs F.O. is doing and I do.

Yeah, I'm sure Pop was thinking "Mario Elie" when he signed Neal up...

I like this signing, and I agree that Tolliver was never expected to be more than a deep-bench roll-player, but half the reason come at you so hard on this board is that you make waaaaay too much of your limited facilities.

[Obstructed_View]

Wow... looks like your are sounding more and more like an idiot lately.

Neal was signed for a 3 year deal, like the Spurs are committed for at least a year.

Tolliver was signed to a deal that promised that if he made it through training camp, he *could* be sign. Well he never got a multi-year deal nor did he even get a one year deal.

Massive difference.

You are now claiming that the F.O. are idiots for signing Neal. That's idiotic.

Difference between you and me is that you don't have a handle as to what the Spurs F.O. is doing and I do.

I already told you it has nothing to do with the contracts, it has to do with the mindset. The Spurs loved Tolliver because he hit a hot streak in summer league, and it didn't pan out.

Just to provide you with some prespective, you compared Neal's contract to Haislp's. Where is Haislip? The contract has zero to do with how long he's going to be around. Neal does stand a far better chance of getting playing time even if he stinks because they're paying him. That's a pretty well-established pattern with the Spurs.

Let me be clear: Neal is not on the team, he got signed to a contract to keep him from going back to Europe. I've been on the record for a long time that the Spurs are idiots for falling in love with three pointers, because it's taken them out of what put those banners in the rafters. I'm well aware that the Spurs fall in love with three point shooters to the detriment of everything else. I just don't think it's a good idea. I never said they wouldn't sign Neal, I'm simply of the opinion that they shouldn't.

[admiralsnackbar]

I already told you it has nothing to do with the contracts, it has to do with the mindset. The Spurs loved Tolliver because he hit a hot streak in summer league, and it didn't pan out.

Just to provide you with some prespective, you compared Neal's contract to Haislp's. Where is Haislip? The contract has zero to do with how long he's going to be around. Neal does stand a far better chance of getting playing time even if he stinks because they're paying him. That's a pretty well-established pattern with the Spurs.

Let me be clear: Neal is not on the team, he got signed to a contract to keep him from going back to Europe. I've been on the record for a long time that the Spurs are idiots for falling in love with three pointers, because it's taken them out of what put those banners in the rafters. I'm well aware that the Spurs fall in love with three point shooters to the detriment of everything else. I just don't think it's a good idea. I never said they wouldn't sign Neal, I'm simply of the opinion that they shouldn't.

Every ring we've won with maybe the exception of 99 has been predicated on Tim forcing opponents to pick their poison: let him own the paint, or double him and let the 3's come down. The issue you're raising isn't 3-pt shooting, it's defense -- and they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'll grant you that defense was a huge component of ALL our wins, but Kerr, Barry, and Finley were not great defenders, and we wouldn't have had the success we did without them without them.

[SenorSpur]

That's a lot of youth in the organization now.

Gee,Temple,Neal,Hairston,Jerrells,Blair,Anderson,H ill. wow. how times have changed.


WTH! What about "The Cornerstone"?

actually I Like It!!! The youth movement has begun.

Love the impending youth movement. It's very smart on the part of RC. I just wish he would add some length to go along with it.

[ceperez]

Every ring we've won with maybe the exception of 99 has been predicated on Tim forcing opponents to pick their poison: let him own the paint, or double him and let the 3's come down. The issue you're raising isn't 3-pt shooting, it's defense -- and they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'll grant you that defense was a huge component of ALL our wins, but Kerr, Barry, and Finley were not great defenders, and we wouldn't have had the success we did without them without them.

Agree. We could not have won without these 3 point shooting folks.

The problem with Haislip was his defense appeared to be even worse than Bonner.

[ChuckD]

Hairston and Neal have very different skill sets so i don't really see this signing as something that pushes Hairston down/out of the roster. I'll be surprised if the Spurs keep both Gee and Hairston. And considering the time they've put in to developing Malik, i can't imagine the Spurs favoring Gee.

