Ryan Richards

[blp2112]

Does anyone know Ryan's current status?

[slick'81]

status-spurs savior

[Obstructed_View]

Under contract I think. I asked in the think tank thread a couple weeks ago.

[The Truth #6]

Under contract...with our utter lack of bigman depth it doesn't seem as crazy now to have him sit on the bench occasionally and maybe even play him to see what he can do. Same for Joseph. If we're already paying them, then might as well give them a taste of what to expect, especially on the the third night of a triple header.

[GSH]

He's got a buyout. I don't know how big it is, but I thought it was manageable. He's been playing, so he ought to be in game shape. At this point, I don't know what the Spurs are going to do for bodies in the middle - especially with all the second nights, and a couple of third nights. Unless the FO has some other trick up their sleeve, buying him out and fitting him for a jersey seems like it might be a good idea.

The FO isn't showing any signs of a sense of urgency, but the rest of us sure as hell are.

[ChumpDumper]

His performance is erratic in a shitty league. Best to not think about it for awhile.

[GSH]

His performance is erratic in a shitty league. Best to not think about it for awhile.

I wouldn't think about it at all, if I hadn't watched Blair in the post-season, and the first pre-season game this year. The idea that things are bad enough that I have to consider Ryan Richards as a possible upgrade makes me all crazy like.

[ChumpDumper]

I wouldn't think about it at all, if I hadn't watched Blair in the post-season, and the first pre-season game this year. The idea that things are bad enough that I have to consider Ryan Richards as a possible upgrade makes me all crazy like. From what little I've seen he could possibly come off the bench in a diluted D-League this season. Blair would probably average 20 and 20.

[Bruno]

GB NT picking Eric Boateng over him was the first huge red flag regarding Richards.

[ChumpDumper]

He'd give Zeller a run for his money, but at this point I don't know if Zeller even has a job still waiting for him in Austin.

[angelbelow]

No way the FO is actually considering this guy, even if its just to sit on the bench.

Hes a 1st year with no practice, no training camp, no summer league.. no way Pop lets him play unless its a blow out or an injury. But then again, its not like any of us are realistically expecting him to be a game changer or anything. Wouldn't be the worse thing in the world to have him as injury insurance but I'd imagine there are better options.. some bottom scraping veteran or D-League "allstar"..

[ChuckD]

He's got a buyout. I don't know how big it is, but I thought it was manageable. He's been playing, so he ought to be in game shape. At this point, I don't know what the Spurs are going to do for bodies in the middle - especially with all the second nights, and a couple of third nights. Unless the FO has some other trick up their sleeve, buying him out and fitting him for a jersey seems like it might be a good idea.

The FO isn't showing any signs of a sense of urgency, but the rest of us sure as hell are.

Buyouts are for in between seasons, not during.

[sasffl]

someone said he's 7'1 now

[Anonymous Cowherd]

last year he became a "legitimate" 7-footer aka. reached 7 feet standing barefoot.

so with shoes he should be 7'1.5"

[AFBlue]

Pretty sure there's a whole thread dedicated to this guy in the Think Tank

[ChumpDumper]

He had a coach assigned to him most of the summer, so they know how he's playing and developing.

[Russ]

Keith Richards has more of a chance of contributing to the Spurs than this guy (as far as potential English contributors named Richards go).

[TDMVPDPOY]

arent we taxpayers this season? i doubt holt will open his wallet and pay for this clowns buyout

[SenorSpur]

Doesn't he also have 3-pt range?

[jag]

Doesn't he also have 3-pt range?

Yeah, he can shoot from everywhere and has NBA 3-pt range from the top of the key. There are some videos (like 5 or 6) on youtube of him working out with a Toros assist coach shortly after he was cleared to play from his shoulder injury. I posted a couple of the videos in a thread a few months ago.

The guy can shoot, but he didn't look all that great in the post. It looked like they were doing a lot of work with him on turnaround j's and hook-shots on the low block. I've also read that his defense is horrible.

[SenorSpur]

Yeah, he can shoot from everywhere and has NBA 3-pt range from the top of the key. There are some videos (like 5 or 6) on youtube of him working out with a Toros assist coach shortly after he was cleared to play from his shoulder injury. I posted a couple of the videos in a thread a few months ago.

The guy can shoot, but he didn't look all that great in the post. It looked like they were doing a lot of work with him on turnaround j's and hook-shots on the low block. I've also read that his defense is horrible.

That's a relief because in the new-fangled Pop offensive system, it's very important that ALL bigmen be able to spread the floor and drain threes from downtown.

