What is James Anderson's future with this team?

[Darkwaters]

For a guy that showed so much promise early last season James has really taken a step backwards this year. Earlier in the season he was given serious opportunity to carve out a role for himself but has been supplanted by other players on the roster.

The Spurs pulled the trigger on James with the 20th pick in the 2010 draft being in serious need of depth on the wing. The Spurs had been ousted in the playoffs largely because of a lack of quality pure shooters on their roster. Players like Jacque Vaughn, Ime Udoka, Michael Finley and the Centerpiece just hadn't been getting it done. James was meant to be the first step in the right direction to bring in capable shooters and rejuvenate an aging and inept swingman position. But since taking James Anderson the Spurs have made several other roster moves that have affected their swingman rotation, and many of them have panned out better than he has.

The following moves refer to movements since Anderson was drafted.

Subtractions:

George Hill - George came in to be the backup PG for the Spurs but spent a large amount of a time at the 2 for San Antonio, contributing at a high level. With him moving off the team it theoretically opened up more space for James to take.

Ime Udoka/Garrett Temple/Bobby Simmons/Larry Owens/Steve Novak/Othyus Jeffers - The revolving door of SG/SF that was last year. Ironically, one of those revolving door players was Danny Green, and he ended up sticking in the end. But really, none of these players were a major detriment to Anderson except for the fact that injury precluded him from competing against them.

Alonzo Gee - One of the revolving door players from the previous year. Came in with a lot of praise and acclaim but it just never worked out for him. While hes had a lot of success in Washington since moving on, Alonzo Gee wasn't a good fit and was off the roster quickly last season.

Additions:

Kawhi Leonard - George Hill was essentially replaced by Kawhi Leonard by the trade that gave the Spurs the 15th pick in the 2011 draft. But while Hill only spent some of his rotation minutes at the 2, Leonard spends nearly all of them playing one of the two swing positions which Anderson should be competing for. Essentially, the trade reduced the overall number of minutes theoretically available to James Anderson. And with Kawhi playing at a high level and showing noted improvement literally from game to game (already looking like he truly belongs in the starting lineup) it will likely be a continuing factor.

Gary Neal - Signed the same offseason as James, Gary Neal was surprise at summer league and viewed as a longshot to make the roster. But after being given a contract with the first season fully guaranteed it was apparent he would be around at least for the year. James Anderson was slotted higher in the depth chart for a number of reasons: as the 20th pick, with better size and athleticism, Anderson was deemed the better prospect. Neal was a cast off from Europe, never drafted, with less than ideal size and athleticism. He seemed to be somewhat of a longshot to make the Spurs (perhaps in the mold of Jack McClinton). It was mentioned how Neal might spend a good portion of the season on Toros and might be a prospect for the big leagues in a year or so. However, after Anderson was injured early in the season, Neal stepped in and hasn't looked back, carving out a nice role. Essentially, Anderson was supplanted from out of nowhere from a player nobody saw coming. Bad luck for him.

Danny Green - The story of Green is in many ways similar to Gary Neal. Green was a player that was signed to fill out the roster and basically just add depth. However, given the opportunity to play, Green took advantage of every opportunity and has excelled in all the areas that Anderson was supposed to (shooting) as well as areas that Anderson wasn't especially renowned for (defense, ball handling, rebounding). Green has turned out to be an all-around player and has shown up when it counted. Again, from out of nowhere, Anderson was pushed behind a player on a make-good contract that just wanted it more than he did.

TJ Ford - Ford was signed exclusively to play PG, make no mistake. While he was the George Hill replacement, his short stature has never allowed him to play as a combo guard. However, his surprising quality play did allow Tony Parker to slide over to the 2 and the Spurs to run a 2 PG set at times this year. This is not really the norm, and won't be a usual look for the Spurs, but it does constitute another example of other players stealing minutes that Anderson might have otherwise been eligible for.

Cory Joseph - To date, Cory Joe hasn't really stolen any minutes from anybody to date. But if trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to Mr. Anderson.


James Anderson has suffered through some very unfortunate set backs. His injury seriously hurt his groove last season and hurt him while he was getting truly established. Several competent bargain bin signings by the Spurs in Gary Neal and Danny Green as well as a savvy draft move only further damned him. Anderson has been given opportunities to play, but hasn't responded at the same level as the aforementioned studs.

So what is his future? Where do we think we're going with him? Is he trade bait, pure and simple, or is he going to be a salary cap sacrifice?

[Mel_13]

Anderson has been given opportunities to play, but hasn't responded at the same level as the aforementioned studs.

So what is his future? Where do we think we're going with him? Is he trade bait, pure and simple, or is he going to be a salary cap sacrifice?

Good post.

The compressed schedule, a longer rotation, and injuries to Neal, TJ, and Manu have provided ample opportunities for Leonard, Green, and Anderson to carve out a clear place in the rotation. Leonard and Green have seized the opportunity, Anderson has not.

January 25th is the deadline to pick up his third year option. He hasn't given the Spurs any reason to exercise that option with his play on the court.

[TJastal]

For a guy that showed so much promise early last season James has really taken a step backwards this year. Earlier in the season he was given serious opportunity to carve out a role for himself but has been supplanted by other players on the roster.

The Spurs pulled the trigger on James with the 20th pick in the 2010 draft being in serious need of depth on the wing. The Spurs had been ousted in the playoffs largely because of a lack of quality pure shooters on their roster. Players like Jacque Vaughn, Ime Udoka, Michael Finley and the Centerpiece just hadn't been getting it done. James was meant to be the first step in the right direction to bring in capable shooters and rejuvenate an aging and inept swingman position. But since taking James Anderson the Spurs have made several other roster moves that have affected their swingman rotation, and many of them have panned out better than he has.

The following moves refer to movements since Anderson was drafted.

Subtractions:

George Hill - George came in to be the backup PG for the Spurs but spent a large amount of a time at the 2 for San Antonio, contributing at a high level. With him moving off the team it theoretically opened up more space for James to take.

Ime Udoka/Garrett Temple/Bobby Simmons/Larry Owens/Steve Novak/Othyus Jeffers - The revolving door of SG/SF that was last year. Ironically, one of those revolving door players was Danny Green, and he ended up sticking in the end. But really, none of these players were a major detriment to Anderson except for the fact that injury precluded him from competing against them.

Alonzo Gee - One of the revolving door players from the previous year. Came in with a lot of praise and acclaim but it just never worked out for him. While hes had a lot of success in Washington since moving on, Alonzo Gee wasn't a good fit and was off the roster quickly last season.

Additions:

Kawhi Leonard - George Hill was essentially replaced by Kawhi Leonard by the trade that gave the Spurs the 15th pick in the 2011 draft. But while Hill only spent some of his rotation minutes at the 2, Leonard spends nearly all of them playing one of the two swing positions which Anderson should be competing for. Essentially, the trade reduced the overall number of minutes theoretically available to James Anderson. And with Kawhi playing at a high level and showing noted improvement literally from game to game (already looking like he truly belongs in the starting lineup) it will likely be a continuing factor.

Gary Neal - Signed the same offseason as James, Gary Neal was surprise at summer league and viewed as a longshot to make the roster. But after being given a contract with the first season fully guaranteed it was apparent he would be around at least for the year. James Anderson was slotted higher in the depth chart for a number of reasons: as the 20th pick, with better size and athleticism, Anderson was deemed the better prospect. Neal was a cast off from Europe, never drafted, with less than ideal size and athleticism. He seemed to be somewhat of a longshot to make the Spurs (perhaps in the mold of Jack McClinton). It was mentioned how Neal might spend a good portion of the season on Toros and might be a prospect for the big leagues in a year or so. However, after Anderson was injured early in the season, Neal stepped in and hasn't looked back, carving out a nice role. Essentially, Anderson was supplanted from out of nowhere from a player nobody saw coming. Bad luck for him.

Danny Green - The story of Green is in many ways similar to Gary Neal. Green was a player that was signed to fill out the roster and basically just add depth. However, given the opportunity to play, Green took advantage of every opportunity and has excelled in all the areas that Anderson was supposed to (shooting) as well as areas that Anderson wasn't especially renowned for (defense, ball handling, rebounding). Green has turned out to be an all-around player and has shown up when it counted. Again, from out of nowhere, Anderson was pushed behind a player on a make-good contract that just wanted it more than he did.

TJ Ford - Ford was signed exclusively to play PG, make no mistake. While he was the George Hill replacement, his short stature has never allowed him to play as a combo guard. However, his surprising quality play did allow Tony Parker to slide over to the 2 and the Spurs to run a 2 PG set at times this year. This is not really the norm, and won't be a usual look for the Spurs, but it does constitute another example of other players stealing minutes that Anderson might have otherwise been eligible for.

Cory Joseph - To date, Cory Joe hasn't really stolen any minutes from anybody to date. But if trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to Mr. Anderson.


James Anderson has suffered through some very unfortunate set backs. His injury seriously hurt his groove last season and hurt him while he was getting truly established. Several competent bargain bin signings by the Spurs in Gary Neal and Danny Green as well as a savvy draft move only further damned him. Anderson has been given opportunities to play, but hasn't responded at the same level as the aforementioned studs.

So what is his future? Where do we think we're going with him? Is he trade bait, pure and simple, or is he going to be a salary cap sacrifice?

I think Green has cemented himself into the rotation for now. He'll be a spur for awhile barring another team making a ridiculous offer for him next year (which I wouldn't rule out at this point). His defensive capabilities, rebounding, passing, ... heck everything.. is superior to Anderson's.

I get a feeling that JA will be competing with Gary Neal for that last guard spot on the team. Given what Neal showed last year, I think it's it's a no-brainer you keep him on the roster for those critical times you need clutch shooting/scoring or when you need to draw up a last second shot. He's a great decoy even if he's not the recipient. And he's a proven commodity in the league already. Anderson isn't.

Wouldn't surprise me at all to see the spurs deal Anderson or barring that, passing on his option this year for these reasons. Not that they are "giving up" on him they just have better options at their disposal now.

[5in10]

I think he has shown flashes of the player he can be. We gotta remember this is basically his rookie year. If he showed enough in training camp to where he was impressing the coaching staff and the players than I think you resign him. So far he has showed good defense when focused, and also the abilty to get his own shot off but nothing has fallen for him and he also showed decent pick n roll skills(better than I thought he would be capable of anyways). I still like his potential as a player and think it would be dumb not to pick his option up. I would rather trade Gary Neal than JA at this point.

[SequSpur]

For a guy that showed so much promise early last season James has really taken a step backwards this year. Earlier in the season he was given serious opportunity to carve out a role for himself but has been supplanted by other players on the roster.

The Spurs pulled the trigger on James with the 20th pick in the 2010 draft being in serious need of depth on the wing. The Spurs had been ousted in the playoffs largely because of a lack of quality pure shooters on their roster. Players like Jacque Vaughn, Ime Udoka, Michael Finley and the Centerpiece just hadn't been getting it done. James was meant to be the first step in the right direction to bring in capable shooters and rejuvenate an aging and inept swingman position. But since taking James Anderson the Spurs have made several other roster moves that have affected their swingman rotation, and many of them have panned out better than he has.

The following moves refer to movements since Anderson was drafted.

Subtractions:

George Hill - George came in to be the backup PG for the Spurs but spent a large amount of a time at the 2 for San Antonio, contributing at a high level. With him moving off the team it theoretically opened up more space for James to take.

Ime Udoka/Garrett Temple/Bobby Simmons/Larry Owens/Steve Novak/Othyus Jeffers - The revolving door of SG/SF that was last year. Ironically, one of those revolving door players was Danny Green, and he ended up sticking in the end. But really, none of these players were a major detriment to Anderson except for the fact that injury precluded him from competing against them.

Alonzo Gee - One of the revolving door players from the previous year. Came in with a lot of praise and acclaim but it just never worked out for him. While hes had a lot of success in Washington since moving on, Alonzo Gee wasn't a good fit and was off the roster quickly last season.

Additions:

Kawhi Leonard - George Hill was essentially replaced by Kawhi Leonard by the trade that gave the Spurs the 15th pick in the 2011 draft. But while Hill only spent some of his rotation minutes at the 2, Leonard spends nearly all of them playing one of the two swing positions which Anderson should be competing for. Essentially, the trade reduced the overall number of minutes theoretically available to James Anderson. And with Kawhi playing at a high level and showing noted improvement literally from game to game (already looking like he truly belongs in the starting lineup) it will likely be a continuing factor.

Gary Neal - Signed the same offseason as James, Gary Neal was surprise at summer league and viewed as a longshot to make the roster. But after being given a contract with the first season fully guaranteed it was apparent he would be around at least for the year. James Anderson was slotted higher in the depth chart for a number of reasons: as the 20th pick, with better size and athleticism, Anderson was deemed the better prospect. Neal was a cast off from Europe, never drafted, with less than ideal size and athleticism. He seemed to be somewhat of a longshot to make the Spurs (perhaps in the mold of Jack McClinton). It was mentioned how Neal might spend a good portion of the season on Toros and might be a prospect for the big leagues in a year or so. However, after Anderson was injured early in the season, Neal stepped in and hasn't looked back, carving out a nice role. Essentially, Anderson was supplanted from out of nowhere from a player nobody saw coming. Bad luck for him.

Danny Green - The story of Green is in many ways similar to Gary Neal. Green was a player that was signed to fill out the roster and basically just add depth. However, given the opportunity to play, Green took advantage of every opportunity and has excelled in all the areas that Anderson was supposed to (shooting) as well as areas that Anderson wasn't especially renowned for (defense, ball handling, rebounding). Green has turned out to be an all-around player and has shown up when it counted. Again, from out of nowhere, Anderson was pushed behind a player on a make-good contract that just wanted it more than he did.