Gee has another year of Toros options off the big club roster and Hairston doesn't. Gee also hasn't proven himself totally inept at shooting the NBA 3 pointer.

[admiralsnackbar]

Agree. We could not have won without these 3 point shooting folks.

The problem with Haislip was his defense appeared to be even worse than Bonner.

There were just a few more problems than that with Haislip, I think.

[Obstructed_View]

Every ring we've won with maybe the exception of 99 has been predicated on Tim forcing opponents to pick their poison: let him own the paint, or double him and let the 3's come down. The issue you're raising isn't 3-pt shooting, it's defense -- and they aren't mutually exclusive.

I'll grant you that defense was a huge component of ALL our wins, but Kerr, Barry, and Finley were not great defenders, and we wouldn't have had the success we did without them without them.

We're pretty much saying the same thing. I'll attempt to explain my position.

Three pointers were really helpful in 2003 when the team was really young and would get themselves down by double digits. It's nice to have, but it's way overstated, because as recent Spurs teams have discovered: You can't make a comeback if you can't get stops, even if you're hitting threes. The comebacks that they staged were indeed due to a combination of timely shooting and great defense, but the ratio of defense to shooting was 80-20 for those teams. It's probably been closer to the opposite the last few years as the Spurs' defensive numbers have slid but their focus continues to be on shooters.

Kerr's best play against the Mavericks was on the defensive end, but most people only remember the threes. Defense has been so taken for granted that the Spurs have slowly replaced it thinking that three point shooting is enough. Michael Finley has had some great moments for the Spurs, but being able to fill it up so that you make up for all your mistakes with the extra 50 percent from an outside shot is fool's gold. Always has been, always will be.

Let's also make one other thing perfectly clear: Tim Duncan hasn't forced opponents to pick their poison in quite some time. That philosophy has slowly given way to the "he spreads the floor" disaster, which has the team seeing the next Steve Kerr or Stephen Jackson or Robert Horry in any guy who gets hot from outside with no thought of all the other things that made those players so special. It's the same lack of perspective that caused the Spurs to give so much burn to a guy who physically resembles Bruce Bowen or to get excited about yet another guy who goes on a hot streak in summer league.

[ceperez]

Let me be clear: Neal is not on the team, he got signed to a contract to keep him from going back to Europe. I've been on the record for a long time that the Spurs are idiots for falling in love with three pointers, because it's taken them out of what put those banners in the rafters. I'm well aware that the Spurs fall in love with three point shooters to the detriment of everything else. I just don't think it's a good idea. I never said they wouldn't sign Neal, I'm simply of the opinion that they shouldn't.

Clearly you don't grok the Spurs system at all.

If you've ever watched their games, they would stick around even if they were playing a very poor game. The opponent would be making incredible plays and runs and the Spurs were always in the game.

Well that's how I felt when the Suns played the Spurs last season. The Spurs played quite well on offense, yet the Suns were always hanging around. Do you know why? We could not stop their 3 point offense.

Now if you looked on record against the Suns, we in fact have over the years limited their output. But even through all those years, we had the ability to out 3 point them. That combo of defense and offense wins the Spurs game. Take out one of them, and the Spurs aren't contenders.

I'm glad the Spurs signed Neal, of course it would be even better if he did have some length. But big men like Robert Horry who can shoot and defend are a dime a dozen? Wait a minute here... Horry did make a lot of good defensive plays but I don't ever recall him being a good defensive player.

[Gagnrath]

I like this Neal deal. The spurs are fairly heavily loaded at SG however they've also got a bunch of combo guards.

You also won't see some combinations of these guys on the floor at the same time save in garbage situations. 6'-6" is also respectable for an NBA small forward Its not big but its also not undersized.

RJ starting SF - Anderson back-up Gee active for some games here both Temple and Manu see some minutes here.

