Whats the Big Deal with Nazr?

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

Im fed up with all you folks saying how good Nazr is and everyone putting Nazr as our projected starting center for the new season.

Im dont understand why everyone likes Nazr so much. I really believe that with the signing of Oberto, with Rasho playing better defense than Nazr, and most importantly with Nazr's expiring contract, Spurs will trade Nazr.

I for one am not that high on Nazr. He still has a lot to prove to win me over. Maybe he can do it this season. Maybe he never will. Maybe he wont get a chance.

I really feel hes going to be moved either soon or in midseason. Why cause of his contract and hes a big. Hes also on the up and some teams will be high on him.

Mark my words. Nazr will be traded.

[thispego]

you're dumb, nazr is a very serviceable center, and there is a reason why he stole rashos starting spot. in the spurs system, he can up his blocks and rebounds, his points should be relatively similar to when he was playing for NY, and they are. The only reason he hasnt proved anything to you is because you've only seen him play for a few weeks

[ChumpDumper]

I don't know why he would be traded. Most deals would just bring in more salary in the coming years, which is something the Spurs would want to avoid if they were keeping Rasho.

I figure they would have him play out the season and let him walk in free agency unless they could get picks + a trade exception for him.

[SenorSpur]

Im fed up with all you folks saying how good Nazr is and everyone putting Nazr as our projected starting center for the new season.

Im dont understand why everyone likes Nazr so much. I really believe that with the signing of Oberto, with Rasho playing better defense than Nazr, and most importantly with Nazr's expiring contract, Spurs will trade Nazr.

I for one am not that high on Nazr. He still has a lot to prove to win me over. Maybe he can do it this season. Maybe he never will. Maybe he wont get a chance.

I really feel hes going to be moved either soon or in midseason. Why cause of his contract and hes a big. Hes also on the up and some teams will be high on him.

Mark my words. Nazr will be traded.

Say what you wish about Nazr, but at least he's aggressive. Something you cannot say about Rasho.

[T Park]

Dalamar.

Who are you gonna get thats better??

Nesterovic aint even CLOSE to being better.

Oberto is totally unproven.

Wake up and chill out.

Mohammed is a hell of a good center and will improve under the pop regime some more.

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

you're dumb, nazr is a very serviceable center, and there is a reason why he stole rashos starting spot. in the spurs system, he can up his blocks and rebounds, his points should be relatively similar to when he was playing for NY, and they are. The only reason he hasnt proved anything to you is because you've only seen him play for a few weeks


I never said Nazr is not serviceable. But he did not steal Rasho's starting spot. Rasho was injured. Spurs are better with Rasho on the floor than Nazr. Nazr's defense sucks.

[TexasAggie2005]

Say what you wish about Nazr, but at least he's aggressive. Something you cannot say about Rasho.

Yeah, all that pump-faking is REALLY aggressive.

BTW, I'm with the OP. Trade Nazr!

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

Dalamar.

Who are you gonna get thats better??

Nesterovic aint even CLOSE to being better.

Oberto is totally unproven.

Wake up and chill out.

Mohammed is a hell of a good center and will improve under the pop regime some more.

Well, lets just see what the Spurs front office does. If you think Mohammed is a HELL of a GOOD center. all I can say is :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

[T Park]

You thinkin Nesterovic is better is laughable.


Once again, WTF would you do??


I get sick of people that fuckin bitch but dont offer alternatives.

[llp]

I never said Nazr is not serviceable. But he did not steal Rasho's starting spot. Rasho was injured. Spurs are better with Rasho on the floor than Nazr. Nazr's defense sucks.
Rasho wasnt injured in the playoffs he got healthy and they didnt want to put him in cause nazr was good

[ChumpDumper]

Once again, WTF would you do??


I get sick of people that fuckin bitch but dont offer alternatives.Far be it from me to speak for another poster, but it seems he wouold trade Nazr....

[angel_luv]

Nazr is a good center.

[Brodels]

Im fed up with all you folks saying how good Nazr is and everyone putting Nazr as our projected starting center for the new season.

Im dont understand why everyone likes Nazr so much. I really believe that with the signing of Oberto, with Rasho playing better defense than Nazr, and most importantly with Nazr's expiring contract, Spurs will trade Nazr.

I for one am not that high on Nazr. He still has a lot to prove to win me over. Maybe he can do it this season. Maybe he never will. Maybe he wont get a chance.