TJ Ford - Ford was signed exclusively to play PG, make no mistake. While he was the George Hill replacement, his short stature has never allowed him to play as a combo guard. However, his surprising quality play did allow Tony Parker to slide over to the 2 and the Spurs to run a 2 PG set at times this year. This is not really the norm, and won't be a usual look for the Spurs, but it does constitute another example of other players stealing minutes that Anderson might have otherwise been eligible for.

Cory Joseph - To date, Cory Joe hasn't really stolen any minutes from anybody to date. But if trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to Mr. Anderson.


James Anderson has suffered through some very unfortunate set backs. His injury seriously hurt his groove last season and hurt him while he was getting truly established. Several competent bargain bin signings by the Spurs in Gary Neal and Danny Green as well as a savvy draft move only further damned him. Anderson has been given opportunities to play, but hasn't responded at the same level as the aforementioned studs.

So what is his future? Where do we think we're going with him? Is he trade bait, pure and simple, or is he going to be a salary cap sacrifice?

Nice story..thumbs up

[TJastal]

I think he has shown flashes of the player he can be. We gotta remember this is basically his rookie year. If he showed enough in training camp to where he was impressing the coaching staff and the players than I think you resign him. So far he has showed good defense when focused, and also the abilty to get his own shot off but nothing has fallen for him and he also showed decent pick n roll skills(better than I thought he would be capable of anyways). I still like his potential as a player and think it would be dumb not to pick his option up. I would rather trade Gary Neal than JA at this point.

Gotta love the JA Fanbois, they are if nothing else supremely dedicated to this lazy POS.

[ChumpDumper]

lol lazy POS

[Mal]

Good post.

January 25th is the deadline to pick up his third year option. He hasn't given the Spurs any reason to exercise that option with his play on the court.

No way Spurs would pick up 1,5 mln option. They can found similar or better player with vet min.

[SpurNation]

James Anderson is more of a "scorer" than spot up shooter needing to be set up by others to perform at his best. My guess is if he were to be able to execute better defensively he would be seeing more minutes regardless of his slump in scoring at this time.

Who knows....He just might be one of those players that has certain talent but that talent doesn't serve best the direction of the team thus leaving him the odd man out of the rotation.

[Dex]

Anderson needs to remember how to dribble and shoot, otherwise his future with this team will be a pretty short story.

[The ADMIRAL 50]

I think he has shown flashes of the player he can be. We gotta remember this is basically his rookie year. If he showed enough in training camp to where he was impressing the coaching staff and the players than I think you resign him. So far he has showed good defense when focused, and also the abilty to get his own shot off but nothing has fallen for him and he also showed decent pick n roll skills(better than I thought he would be capable of anyways). I still like his potential as a player and think it would be dumb not to pick his option up. I would rather trade Gary Neal than JA at this point.

Crazy talk. Neal is an NBA player, jury is still out on JA. You'd really rather keep him over some guy who came out of absolutely nowhere to make an All NBA Rookie First Team? Not to mention has certifiably large cojones? If anything that's what Anderson has lacked this season. When given the opportunities this season, he has been, as many Spurstalkers might say, a total mental midget.

[jimo2305]

he sucks.. send him to the toros

[timvp]

Good writeup, Darkwaters. Looking back on it, the 2010 draft was pretty damn horrible. I think Anderson still has a chance but if he ends up being a bust, he'll be one of many busts of that draft.

Personally, I hope the Spurs pick up the option. $1.5 million isn't very much and Anderson was supposedly really good in training camp so keeping him around another season to give him a chance can't hurt. Plus, next year he could get his first summer league and his first training camp.

As for the rest of this season, I'm not too hopeful. However, Pop keeps giving him chances and all it will take is one 3-for-3 from three-point range game to begin considering him for minutes again.

[TJastal]

Good writeup, Darkwaters. Looking back on it, the 2010 draft was pretty damn horrible. I think Anderson still has a chance but if he ends up being a bust, he'll be one of many busts of that draft.

Personally, I hope the Spurs pick up the option. $1.5 million isn't very much and Anderson was supposedly really good in training camp so keeping him around another season to give him a chance can't hurt. Plus, next year he could get his first summer league and his first training camp.

As for the rest of this season, I'm not too hopeful. However, Pop keeps giving him chances and all it will take is one 3-for-3 from three-point range game to begin considering him for minutes again.

I was kinda/sorta with ya till that last part, Timvp. If all it should take is one random good shooting performance to earn minutes with Pop, then Bonner would be getting 35-40 a game.

[spurs10]

Neal's injury will likely give another shot to JA. He'll still be after Green and Neal in the the pecking order. 9 days till the 25th...??

[Ditty]

The kid is only 22. Hasn't even hit his primes. As long as your a shooter in this league, you will always have a spot on the roster. If Spurs give up on because of some cap room, that would be beyond dumb. I do admit he is in a slump, and should be sent up to Austin to work on his shooting, and ball control, but besides that he's fine, even his defense is at least average. He just needs that confidence, and the balls to step up. He sure is more talented than everyone on the wings besides Manu.

[Mel_13]

Good writeup, Darkwaters. Looking back on it, the 2010 draft was pretty damn horrible. I think Anderson still has a chance but if he ends up being a bust, he'll be one of many busts of that draft.

Personally, I hope the Spurs pick up the option. $1.5 million isn't very much and Anderson was supposedly really good in training camp so keeping him around another season to give him a chance can't hurt. Plus, next year he could get his first summer league and his first training camp.

As for the rest of this season, I'm not too hopeful. However, Pop keeps giving him chances and all it will take is one 3-for-3 from three-point range game to begin considering him for minutes again.

That's a good point. It's easy to forget that he missed SL and camp last season as well.

[TJastal]

The kid is only 22. Hasn't even hit his primes. As long as your a shooter in this league, you will always have a spot on the roster. If Spurs give up on because of some cap room, that would be beyond dumb. I do admit he is in a slump, and should be sent up to Austin to work on his shooting, and ball control, but besides that he's fine, even his defense is at least average. He just needs that confidence, and the balls to step up. He sure is more talented than everyone on the wings besides Manu.

JA Fanbois coming in droves now.

[Ditty]

JA Fanbois coming in droves now.

You still butt hurt about George Hill?

[ceperez]

Excellent post!

Not looking good for Mr. Anderson.

He certainly impressed Parker in the pre-season. Unfortunately, Neal and Green are just better players. Neal a more accurate and explosive scorer. Green a more all-around and better defensive player.

With Neal and TJ Ford injured, lets see how he responds.

[Bruno]

Anderson is the 6th SG/SF behind Ginobili, Jefferson, Leanard, Neal and Green. It's hard to get playing time in these condition even with Manu out.

The key with him is his foot surgery. He had some good games before it but none after it. It's possible that this injury has taken away some athleticism from him. Before picking or not his option, I'm sure Pop and RC will have a long talk with Spurs medical staff about that.

[jjktkk]

Good writeup, Darkwaters. Looking back on it, the 2010 draft was pretty damn horrible. I think Anderson still has a chance but if he ends up being a bust, he'll be one of many busts of that draft.

Personally, I hope the Spurs pick up the option. $1.5 million isn't very much and Anderson was supposedly really good in training camp so keeping him around another season to give him a chance can't hurt. Plus, next year he could get his first summer league and his first training camp.

As for the rest of this season, I'm not too hopeful. However, Pop keeps giving him chances and all it will take is one 3-for-3 from three-point range game to begin considering him for minutes again.

This. For all pratical purposes, this is still JA's rookie year. I would give him one year to step up.

[cantthinkofanything]

I've never realized it before but I think the Spurs problem is that they have too many black players' with white names.

Tim
Tony
Gary
Danny
James
Richard
Corey

WTF

[Dex]

I've never realized it before but I think the Spurs problem is that they have too many black players' with white names.

Tim
Tony
Gary
Danny
James
Richard
Corey

WTF

Dejuan, Kawhi, and Malcolm are doing their part to even the balance.

[TJastal]

This. For all pratical purposes, this is still JA's rookie year. I would give him one year to step up.

What's the point? So the spurs can pay him to sit on the bench behind 5-6 other guys ahead of him in the rotation?

[TJastal]

LOL @ fickle spurs fans.

Won't pay Ian Mahinmi to backup a weak, paper thin frontline but want to blow $$$ on yet another SG to clog the rotation.

[Mel_13]

What's the point? So the spurs can pay him to sit on the bench behind 5-6 other guys ahead of him in the rotation?


LOL @ fickle spurs fans.

Won't pay Ian Mahinmi to backup a weak, paper thin frontline but want to blow $$$ on yet another SG to clog the rotation.

Straddle that fence, Fabbs, Jr.

[cantthinkofanything]

Dejuan, Kawhi, and Malcolm are doing their part to even the balance.

I don't know. It's not enough IMO. And I'm not convinced that Malcom isn't a white name.

[cantthinkofanything]

This. For all pratical purposes, this is still JA's rookie year. I would give him one year to step up.

He can't dribble a fucking basketball. Worse handle than Matt Bonner. It's too late.

[therealtruth]

JA's offense is probably better than D. Green. He's just struggling as a shooter. He's got better ball handling and the ability to create of the dribble.

[Darkwaters]

I think the Spurs should definitely pick up James' option. Honestly, it's a cheap option and hes got a lot of potential. I just don't know if this is the place for him to realize his potential. Players like Leonard, Green and Neal could be staples on this team for a while. And it's unclear just how much longer Ginobili will be around either.

So is 5th best wing really where we want to be placing our assets? With a paper thin front court I think you put Anderson on the market, maybe coupled with another player, and see what he attracts. His value is definitely low right now, but it's better than just cutting him outright.

[Spursfan092120]

JA's offense is probably better than D. Green.

:nope

[Darkwaters]

JA's offense is probably better than D. Green. He's just struggling as a shooter. He's got better ball handling and the ability to create of the dribble.

Mmmmm, I'm going to argue against that idea. Anderson has proven time and time again that hes a poor ball handler. In fact, that was a big part of the scouting report on him coming out of school. Hes definitely a pure shooter that hasn't shown the ability to do much else at this level.

Green on the other hand has shown a well-rounded offensive game. He can shoot, get in the paint, makes nice passes and gets to the line. Sure, sometimes he tries to do too much, but Green has the ability to have a much more complete game than Anderson.

[TJastal]

JA's offense is probably better than D. Green. He's just struggling as a shooter. He's got better ball handling and the ability to create of the dribble.

More JA fanbois, jeebus this is getting annoying.

[Ditty]

George Hill is an elite defender :cry.

[cantthinkofanything]

There's about 2x the results of "James Anderson Sucks" compared to "Danny Green Sucks". The people have spoken.

[Dex]

JA's offense is probably better than D. Green. He's just struggling as a shooter. He's got better ball handling and the ability to create of the dribble.

Not sure what games you have been watching, Anderson's ball-handling looks terrible. He's had serious problems just trying to dribble the ball up the court, and when he tries to go into traffic he has had it knocked away or stripped more often than not.

When he's playing well, I'd say that JA has a better ability to create his own shot, but getting a shot away is useless if you can't put the ball in the hole. That being said, Green has shown a better ability to drive into the paint and make the nifty pass than Anderson ever has.

[TJastal]

He can't dribble a fucking basketball. Worse handle than Matt Bonner. It's too late.

:lmao

He'd be like Jefferson Jr. out there. Does Tony Parker really need another mouth to feed? He's got enough problems as it is.

[pad300]

I got different questions for you Jastal. James Anderson's option is all about next year.

Would you rather keep, RJ, known playoff choker and possibly amnesty target, at 10 Million or Anderson, near-rookie who might yet get his shit together, at 1.5 Million?
Which one do you think might bring back something useful in a trade? (10 Million is a lot more room to play with isn't it)

[ChumpDumper]

I don't think it's that big a deal to keep the option. Could be taking while to fully heal for all we know.

[TJastal]

I got different questions for you Jastal. James Anderson's option is all about next year.

Would you rather keep, RJ, known playoff choker and possibly amnesty target, at 10 Million or Anderson, near-rookie who might yet get his shit together, at 1.5 Million?
Which one do you think might bring back something useful in a trade? (10 Million is a lot more room to play with isn't it)

That's a great point and one I hadn't thought of actually. Though I just don't know if I would even count on JA to pan out as an nba backup. Might be counting pigeons that havne't hatched.

I will say that if the plan is to flip RJ's salary for a better quality big keeping Anderson for insurance does make some sense.

[stephen jackson]

green is better defensively thats why he plays more.
when manu comes back hell be buried on the bench, maybe he can be traded for a decent big

[cantthinkofanything]

That's a great point and one I hadn't thought of actually. Though I just don't know if I would even count on JA to pan out as an nba backup. Might be counting pigeons that havne't hatched.

I will say that if the plan is to flip RJ's salary for a better quality big keeping Anderson for insurance does make some sense.

Yeah, at some point, you've got to make a decision based on what you see. And as much as I wanted JA to work, he hasn't showed that he can compete on an NBA level. Regardless of how short he's had the chance. I don't see anything about him that's compelling enough to stick it out.

I'd rather have RJ on the court even with his gayness.

[letmk]

A nice write-up. But all in all, unless JA has some off-court problems that are detrimental to the team, we can't afford to make another mistake like with Mahinmi. The cost is quite low, and the pay might be high. Even we don't keep him, we can still trade him for at least a 2nd pick. Plus, as others mentioned, this is essentially his 1st year.

[cantthinkofanything]

A nice write-up. But all in all, unless JA has some off-court problems that are detrimental to the team, we can't afford to make another mistake like with Mahinmi. The cost is quite low, and the pay might be high. Even we don't keep him, we can still trade him for at least a 2nd pick. Plus, as others mentioned, this is essentially his 1st year.

WTF. I bet you put mayonaisse on a pb&j sandwich.

[therealtruth]

green is better defensively thats why he plays more.
when manu comes back hell be buried on the bench, maybe he can be traded for a decent big

I don't think Green is doing anything JA can't. Green just has the desire, confidence, and hustle JA is missing right now.

[SenorSpur]

I don't think it's that big a deal to keep the option. Could be taking while to fully heal for all we know.

