Official mute random thoughts thread

[mute]

The Spurs had both the 29th and 59th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and missed on both of their picks. What ever happened to their advance scouting and their reputation for "finding a diamond in the rough"? The 2011 NBA draft had some talent (no superstars, but very capable players) in Irving (going #1) and then Klay Thompson, Kawhi (whom we traded for), and Nikola, Kenneth, and Shumpert.

With the second to last pick in the draft, the Spurs went with Adam Hanga and the Kings went with Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has turned out to be either the second or third best player in the draft. He's averaging career highs in points, rebounds, steals, and assists. He's putting up 19.1 ppg, 6.3 apg, and 2.9 rpg.

In 34 games this season, he's scored in double figures in 31 games; and 20+ in 19 times (and excluding the games in which he's eclipsed the 20+ points mark, he's scored 15+ pts in 8 games). He's a scoring a machine... and he's only making $500,000 a year. He has a PER of 22.10 (and if he were on the Spurs, he would be leading the team in scoring, assists, and PER). I'll let that sink in for a second.

Did the Spurs drop the ball on this one? How did the Spurs not draft this guy? Did they even work him out? He was sitting there at 59th and we whiffed and blew an opportunity to really add a title or two (to send Tim on his way out).

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6472/isaiah-thomas

http://thefakebasketball.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/IT2.jpg

[313]

I followed him a bit in college, and yeah they blew it on this one

[mute]

I followed him a bit in college, and yeah they blew it on this one

The Kings have been my "second" team this season that I've been following because of their playing style and youth. A ton of fun to watch.

[cjw]

Had they not taken CoJo at #29 (with De Colo overseas) they may have gone this way. But opted for a draft and stash instead. Missed big time here but can't bat 1.000.

[ChumpDumper]

This thread.

This is a bad thread.

[ElNono]

There's been worse, tbh.... ask tlong

[Juggity]

Isaiah Thomas is not the "second or third best" player from the 2011 draft. That's delusional son.

EDIT: oh, it's mute

[RD2191]

They also could of drafted Chandler Parsons.

[313]

The Kings have been my "second" team this season that I've been following because of their playing style and youth. A ton of fun to watch.
They have a solid base with Thomas, Cousins, and Gay tbh

[313]

They also could of drafted Chandler Parsons.

Really? :wow

[Bruno]

Here we go mute, instead of starting threads an everything that pop in your mind (and isn't that interesting), post them in this thread.

[313]

:lmao
Here we go mute, instead of starting threads an everything that pop in your mind (and isn't that interesting), post them in this thread.

[mute]

I think the unique thing about his situation is where he was drafted in the draft. Unlike top 10 picks or 1st rounders in general, 2nd picks are not fully guaranteed and the cap is a lot lower (which is why some guys say that if they're not going in the first round, they'd rather go back to college).

We could have gotten Isaiah Thomas without cutting any of our players loose. In other words, unlike a trade where we'd have to get up say... a Danny Green or a Tiago Splitter, we could have straight up added Thomas onto our roster.

Think about the matchup nightmares (with his quickness) against the OKC's and the MIA's.

[hooperflash]

Congrats on finding a home for your thoughts young homie! :tu Keep'em here, let loose.

[ChumpDumper]

I think the unique thing about his situation is where he was drafted in the draft. Unlike top 10 picks or 1st rounders in general, 2nd picks are not fully guaranteed and the cap is a lot lower (which is why some guys say that if they're not going in the first round, they'd rather go back to college).

We could have gotten Isaiah Thomas without cutting any of our players loose. In other words, unlike a trade where we'd have to get up say... a Danny Green or a Tiago Splitter, we could have straight up added Thomas onto our roster.

Think about the matchup nightmares (with his quickness) against the OKC's and the MIA's.No, I won't.

[Sean Cagney]

Had they not taken CoJo at #29 (with De Colo overseas) they may have gone this way. But opted for a draft and stash instead. Missed big time here but can't bat 1.000.
^^^^ THIS, you could say this about any team in the league to be honest.