Parker Starting PG Hill Back-up Temple and Manu some minutes here.

Hill and Temple compliment each other pretty well on the floor as do manu and hill. a Parker Neal Back-court is kinda small but not terribly so an sorta defensively weak but the drive and dish is strong with that combo.

I think they will be putting Anderson into the weight room and saying you are a small forward more than a shooting guard and gee is a small forward. I don't see hairston around. For all of you guys concerned about Malik, I believe Mr. Rose was traded years ago and is pretty much retired at this point

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Wait a minute here... Horry did make a lot of good defensive plays but I don't ever recall him being a good defensive player.

Seriously?

[Obstructed_View]

Gee has another year of Toros options off the big club roster and Hairston doesn't. Gee also hasn't proven himself totally inept at shooting the NBA 3 pointer.

Are you suggesting that Hairston has proven that he can't hit three pointers in the NBA?

[Obstructed_View]

Clearly you don't grok the Spurs system at all.

If you've ever watched their games, they would stick around even if they were playing a very poor game. The opponent would be making incredible plays and runs and the Spurs were always in the game.

Well that's how I felt when the Suns played the Spurs last season. The Spurs played quite well on offense, yet the Suns were always hanging around. Do you know why? We could not stop their 3 point offense.

Now if you looked on record against the Suns, we in fact have over the years limited their output. But even through all those years, we had the ability to out 3 point them. That combo of defense and offense wins the Spurs game. Take out one of them, and the Spurs aren't contenders.

I'm glad the Spurs signed Neal, of course it would be even better if he did have some length. But big men like Robert Horry who can shoot and defend are a dime a dozen? Wait a minute here... Horry did make a lot of good defensive plays but I don't ever recall him being a good defensive player.

Clearly you don't have any idea what defense is.

[ceperez]

Seriously?

Yes seriously. Tim would score a ton of points on top of him when he was in the Lakers.

He's serviceable as a PF defensive player, but not to be consider stellar.

[admiralsnackbar]

We're pretty much saying the same thing. I'll attempt to explain my position.

Three pointers were really helpful in 2003 when the team was really young and would get themselves down by double digits. It's nice to have, but it's way overstated, because as recent Spurs teams have discovered: You can't make a comeback if you can't get stops, even if you're hitting threes. The comebacks that they staged were indeed due to a combination of timely shooting and great defense, but the ratio of defense to shooting was 80-20 for those teams. It's probably been closer to the opposite the last few years as the Spurs' defensive numbers have slid but their focus continues to be on shooters.

Kerr's best play against the Mavericks was on the defensive end, but most people only remember the threes. Defense has been so taken for granted that the Spurs have slowly replaced it thinking that three point shooting is enough. Michael Finley has had some great moments for the Spurs, but being able to fill it up so that you make up for all your mistakes with the extra 50 percent from an outside shot is fool's gold. Always has been, always will be.

Let's also make one other thing perfectly clear: Tim Duncan hasn't forced opponents to pick their poison in quite some time. That philosophy has slowly given way to the "he spreads the floor" disaster, which has the team seeing the next Steve Kerr or Stephen Jackson or Robert Horry in any guy who gets hot from outside with no thought of all the other things that made those players so special. It's the same lack of perspective that caused the Spurs to give so much burn to a guy who physically resembles Bruce Bowen or to get excited about yet another guy who goes on a hot streak in summer league.

You're right, we do agree. The problem is that there aren't that many defensive badasses to go around. We were spoiled by the luxury of having Horry and especially Bruce (who set the defensive bar for the rest of the team) around but if we aren't going to find anybody to fill those shoes, we still have to put together some kind of squad that can do something. And for cheap.

On the bright side, I can see having a tandem of Duncan and Splitter in the post as a good reason to be optimistic that opposing defenses will have to start sagging to protect the paint again. If that happens, the team 3P% should hopefully go up.

[yavozerb]

Are you suggesting that Hairston has proven that he can't hit three pointers in the NBA?