That is an element to JA that has not been mentioned. Could it be that he may not be 100%?

[cantthinkofanything]

That is an element to JA that has not been mentioned. Could it be that he may not be 100%?

What Senor? I don't get the question.

[urunobili]

He started last season in better form than Neal. I think he is in a confidence low that he can only get out of in a coupl of 3-3 from deep performances. That's his only chance to shoot his way back into the rotation.

He is still eligible for the toros though and if the Spurs were considering he needs more court time he would have been sent there already.

[wildbill2u]

With Manu, Ford and Neal out we are very thin at the guard position. So if he has any character at all it is time for him to step up in the minutes he gets.

If he can't shoot under pressure, what good is he?


Look at Leonard. He was considered to be a shooter--and he isn't really--but he's taking minutes as SG because he's proving he can play both ends of the court at this level.

[5in10]

What I don't understand is how Neal gets a pass on defense. He defense is just completely awful. For as much as he scores he gives up just as many points and how many and 1s have weve seen him give trying to take a charge? Not to mention he can shoot our team out of the game at times. Isn't neals contract ending after this year? I would pay JA over Neal because some team is gonna overpay for Neal anyways. I don't think the spurs will keep both.

[SenorSpur]

What Senor? I don't get the question.

It's obvious that JA has struggled getting out of the gate this year. Most think it has been a lack of confidence. I was wondering whether it could possibly be due to the fact that he may not necessarily be 100% healthy?

[acoelho1]

Green is more than just a hustle player and he will become our best defender along with KL. No way I'm trading Green at this point since he has shown a lot of potential. I would also pick up the option of JA and trade RJ if the the deal provides younger talent and/or a draft pick. RJ is having a pretty good year and if it continues, his trade value should increase.

[baseline bum]

Wouldn't surprise me at all to see the spurs deal Anderson or barring that, passing on his option this year for these reasons. Not that they are "giving up" on him they just have better options at their disposal now.

I think they give him another year, considering the option on him is only $1.5 million and there's no way Tim is going to be pulling down $21 million next season (so no luxury tax problems). Plus his trade value is going to be way too low to move him.

[TD 21]

I think the Spurs should definitely pick up James' option. Honestly, it's a cheap option and hes got a lot of potential. I just don't know if this is the place for him to realize his potential. Players like Leonard, Green and Neal could be staples on this team for a while. And it's unclear just how much longer Ginobili will be around either.

So is 5th best wing really where we want to be placing our assets? With a paper thin front court I think you put Anderson on the market, maybe coupled with another player, and see what he attracts. His value is definitely low right now, but it's better than just cutting him outright.

They definitely should pick up his option. As underwhelming as he's been, it wasn't that long ago that he was being built up, from Parker, to Dudley, to reports about how impressed the Spurs were with him, to the point that it made trading Hill somewhat easier. You don't go from that to potentially discarding a player that quickly. I realize not picking up the option doesn't mean they won't necessarily keep him, but it makes no sense to cut him loose. He's a cheap asset. And if they're on the verge of something big next off season and they need a bit more cap space, he'll be easy to move.

But just as they definitely should pick up his option, so too should they package him with Blair and their 1st, in the hopes of landing the type of two-way power forward this team desperately needs. I've been mentioning Davis recently. But another player they should look into is Markieff Morris. He doesn't have the defensive upside of Davis, but he's more polished and well rounded, so he'd be of more use in the short term.

[analyzed]

There are 2 other significant factors aside from the entry of the 3 studs (kawhi, Green & Neal) and that is Manu’s emergence as the Spurs best player and RJ’s comeback and reinventing himself as a dependable shooter. Things really don’t look good for James as a 6th wheel among wing players. I say keep the option but look for a decent trade.

[timvp]

But just as they definitely should pick up his option, so too should they package him with Blair and their 1st, in the hopes of landing the type of two-way power forward this team desperately needs. I've been mentioning Davis recently. But another player they should look into is Markieff Morris. He doesn't have the defensive upside of Davis, but he's more polished and well rounded, so he'd be of more use in the short term.

Ed Davis or Markieff Morris for a player who can't pass a physical (and, even if the team waives the physical, can't get insured), a player with negative value and a late first round pick? Uh, yeah, no, that's not going to happen :lol

[GB20]

i think the spurs will keep JA because they were really high on him when they traded hill to the pacers.

[TD 21]

Ed Davis or Markieff Morris for a player who can't pass a physical (and, even if the team waives the physical, can't get insured), a player with negative value and a late first round pick? Uh, yeah, no, that's not going to happen :lol

If you had an ounce of reading comprehension, you'd realize I never said it was going to happen. What I said was, they should offer that around for them and other two-way power forwards.

[timvp]

If you had an ounce of reading comprehension, you'd realize I never said it was going to happen. What I said was, they should offer that around for them and other two-way power forwards.

So the Spurs should go around making ridiculous trade proposals ... for the fun of it?

[TD 21]

So the Spurs should go around making ridiculous trade proposals ... for the fun of it?

So those qualify as ridiculous because you said they did? You act as if I proposed a Blair for Howard trade. It's easy to laugh now, but less than a month ago if I'd have proposed that for Morris, I'd have probably been told that that's a vast overpayment by the Spurs.

I think people underestimate the Spurs trade assets. They're not great by any stretch and individually, they wouldn't fetch a whole lot, but together, that's a pretty intriguing package. We all nitpick Blair's many shortcomings, because he's miscast in his role, particularly for a team presumably attempting to contend, but the fact is the guy has a PER over 20 and makes less than $1 million. That's outstanding bang for the buck. Anderson, at worst should be able to become a shooter or a depth scorer off the bench. And a 1st round pick, especially in this draft, will have solid value. That's not as bad as some make it seem.

[ulosturedge]

Dude has potential. He showed it last year and apparently had a good training camp this year. No way you just toss the draft pick away. Give him another year and at worst try and package him into some trade if it comes down to it. Can't believe people just want to cut him loose already. As deep as we are at SG it's gonna take him some time to get enough burn to develop.

[SenorSpur]

A nice write-up. But all in all, unless JA has some off-court problems that are detrimental to the team, we can't afford to make another mistake like with Mahinmi. The cost is quite low, and the pay might be high. Even we don't keep him, we can still trade him for at least a 2nd pick. Plus, as others mentioned, this is essentially his 1st year.

Precisely what I was afraid would happen. Now look at the state of the Spurs frontline.

[jestersmash]

There's an interesting, potentially subtle jab that Pop threw out about Anderson in a recent article about the spurs on nba.com

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/fran_blinebury/01/05/spurs-ginobili-injury/index.html

Spurs may actually benefit from Ginobili's latest injury

Timing, of course, is everything.

So when the Warriors were running, shooting, making and pushing the Spurs toward the cliff, it was only natural that the TV cameras found Manu Ginobili.

He is, after all, the rope, the life preserver, the St. Bernard with a keg of whiskey tied to his collar that is usually there to stop the Spurs from going over the edge.

Except that this time Ginobili was sitting in the row behind the bench, wearing a brown jacket and plaid shirt, hours away from surgery to fix a broken bone in his left hand rather than minutes away from leading one more comeback.

This is how it will be in San Antonio for the next two months as the Spurs play without the straw that stirs their drink. If, as expected, Ginobili is forced to sit out eight weeks of a condensed schedule that's packed tighter than J-Lo's jeans, he would miss 33 games, exactly one-half of the regular season.

Backup point guard T.J. Ford might have to perform like the No. 8 overall draft pick he once was. A vagabond named Danny Green, who had played all of 28 games in his first two NBA seasons, might have to undergo a nightly transformation like the one that had him hustling on defense, hurtling around the court and making key shots down the stretch.

Danu Greenobili?

On one injured hand, it's the last thing a team like the Spurs could seem to afford with a three-man core that has logged almost as many miles as the space shuttle and is also inching toward a place in the retirement hangar.

But on a healed and repaired other hand, there could be a backdoor benefit down the line -- a rested Ginobili.

Timing is everything and what was supposed to be an early showdown tonight between rivals Dallas and San Antonio when the post-lockout schedule came out, now has both teams looking to reset their watches. While the defending champion Mavericks and all of their new faces pin their hopes on the day ahead when they can have a practice that won't require nametags and introductions, the Spurs are already looking to Daylight Savings Time when Ginobili could be firmly back into their rotation.

Just last week in Houston, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was reflecting on how the Spurs took every necessary step and precaution to monitor the minutes and the health of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili through all of last season, only to have Duncan tweak an ankle in the 76th game and Ginobili injure an elbow in the final game.

"Not good injury management, was it?" Popovich said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

It only hurt worse when the No. 1 seed Spurs promptly went out and got themselves knocked off by the No. 8 seed Grizzlies, once more a supposed sign that their days as real championship contenders were in the rear view mirror.

The truth is, since winning the last of their four NBA titles in 2007, Ginobili has not entered the playoffs with a healthy body. That's to be expected when you spend the large part of most games hurling your body onto almost every inch of the court, twisting for shots, diving for loose balls and reaching and slapping to make steals, which is exactly how he suffered this break of the fifth metacarpal bone on Monday night in Minnesota.

The instant collective reaction in San Antonio was the kind of gasp that comes from another punch in the gut. After all, Ginobili suffered with a bad ankle all through the 2007-08 season and then had it finally break when he was trying to make a play at the Beijing Olympics. He came back and suffered a stress fracture in the other foot during the 2008-09 season. Then he picked up a broken nose in the first round of the 2010 playoffs and broke a bone in his elbow that severely limited his ability to play in the loss to Memphis last spring. Now this.

"We're going to play a long time without Manu," Parker said.

But maybe it doesn't mean the Spurs' expectations have to take a long fall. Now rookie Kawhi Leonard and second-year man James Anderson will get their chances to step into the gaping hole in the lineup.

"I would be careful to go too far in that direction," Popovich said. "I think this will require veterans like Duncan and Parker and (Richard) Jefferson to step up their games. I wouldn't say you put it all on Kawhi Leonard and...what's the other guy's name?"

With the Western Conference in such a state of flux and no team yet separating itself from the field ala Miami and Chicago in the East, it is not too far-fetched to think the Spurs can remain in the mix without their fire-starter. And if they can't, was it ever realistic to think that Ginobili was going to carry them all the way to The Finals anyway?

The Spurs beat Golden State for the 27th consecutive time at home on Wednesday night not just because they managed just enough pop in the absence of their firecracker.

His teammates could slump back and wonder why fate slapped them again now. Or stand up and get ready for when Ginobili's fresh legs return in time for the playoffs to a league that is tired and worn out from the crushing schedule.

Better injury management?

Nobody, of course, knows like the Spurs that timing is everything.

==============================================

"...what's the other guy's name?" Really? Is this Pop's way of indirectly saying he's been disappointed with a largely unproductive/invisible Anderson this season?

[ChumpDumper]

Could be. Would have to see the context.

[SenorSpur]

Hmmmm. Very interesting comment from our smart-alecky coach. Sending a subtle message to JA perhaps?

[The_Worlds_finest]

For a guy that showed so much promise early last season James has really taken a step backwards this year. Earlier in the season he was given serious opportunity to carve out a role for himself but has been supplanted by other players on the roster.

The Spurs pulled the trigger on James with the 20th pick in the 2010 draft being in serious need of depth on the wing. The Spurs had been ousted in the playoffs largely because of a lack of quality pure shooters on their roster. Players like Jacque Vaughn, Ime Udoka, Michael Finley and the Centerpiece just hadn't been getting it done. James was meant to be the first step in the right direction to bring in capable shooters and rejuvenate an aging and inept swingman position. But since taking James Anderson the Spurs have made several other roster moves that have affected their swingman rotation, and many of them have panned out better than he has.

The following moves refer to movements since Anderson was drafted.

Subtractions:

George Hill - George came in to be the backup PG for the Spurs but spent a large amount of a time at the 2 for San Antonio, contributing at a high level. With him moving off the team it theoretically opened up more space for James to take.

Ime Udoka/Garrett Temple/Bobby Simmons/Larry Owens/Steve Novak/Othyus Jeffers - The revolving door of SG/SF that was last year. Ironically, one of those revolving door players was Danny Green, and he ended up sticking in the end. But really, none of these players were a major detriment to Anderson except for the fact that injury precluded him from competing against them.

Alonzo Gee - One of the revolving door players from the previous year. Came in with a lot of praise and acclaim but it just never worked out for him. While hes had a lot of success in Washington since moving on, Alonzo Gee wasn't a good fit and was off the roster quickly last season.

Additions:

Kawhi Leonard - George Hill was essentially replaced by Kawhi Leonard by the trade that gave the Spurs the 15th pick in the 2011 draft. But while Hill only spent some of his rotation minutes at the 2, Leonard spends nearly all of them playing one of the two swing positions which Anderson should be competing for. Essentially, the trade reduced the overall number of minutes theoretically available to James Anderson. And with Kawhi playing at a high level and showing noted improvement literally from game to game (already looking like he truly belongs in the starting lineup) it will likely be a continuing factor.

Gary Neal - Signed the same offseason as James, Gary Neal was surprise at summer league and viewed as a longshot to make the roster. But after being given a contract with the first season fully guaranteed it was apparent he would be around at least for the year. James Anderson was slotted higher in the depth chart for a number of reasons: as the 20th pick, with better size and athleticism, Anderson was deemed the better prospect. Neal was a cast off from Europe, never drafted, with less than ideal size and athleticism. He seemed to be somewhat of a longshot to make the Spurs (perhaps in the mold of Jack McClinton). It was mentioned how Neal might spend a good portion of the season on Toros and might be a prospect for the big leagues in a year or so. However, after Anderson was injured early in the season, Neal stepped in and hasn't looked back, carving out a nice role. Essentially, Anderson was supplanted from out of nowhere from a player nobody saw coming. Bad luck for him.

