Spurs Sign Boban Marjanovic for 1-Year, $2 Million

[exstatic]

What is the status on this guy? Not sure how it went down with his foot and not playing Euro.

I think he's in town. Someone in my car club saw RC picking him up at the airport.

[LittleCriminal]

Any updates on his foot??

[spurraider21]

Any updates on his foot??
he still has two last i heard

[LittleCriminal]

he still has two last i heard

Awesome.. Now i remember 5th grade.

[spurraider21]

watchin the highlight clip...looks like a 3 second violation in the key if he doesnt change his game for the nba, no camping
Well yeah. There's no 3 second rule in Europe, so those clips are expected

[SupremeGuy]

Any updates on his foot??


he still has two last i heard:lol

For real though, any updates?

[ace3g]

https://scontent-dfw1-1.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/e35/11821731_526516544191642_626081415_n.jpg

https://instagram.com/p/7h62bKMvlG/?taken-by=bobimarjanovic13

[tholdren]

https://scontent-dfw1-1.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/e35/11821731_526516544191642_626081415_n.jpg

https://instagram.com/p/7h62bKMvlG/?taken-by=bobimarjanovic13

He's already been in the weight room more than Tiago. Cant play any worse either. Here's to a great year #40

[LittleCriminal]

Dam dude looks ripped..

[Kawhitstorm]

Dam dude looks ripped..

Too bad you can't play in the NBA on wheel-chair or w/ a crutch.

[ninjaskrzypek]

https://scontent-dfw1-1.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/e35/11821731_526516544191642_626081415_n.jpg

https://instagram.com/p/7h62bKMvlG/?taken-by=bobimarjanovic13

Jacked!

[LittleCriminal]

Too bad you can't play in the NBA on wheel-chair or w/ a crutch.

Ok...

[Supreme_Being]

Can't wait for a boban - sim bhullar matchup

[jon123spurs]

Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) tweeted at 0:12 PM on Mon, Sep 28, 2015:
Boban Marjanovic (foot)cleared to begin practice tomorrow, per Pop. Also he's legitimately tall.
(https://twitter.com/JMcDonald_SAEN/status/648545780685389825?s=03)

[Solid D]

He's a huge dude. He runs like a Bateer. Like he's wearing wingtips on a hardwood floor.

[ElNono]

:lol this is what he looks like in 2k16

http://i.imgur.com/heLTxcK.jpg

[LittleCriminal]

:lol this is what he looks like in 2k16

http://i.imgur.com/heLTxcK.jpg

manu is overall 82... Cool

[RayTdropout]

all guys This big end up with foot injuries get this bum out of here

[RD2191]

all guys This big end up with foot injuries get this bum out of here

[jermaine]

manu is overall 82... Cool
He sucks on 2k16

[dbestpro]

https://scontent-dfw1-1.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/e35/11821731_526516544191642_626081415_n.jpg

https://instagram.com/p/7h62bKMvlG/?taken-by=bobimarjanovic13

This guy takes the term beast to a new level. If basketball does not work, then wrestling will surely come calling.

[rastaspur]

Anyone who says he will replace tiago or be just as good is fucking retarded. Tiago is probably the most underated and undeservingly bashed spurs players ever on this site.

[Mamuza94]

Anyone knows his rating in 2k16?

[jermaine]

Anyone knows his rating in 2k16?

Like a 67 or something like that. You can't teach 7'4, your born with that. If he's around the rim, he's gonna get it.

[DJR210]

This guy takes the term beast to a new level. If basketball does not work, then wrestling will surely come calling.

For real. WWE loves those big retarded looking giants

[rastaspur]

For real. WWE loves those big retarded looking giants

You could paint him purple or orange and cast him in the new space jam on the alien team

[tholdren]

I wish Boban was Jimmer

[Mamuza94]

Like a 67 or something like that. You can't teach 7'4, your born with that. If he's around the rim, he's gonna get it.

:toast

[Spur Bank]

Like a 67 or something like that. You can't teach 7'4, your born with that. If he's around the rim, he's gonna get it.
Height helps (to state the obvious), but rebounding is far more about technique and positioning. That's why DeJuan Blair destroyed Hasheem Thabeet (23 boards vs. 4. 4!) in the famous Pitt-UConn game.

And remember, Thabeet is only one inch shorter than Bobi and faaaaaar more athletic. Not saying we can't get excited, Bobi is a much more accomplished player, but height isn't as important to rebounds as people tend to think. Barkley and Rodman are other good examples.

[rastaspur]

Height helps (to state the obvious), but rebounding is far more about technique and positioning. That's why DeJuan Blair destroyed Hasheem Thabeet (23 boards vs. 4. 4!) in the famous Pitt-UConn game.

And remember, Thabeet is only one inch shorter than Bobi and faaaaaar more athletic. Not saying we can't get excited, Bobi is a much more accomplished player, but height isn't as important to rebounds as people tend to think. Barkley and Rodman are other good examples.