[cd021]

If Issah Thomas weren't on such a horrid team, would he even have gotten the chance to breakout? I think that answers a bit obvious. Most of the big 2nd round steals played for bad-to mediocre teams

Boozer
Redd
Ellis
Korver

That doesn't mean good teams missed on them and are moronic. Bad teams liked what they saw, drafted them and gave them an opportunity for playing time that good teams couldn't

[Hoops Czar]

Two words... Sam Presti

[Cry Havoc]

14 points and 4 assists per game qualifies you as the 2nd best player in a draft now.


K. :lol :lol :lol

[Cry Havoc]

Other notable players in the 2011 draft:

Kawhi Leonard

Klay Thompson

Tristan Thompson

Iman Shumpert

Nikola Vucevic (averaging 13 and 12 this year)

The Manimal

Jimmy Butler

Chandler Parsons


Yep definitely the 2nd best player in the draft. :lmao

[Ice009]

Not sure if I recall correctly, but I think I read somewhere that Pop said something along the lines of "How the f did we miss on this guy?" after a game against the Spurs in Thomas' first season.

[Cry Havoc]

Threads mute should be able to start after this one: 0.

[Sean Cagney]

Other notable players in the 2011 draft:

Kawhi Leonard

Klay Thompson

Tristan Thompson

Iman Shumpert

Nikola Vucevic (averaging 13 and 12 this year)

The Manimal

Jimmy Butler

Chandler Parsons


Yep definitely the 2nd best player in the draft. :lmao

Mute is an idiot beyond belief or just a troll we know that much. He should be capped off on threads he can make to be realistic.
Not sure if I recall correctly, but I think I read somewhere that Pop said something along the lines of "How the f did we miss on this guy?" after a game against the Spurs in Thomas' first season.

I believe POP would have loved to have this guy no doubt over JOSEPH etc., thats a no brainer. We got Leonard that year and the rest is history. He was slept on and now is a baller so far in the NBA but on a bad team as some said and puts up stats at times he would not here.

[sasffl]

TJ Ford is better than him

[mute]

Other notable players in the 2011 draft:

Kawhi Leonard

Klay Thompson

Tristan Thompson

Iman Shumpert

Nikola Vucevic (averaging 13 and 12 this year)

The Manimal

Jimmy Butler

Chandler Parsons


Yep definitely the 2nd best player in the draft. :lmao

all the guys u just named are glorified role players. only kryrie and thomas have star potential

[Raven]

he was a big value obviously, but he wouldn't really help us, he is not made for the playoffs, he'd get murdered after teams start exploiting matchups.

[Drom John]

WS 2011 draft
1) Kenneth Faried
2) Kawhi Leonard
3) Chandler Parsons
4) Isaiah Thomas
5) Kyrie Irving

32) Jimmer Fredette
33) Cory Joseph
34) Jordan Williams

[Cry Havoc]

all the guys u just named are glorified role players. only kryrie and thomas have star potential

Spurs should have taken Thomas so we'd have 3 point guards and 0 small forwards. Brilliant.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Threads mute should be able to start after this one: 0.

Threads mute should be able to have started before this one: 0

[heyheymymy]

threads mute's handle shouldn't be pink'd in: 0

[look_at_g_shred]

So is this thread supposed to be a meltdown thread as well?

[FromWayDowntown]

The Spurs draft history has been pretty pathetic in recent years. Of all of the guys they've picked for their own purposes -- using nothing but very high picks, of course -- none have gone on to have lengthy and productive NBA careers.

Except for Kawhi Leonard, and DeJuan Blair (326 games), and George Hill (390 games), and Tiago Splitter (230 games), and Ian Mahinmi (264 games), and Beno Udrih (655 games), and Luis Scola (504 games), and Tony Parker (907 games), and Manu Ginobili (762 games).

[Cry Havoc]

The Spurs draft history has been pretty pathetic in recent years. Of all of the guys they've picked for their own purposes -- using nothing but very high picks, of course -- none have gone on to have lengthy and productive NBA careers.

Except for Kawhi Leonard, and DeJuan Blair (326 games), and George Hill (390 games), and Tiago Splitter (230 games), and Ian Mahinmi (264 games), and Beno Udrih (655 games), and Luis Scola (504 games), and Tony Parker (907 games), and Manu Ginobili (762 games).