Danny Green - The story of Green is in many ways similar to Gary Neal. Green was a player that was signed to fill out the roster and basically just add depth. However, given the opportunity to play, Green took advantage of every opportunity and has excelled in all the areas that Anderson was supposed to (shooting) as well as areas that Anderson wasn't especially renowned for (defense, ball handling, rebounding). Green has turned out to be an all-around player and has shown up when it counted. Again, from out of nowhere, Anderson was pushed behind a player on a make-good contract that just wanted it more than he did.

TJ Ford - Ford was signed exclusively to play PG, make no mistake. While he was the George Hill replacement, his short stature has never allowed him to play as a combo guard. However, his surprising quality play did allow Tony Parker to slide over to the 2 and the Spurs to run a 2 PG set at times this year. This is not really the norm, and won't be a usual look for the Spurs, but it does constitute another example of other players stealing minutes that Anderson might have otherwise been eligible for.

Cory Joseph - To date, Cory Joe hasn't really stolen any minutes from anybody to date. But if trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to Mr. Anderson.


James Anderson has suffered through some very unfortunate set backs. His injury seriously hurt his groove last season and hurt him while he was getting truly established. Several competent bargain bin signings by the Spurs in Gary Neal and Danny Green as well as a savvy draft move only further damned him. Anderson has been given opportunities to play, but hasn't responded at the same level as the aforementioned studs.

So what is his future? Where do we think we're going with him? Is he trade bait, pure and simple, or is he going to be a salary cap sacrifice?


Nice story..thumbs up

Just give him time.

[Darkwaters]

Look at Leonard. He was considered to be a shooter--and he isn't really--but he's taking minutes as SG because he's proving he can play both ends of the court at this level.

Who considered Leonard a shooter? I don't remember that from any scouting reports.

[Mel_13]

There's an interesting, potentially subtle jab that Pop threw out about Anderson in a recent article about the spurs on nba.com

Not sure how subtle the jab was. The article is from just after the Warrior game where Anderson got the start in Manu's absence.

Now check out his game log and look what happened to his minutes after that game:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/anderja01/gamelog/2012/

[timvp]

But maybe it doesn't mean the Spurs' expectations have to take a long fall. Now rookie Kawhi Leonard and second-year man James Anderson will get their chances to step into the gaping hole in the lineup.

"I would be careful to go too far in that direction," Popovich said. "I think this will require veterans like Duncan and Parker and (Richard) Jefferson to step up their games. I wouldn't say you put it all on Kawhi Leonard and...what's the other guy's name?"

That sounds bad but the quote was back from the morning of Jan. 4th. At that point, JA hadn't really begun to suck yet and was still in the rotation. I think Pop just forgot his name, tbh.

[timvp]

Not sure how subtle the jab was. The article is from just after the Warrior game where Anderson got the start in Manu's absence.

IIRC, the quote was from before the Warriors game. Let me see if I can find it . . .

[wildbill2u]

Who considered Leonard a shooter? I don't remember that from any scouting reports.

My bad. I meant to write he wasn't considered to be a shooter coming out of college. Thank you for picking up on that so I could explain. It made no sense.

[Mel_13]

IIRC, the quote was from before the Warriors game. Let me see if I can find it . . .

Could be. I made an assumption based on the first paragraph of the article which referenced the Warrior game.

The quote could very well have been from the day prior or from shootaround the day of.

[Darkwaters]

In considering what role James Anderson will/should play for the Spurs going forward, we should look at the outlook for the team.

In the Spurs system we really don't have a deliniation between SG and SF but just "wing" players. Essentially, all wings have the same basic duties and are expected to be able to hit the 3 on occasion at least.

The players that are currently on the roster are the same ones that should be on the roster next season.

Manu Ginobili (1 more season)
Kawhi Leonard (3 more seasons, restricted)
Richard Jefferson (2 more seasons)
Danny Green (Restricted Free Agent)
Gary Neal (1 more season, restricted?)
James Anderson (2 more seasons, restricted)

Looking at this list I'd say that it's probably a safe assumption that we can simply delete Richard Jefferson next offseason. RJ looks to be a sure fire amnesty casualty made possible mostly by Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green's emergence. Oh, and I don't think it'll be too hard to retain Danny either.

With 96 rotation minutes available per game, I could easily see the minutes pan out like this:

Ginobili - 28
Leonard - 30
Green - 19
Neal - 19
Anderson - 0

Honestly, Leonard might command more than just 30 minutes (and he may steal some extra minutes as a small ball 4) but in order to get other game changers in he'll have to play a more reasonable number of minutes. Likewise, Ginobili could easily command more minutes, but hes always been at his best playing just south of 30. This will be good for him going forward, and if the minutes need to be reduced even further, Green and Neal could easily add 5-10 more each.

If history is any indication though, I would guess that Manu will probably spend several weeks in a suit next year as he always seems to get beat up throughout the process of the year. With him on the bench the Spurs could look to either ramp up the playing time of the other wings (Leonard, Neal, Green) or they could bring Anderson into the rotation. This would really be Anderson's best shot at playing consistent minutes next season since, without a serious decline in one of the other players or a mind-numbing improvement on his part, I don't see him leaping over any of them.

So does Anderson warrant a roster spot as an injury reserve? Surely the Spurs would sign a 5th wing if Anderson were traded away. But a bargain bin veteran, signed for the minimum, would actually cost slightly less than James.

I think the plan of resigning Green and trading Anderson probably makes more sense. Sign a veteran SG and roll into next season with this as your wing rotation:

Ginobili
Leonard
Green
Neal
Veteran Minimum Depth

[Bruno]

Provided Anderson isn't damage goods because of his foot, the wise move is to pick his option. The main reason to do it is because it isn't a lot of money. When a team can keep a promising young player for little money, they must do it. That's just some basic good management.

[ceperez]

JA has definitley more talent than Neal or Green.

He just doesn't have the experience of these two.

JA was the main scorer for his team in college, however hs isn't for the Spurs. He has yet to learn how to be a role player. Neal has always been a one dimensional role player even when he played in Europe. Green is a guy who has experience working in a system and is an all around role player.

It is going to take JA time to figure this out. Maybe that is one good reason to keep his option.

[cantthinkofanything]

JA has definitley more talent than Neal or Green.

He just doesn't have the experience of these two.

JA was the main scorer for his team in college, however hs isn't for the Spurs. He has yet to learn how to be a role player. Neal has always been a one dimensional role player even when he played in Europe. Green is a guy who has experience working in a system and is an all around role player.

It is going to take JA time to figure this out. Maybe that is one good reason to keep his option.

nope

[mathbzh]

A nice write-up. But all in all, unless JA has some off-court problems that are detrimental to the team, we can't afford to make another mistake like with Mahinmi. The cost is quite low, and the pay might be high. Even we don't keep him, we can still trade him for at least a 2nd pick. Plus, as others mentioned, this is essentially his 1st year.

He is cheap, had some bad luck (much like Mahinmi) but has shown a glimpse of what he could become. So I think we should keep him.

But this is not the same situation it was with Mahinmi.
There are hundreds of 6'6 players with similar ceiling.
Not the case with 6'11 athletes.
Moreover, Mahinmi was really considered the top NBA prospect when he played in the D-League.
His injury slowed him down but what he is doing with Dallas is not so surprising.

[Darkwaters]

JA has definitley more talent than Neal or Green.

He just doesn't have the experience of these two.

JA was the main scorer for his team in college, however hs isn't for the Spurs. He has yet to learn how to be a role player. Neal has always been a one dimensional role player even when he played in Europe. Green is a guy who has experience working in a system and is an all around role player.

It is going to take JA time to figure this out. Maybe that is one good reason to keep his option.

I definitely think the Spurs should keep his option. At least for year 3. But the question then becomes do you keep him on the roster or move him to another team and let them figure out what to do with him. I actually would be in favor of trading him elsewhere if the Spurs could get good value for him - especially as a smaller chip in a slightly larger deal. But if the trade ends up just becoming a salary dump then thats not a value-added trade, and I'd probably just keep the guy on the team and develop him internally. Regardless of which course we go, I still think you pick up his option.

As far as your comment goes about Anderson figuring out how to be a role player when hes used to being the IT guy...I just don't know that I buy it. The NBA is littered with prolific scorers from the NCAA ranks that were never able to make anything happen in the bigs (think Alando Tucker or Adam Morrison). The fact is that Anderson was primarily a scorer in college with very few other skills to go on. Now, with his primary ability of scoring not coming nearly as easily, he doesn't have anything to fall back on. Players like Kawhi Leonard, who were scorers in college, but had other skills (defense, rebounding) to fall back on will have a better chance of getting on the court with those skills and then letting their offense come to them. Anderson doesn't have that luxury.

Now, thats not to say that a player can't fizzle for a couple of years and then figure it out. Both Neal and Green are good stories of guys that didn't shine out of the gates, but figured it out in the end. I specifically like Danny Green's story as it has good ties to Anderson. Green was drafted (46th?) by the Cavaliers and played sparingly his first year. After not making an impact he was cut. The Spurs signed him last year and cut him within a matter of days, not interested in what he brought. But by the end of the year he was back on the roster and chipped in some playoff minutes. Now, at the beginning of year 3, hes finally on a roster, getting consistent minutes, and leaving an impact.

Anderson has the potential to bloom like Green did. But the number of players that come out of the dark hall of mediocrity to play is eclipsed by the much larger number of examples of players like Adam Morrison, still scratching at relavence.

[Darkwaters]

He is cheap, had some bad luck (much like Mahinmi) but has shown a glimpse of what he could become. So I think we should keep him.

But this is not the same situation it was with Mahinmi.
There are hundreds of 6'6 players with similar ceiling.
Not the case with 6'11 athletes.
Moreover, Mahinmi was really considered the top NBA prospect when he played in the D-League.
His injury slowed him down but what he is doing with Dallas is not so surprising.

Mahinmi's problems were always two-fold:

1) Hes always hurt
2) He always fouls

Both of those problems cause him to lose valuable time on the court. So while he might have had talent, he burned precious opportunities to showcase it.

[mathbzh]

Mahinmi's problems were always two-fold:

1) Hes always hurt
2) He always fouls

Both of those problems cause him to lose valuable time on the court. So while he might have had talent, he burned precious opportunities to showcase it.

I agree.
My point is just that the situation is not really comparable. So I am not sure what happened with Mahinmi is great help when analysing what to do with JA.

Edit: the lose opportunities was more about bad luck. He was injured when he should have play.
Then the Spurs did not pick his option and he hardly received any playing time.

Edit2: Actually, he burned precious opportunities for the Spurs. For himself... he is still in the NBA, is becoming a solid rotation player and if he is not injured again his next contract should be nice.

[ChuckD]

I definitely think the Spurs should keep his option. At least for year 3. But the question then becomes do you keep him on the roster or move him to another team and let them figure out what to do with him. I actually would be in favor of trading him elsewhere if the Spurs could get good value for him - especially as a smaller chip in a slightly larger deal. But if the trade ends up just becoming a salary dump then thats not a value-added trade, and I'd probably just keep the guy on the team and develop him internally. Regardless of which course we go, I still think you pick up his option.

As far as your comment goes about Anderson figuring out how to be a role player when hes used to being the IT guy...I just don't know that I buy it. The NBA is littered with prolific scorers from the NCAA ranks that were never able to make anything happen in the bigs (think Alando Tucker or Adam Morrison). The fact is that Anderson was primarily a scorer in college with very few other skills to go on. Now, with his primary ability of scoring not coming nearly as easily, he doesn't have anything to fall back on. Players like Kawhi Leonard, who were scorers in college, but had other skills (defense, rebounding) to fall back on will have a better chance of getting on the court with those skills and then letting their offense come to them. Anderson doesn't have that luxury.

Now, thats not to say that a player can't fizzle for a couple of years and then figure it out. Both Neal and Green are good stories of guys that didn't shine out of the gates, but figured it out in the end. I specifically like Danny Green's story as it has good ties to Anderson. Green was drafted (46th?) by the Cavaliers and played sparingly his first year. After not making an impact he was cut. The Spurs signed him last year and cut him within a matter of days, not interested in what he brought. But by the end of the year he was back on the roster and chipped in some playoff minutes. Now, at the beginning of year 3, hes finally on a roster, getting consistent minutes, and leaving an impact.

Anderson has the potential to bloom like Green did. But the number of players that come out of the dark hall of mediocrity to play is eclipsed by the much larger number of examples of players like Adam Morrison, still scratching at relavence.

Morrison was a different case. He was a VERY high draft pick, and his book also may not be closed yet. He had some interest this offseason, but couldn't get a deal done in the short time alotted, and went back to Europe, where he was playing quite well. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see him back in the League in the next year or two.

[TDMVPDPOY]

adam morrison looks like the type whose just happy to make it into the league, but wont put in the hard yards to seperate himself from his his peers....

[Harry Callahan]

The Mahimi release by not picking up his contract was I think in part due to Splitter coming here.

It was also related to the salary cap. Its not smart to get rid of a potential player before you really know what they are about. The Spurs learned that with Mahimi and Cleveland learned that with Danny Green.

Mahimi is turning into a legit NBA player and Danny Green has been really important to the Spurs being successful without an All Star caliber player for the last couple of weeks. I do recognize Mahimi is a foul machine at times and struggles at one on one defense at times, but he is good enough now to be a rotation player. From the looks of last nights DAL-LAL game, 9 points and 10 rebounds with two PFs is doing pretty well in 23 minutes. Ian may actually get a decent contract next year (very possibly NOT in Dallas) as he will be an unrestricted free agent.

Not renewing James Anderson with such a limted body of work would also be a salary cap move - the FO would be refusing to pick up a relatively cheap rookie contract.

If they do it again after what happened with Mahimi, it would lead me to conclude that the ownership group has serious budget/money problems.

Anderson has hardly played here and some people want to jettison him sooner than the Spurs actually have to? It would be foolish not to pick up next year and get a much better read on Anderson with a regular, full offseason and a non-compressed regular season. The guy has maybe 25 games of actual NBA experience.