I really feel hes going to be moved either soon or in midseason. Why cause of his contract and hes a big. Hes also on the up and some teams will be high on him.

Mark my words. Nazr will be traded.

Mark my words. Nazr will not be traded. The fact that he's in the final year of his contract is the reason why he won't be traded. The Spurs certainly aren't going to take back long-term salary. And with the swing positions set, it certainly doesn't make sense for them to dump a big player for a smaller one.

If nothing else, he represents salary reflief for a front office that is likely going to seek that out in the future.

And I don't know why you're so down on his play. Sure, he's not Shaq or even Yao. But he's much more aggressive around the basket than Rasho, he goes up strong, and he's a very good offensive rebounder. He's certainly tougher and more physical than Rasho, and that's what the Spurs need from their center. He's not on the same level defensively as Rasho, but with Tim Duncan under the basket to erase mistakes, the Spurs didn't miss Rasho's defense as much as many thought they would.

Rasho may very well be the future at center, but the Spurs aren't going to trade their best option at center right now. And the fact that he has an expiring contract cements that.

He fits in well, and he was more effective than Rasho in just about every way except for help defense.

[T Park]

but it seems he wouold trade Nazr

Thats my point.

There is no one better available.

Shit, its amazing we got someone better than Nesterovic!!!

Thats my question.

Alright, trade Nazr Mohammed, but what do you get in return!!!!

[TexasAggie2005]

But he's much more aggressive around the basket than Rasho, he goes up strong,

He goes up what? Did you really just say that Nazr goes up strong? Put down the crackpipe.

And I think the very reasons you listed make Nazr a tradeable commodity. A lot of teams would love to pick up a quality center in his contract year. And the Spurs don't necessarily want salary cap relief so much as to build for the future. Packaging something together like Nazr/Barry (and maybe Beno, the Spurs seem to hate him now) could haul in some serious talent.

[LittleGeneral]

Mohammed > Nesterovic.



Next.

[marcus]

One of the possible case scenarios that i would have in mind for trading Mohammed is by sending him to Utah.

I would do something in the lines of Mohammed and Brown via sign and trade for Harpring (expiring) + Kris Humphries.

That could even be a huge trade for us if Kris has a breaking year.

[angel_luv]

" Rasho never gets the credit he is due. People will complan about him because they don't really know the game. They'll never know the kind of defense he plays."- Coach Pop

[ChumpDumper]

That could even be a huge trade for us if Kris has a breaking year.Would play Darko minutes at best.

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

You dont need to take on long term salary when you trade an expiring contract. OMFG! you can trade an expiring contract for picks. You can trade an expiring contract for players you can waive.

Why cant we trade Nazr to the Nets? Theyre looking for a big man. They have a lot of picks (from Kenyon Martin trade to Nuggets and their own)

Trade him to the Grizzlies. They could use a center like Nazr.

[Brodels]

He goes up what? Did you really just say that Nazr goes up strong? Put down the crackpipe.

And I think the very reasons you listed make Nazr a tradeable commodity. A lot of teams would love to pick up a quality center in his contract year. And the Spurs don't necessarily want salary cap relief so much as to build for the future. Packaging something together like Nazr/Barry (and maybe Beno, the Spurs seem to hate him now) could haul in some serious talent.

He pump fakes, but after he gets done that, he goes up strong. Unlike Rasho, he actually dunks the ball sometimes.

Sure, a lot of teams would love to have Nazr and his contract right now. But if you think the Spurs are going to trade Nazr and in exchange take on long term salary, I think you have a serious inability to understand the workings of Peter Holt and crew. And it has nothing to do with salary cap relief. It's about the total salary that Holt will have to pay and the luxury tax.

If Nazr has a real solid season, they may try to sign him. But they aren't going to keep both Rasho and Nazr beyond next summer. And they aren't going to severely limit their flexibility by trading Nazr right now.

Besides, trading him doesn't really make much basketball sense. The Spurs need pieces to fit around their young and middle-aged talent. They aren't going to acquire a bunch of top young players. It's about winning now. And trading Nazr would leave the Spurs with one seven footer, and, arguably, only one true center.

You don't trade your starting center so you can take a chance on some young talent. At least not when you're trying to win a championship.

[SenorSpur]

Typically, starters do not lose their positions because of an injury. Do you really think if Rasho was the better player that Pop would have deliberately left him on the bench after he got healthy? Hell no.