[jjktkk]

Yeah, he can shoot from everywhere and has NBA 3-pt range from the top of the key. There are some videos (like 5 or 6) on youtube of him working out with a Toros assist coach shortly after he was cleared to play from his shoulder injury. I posted a couple of the videos in a thread a few months ago.

The guy can shoot, but he didn't look all that great in the post. It looked like they were doing a lot of work with him on turnaround j's and hook-shots on the low block. I've also read that his defense is horrible.

Sounds like Richards is a Channing Frye clone, whats your take on em Jag?

[ALVAREZ6]

Yeah, he can shoot from everywhere and has NBA 3-pt range from the top of the key. There are some videos (like 5 or 6) on youtube of him working out with a Toros assist coach shortly after he was cleared to play from his shoulder injury. I posted a couple of the videos in a thread a few months ago.

The guy can shoot, but he didn't look all that great in the post. It looked like they were doing a lot of work with him on turnaround j's and hook-shots on the low block. I've also read that his defense is horrible.

Seems like a worse Matt Bonner, exactly what this team needs.

[jag]

Sounds like Richards is a Channing Frye clone, whats your take on em Jag?

His shooting range is really the only thing similar to Frye. He's a shooter -- his elevation and shooting motion seem more like something you'd see from a SG. He's a lefty and his shooting motion is almost a mirror image of Michael Redd's.*Emphasis on "shooting motion", not ability.* It's hard to judge his athleticism because of the way he plays and it's sometimes easy to start comparing him athletically to small fowards. In that regard, he's not quick enough or agile enough. But if you put him with other PF/C's he's well above average athletically. I also think his playing style in the NBA would change and he wouldn't float on the perimeter as much. I actually see him playing the mid-to-hi post and being more of a shooter from the 18-ft range as opposed to being a spot-up three point shooter. And although he has shooting range, he's not necessarily a finesse player. He has a strong body and will crash the boards and he takes it strong to the rim. If he's near the rim with the ball, he's dunking it.

He has decent hops, nothing spectacular, but he seems pretty agile for his size (Last I read he was about 245 lbs and a legit 7'0" barefoot -- 7'1"+ in shoes) and has good speed, baseline to baseline. His speed and agility were most noticable when he'd take the ball coast-to-coast or randomly start crossing people up and/or going behind the back in the middle of the lane. He has surprisingly good handles. Keep in mind, this is all relative to his size. He wouldn't get away with a lot of those things playing against NBA bench-level talent.

If you get a chance to watch him, you'll notice he plays with an edge. It's almost as if he always thinks everyone on the opposing team was talking shit about him before the game. And unlike Frye and Bonner, Richards has the physical talent and intensity to actually become a good defender. He's made comments in interviews acknowledging his lack of interest on the defensive end. If he gave a damn he'd be a good defender. So I'm not too worried about it because there are certain NBA coaches that will make him give a damn.

After they drafted him I figured I'd follow him as much as possible... because why the hell not? But I'm not an expert on the guy and my opinions are limited due to only seeing his UK Hoopsfix highlights, a few games with GB Youth National Teams, a few games with Gran Canaria, individual workouts with Toro's coaches and a couple of broke-ass streams of the Lugano Tigers in the Swiss League. He's been inconsistent and didn't start the last game for the Tigers.

Here's a link (http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=SWITZERLAND&Team=1148&Page=0) to the Lugano Tigers homepage on Eurobasket.

He has more upside than Mahinmi. Mahinmi was raw as hell. They were trying to turn a great athlete into a basketball player. It also didn't help that he was always injured and had awkward body control. Richards is already a basketball player, and his athleticism is also a plus. But in all honesty it seems like there is something missing from his game. Like he missed a step or two during his development. But I'll need to watch him play more, so hopefully I'm wrong about that. I've seen quite a few interviews with him and he's an intelligent and driven guy, so I think he'll bust his ass to make the team. But unlike great players that develop here in the US, his size allowed him to bully smaller players around and basically do what he wanted without facing AAU teams stacked with McDonald's All-Americans. It'll be interesting to see if/how he adjusts.

ok.. I'm done.

[Anonymous Cowherd]

^ great stuff, thanks for the effort and information.

[rascal]

I can see this guy telling Pop he doesn't like to play defense.

[GSH]

Buyouts are for in between seasons, not during.

Funny. Gustavo Ayon just exercised a buyout with Fuenlabrada, so he could go sign with the Hornets. If you don't know Fuenlabrada, it's the same team that Bismack Biyombo just left, so he could sign with Charlotte.



He had a coach assigned to him most of the summer, so they know how he's playing and developing.

That says more to me than all the opinion and specualtion put together.

[++SaiNt TiAg0++]

nice stuff jag