Let's face it, the Spurs need as many young, potential players as they can get going forward in the next 2-3 years as their current star players get older and move on. Dumping a potential player prematurely is not a good idea if you don't have to.

[mathbzh]

From the looks of last nights DAL-LAL game, 9 points and 10 rebounds with two PFs is doing pretty well in 23 minutes.

The fact he played 8 min (4pts/7 rbds I think) in the 4th quarter says a lot about how he evolved into a legit NBA player.

[mountainballer]

Let's face it, the Spurs need as many young, potential players as they can get going forward in the next 2-3 years as their current star players get older and move on. Dumping a potential player prematurely is not a good idea if you don't have to.

word.
at this point it doesn't make any sense to discuss if he has a future with the Spurs. b/c there isn't a need. to pick up his 3rd year is a no brainer.
many very good players struggled in their 1st and 2nd year. if he can't make it within 3 years, well that's a different story, then it might be better to let him go.
if they move him for another player, who is on a rookie contract as well, but plays a different position. ok, fine. if they dump him for a 1st round pick. also fine.

[Bruno]

Mahinmi being labelled as injury prone has a lot to do with Spurs medical staff misdiagnosing him. Ian missed a full year because of that.

[MI21]

Yeah, watching Mahinmi out there against LA was pretty painful, he was working the offensive boards, playing good D (a few lapses) and even hit a midrange J. Amazing what opportunities can do for your confidence.

[Ocotillo]

This type of decision is different than other seasons. There was no summer league, there was no training camp and there are very few practices. Judging the potential is more difficult because the only option is either to be thrown into NBA games and sink or swim or in James' case, he can go play for the Toros once Manu is back and work on his game there.

The cost is low so you pick up the option and roll the dice.

[timvp]

Very nice work in this thread, Darkwaters.

Complicating matters regarding picking up JA's option is that De Colo is now saying it's now or never for him to come to the NBA (Bruno posted the interview in the Think Tank). Going forward, it appears to me that the Spurs would have to decide between JA and De Colo for that spot in the future roster. (Or obviously they could decide neither.)

[TDMVPDPOY]

Very nice work in this thread, Darkwaters.

Complicating matters regarding picking up JA's option is that De Colo is now saying it's now or never for him to come to the NBA (Bruno posted the interview in the Think Tank). Going forward, it appears to me that the Spurs would have to decide between JA and De Colo for that spot in the future roster. (Or obviously they could decide neither.)

cant de colo play some form of pg/sg role?

[Redshadows]

Mahinmi was good. It was the Spurs could not offer him playing time.

I doubt the idea that the Spurs shouldn't pick Anderson's option. It is not a lot of money to keep him and Anderson would be much better with a offseason-training, a summer league and a training camp.

[temujin]

Anderson would need what the success stories mentioned already had.
As well as Anthony Parker and Bruce Bowen, mentione about Green.
A good, couple of years in Europe, in a Euroleague team.
You play solid minutes twice a week (instead of watching from the bench), you practice and learn a lot. Specifically, you learn many more things than just shoot the basketball on a court.
And, if you are lucky, you end up playing in arenas (Pionir, Tel Aviv, Athens) with some serious basketball fans. You are not the same if you survive them.

Another good example of that is Malik Hairston.
Right now, I would pick Hairston over Anderson anytime.

[mathbzh]

Anderson would need what the success stories mentioned already had.
As well as Anthony Parker and Bruce Bowen, mentione about Green.
A good, couple of years in Europe, in a Euroleague team.
You play solid minutes twice a week (instead of watching from the bench), you practice and learn a lot. Specifically, you learn many more things than just shoot the basketball on a court.
And, if you are lucky, you end up playing in arenas (Pionir, Tel Aviv, Athens) with some serious basketball fans. You are not the same if you survive them.

Another good example of that is Malik Hairston.
Right now, I would pick Hairston over Anderson anytime.


Interesting take. But for each success story, you also have players who were great in Europe and could not succeed in the NBA.
From the top of my head: Jasikevicius, Rigaudeau, Spanoulis, Navarro... the list is probably long.

[SenorSpur]

Yeah, watching Mahinmi out there against LA was pretty painful, he was working the offensive boards, playing good D (a few lapses) and even hit a midrange J. Amazing what opportunities can do for your confidence.

Yeah, it's pretty painful. Ian has continued to work hard, improved his game and has become a solid contributor off the bench - for another team. Which is exactly what I feared when the Spurs made the collosally-stupid decision NOT to resign him. Looking at the deficiencies in the Spurs frontline and it certainly makes the FO decision to let Ian walk even more incredibly stupid.

[Darkwaters]

Interesting take. But for each success story, you also have players who were great in Europe and could not succeed in the NBA.
From the top of my head: Jasikevicius, Rigaudeau, Spanoulis, Navarro... the list is probably long.

Whatever, Greek T-Mac is elite NBA player. He only not play at high level in NBA because his coach not play him right. Spanoulis greatest player all time.

[/KBP]

[wildbill2u]

RE: Mahinmi and fouls.

1. People here used to froth at the mouth over his fouls. Whatever became of the concept of a hatchet man who was sent into a game with '6 fouls to give"?

2. On a more serious note, it took Mahinmi a while to understand that he didn't have to make a defensive stop on every play that went into the lane.

3. He's obviously getting better coaching in Dallas because he's been taught how to play a consistent 20 minutes without being a liability on fouls and a very good rotation player on both ends of the court.

[temujin]

Interesting take. But for each success story, you also have players who were great in Europe and could not succeed in the NBA.
From the top of my head: Jasikevicius, Rigaudeau, Spanoulis, Navarro... the list is probably long.

All European, all big egos, all stars in the previous, and future, teams back in Europe.
They either couldn't adapt to the NBA peculiar system, to life in the US, didn't have time to.

The players mentioned are alla Americans, and believe me, any of these kids would have a lot to learn to work abroad. A lot.

[temujin]

Whatever, Greek T-Mac is elite NBA player. He only not play at high level in NBA because his coach not play him right. Spanoulis greatest player all time.

[/KBP]

Spanulis AND Buroussis.
Only Borussis don't get along well with Popovich when they met with Parker in that restaurant in Athens.
Tha's because it was a french restaurant not a greek exquisite cuisine.
Popvich was sick, sources say, and that's because of french wine: with greek wine, chances are Borussis would be Spur instead of never-Euroleague MVP Splitter.

[SenorSpur]

The Mahimi release by not picking up his contract was I think in part due to Splitter coming here.

It was also related to the salary cap. Its not smart to get rid of a potential player before you really know what they are about. The Spurs learned that with Mahimi and Cleveland learned that with Danny Green.

Mahimi is turning into a legit NBA player and Danny Green has been really important to the Spurs being successful without an All Star caliber player for the last couple of weeks. I do recognize Mahimi is a foul machine at times and struggles at one on one defense at times, but he is good enough now to be a rotation player. From the looks of last nights DAL-LAL game, 9 points and 10 rebounds with two PFs is doing pretty well in 23 minutes. Ian may actually get a decent contract next year (very possibly NOT in Dallas) as he will be an unrestricted free agent.

I agree with the overall premise of your post, but I disagree with the notion of Ian's release being due in part to Splitter. Personally, I believe Ian's release was due to Pop electing to re-up the red-headed Ginger. After all, his contract was up two summers ago - same time as Ian - and Bonner was the first FA the Spurs talked to.

[therealtruth]

Yeah, watching Mahinmi out there against LA was pretty painful, he was working the offensive boards, playing good D (a few lapses) and even hit a midrange J. Amazing what opportunities can do for your confidence.

It's amazing what lack of opportunities can do to your confidence. A case in point is Splitter. People were complaining about his lack of offensive skills. I think it's pretty clear from the past few games he does have the ability to score in the post and draw fouls. Pop tried to destroy his confidence with his baloney about not getting opportunities due to injuries.

[therealtruth]

I agree with the overall premise of your post, but I disagree with the notion of Ian's release being due in part to Splitter. Personally, I believe Ian's release was due to Pop electing to re-up the red-headed Ginger. After all, his contract was up two summers ago - same time as Ian - and Bonner was the first FA the Spurs talked to.

From seeing how Pop's messed around with Splitter's minutes it's hard to see him electing to play Ian. Pop's infatuation with Bonner has probably caused the most damage to this team the past couple of years. Bonner's been wasting a spot a quality big could have been developing in.

[jjktkk]

It's amazing what lack of opportunities can do to your confidence. A case in point is Splitter. People were complaining about his lack of offensive skills. I think it's pretty clear from the past few games he does have the ability to score in the post and draw fouls. Pop tried to destroy his confidence with his baloney about not getting opportunities due to injuries.

Speaking of baloney.

[TDMVPDPOY]

lol against the heat, especially the 4th mercy quarter, played pathetic

[urunobili]

bust!

[TDMVPDPOY]

i swear he has the worst shot selection for a player playin from the bench, while the others try to settle into the game b4 unloading jacked up shots

[jermaine]

I haven't seen the whole game, hut has he played any mins? I've watched enough to know he's not gettin any burn.

[Obstructed_View]

Dnp-cd

[tmtcsc]

If Anderson wants a spot in the rotation, he should forget about his 3 pt shot and concentrate on driving the ball to the basket, make his free throws and concentrate on playing good defense.

That's it. Otherwise, see ya. He's been pretty awful when the cameras are on.

[Obstructed_View]

When he concentrates on his defense he's a good contributor. The problem is that his shooting problems killed his confidence and concentration. It's about 50/50 that Pop benched him simply because he isn't making shots.

[Ice009]

Dont know why hes in the doghouse unless hes out of shape, he has more upside than Green and Gary, Pops is just like Larry Brown, he does not like to develop young players and we are paying for it!

For once I agree with you. I also think he's a volume shooter/scorer, not a stand still spot up sharpshooter like the Spurs are trying to use him.

if he fails in optimal conditions then you can call him a bust.

[Ice009]

I agree, I have said hes not the kind you can give 4 shoots a game to and think hes gonna help you.....He needs 20-25mpg and 8-10 shots because if he gets going he catches fire quick.

He has more upside than Gary or Green and scoring wise maybe KL, but he cant even get in the game when Green is sucking, and Gary has been off all year, his legs are not there.

How Pops thinks we can be winners failing to develop guys like Ian, who would look great with us this year, Anderson, Blair.....ect and hell not even give another big a shot like Thomas or Fes is beyond me. Hes out of touch.

I agree 100% lol. James is not being used right. He can get really hot, but Pop tries to fit square pegs in round holes.

if the Spurs were going to use James as a guy that gets 4 shots a game, then they should have done their homework and not drafted him.

If James is in shape, he should get more of a chance because he has more upside than the guys Pop is ramming down our throats.

Neal has hit a few shots, but other than that he's not really in shape to do anything else on the court.

[SenorSpur]

Pop may also be of the belief that Anderson is soft too - just like Splitter. And he'd be just as wrong. Of course, a young player who lacks confidence is a recipe for failure. Pop certainly hasn't done much to help instill confidence in either Splitter or Anderson. Splitter just simply kicks ass whenever he's on the court, as proof that he belongs.

This is the downside of having an older, hard-assed coach - they don't always have the patience or the know-how necessary to develop young players. I believe Pop fits that mold.

[Obstructed_View]

Pick and roll, pick and roll, pick and roll. The Spurs have the players to do it to death, and Anderson is an important part of that. It's a terrible time to have gone into a shooting slump, but you don't just give up on a guy who's been a good scorer because he's not hitting at the moment. Well, unless you're the greatest coach in the NBA and have four rings, bitch.

[Bruno]

Anderson has only played garbage time in the past 5 games. He is completely out of the rotation. There is only 1 game left before the deadline to pick his option. What is quite sure is that Spurs know exactly what to do with him and don't need some additional input before the deadline to make their choice. And while the logical move would be to pick the option because it's so little money, it looks a lot like Pop has given up on him and Spurs won't pick the option.

[objective]

according to sham (http://blog.shamsports.com/2012/01/creative-financing-in-nba-2011.html), the players whose options have not been picked up:



- Charlotte: Gerald Henderson
- Houston: Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill and Terrence Williams
- Memphis (now New Orleans): Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez
- New Jersey: Damion James
- New Orleans (now Memphis): Quincy Pondexter
- New York: Toney Douglas
- Orlando: Daniel Orton
- Philadelphia: Craig Brackins
- San Antonio: James Anderson

Anderson's third year option is 117% of the scale instead of 120%.

I want Anderson here. I saw enough last year to think he could play in this league. But I won't be shocked when he doesn't have his deal picked up. He'll have to do a Tolliver, getting over a bad stretch of shooting in SA to make a solid NBA career for himself, but I think he can.

[Darkwaters]

Dont know why hes in the doghouse unless hes out of shape, he has more upside than Green and Gary, Pops is just like Larry Brown, he does not like to develop young players and we are paying for it!

Yea, because we have no young player playing this season. Neither Leonard nor Joseph has seen the floor.

[Obstructed_View]

Anderson has only played garbage time in the past 5 games. He is completely out of the rotation. There is only 1 game left before the deadline to pick his option. What is quite sure is that Spurs know exactly what to do with him and don't need some additional input before the deadline to make their choice. And while the logical move would be to pick the option because it's so little money, it looks a lot like Pop has given up on him and Spurs won't pick the option.

I'd much rather they not pick it up than do what they did with Beno and Mahinmi and pick up the guy's option then grind him into the ground with their heel for an extra year.

[objective]

Anderson did get more of an opportunity than Mahinmi ever did, so at least there's that.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Anderson has only played garbage time in the past 5 games. He is completely out of the rotation. There is only 1 game left before the deadline to pick his option. What is quite sure is that Spurs know exactly what to do with him and don't need some additional input before the deadline to make their choice. And while the logical move would be to pick the option because it's so little money, it looks a lot like Pop has given up on him and Spurs won't pick the option.

playin in garbage minutes he better make the best use of it, he has no excuse to be not performing well in garbage minutes, when Green is also in the same situation as him who took the most of his opportunities...dont blame injuries, with or without injuries both players only played in garbage minutes last season, and it was only till this season Green took the extra step to distance himself from the bench in given opportunity playing time....

even if KL hits the rookie wall i dont see anything happening to him, the only minutes anderson will be stealing from is Green and Neals...