The problem I saw with Hairston is not the fact of not making 3pt shots, it was his lack of confidence in taking the shot itself. There were times he had a wide open 3 pt shots and would end up driving to the basket instead.

[ceperez]

The problem I saw with Hairston is not the fact of not making 3pt shots, it was his lack of confidence in taking the shot itself. There were times he had a wide open 3 pt shots and would end up driving to the basket instead.

Sigh.

Well let's just hope that Chip Engeland has worked on him enough that he can't shoot it automatically. Same comment also goes for Gee.

Lots of practice is good, but sometimes you just have to go with the players who have a natural talent of making the long range shot.

Though let's make it perfectly clear, you can't be a perimeter player with the Spurs (with the exception of Parker) and be unable to make the 3 consistently.

[Darkwaters]

Clearly you don't grok the Spurs system at all.


LOL, nice.

I will have you know that at least one other person here reads Heinlein.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

LOL, nice.

I will have you know that at least one other person here reads Heinlein.

:toast make that 2. Love Stranger in a strange land.

[Obstructed_View]

The problem I saw with Hairston is not the fact of not making 3pt shots, it was his lack of confidence in taking the shot itself. There were times he had a wide open 3 pt shots and would end up driving to the basket instead.

I can agree with that to a certain extent. If you have a lane, you're supposed to drive to the basket, but passing up open shots is contrary to what he's there for. I'm still of the opinion that it's difficult not to press in garbage minutes and also that eleven attempts isn't enough to erase the stats he put up for two years in Austin.

[Darkwaters]

:toast make that 2. Love Stranger in a strange land.

That book is trippy as shit. I read it during OCS a few years ago.

Oh yea, I should probably say something Spurs related.

...

...

...

James White!

:flag:

[toki9]

:toast make that 2. Love Stranger in a strange land.

You must be from Mars or something...

[Whisky Dog]

Two words:

Steve Kerr.

They hope

[Solid D]

Depending on how "guaranteed" Neal's contract is with the Spurs...and if the Spurs don't end up working out a trade.....then I think the Spurs add an injury insurance Big as their final move. If they can't find someone with some NBA experience at the 4 or 5, then Tyler Wilkerson or a healed-up James Gist are poor-man's options for Austin.

[Darkwaters]

Depending on how "guaranteed" Neal's contract is with the Spurs...and if the Spurs don't end up working out a trade.....then I think the Spurs add an injury insurance Big as their final move. If they can't find someone with some NBA experience at the 4 or 5, then Tyler Wilkerson or a healed-up James Gist are poor-man's options for Austin.


Unless they really think they see something special in Wilkerson or another developmental big then I think you sign Gist. The guy has been hanging around developing over seas for this team. I think a two year, unguaranteed, contract is the least you can toss his way. Plus, his skill set is in no way duplicated on this squad. While he might not prove to be a 3 per se, he might prove to be valuable regardless.

[Obstructed_View]

If you wanted to keep Gist around in Austin, that would be doable, but he pretty much became irrelevant the day Dejuan Blair fell to the Spurs. I like the guy, but he isn't going to be a three, and he's probably not going to be productive as a 4.

[coyotes_geek]

If you wanted to keep Gist around in Austin, that would be doable, but he pretty much became irrelevant the day Dejuan Blair fell to the Spurs. I like the guy, but he isn't going to be a three, and he's probably not going to be productive as a 4.

Agreed. Adding Gist to the roster serves no purpose.

[lurker23]

So, I'm a little late to the party, but here are a few thoughts from my end:

-This is a good signing for the Spurs, both basketball-wise and financially. Neal was a very good player in Europe, so he has a nice track record, but is still young enough (26 this fall) to have a little upside.