Just lock it up. Dis thread ova'. :lol

[hater]

The Spurs draft history has been pretty pathetic in recent years. Of all of the guys they've picked for their own purposes -- using nothing but very high picks, of course -- none have gone on to have lengthy and productive NBA careers.

Except for Kawhi Leonard, and DeJuan Blair (326 games), and George Hill (390 games), and Tiago Splitter (230 games), and Ian Mahinmi (264 games), and Beno Udrih (655 games), and Luis Scola (504 games), and Tony Parker (907 games), and Manu Ginobili (762 games).

this is probably due to the fact that Holt, RC and Pop decided to go all in and win NOW. They have probably given up on potential long term/big gain projects for short term/high risk projects in order to win NOW.

It's the least they could do to repay Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. The Spurs are going out in an old fashioned texas shootout.

[mute]

Holy cow... I almost fell off my tread mill when I saw that. Everyone started "oooing" and "ahhing". I wasn't able to see the game but I saw the highlights while I was at the gym (trying to lose some weight, father time eventually catches up to you haha!) on ESPN. That was disgusting, but at the same time so beautiful and graceful.

Kawhi should definitely be in the slam dunk contest this year. Nobody dunks with more power and firociousness than Kawhi does. It seems like he climbs the imaginary ladder at least once everygame. Who remembers the facial he served Michael Miller in the finals (vs. Heat)?

It was similar to JR Smith's dunk, but the difference is that this was in a real game with defenders and it was in transition off a steal. Notice that the behind the back move was a BASKETBALL move and done out of necessity and not for eye-candy. Kawhi took it behind the back to because the defender was on that side and he wanted to bring it onto the other side where the defender couldnt reach it (using his body as a shield to avoid being stripped)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSHhyS52d_Q

Do you guys think this is the dunk of the year? If not, where would you rank it? Does anyone have a GIF of this?

[mute]

EDIT: just saw it again on the re-runs... he stuffs it with his left hand... didnt know he was ambidextrous

[superjames1992]

Dunk of the year? :lol Come on, man. It was good, but ... just, no.

[Sean Cagney]

Dunk of the year? :lol Come on, man. It was good, but ... just, no.

I agree but it's MUTE what did you expect?

[mute]

Dunk of the year? :lol Come on, man. It was good, but ... just, no.

this actually took skill and was aesthetic to watch. sorry, but those lebron alley ops are overrated and so are the blake griffin offensive arm extentsion dunks are too. u CANT use your off arm to sheild your body and create separation

[Roger Freemason Jr.]

It was more finesse than power.

[Cry Havoc]

Another scintillating mute thread.

[Russo21]

Kawhie 15 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk, nice game. I was hoping he'd average those kinda numbers this year.

[Sean Cagney]

Another scintillating mute thread.
HE DOES THEM DAILY!!!!!

[HI-FI]

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/files/2014/01/leonardGIF.gif

[Russo21]

The behind the back was pretty sweet as it faked the defender out of position opening the lane for the easy dunk. Kinda reminded me of the famous Chris Webber on Charles Barkley dunk way back (hopefully i'm not the only one old enough to remember!) I like the Kawhi move better because it was actually relevant to getting the defender out of position, Webber did his around the back just to look cool basically. But CWebbs finish was better as it was stronger and he got the and 1 dunking on Chucks fat head while Kawhi basically just laid it in there wide open after the move. So definitely very cool but kind of a pissweak left handed dunk to finish it off with no flair. Behind the back move Kawhi>>Webber, the finish Kawhi<<Webber http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3qpJTE7vy8

[Brazil]

yeah nice dunk, too bad he didn't think to come back in Defense and give up an easy basket at the other hand

[Tim_5rings]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44w6jz4ih44&amp;feature=youtu.be

[superjames1992]

yeah nice dunk, too bad he didn't think to come back in Defense and give up an easy basket at the other hand
Yep, that dunk was actually pretty meaningless since he screwed around after the dunk and Utah got an easy score very quickly on the next possession.

But I understand that STers that like Monkeyballing will be salivating over this. The dunk itself was pretty run-of-the-mill, but the behind-the-back dribble was pretty cool.