[GB20]

Anderson has only played garbage time in the past 5 games. He is completely out of the rotation. There is only 1 game left before the deadline to pick his option. What is quite sure is that Spurs know exactly what to do with him and don't need some additional input before the deadline to make their choice. And while the logical move would be to pick the option because it's so little money, it looks a lot like Pop has given up on him and Spurs won't pick the option.

I read that dallas wanted to draft him last year and there is not doubt the mavs will try get anderson like they did with ian mahhimi.

[GB20]

in a year or two, James Anderson will end up being a better player than Danny Green. pop is not the right coach for anderson or even for tiago.

[Harry Callahan]

If the FO wants to be short sited, then don't pick up the option. The guy has hardly played and was locked out all summer. I see no good reason to prematurely cut ties outside of the ownership group wanting to save a few bucks.

Just because you had a decent player like Green fall into your lap does not mean you have to get rid of Anderson this summer.

There are not enough players here on the roster with a long future ahead get rid of one a year early.

[Darkwaters]

Just because you had a decent player like Green fall into your lap does not mean you have to get rid of Anderson this summer.

There are not enough players here on the roster with a long future ahead get rid of one a year early.

Seriously? I thought I spelled this all out earlier.

It's not just about finding Green. It's also about getting a draft gem in Leonard and finding Neal on the scrap pile. Not to mention Ginobili is still around and Nando de Colo probably deserves a shot at making the team next season. I'm really not sure how James Anderson fits in with all that.

[Darkwaters]

It's clear that James Anderson isn't going to play anytime soon. Hes so deep in the doghouse right now and a handful of minutes periodically in garbage time isn't going to change anything.

James needs to go to the D-League NOW. There he'll get consistent minutes, rebuild some confidence, and maybe be ready to play if called upon. He can be recalled very quickly if needed. But he needs to be playing regular minutes, even if it's at a lower level.

Period.

[jjktkk]

I'd much rather they not pick it up than do what they did with Beno and Mahinmi and pick up the guy's option then grind him into the ground with their heel for an extra year.

Melodramatic much? This scenario you hope for would help in your Pop's a moron crusade though, I guess, but you might have to wait till Beno and Mahimni get elected to the hof, before you truly fell vindicated.

[FkLA]

The Pop haters are funny as hell :lol

This dude has looked horrible all season long and its not because of Pop 'ruining his confidence'. He was in the rotation early in the year, in the starting line-up after Manu went down, and continued to get minutes when Neal/Green werent playing well. Throughout those games he hasnt done anything to show that hes deserving of more playing time than what he currently gets. If he wants to get back in the rotation he needs to stop playing scared and take Greens spot just like Green took his spot earlier in the season.

[Spurs da champs]

The last couple of games it's clear Danny Green isn't the answer; Anderson needs to stop being lazy & step it up.

[jjktkk]

Thats the point, you have one of the most feared college scorers who was expected to be a lotto pick fall to you in the draft, and Pops has failed to develop him. While still early, this guy needs mins and shots.

Hope hes not the second coming of Ian.

When your trying to establish yourself as a player, you have to make the most of whatever oppurtunity you get. GTFO with "Pops failed to develop him" bullshit. Anderson was lighting it up in training camp, but so far this year, has failed to make a case to be in the rotation.

[dunkman]

The competition is difficult for him. Manu, Green, Leonard, Neal and even Jefferson are all solid. Anderson simply can't play for the Spurs. It's not same situation like with Ian or Scola, that despite some limitations could have contributed something good.

Too bad, because Anderson was a high pick by Spurs standards. But so far it's a disappointment. I wouldn't pick his option at +2M of cap space, and would offer him a sub 1M contract like Neal and Blair have, to prove himself.

[Spurs da champs]

The competition is difficult for him. Manu, Green, Leonard, Neal and even Jefferson are all solid. Anderson simply can't play for the Spurs. It's not same situation like with Ian or Scola, that despite some limitations could have contributed something good.

Too bad, because Anderson was a high pick by Spurs standards. But so far it's a disappointment. I wouldn't pick his option at +2M of cap space, and would offer him a sub 1M contract like Neal and Blair have, to prove himself.

Yeah but Green has come back to life as the scrub who got cut by Cleveland, it's not too late for Anderson but it's not looking good for him to get any consistent minutes.

[FkLA]

Thats the point, you have one of the most feared college scorers who was expected to be a lotto pick fall to you in the draft, and Pops has failed to develop him. While still early, this guy needs mins and shots.

Hope hes not the second coming of Ian.

Blaming it on Pop :lol

There are alot of college scorers that dont translate into the NBA. Especially two guards that dont necessarily have great handles, size, or speed/quickness. McClinton lit it up in Miami, Bogans in Kentucky, etc. I think Anderson is better than those two and better than what hes shown so far but I think youre overrating him if youre expecting him to be this explosive scorer in the NBA. Bottom line is hes played like shit all season long, Green outplayed him and took his spot, and none of that is Pops fault.

[Darkwaters]

Thats the point, you have one of the most feared college scorers who was expected to be a lotto pick fall to you in the draft, and Pops has failed to develop him. While still early, this guy needs mins and shots.

Hope hes not the second coming of Ian.

...in one of the weakest drafts in recent memory. This wasn't exactly the class of 2003 afterall.

[Obstructed_View]

Melodramatic much? This scenario you hope for would help in your Pop's a moron crusade though, I guess, but you might have to wait till Beno and Mahimni get elected to the hof, before you truly fell vindicated.

No, the fact that they went on to be contributing players on other teams, and doing a far better job of it than the players that took their spots is vindication enough.

[Donut]

I say pick up his option and go from there. Yeah he isn't playing well and may not turn into a starter but he could be a decent 6th man eventually. Why does everyone want to get rid of players so quick especially if they are young? Damn its not like they are top 5 picks and are expected to contribute from the get go...there's a reason they were still on the board when the Spurs picked these guys. Not every late 1st rounder is gonna be a Tony Parker and not every 2nd rounder is gonna be a Manu.

[TJastal]

No, the fact that they went on to be contributing players on other teams, and doing a far better job of it than the players that took their spots is vindication enough.

schtickk bitchslapped

:lol

[jjktkk]

No, the fact that they went on to be contributing players on other teams, and doing a far better job of it than the players that took their spots is vindication enough.

Benos on his 3rd team and Mahimni is getting playing time and producing on a depleted frontline team in Dallas. I'll give yea Mahimni, but Lol at Beno, who couldn't make on a bad Sac. team.

[ElNono]

I'm starting to think his future is... ------> There's the door

[ChumpDumper]

Is someone seriously pimping Beno Udrih?

[jjktkk]

schtickk bitchslapped

:lol

smh.

[jjktkk]

Is someone seriously pimping Beno Udrih?

Anything to try and prove a point. :lol

[Darkwaters]

I say pick up his option and go from there. Yeah he isn't playing well and may not turn into a starter but he could be a decent 6th man eventually. Why does everyone want to get rid of players so quick especially if they are young? Damn its not like they are top 5 picks and are expected to contribute from the get go...there's a reason they were still on the board when the Spurs picked these guys. Not every late 1st rounder is gonna be a Tony Parker and not every 2nd rounder is gonna be a Manu.

I'd prefer not to simply DUMP him. But to trade him for another relatively young prospect that fits a more glaring need might make sense. Especially when we've got tons of young prospects at his same position that are already outplaying him.

I don't discount that he could be good someday. But so could the guys we already have...or the player we might receive in the trade for him.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i wouldnt pick up his option, say he resign for something lower....

[Russ]

If he wants to get back in the rotation he needs to stop playing scared . . .


Anderson needs to stop being lazy & step it up.

Scared and lazy at the same time (:wow) sounds like a fatal combination.

[maverick1948]

Before you dump Anderson, remember at the end of this season someone will pay Danny Green close to the midlevel exception. We will not match that offer. I suggest trading Green to Charlotte for their 2nd round pick. I would hope that we do this as soon as possible before Green comes back down to earth when Manu returns.
Then next season amnesty Jefferson, offer Timmy 5 million for 2 years, use the rest of the 17 mil we have under the cap to get at least 1 FA player who will NOT be a role player. We are a .500 team without Manu, and .750 with him. Green will lose the minutes he is getting now or will take away from Leonard.

I hope NO one is voting for Spurs for the all star team. We need the rest time for the second half run to the championship. We have a heavy 2nd half schedule. We close in April with 16 games in 23 days.

[jag]

you have one of the most feared college scorers

:lmao

[TJastal]

offer Timmy 5 million for 2 years,

:lmao

[maverick1948]

:lmao

Yes 10 mil over 2 years if he wants that ring. No one else will pay him 5mil a year. You seem to forget that the new CBA is changing a lot on the salary cap. Spent all the money on Tim and we are worse off than before. You are letting the fact Tim was a GOAT PF get in the way of building for the future. Rewarding him for past seasons, isnt 184 million enough?

[jag]

remember at the end of this season someone will pay Danny Green close to the midlevel exception.

I don't think Green has been anywhere near consistent enough to command $5M/year. I don't know who would offer him that kind of money right now.

[maverick1948]

I don't think Green has been anywhere near consistent enough to command $5M/year. I don't know who would offer him that kind of money right now.


Didnt say he would command 5 mil but that someone would pay him that or close to that to get him. That is why we need to move him as soon as possible before he falls to earth when Manu returns.

[TJastal]

Yes 10 mil over 2 years if he wants that ring. No one else will pay him 5mil a year. You seem to forget that the new CBA is changing a lot on the salary cap. Spent all the money on Tim and we are worse off than before. You are letting the fact Tim was a GOAT PF get in the way of building for the future. Rewarding him for past seasons, isnt 184 million enough?

Well uh... thought you meant 5m over 2 yrs. That would have been 2.5 a year. But even at 5m/yr I kind of doubt he would stick around for that. He's got a family and probably would like to spend some time with them before they grow up. And he's got 4 rings already, so I don't think that would be a factor either. I'm also 99.9% sure he's probably got enough to retire on already unless he's been hanging out with Barkley in the off seasons.

Any way you look at it, I really can't see him hanging around with Pop for another two years and dealing with all of Pop's mental defects for such a paltry sum (by his standards).

[wildbill2u]

We have let lots of players go who had shown better in real game competition than Anderson.

He has played his way from first off the bench to DNP status. He did the same thing last Spring after he came back from his injury.

Could be attitude, conditioning, injury, psychological, lack of sufficient skills at this level , or simply a traffic jam of similar players who are playing better or a combo of these issues.

He might be able to rehabilitate himself on the Toros, but his future with the Spurs doesn't look too bright right now.

[elemento]

WOW

People really think Green will get 5m/year? :lmao

2.5m/y at most and i wouldn't pay a penny more than that if I am the Spurs FO

[ace3g]

So why did JA get "extended" minutes tonight?

[Obstructed_View]

Apparently Pop thinks it builds character to give a guy three DNPs in a row and then put him into the last play of a game.

[ElNono]

Good riddance James... you were great before getting fat, getting back in shape and missing seemingly every shot

[MaNu4Tres]

Still think Spurs should hold on to him, unless he's used in a trade to bring in a 3rd big.

[TJastal]

Still think Spurs should hold on to him, unless he's used in a trade to bring in a 3rd big.

Pop just might. Spurs FO decisions have made little sense the past few years.

Seems to me with Neal finally coming around there isn't even room for him now. If Neal had continued to stink then I would say yes, maybe consider sign him as a precaution.

Spurs have always been thrifty (read: cheap) under Popovich. Hell, they won't even hold onto an extra 7 footer they invested 5 years into (Mahinmi) for relative peanuts.

[ChumpDumper]

Spurs have always been thrifty (read: cheap) under Popovich.The Spurs have always been cheap since they came into existence. This is the most lavish spending ownership group this franchise has ever had.

[FkLA]

You do understand it is the job of a coach to develop players. To understand a players needs, skill set and fit. Pops has failed with more than just Anderson.

You can suck Pop off if you want, but bottom line is you draft Anderson as a scorer, then give him 4 shots a game. That is bad GM move and coaching move.

Stick with Anderson the way you did Bonner and see if hes not a 20ppg scorer ! The way you stuck with Vaughn, Fab, Ime.......hes more talented than all of them.

Good call on Ian as well.........looks like Dal coaching staff has him playing well. 8ppg 6rpg and solid D in 19mpg.....Oh by the way, Dallas with less talent is 2 in D this year!!! We are 20th

The guy cant create his shot as easily as he could in college. Hes not quick enough to get past most NBA defenders. Hes not tall enough to effortlessly get his shot off over NBA defenders. Its not about Pop only giving him 4 shots its about Anderson only being able to get that many off. Youre a retard if youre expecting him to be this explosive scorer, his ceiling imho is being a solid role player (probably a shooter).

[jjktkk]

You do understand it is the job of a coach to develop players. To understand a players needs, skill set and fit. Pops has failed with more than just Anderson.

You can suck Pop off if you want, but bottom line is you draft Anderson as a scorer, then give him 4 shots a game. That is bad GM move and coaching move.

Stick with Anderson the way you did Bonner and see if hes not a 20ppg scorer ! The way you stuck with Vaughn, Fab, Ime.......hes more talented than all of them.

Good call on Ian as well.........looks like Dal coaching staff has him playing well. 8ppg 6rpg and solid D in 19mpg.....Oh by the way, Dallas with less talent is 2 in D this year!!! We are 20th

Theres a reason why your a YMCA scout. Anderson has regressed. Neal, and Green have passed him up on the depth chart.

[jjktkk]

I'm a fucktard , But I can't stop posting.