Financially, I felt the Spurs had a much better chance of staying under the luxury tax back when everyone thought they were going to sign Richards (rookie minimum, very cheap contract). Contract-wise, they got Neal to replace him. Time will tell if the Spurs intend on staying under the luxury tax, primarily indicated by whether they use their LLE or remaining MLE. While I think this means that only 2 of Temple/Hairston/Gee/Jerrels will make the team now, whereas before 3 looked like a decent chance, don't rule out this possibility: Spurs keep a 14 or 15 man roster most of the year, then salary dump the least promising player at the trade deadline like they did Ratliff last year, thus getting a fuller evaluation while not paying luxury tax.


-The one thing that most people are missing on Neal is that he's not just a spot-up shooter. I know that's primarily what he did in summer league, but the dude is a flat-out scorer. He can drive, finish at the rim, penetrate-and-dish, has a nice mid-range jumper off the dribble, and will work well in pick-and-roll sets. He's a very efficient scorer inside the arc (often shooting near-or-above 50% on FGs in Europe), and honestly his biggest question mark shooting-wise was whether he was a good enough 3-point shooter for the NBA. In that way, I think the Spurs and Spurs fans will be somewhat disappointed; unless he's improved tremendously in the offseason, expect his 3PT% to be near 35%, not the 50% he shot in summer league.

-The big question mark for Neal on this Spurs team is defense. At previous levels, he hasn't shown much interest and/or skill at defending. However, in summer league he appeared to me to have put on some muscle, and could turn out to be a hard-nosed defender if he so chooses. While turning him into a defender won't happen overnight, he may gain some serious motivation when Pop gives him the "play defense or don't play at all" speech. If Neal ends up getting sent down to Austin, defense is the #1 thing they'll want him to work on, with perhaps passing being a distant 2nd.


-The bottom line for the Spurs in this signing is that they felt they had found some true talent through the summer league, and didn't want to let him go. While they aren't the same player, I think a good comparison is Anthony Morrow. The Warriors found Morrow on their summer league roster and didn't let go, even though he was probably getting offers left and right from several NBA teams after tearing up Vegas and Salt Lake City. Similarly, the Spurs did the prudent thing and locked up Neal despite competing offers from Europe and perhaps other NBA teams. Morrow played two very good seasons with Golden State, but when he signed a 3 year, $12 million offer sheet this summer, the Warriors had to let him walk away due to financial reasons. While I don't expect Neal to come close to replicating Morrow's numbers, if he does break-out in the NBA, the Spurs have him locked up for 3 seasons in contrast to Morrow's 2.

[ohmwrecker]

Yah, he'll have a spot, right behind Popovich in Ian's vacated seat. :lol

So according to your book of wisdom, Temple is a point guard but George Hill isn't?

In my book, they are almost identical players, save for a few inches of height. With a guy like Neal aboard on a guaranteed contract, the spurs don't have the minutes nor do they really need Garret Temple

Book of wisdom? What is wrong with you, fruitcake?

Temple and Hill aren't indentical and I think you would have a hard time getting any reasonable individual to agree with you on that one. Temple obviously is more experienced running the point than Hill. I'm not saying he is more talented or that he is a better player, just more experienced at the position. What makes you think that Neal is going to get PT over either one of those guys?

[lefty]

3 years 50 millions

[bdictjames]

What a shock.

[Anonymous Cowherd]

any indication as to the salary?

will it be the minimum (for Neal that's 885k I believe)? or have we used the rest of the MLE (the only way we can pay him more I believe)

[rjv]

nando better pay attention and step up his game overseas

[coyotes_geek]

any indication as to the salary?

will it be the minimum (for Neal that's 885k I believe)? or have we used the rest of the MLE (the only way we can pay him more I believe)

Not sure of the salary, but since it's a 3 year deal we do know that it has to be paid out of the MLE.

[lurker23]

Not sure of the salary, but since it's a 3 year deal we do know that it has to be paid out of the MLE.

True, don't know why I didn't realize that. So, with the exception of # of years, the Spurs LLE is now has more money left than their MLE. However, I don't expect them to use either at this point, and the current roster could be very close to the final roster.