[hooperflash]

I like that he did that against T. Burke . . .

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

:lol Dunk of the year?

[cd021]

Maybe dunk of the night ( I didn't watch the Clippers or the Heat game). Top 10 dunks of the season? nope. Top 25? not even close. Its a nice play and will fit in nicely with a youtube mixtape.

[ajballer4]

Did it even make top 10 plays on SC?

[ajballer4]

Nevermind, just saw the SC tweet.

SportsCenter ‏@SportsCenter (https://twitter.com/SportsCenter)1m (https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/423826123513143297)
ICYMI: Kawhi Leonard with the NIFTY #SCtop10 (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SCtop10&src=hash) behind-the-back move for the dunk. http://youtu.be/UM4vuN2QWQo (http://t.co/V06ahHLX50)

I agree with everyone above though. Very solid play, very cool when it happened, but definitely not dunk of the year

[313]

Mute with the trolling goods.

[Embedded]

Wow, watching that again gave me a lump in my throat. He's a good kid, doesn't need the spotlight, goes about his business in a professional manner, his patience in dealing with the knee tendinitis, coming into the shadow of the big three. Good for him, I love the reaction he got from the crowd, and there was no showboating, just the need to protect the ball, that triggered the behind the back move.

[mountainballer]

Moreover, I advise that Mute must be silenced.

[Vash StampedE]

mute, per par.

[look_at_g_shred]

Honestly, Kawhi is ballin right now! I don't know if anyone else notices this as well. His confidence is pretty high right now.... throwing smiles left and right and shit!

[ThaBigFundamental21]

THE WHOLE PLAY in general was amazing. The dunk was good, the play amazing. I always love seeing Kawhi make the steal, then off to the races he goes and finishes the play with a dunk. It seems like it has been a while since we have seen one. This was a very welcome sight. Lets give the PLAY the credit it deserves though, it is getting discounted heavily in here. The presence of mind to go all the way, behind the back to get separation, and throw down with his left hand, very beautiful. Lets just hope we see more and more of this from Kawhi. He has looked well the past few games.

[tlongII]

Mediocre dunk tbh.

[313]

THE WHOLE PLAY in general was amazing. The dunk was good, the play amazing. I always love seeing Kawhi make the steal, then off to the races he goes and finishes the play with a dunk. It seems like it has been a while since we have seen one. This was a very welcome sight. Lets give the PLAY the credit it deserves though, it is getting discounted heavily in here. The presence of mind to go all the way, behind the back to get separation, and throw down with his left hand, very beautiful. Lets just hope we see more and more of this from Kawhi. He has looked well the past few games.

12, 17, 13, and 15 his last four games. I'm glad to see him back in the double digits in points.

[Steve-O-Matic]

The full speed behind-the-back dribble was nice but the dunk itself was quite middling. Calling it the dunk of the game would be dubious. Calling it the dunk of the year is hilarious.

[ginobilized]

Maybe Spurs dunk of the year contender. Probably at least 10 more dunks left in the regular season. For the team.

[superbigtime]

The dunk was alrite but the dribbling and ball control were sensational. Very fluid. The kid is gifted, we all see it. He just doesn't have a super vertical.

[phxspurfan]

It was ok...

Any of the Griffin dunks are better tbh

[look_at_g_shred]

^ not so subtle.

[mute]

LOL you guys are hard to impress.. tough crowd, kinda like when a hot girl is posted online, and the internet standards that follow "oh wow, she's average looking", "i wouldnt bang her, her elbows are ashy" "ive had a lot better"

kawhi postered another grown man and put up on skates and u guys are playing it off like its no big deal

[sexinthatsx]

LOL you guys are hard to impress.. tough crowd, kinda like when a hot girl is posted online, and the internet standards that follow "oh wow, she's average looking", "i wouldnt bang her, her elbows are ashy" "ive had a lot better"

kawhi postered another grown man and put up on skates and u guys are playing it off like its no big deal

We're not a tough crowd. When you put a video of J.R Smith in a dunk contest passing the ball from hand to hand behind the back in mid air, everybody's giddy to see what Kawhi actually did. Instead, Kawhi made a nice dunk but it was a behind the back dribble followed by a one handed jam. You just set yourself up for a fail thread and disappointment tbh...