[Obstructed_View]

The Spurs have always been cheap since they came into existence. This is the most lavish spending ownership group this franchise has ever had.

And to be fair to the Spurs, they've spent the money to hold onto draft picks before, though the wisdom of doing so can be discussed.

[FkLA]

Is Pierce fast, or Roy, what about Michael Redd, Rip???? JJ Redick, G Payton..........the list can go on for ever.......you do not have to be fast or quick to be a scorer........Hell Martin toasts us all the time and he is slow as hell!

Your a fucktard dude, stop posting.

Wow youre dumb :lol

All those players are solid shooters but they also have things like quick/high release, ability to use screens, size, fadeaways, post up game, etc which allows them to effectively utilize that skillset. Things Anderson doesnt really have in his offensive arsenal.

[angelbelow]

I'm not ready to give up on James Anderson yet, he hasn't received enough of a look, (or has he earned it for that matter.)

However, I'm not going to be surprised or whine about him if he turns out to be a complete bust. This has probably been mentioned but since I'm not sure I'll discuss it here anyway.

Every pg/sg from the 2010 draft is fucked (not lived up to expectation). None of them stand out except John Wall. Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson are nothing special (at least not yet and they get all the playing time they want), Al-Farouq Aminu is a Dwight Howard look alike but is otherwise useless and has no skill (watched him with the clippers last season), Gordon Hayward is looking to be a bust, Paul George (who a lot of us wanted) is doing ok statistically and the pacers have a good record so he might be doing well. Xavier Henry, another fan favorite, has made 0 impact and has already been traded from the team who drafted him. Point, is that there are very little stand outs from the 2010 draft class when it comes to 1s and 2s (and 3s 4s and 5s for that matter.)

And remember Luke Babbitt? What the fuck has he been up to.

[Calispursfan11]

I never saw in Anderson what everyone else seems to have at least glimpsed early on. I wanted to like JA, but I just couldn't find anything to like really.

[Ditty]

JA will defintley get it eventually, he just seems like he is going to have to be a volume scorer to really get his name out there, or he can always be a solid role player by being a 3 point shooting specialist. I say give him next year, and if he is showing no improvement then I would let him go, or resign him for less. He just needs that confidence, and about 10 minutes per game to start with to get going, or just send him up to Austin when Manu comes back, to work on his flaws so he can continue working during the summer, and be capable for a breakout season next year.

[jestersmash]

Didnt say he would command 5 mil but that someone would pay him that or close to that to get him. That is why we need to move him as soon as possible before he falls to earth when Manu returns.

Didn't read any other post in this topic. You're not talking about Danny Green are you?

For your sake, I hope there's another Green in the NBA.

[TJastal]

You do understand it is the job of a coach to develop players. To understand a players needs, skill set and fit. Pops has failed with more than just Anderson.

You can suck Pop off if you want, but bottom line is you draft Anderson as a scorer, then give him 4 shots a game. That is bad GM move and coaching move.

Stick with Anderson the way you did Bonner and see if hes not a 20ppg scorer ! The way you stuck with Vaughn, Fab, Ime.......hes more talented than all of them.

Good call on Ian as well.........looks like Dal coaching staff has him playing well. 8ppg 6rpg and solid D in 19mpg.....Oh by the way, Dallas with less talent is 2 in D this year!!! We are 20th

So you want James Anderson to be a volume shooter / scorerr? Kind of like how RJ was on the bucks? That gives me an idea.. maybe he could learn the fine art of volume shooting from RJ. Then have em both do it. Can't have enough volume scorers on the team ya know.

[Ice009]

So you want James Anderson to be a volume shooter / scorerr? Kind of like how RJ was on the bucks? That gives me an idea.. maybe he could learn the fine art of volume shooting from RJ. Then have em both do it. Can't have enough volume scorers on the team ya know.

The whole point is that James is a volume shooter/scorer. He needs to get in a rhythm. In college he scored a lot, and that is the way that he played. He's not a sharp shooter like Steve Kerr that can come in cold off the bench and just light it up if he gets open shots.

If the Spurs were only going to give him 4 shots a game then they shouldn't have drafted him. He doesn't fit the team, which again makes me question WTF the Spurs FO is doing drafting him in the first place.

Having said all that, some of this is on James and he has no one to blame but himself. He has played poorly at times and he just simply needs to play better.

[therealtruth]

JA could have been the man on the second unit like Ginobili used to be. After Manu was injured Pop probably should have started Kawhi originally and have JA come of the bench. He's more of a pure scorer than DG but DG has better defense.

[TJastal]

puvCLx7Rc8U&feature=related

Here we see James Anderson working on his volume shooting in practice. Texas 2 Step on the videocam, still vigorously scouting the young phenom from a seat on the nearby bench.

[venitian navigator]

On paper, JA look like the perfect wing complement for our future with KL.
One for outside shooting offense and more than decent defense, the other for inside offense and very good defense.
We're not gonna have Manu forever, and that's the kind of role that JA was supposed to play in our future...
If he's gonna have success or not in part depends on how much playing time he will get to develop his skills at this level.
When he played his first year looked clear the talent was there.
Difficult that skills disappear...
In training camp he was (supposedly, hearing his teammates) playing really well...
One thing for sure is that he has more potential to became a complete player - to play the shooting guard - than Green and Neal that, as of now, are the only persons he's competing against (Manu in two years will be necessarly relegated, also if re-signed, in playing no more than 15-20 minutes a game).

Players need time, opportunities and, in our system, at least a complete training camp to really have the chance to show if they have something really good to offer for a team's future.
I Frankly hope the F.O. doesn't want to take risk of making a potential big mistake.
As somebody already noticed, the Mahinmi example speak for himself...(and, ironically, he's one of the available free agents bigs next year the spurs could look and have a chance to sign...).

[mystargtr34]

First time i watched him this season he reminded me a bit of James Harden.. albeit a poor mans version.. he actually showed some nice ball handling and shooting off the dribble. All of a sudden he looks like hes struggling to dribble and cant hit a shot.

It seems a confidence issue to me.. im not ready to give up on him yet. Harden struggled mightily in his first two seasons.. and then last season after the all star he break he just started to turn it on and hasnt looked back. Sometimes all it takes is a break out game to make you feel like you belong and lift your confidence and allow you to show your true skills.

[Darkwaters]

I still think the team needs to really look at sending him down to Austin for 3-5 Toros games. Consistent minutes playing 5x5 basketball might get him back in a groove and work him through his shooting slump. This doesn't have to be a season long assignment, but I think a quick one would help shake off some rust and build some confidence....because right now he looks like ass.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

I still think the team needs to really look at sending him down to Austin for 3-5 Toros games. Consistent minutes playing 5x5 basketball might get him back in a groove and work him through his shooting slump. This doesn't have to be a season long assignment, but I think a quick one would help shake off some rust and build some confidence....because right now he looks like ass.

It might help, but with only 12 healthy bodies for the next couple of weeks at least, I doubt it happens.

[venitian navigator]

...anybody knows if Spurs have exercised the option ? I think the term is expired...

[mingus]

i'd rather him start over RJ. he can probably do RJ's job better, but Pop isn't going to let $10 million per year mistake come of as a 7th or 8th man because it would make him look bad.

[Bruno]

...anybody knows if Spurs have exercised the option ? I think the term is expired...

No, they haven't but they can still pick it today.

[therealtruth]

First time i watched him this season he reminded me a bit of James Harden.. albeit a poor mans version.. he actually showed some nice ball handling and shooting off the dribble. All of a sudden he looks like hes struggling to dribble and cant hit a shot.

It seems a confidence issue to me.. im not ready to give up on him yet. Harden struggled mightily in his first two seasons.. and then last season after the all star he break he just started to turn it on and hasnt looked back. Sometimes all it takes is a break out game to make you feel like you belong and lift your confidence and allow you to show your true skills.

Exactly it looks more like confidence to me. Hopefully he's not like Hill who struggled with inconsistency.

[objective]

will McDonald have the news first?

[timvp]

One source told me earlier today the Spurs will NOT pick up James Anderson's option. But no one else talking so I'm not going to go on record. Could be good info but it's not thread worthy, tbh.

And really, I'd be surprised if they didn't pick up his option. For someone who supposedly played so well in training camp, it'd be odd to not pick up such a cheap option.

[timtonymanu]

That would suck if true. Granted, Anderson has looked like crap and Green is a better option right now. We all know Anderson has potential, but he just can't show it right now. Oh well, we'll see soon.

[GB20]

That would suck if true. Granted, Anderson has looked like crap and Green is a better option right now. We all know Anderson has potential, but he just can't show it right now. Oh well, we'll see soon.

that's what i said JA will end up being the better player with a right coach.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

I'm not sure what you think you're going to get that is better for $1.5M next year than a first round pick who was big12 POY. He hasn't even played a full season's worth of games yet.

[Harry Callahan]

If the spurs pass on the option I think that is short changing the roster. I assume Ja would be an UFA at the end of the year.He would not stay because he would feel slighted by the organization. I dont think giving the guy one full summer and season is unreasonable. Ihate the idea of giving up too soon on the guy.

It would be penny wise and pound foolish move.

[ElNono]

So, he closed the game today... do they have until midnight or they picked up the option?

[dunkman]

The situation isn't the fault of the Spurs. He should stay, but for less than $2-2.5M of the rookie scale. The Spurs could sign an all-star bigman with $10M cap space, or absorb an salary sending an exception. JA will limit those options, reducing the cap space.

[Darkwaters]

Spurs not likely to extend anderson, as they feel with cap room next year they can get a better player. Im trying to confirm with his agent but I cant believe we wouldnt give him another year.

We know they are dumping RJ at years end, and even keeping Green we still need good young guys to groom. Maybe spurs want Batum.....Lots of guys not getting options picked up.

Free agents will be abundant and fairly young.

The Spurs honestly have a ton of young players to groom on the wings. Thats the area they're strongest at.

Manu Ginobili
Kawhi Leonard
Danny Green
Gary Neal

Factor in Nando de Colo as well and you've got just a ton of wing players with a good mix of youth and veterans....all skilled. JA is another option in that pile, but has really failed to show up to his auditions. What more can you say? The Spurs want cap room for next season. Should they retain Danny Green, who is actually contributing, or JA who can't get on the floor?

[jjktkk]

Spurs not likely to extend anderson, as they feel with cap room next year they can get a better player. Im trying to confirm with his agent.

:lol

[Bruno]

So, obviously Spurs don't pick JA option. The game against Hornets was a last minute audition to have no regrets and it confirmed Spurs in their choice of not picking the option.

I don't like this move. It was so little money that picking the option was the obvious low risk high reward move. Saying that, I will only go as far as that regarding the criticism because I don't know JA's medical state. Its possible that he will never be able to be back at 100% after that foot surgery. However, if JA end up contributing on another NBA team, Spurs will deserved to be trashed because JA was locked into a cheap rookie contract and Spurs elt him go.

Spurs not picking the option could also mean that they are really serious about getting some cap space next summer to go after big FAs. Without trying, Spurs will have $16M in cap space and they could very easily get $17M or $18M in cap space.

JA is done as a Spur. I can see Spurs salary dumping him at the trade deadline to save some luxury tax. Such a move will save about $1M to Holt. JA could also be part of a bigger trade since he is now a $1.5M expiring contract.

[ElNono]

I was waiting to get confirmation from his agent, but that tidbit will do, Bruno. Thanks.

I'm all for packing him up with RJ and maybe Blair and going shopping for a decent big.

[Redshadows]

Without picking his option, the Spurs should trade him now.

[Redshadows]

Ian Mahinmi, and now James Anderson.

[Redshadows]

JA is done as a Spur. I can see Spurs salary dumping him at the trade deadline to save some luxury tax. Such a move will save about $1M to Holt. JA could also be part of a bigger trade since he is now a $1.5M expiring contract.
Hopefully, this move is not only for saving money.
Maybe trade him for Jordan Hill instead of a 2nd pick.

[ChumpDumper]

Ian Mahinmi
No boxscore line today?

[objective]

So, obviously Spurs don't pick JA option. The game against Hornets was a last minute audition to have no regrets and it confirmed Spurs in their choice of not picking the option.

I don't like this move. It was so little money that picking the option was the obvious low risk high reward move. Saying that, I will only go as far as that regarding the criticism because I don't know JA's medical state. Its possible that he will never be able to be back at 100% after that foot surgery. However, if JA end up contributing on another NBA team, Spurs will deserved to be trashed because JA was locked into a cheap rookie contract and Spurs elt him go.

Spurs not picking the option could also mean that they are really serious about getting some cap space next summer to go after big FAs. Without trying, Spurs will have $16M in cap space and they could very easily get $17M or $18M in cap space.

JA is done as a Spur. I can see Spurs salary dumping him at the trade deadline to save some luxury tax. Such a move will save about $1M to Holt. JA could also be part of a bigger trade since he is now a $1.5M expiring contract.

agreed, I don't like this move if true. Spurs commit huge money to proven playoff failures like RJ and Bonner but can't commit 1.5 to a guy who has never had a summer league? Danny Green will be a FA, RJ could once again be amnestied, they could have a use for a relatively cheap wing like Anderson. Unless they can get him cheaper than his option, like how Mahinmi's deal was cheaper for the Mavs.

If they did trade him solo to save money, isn't it likely that the Spurs would have to give picks away to get it done? Who's going to give up anything to trade for a young player without any rights or control beyond this year?

They gave away Scola for 2.5 of Butler. I wonder what Anderson's 1.5 could cost.

[elemento]

I really don't understand this move, unless he has some serious medical problems.

[angelbelow]

I wonder how many other 2 guards failed to get their contract picked up. Looking back that was such a weak draft class for shooting guards.

Evan Turner and Wes Johnson - Both are in the same shoe; poor showing for their rookie seasons. I'd expect Turner to get his, would be pretty wild to give up on the 2nd pick overall even though he struggled his 1st year. Wesley Johnson also had an underwhelming 1st year and unlike Turner, has statistically regressed this year.

