2012 Free Agent: Jonny Flynn

[Bruno]

http://www.nba.com/media/act_jonny_flynn.jpg
Born: Feb 6, 1989
Height: 6-0 / 1.83
Weight: 185 lbs. / 83.9 kg.
Prior to NBA / Country:
Syracuse / USA
Years Pro: 2

Info (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jonny_flynn/career_stats.html)

[TD 21]

With news today that Mills is (not surprisingly) more than likely opting out, I think this is who the Spurs will target to be the backup PG. They were rumored interested in him at the trade deadline and he's in the mold of Ford, in terms of being a true/play making PG. Clearly, the Spurs identified that as a need last off season and with Neal being exposed in the playoffs, there's no reason to think they won't now.

Say what you want about how underwhelming Flynn has been in his limited time in the league, but the fact remains, he played one season in an offense that featured plenty of the triangle, then got hurt and missed training camp and a good amount of his second season and after that, he quickly fell out of favor and never really got another chance. Clearly, he was drafted too high and isn't some star in the making, but he's the type of low risk/high reward type player the Spurs should (and probably will) look into. Basically, he's a free lottery pick.

And with the Spurs recent success with young players and Flynn presumably desperate to establish himself in the league, I've got to think he'd be very interested. Not only is this a bonafide contender, but he's got one of the greatest PG's of this generation to learn from and he'll have virtually no competition for the backup job, which is good for about 15 mpg with the Spurs (I'm guessing they view De Colo as more of a fifth guard for next season, while Joseph is likely to spend the majority of the season with the Toros). Plus, the pressure to live up to being a high pick will finally be gone.

[tesseractive]

Basically, he's a free lottery pick.

There's a big difference between a free lottery pick and a free lottery bust, but if it seems like he has the dedication and BBIQ to fit here, I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on him at all.

I'm not as convinced as you seem to be that De Colo is a 5th guard, though. Given that he's played in the Spurs system for the French National Team, it's possible the Spurs think he can come in and back Tony up fron day one.