[apalisoc_9]

We're not a tough crowd. When you put a video of J.R Smith in a dunk contest passing the ball from hand to hand behind the back in mid air, everybody's giddy to see what Kawhi actually did. Instead, Kawhi made a nice dunk but it was a behind the back dribble followed by a one handed jam. You just set yourself up for a fail thread and disappointment tbh...

Update your avi already

[hater]

lame ass dunk. not even threadworthy imo

btw, yall being trolled by the op :lol

[look_at_g_shred]

lame ass dunk. not even threadworthy imo

btw, yall being trolled by the op :lol
FWIW IMHO George Hill couldn't do that TBQH.

[aal04]

Pretty bad travel. Hes done far better dunks

[hater]

FWIW IMHO George Hill couldn't do that TBQH.

but Paul George would have :pctoss

[dallasmaverickslose]

It's wasn't much of a dunk tbh, just a sick behind-the-back

[KL2]

Yep, that dunk was actually pretty meaningless since he screwed around after the dunk and Utah got an easy score very quickly on the next possession.

But I understand that STers that like Monkeyballing will be salivating over this. The dunk itself was pretty run-of-the-mill, but the behind-the-back dribble was pretty cool.


Next time ime watch the game retard, he ran back as fast as he could and got picked off by his own player.

[KL2]

yeah nice dunk, too bad he didn't think to come back in Defense and give up an easy basket at the other hand

Except he did come back only to get picked off by Errors or Boner, I forget.

[superjames1992]

Except he did come back only to get picked off by Errors or Boner, I forget.
That's right. Blame everyone else.

[james evans]

The dunk was alrite but the dribbling and ball control were sensational. Very fluid. The kid is gifted, we all see it. He just doesn't have a super vertical.
mike miller disagrees

[Sean Cagney]

lame ass dunk. not even threadworthy imo

btw, yall being trolled by the op :lol

It's mule, he should be banned from making any thread at all.

[Embedded]

It wasn't a spectacular dunk. He doesn't do that or feel the need to. It was an efficient dunk, for 2 points for his TEAM.

[Horse]

The Spurs had both the 29th and 59th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and missed on both of their picks. What ever happened to their advance scouting and their reputation for "finding a diamond in the rough"? The 2011 NBA draft had some talent (no superstars, but very capable players) in Irving (going #1) and then Klay Thompson, Kawhi (whom we traded for), and Nikola, Kenneth, and Shumpert.

With the second to last pick in the draft, the Spurs went with Adam Hanga and the Kings went with Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has turned out to be either the second or third best player in the draft. He's averaging career highs in points, rebounds, steals, and assists. He's putting up 19.1 ppg, 6.3 apg, and 2.9 rpg.

In 34 games this season, he's scored in double figures in 31 games; and 20+ in 19 times (and excluding the games in which he's eclipsed the 20+ points mark, he's scored 15+ pts in 8 games). He's a scoring a machine... and he's only making $500,000 a year. He has a PER of 22.10 (and if he were on the Spurs, he would be leading the team in scoring, assists, and PER). I'll let that sink in for a second.

Did the Spurs drop the ball on this one? How did the Spurs not draft this guy? Did they even work him out? He was sitting there at 59th and we whiffed and blew an opportunity to really add a title or two (to send Tim on his way out).

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6472/isaiah-thomas

http://thefakebasketball.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/IT2.jpg

Maybe but we don't know how he would've fit as a backup PG.

[mute]

I made a bet with someone that I'd leave for a month if the Spurs beat the Blazers tonight. Who was it and is the bet still on?

[313]

I made a bet with someone that I'd leave for a month if the Spurs beat the Blazers tonight. Who was it and is the bet still on?

Don't remember but I'll take you up on it

[mute]

Don't remember but I'll take you up on it

but what do i get if i win??

[313]

but what do i get if i win??

[NickiRasgo]

Truth is, we don't know if he would be play like that in NBA level. In 2008, we also missed Marc Gasol.