Gordon Hayward - Gordon is looking far from a lottery player. He was criticized for attending a video game competition during the offseason, although that didn't get much attention. With AK47 gone, Hayward has struggled offensively with his increased minutes. I caught a Jazz vs. Laker game early in the season and he looked Beno Udrih against the 2005 Piston backcourt. No attempt to drive the ball or did he possess a shred of confidence behind his shot. He's supposed to be a good play-maker but really couldn't tell in that game.

Paul George - Haven't watched any Paul George this season but the pacers are winning and hes playing 31 minutes so he can't be that bad.

Xavier Henry - Definitely had a tough 1st year. Injured for most of his rookie season and has already been traded by the Grizzles (used as bait to find a Randolph filler). This season is no different, hes still injured. No idea how hes looked behind the scenes.

Those were all the wings drafted ahead of James (left out luke babbit and avery bradley). None of the respective lottery picks had successful rookie seasons nor are they in prime position for a breakout year.

[Bruno]

If they did trade him solo to save money, isn't it likely that the Spurs would have to give picks away to get it done?

No, it isn't.

A typical JA salary dump trade would be: JA + cash for a top55 protected second round pick.

The cash would be enough to cover JA's remaining salary (around $500K if the trade is done at the trade deadline) and to give the other team a little incentive to do the trade (add something like $200K). Even with that cash added, Spurs would save around $1M because they won't pay the luxury tax on JA's contract.

If you remember well, Spurs have still done that kind of trade with Udrih. The Butler trade isn't comparable since there were no cash in it.

[TJastal]

lol JA fan boys keepin' the faith till the bitter end. Dude stunk and was a piece of garbage and a wasted pick that Pop could have used for size on the frontlline. FO didn't even think he was worth keeping around for practically nothing which should tell you pathetic fanboys just how much he sucks. Good riddance. At least now he'll have more time to practice his half court horse shots.

[elemento]

Seriously

Are you guys sure that the Spurs did not pick his option ? It's shocking to see our FO letting go a player that easily, even if he has not been playing well.
For a team that gave a 39m contract to Richard Jefferson and now is paying the tax because of it, to let go JA just to save 1m/2m in saving is so damn cheap.
Unless we're missing a big medical concern, this move doesn't make any sense in my mind.

[Maddog]

No boxscore line today?

18 minutes
5 rebounds
3 points
4 fouls
That's definitely worth ~2 million/year the Spurs would have to be paying him.

[TJastal]

Seriously

Are you guys sure that the Spurs did not pick his option ? It's shocking to see our FO letting go a player that easily, even if he has not been playing well.
For a team that gave a 39m contract to Richard Jefferson and now is paying the tax because of it, to let go JA just to save 1m/2m in saving is so damn cheap.
Unless we're missing a big medical concern, this move doesn't make any sense in my mind.

It's very simple really. James Anderson sucks.

[objective]

No, it isn't.

A typical JA salary dump trade would be: JA + cash for a top55 protected second round pick.

The cash would be enough to cover JA's remaining salary (around $500K if the trade is done at the trade deadline) and to give the other team a little incentive to do the trade (add something like $200K). Even with that cash added, Spurs would save around $1M because they won't pay the luxury tax on JA's contract.

If you remember well, Spurs have still done that kind of trade with Udrih. The Butler trade isn't comparable since there were no cash in it.

you are correct, I had forgotten the Udrih trade.

[elemento]

It's very simple really. James Anderson sucks.

Well,

Jefferson sucks as well but he still got his 39m contract. We can say the same thing about Bonner :lol

[TJastal]

Well,

Jefferson sucks as well but he still got his 39m contract. We can say the same thing about Bonner :lol

As of now, I'd have to say Bonner is worth keeping whereas Blair isn't. He and Splitter are a good tandem in the 2nd unit.

Jefferson otoh.....I wish the spurs could trade him straight up for Tyrus Thomas. TT had 9 blocks the other night against the wizards. That is the kind of mobility and rim protection that the starting lineup has been lacking from their starting 4 for years. The caveat being Splitter can essentially keep his role as the 3rd big off the bench (getting 28-30) along with Bonner (15-20) as the 4th big.

Then I would promote Gary Neal into the starting lineup, and slide Khawi to Jefferson's old spot. This team would finally have a great blend of BOTH offense and defense IMO. Plus a good variety of athletic players (KL & TT)and cerebral players (TD & TS).

[MaNu4Tres]

As of now, I'd have to say Bonner is worth keeping whereas Blair isn't. He and Splitter are a good tandem in the 2nd unit.

Jefferson otoh.....I wish the spurs could trade him straight up for Tyrus Thomas. TT had 9 blocks the other night against the wizards. That is the kind of mobility and rim protection that the starting lineup has been lacking from their starting 4 for years. The caveat being Splitter can essentially keep his role as the 3rd big off the bench (getting 28-30) along with Bonner (15-20) as the 4th big..

Blocked shots is perhaps the most overrated statistic in the game.The more your 3s, 4s and 5s try to block shots on help defense, the worse your defense is. Not opinion, but fact based on tons of data.

In the long run, tons of offensive rebounds/second chance points are created because of it. Players need to position themselves more often to limit teams to one shot per possession by trusting their teammates' positioning and boxing out on the weak-side.

[SenorSpur]

I'm not ready to give up on James Anderson yet, he hasn't received enough of a look, (or has he earned it for that matter.)

And the reason you don't give up on JA is simple - you don't yet know what he is.

Sure Green and Neal have passed JA up in the rotation for now. However, it should be obvious to even the most casual observer that RJ will be off this roster next year. All of which is why you don't give up on JA just yet - at least not for another year. Why compromise your depth at the wing spots by entering next season with 2 open spots on the perimeter, instead of one? That makes no sense.

Now, if JA fails to impress at the start of next season, then he could easily be used for trade fodder by the Feb '13 trade deadline.

For now, the Spurs can ill-afford to start developing a pattern of allowing young, developing players to walk before they know what they are. I trust the Spurs have not learned a valuable lesson from their short-sighted decision in allowing the young, French big to walk away and become a crucial part of the rotation in Dallas.

[SenorSpur]

Blocked shots is perhaps the most overrated statistic in the game.The more your 3s, 4s and 5s try to block shots on help defense, the worse your defense is. Not opinion, but fact based on tons of data.

In the long run, tons of offensive rebounds/second chance points are created because of it. Players need to position themselves more often to limit teams to one shot per possession by trusting their teammates' positioning and boxing out on the weak-side.

I agree with this premise for any player(s) that routinely roam for weakside block opportunities. However if a player develops the knack for blocking and regularly contesting the shots of the opponent that he's guarding, then that player is likely considered to be a committed defender and thereby helping to achieve the goal of one-shot per possession.

[MaNu4Tres]

However if a player develops the knack for blocking and regularly contesting the shots of the opponent that he's guarding, then that player is likely considered to be a committed defender and thereby helping to achieve the goal of one-shot per possession.

What I was alluding to and what you're alluding to here is apples and oranges. And yes I agree with this. I was strictly talking about the actions of weak-side help.

[SenorSpur]

What I was alluding to and what you're alluding to here is apples and oranges. And yes I agree with this. I was strictly talking about the actions of weak-side help.

Understand. And I agreed with our statement about the actions of weak-side help.

Despite the inflated blocks, I would agree with TJastal, in that Tyrus Thomas is still light years ahead of both Bonner and Blair, as a defender. I wanted them to trade for him, and John Salmons, a couple of years agom when both were made available at the trade deadline.

[Leetonidas]

As of now, I'd have to say Bonner is worth keeping whereas Blair isn't. He and Splitter are a good tandem in the 2nd unit.

Jefferson otoh.....I wish the spurs could trade him straight up for Tyrus Thomas. TT had 9 blocks the other night against the wizards. That is the kind of mobility and rim protection that the starting lineup has been lacking from their starting 4 for years. The caveat being Splitter can essentially keep his role as the 3rd big off the bench (getting 28-30) along with Bonner (15-20) as the 4th big.

Then I would promote Gary Neal into the starting lineup, and slide Khawi to Jefferson's old spot. This team would finally have a great blend of BOTH offense and defense IMO. Plus a good variety of athletic players (KL & TT)and cerebral players (TD & TS).

Gary Neal in the starting lineup is a HORRIBLE idea. His defense is atrocious, and he would get smoked by every starting SG in the league. He plays great against 2nd units and it should stay this way

[MaNu4Tres]

Understand. And I agreed with our statement about the actions of weak-side help.

Another aspect people tend to overlook is how effective it is for a defense to take a charge from the weak-side (in the long-run). Reason being, it stops the play and doesn't leave an opportunity for an offensive rebound or another shot for the possession.


Despite the inflated blocks, I would agree with TJastal, in that Tyrus Thomas is still light years ahead of both Bonner and Blair, as a defender. I wanted them to trade for him, and John Salmons, a couple of years agom when both were made available at the trade deadline.

:lol

A lot of people did.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4059724&postcount=762

[TJastal]

Gary Neal in the starting lineup is a HORRIBLE idea. His defense is atrocious, and he would get smoked by every starting SG in the league. He plays great against 2nd units and it should stay this way

Last couple timvp game threads mention his defense slowly improving. I'd give him the shot first over Green. With no RJ, the spurs need a guy who can give some spacing. If he fails, there's always the Danny Green option. And the guys would just need to hold the fort till Ginobili is healthy and back.

[SenorSpur]

Another aspect people tend to overlook is how effective it is for a defense to take a charge from the weak-side (in the long-run). Reason being, it stops the play and doesn't leave an opportunity for an offensive rebound or another shot for the possession.



:lol

A lot of people did.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4059724&postcount=762

I knew you would remember, but I didn't expect you to go this far. :lol

[TJastal]

Blocked shots is perhaps the most overrated statistic in the game.The more your 3s, 4s and 5s try to block shots on help defense, the worse your defense is. Not opinion, but fact based on tons of data.

In the long run, tons of offensive rebounds/second chance points are created because of it. Players need to position themselves more often to limit teams to one shot per possession by trusting their teammates' positioning and boxing out on the weak-side.

Don't underestimate what a good block can do esp at a critical juncture of a game. It can take away a sure layup, ignite a fast break, and probably just as important it can instantly change the momentum of a game, fire up the crowd and energize a team defensively. I've seen Thomas literally change the momentum of many games when he was with the bulls and bobcats using only his defense and shot blocking.

I do agree that positioning and boxing out is just as important, however. I don't know how fundamentally sound Thomas is in this regard. Would hate to lose RJ's amnesty $$$ only to find out he lacks too many fundamentals to be effective. All in all, Thomas is risky I'll admit. I'm just worried the spurs will strike out in FA and having all that capspace will not yield a significant return, whereas Tyrus Thomas I think has some of the skills that would improve some of the defensive problems. Don't forget he is also very mobile and would match up nicely with all those perimeter bigs that like to hang out on the 3pt line.

[MaNu4Tres]

Don't underestimate what a good block can do esp at a critical juncture of a game. It can take away a sure layup, ignite a fast break, and probably just as important it can instantly change the momentum of a game, fire up the crowd and energize a team defensively. I've seen Thomas literally change the momentum of many games when he was with the bulls and bobcats using only his defense and shot blocking.

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Short-term success. Yes you are right. I'm not dispelling your notion on the possibility of attaining Thomas. What I stated has nothing to do with him, it has to do with the overrated value of shot-blocking. In the long-run (not short term), shot blocking attempts cause major leaks for the efficiency of a defense (not opinion; fact based on tons of data).

[MaNu4Tres]

I'm just worried the spurs will strike out in FA and having all that capspace will not yield a significant return, whereas Tyrus Thomas I think has some of the skills that would improve some of the defensive problems. Don't forget he is also very mobile and would match up nicely with all those perimeter bigs that like to hang out on the 3pt line.

You should be worried. With Duncan in father time, and with a poor free agent class (outside of the Williams, Howard, CP3), expect the Spurs to only be candidates for mid-tier level free agents. Spurs more than likely will have to over-pay for mid-tier value (IE: another R.J or Rasho scenario), because of these reasons: 1) SA is no longer a title contender in the view of F.A's. 2) They no longer have a superstar that attracts F.A's. 3) San Antonio is well.. San Antonio; A small market.

Spurs will be better off trading for a reasonable unwanted salary with a year left remaining on the contract, as long as a 1st round pick is attached to the deal (such a deal IE: Player A with 1 year 4 million remaining +1st rounder to Spurs for a 2nd rounder). Given the Spurs situation, and the realistic side of things; that may be the best way to stockpile draft picks and rebuild. I hope Spurs don't use that cap-space to lock in another Rasho type situation for another 4 years.

[angelbelow]

And the reason you don't give up on JA is simple - you don't yet know what he is.

Sure Green and Neal have passed JA up in the rotation for now. However, it should be obvious to even the most casual observer that RJ will be off this roster next year. All of which is why you don't give up on JA just yet - at least not for another year. Why compromise your depth at the wing spots by entering next season with 2 open spots on the perimeter, instead of one? That makes no sense.

Now, if JA fails to impress at the start of next season, then he could easily be used for trade fodder by the Feb '13 trade deadline.

For now, the Spurs can ill-afford to start developing a pattern of allowing young, developing players to walk before they know what they are. I trust the Spurs have not learned a valuable lesson from their short-sighted decision in allowing the young, French big to walk away and become a crucial part of the rotation in Dallas.

Obviously I don't like the move either. But other than him being cheap enough to be worth the risk, there's not a lot of other objective reasons to hold on to him. With that said, he probably was worth the risk, just saying that him, along with his entire draft class, is pretty weak so far.

Best case now is that we continue to bench him to the point where he continues to have no value and resigns with us for a similar (or slightly lesser) deal for another year with another team option. Obviously this would be a long-shot for him to consider assuming he has any sort of pride or ego.

And unfortunately, that pattern you're talking about, may already be in motion.