Injury notwithstanding, Rasho's performance actually regressed from the previous year. He didn't deserve to continue starting. If you watched the games, you should have seen a noticeable increase in intensity from Rasho to Nazr.

Hey, both guys have different strengths and weaknesses. I will give Rasho the edge in shotblocking, he has better outside shooting range and, as you've said, is probably the superior defender. The knock on him is he's a horrible FT shooter and he's SOFT - VERY SOFT. He can't even "throw down" an offensive rebound.

Nazr, on the other hand, is an offensive rebounding machine, adequate defender and is a surprisingly, effective shotblocker. Just as important, he is the better FT shooter. The big knock on Nazr is he has the worst hands since Malik Rose.

Hey, I'm not saying Nazr is the second coming of Bill Russell, but he gives the Spurs a very solid, formidable, aggressive, defensive presence. Those intangibles are EXACTLY what the Spurs need at the 5 spot.

That's the real reason Rasho lost his position and the reason HE will be traded. Why do you think Rasho's name keeps popping up in various trade scenarios (Dallas, Golden State, et all)?

Sorry to disappoint you, but Nazr aint going nowhere.

[ChumpDumper]

you can trade an expiring contract for picksThat team has to be under the cap in the amount of Nazr's salary -- which teams have that? Atlanta? New Orleans? Fat chance.
You can trade an expiring contract for players you can waive. They have to be expiring too to not lose money in the deal -- and how is that better than just keeping Nazr?

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

One of the possible case scenarios that i would have in mind for trading Mohammed is by sending him to Utah.

I would do something in the lines of Mohammed and Brown via sign and trade for Harpring (expiring) + Kris Humphries.

That could even be a huge trade for us if Kris has a breaking year.

Sounds plausible, but I would still prefer draft picks.

[Brodels]

You dont need to take on long term salary when you trade an expiring contract. OMFG! you can trade an expiring contract for picks. You can trade an expiring contract for players you can waive.

Why cant we trade Nazr to the Nets? Theyre looking for a big man. They have a lot of picks (from Kenyon Martin trade to Nuggets and their own)

Trade him to the Grizzlies. They could use a center like Nazr.

If both teams are over the cap, you have to take back a relatively equal amount of salary. It's as simple as that. If both teams are over the cap, you cannot trade an expiring contract for picks alone.

If you trade Nazr for players and then waive them, you'll still have to pay them unless a portion of their salary is not guaranteed.

Either way, it's still not possible to do what you've outlined above.

[ChumpDumper]

Do you really think if Rasho was the better player that Pop would have deliberately left him on the bench after he got healthy? Hell no.They were close enough in overall effectiveness that he kept the big man rotation stable in the face of the relative turmoil in the backcourt. That's pretty clear. Horry was and is more important than either.

[Brodels]

Sounds plausible, but I would still prefer draft picks.

If you'd like to educate yourself about the salary cap so you'll know what's possible, you can start here: http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm (http://)

[Solid D]

Nazr ended up with the playoff minutes because, despite his missed assignments on D, there are a few things that made him the better choice in the post w/ Tim:

* Great knack for offensive rebounding
* His length and physicality
* His natural tendency to dunk with ferocity once he got inside

Let's also give him at least one prop for that wonderful Game 7, 4th qtr. block on Ben Wallace's reverse layup.

[T Park]

If Brent Barry deserves props for his game 7 performance.

Nazr Mohammed DEFINATELY does.

[E20]

The most thing people don't see is besides Tim, we don't have a young, atheltic big man. Rasho plays good D and has somewhat of a jumper. Nazr fits that role, even though he has a horrible jumper, he is more atheltic and is more agressive. Besides those two there is nobody free in the L that we could sign or trade for. I'm happy with what we got. Two 7 footers who are willing to listen and do what they are told. Nazr and Rasho have both said it before that they're going to bust there asses and get better the next year and be even more fit in the Spurs system. We should all be happy, I mean which team can brag about having three 7 FT big men and one of them being the best player in the world? I'm pretty sure Rasho and Nazr are going to work harder on the areas they need improvement on, they're both going to have to work for the C postion and come training camp we'll have one of the best frontcourts in the NBA.

[tmtcsc]

I think Nazr was our most consistent center. He had good and bad games but overall he played well. Rasho has been steady but mostly underwhelming. I don't think we have seen Rasho's best effort or game. It's a shame too, because he is very skilled.