[superbigtime]

mike miller disagrees

Yeah that 32" vertical is really something. That block was because of Kawhi's length not because of Kawhi's leaping ability. Not to mention Mike Miller is a white boy who is almost 34 years old. Why am I writing to a guy with such a disgusting avatar.

[james evans]

Yeah that 32" vertical is really something. That block was because of Kawhi's length not because of Kawhi's leaping ability. Not to mention Mike Miller is a white boy who is almost 34 years old. Why am I writing to a guy with such a disgusting avatar.
a 32 inch vertical is nothing to turn your nose up at. i wish my vertical was still in the 30s(and yes it was higher than 32, but i'm barely 6 foot tall)

[mute]

I got really emotional yesterday watching the Celtics honor Paul Pierce (don't care about KG and his five seasons or whatever). Pierce was one of those guys whom you thought would be a lifer (playing for one team his entire career like as of now Dirk, Kobe, Wade...). For 15 seasons, he played through injuries, gave maximum effort (you never heard any stories about Pierce half-assing it), and stuck with them through bad the times. And still, he got traded to another team. It got me thinking... could Tim Duncan potentially face the same faith?

You look at guys like Ewing, Hakeem "The Dream", or Gary "The Glock" Payton? Could you ever imagine them in another uniform other than Ewing-Knicks, Hakeem-Rockets, and Payton-Sonics? That was their identity as well as their team. Ewing in New York with the blue-collar fight and guts he showed every night. Hakeem being a Houston born product, and so. Even just recently, a Cleveland native in Lebron James didn't resign with his home team (Cavs). You look across sports... Albert Pujols, Emmit Smith, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning (YES, Peyton MANNING....)

When a guy like Manning can move teams, it just makes you realize how much politics and money are involved in sports and how money talks. If Manning can switch teams, so can Duncan. Duncan played at a max level last year, while being paid $10 million. He made All-NBA 1st team and All-Defensive 2nd team. Duncan has had a resurgent few years since being swept by the Suns and everyone thinking he was done.

Will the Spurs potentially move him for financial reasons? Will they move him out (Miami? OKC? Portland?) of respect so he can win another ring instead of going through rebuilding?

[TheGoldStandard]

I got really emotional yesterday watching the Celtics honor Paul Pierce (don't care about KG and his five seasons or whatever). Pierce was one of those guys whom you thought would be a lifer (playing for one team his entire career like as of now Dirk, Kobe, Wade...). For 15 seasons, he played through injuries, gave maximum effort (you never heard any stories about Pierce half-assing it), and stuck with them through bad the times. And still, he got traded to another team. It got me thinking... could Tim Duncan potentially face the same faith?

You look at guys like Ewing, Hakeem "The Dream", or Gary "The Glock" Payton? Could you ever imagine them in another uniform other than Ewing-Knicks, Hakeem-Rockets, and Payton-Sonics? That was their identity as well as their team. Ewing in New York with the blue-collar fight and guts he showed every night. Hakeem being a Houston born product, and so. Even just recently, a Cleveland native in Lebron James didn't resign with his home team (Cavs). You look across sports... Albert Pujols, Emmit Smith, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning (YES, Peyton MANNING....)

When a guy like Manning can move teams, it just makes you realize how much politics and money are involved in sports and how money talks. If Manning can switch teams, so can Duncan. Duncan played at a max level last year, while being paid $10 million. He made All-NBA 1st team and All-Defensive 2nd team. Duncan has had a resurgent few years since being swept by the Suns and everyone thinking he was done.

Will the Spurs potentially move him for financial reasons? Will they move him out (Miami? OKC? Portland?) of respect so he can win another ring instead of going through rebuilding?

Think he'd take a paycut before being traded.. Or retire

[Diego20]

Are you kidding? Of course he will.

[Juggity]

Gary "The Glock" Payton

:lol

[BatManu20]

Lol

[Bruno]

mute, use your dedicated thread. Thanks.

[RD2191]

:lmao

[jeebus]

mute

[mute]

Why would I use my own thread? This wasn't a random thought... I saw Boston honor Pierce yesterday which is why I made the thread. It's not like I make a thread everyday or anything... I haven't even posted or made a thread in like 2 weeks.