Rodman was 6'8 and very long. His size was not a detriment. He was plenty big enough. Maybe 1/2 an inch shorter than bill Russell.

Barkley is about 6'4 so yeah, what he did was more impressive when considering size

[ceperez]

Boban in action:

https://www.facebook.com/OscarHuevoSanchez/videos/vb.429592430581652/446342695573292/?type=2&theater

[weeks]

You could paint him purple or orange and cast him in the new space jam on the alien team
:lmao
bro...

[tholdren]

Height helps (to state the obvious), but rebounding is far more about technique and positioning. That's why DeJuan Blair destroyed Hasheem Thabeet (23 boards vs. 4. 4!) in the famous Pitt-UConn game.

And remember, Thabeet is only one inch shorter than Bobi and faaaaaar more athletic. Not saying we can't get excited, Bobi is a much more accomplished player, but height isn't as important to rebounds as people tend to think. Barkley and Rodman are other good examples.

jeff ayres

[hooperflash]

http://i.imgur.com/JjBAvNI.jpg

[Mamuza94]

Nice, nice...

[From Downtown]

Do we have a church of Marjanovic?

[ace3g]

Dan McCarney @danmccarneySAEN
(https://twitter.com/danmccarneySAEN)Duncan endorses "Bobby" Marjanovic: "He's really good. For his size, he runs and moves great. He's impressed a lot of guys out here."

[ceperez]

Dan McCarney @danmccarneySAEN
(https://twitter.com/danmccarneySAEN)Duncan endorses "Bobby" Marjanovic: "He's really good. For his size, he runs and moves great. He's impressed a lot of guys out here."



hmmmm..... looks like he's going to give Dwight Howard a lot of problems!

[silverblackfan]

Dan McCarney @danmccarneySAEN
(https://twitter.com/danmccarneySAEN)Duncan endorses "Bobby" Marjanovic: "He's really good. For his size, he runs and moves great. He's impressed a lot of guys out here."



Nice comments from Duncan. It would really suck to find a 7'4" center that can move well.:lol

[Yuixafun]

Who needs selfie sticks???? Puny humans...

http://www.novosti.rs/upload/thumbs/images/2015//07/10n/sp-bobi_620x0.jpg


I wonder if anyone is going to try and bully Bobba... kinda like they would do to Yao.


On a side note... that lady in black is fine, coke bottle body egad..

[tim_duncan_fan]

I wonder if anyone is going to try and bully Bobba... kinda like they would do to Yao.


On a side note... that lady in black is fine, coke bottle body egad..

Pretty sure the woman in black is a newly minted Spurs wife. Gonna have to premptively put Tony in his place so that he doesn't fuck this season up for everybody because he likes to fuck inside the Spurs family.

[cd98]

Given how slow Timmy is, I'm not sure he is the best judge of speed.

[Ditty]

Given how slow Timmy is, I'm not sure he is the best judge of speed.

You do have a point, but I think Tim has been around long enough that he has a feel of what other teams bigs athleticism and speed are around the league. Tim does have a reputation of giving a lot of players more credit than they deserve so I'll wait until I really see what Boban brings to the court. Don't think he can be any worse than Ayers :lol.

Hopefully Ginobili and him are just lethal on pick n rolls, and Boban is a lot quicker on his feet defensively than expected. His length will definitely help him if he gets beat a few plays by quick guards. Hopefully 3 second violations, and NBA fouls aren't a huge learning curve for him.

[Kawhitstorm]

You do have a point, but I think Tim has been around long enough that he has a feel of what other teams bigs athleticism and speed are around the league. Tim does have a reputation of giving a lot of players more credit than they deserve so I'll wait until I really see what Boban brings to the court. Don't think he can be any worse than Ayers :lol.

Hopefully Ginobili and him are just lethal on pick n rolls, and Boban is a lot quicker on his feet defensively than expected. His length will definitely help him if he gets beat a few plays by quick guards. Hopefully 3 second violations, and NBA fouls aren't a huge learning curve for him.

He moves just as well as Hibbert meaning he can lumber down the court better than Perkins but is laterally challenged. On offense his game is similar to Mozgov's & can be utilized in PnRs or simple postups while also being a menace on the offensive glass b/c of his length. On defense he will get torched on PnRs b/c of slow feet & he also doesn't seem to possess good defensive instincts to be a rim protector. He's basically an offensive big man rather than a blue collar type giant like Asik/Hibbert. With that said he isn't a finesse player but an Eastern Euro w/ bad intentions when he gets the ball around the rim.

[BOHOLANO#21]

Boban better than Ayers is already an upgrade!

[ace3g]

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000083145872/b9197be29643e9cf1a2712b59dafffb1_bigger.jpeg Mike Monroe ‏@Monroe_SA (https://twitter.com/Monroe_SA)

#Spurs (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Spurs?src=hash) signing Marjanovic was truly a big deal writes @JMcDonald_SAEN (https://twitter.com/JMcDonald_SAEN) http://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-rookie-Marjanovic-is-big-really-big-6548515.php?t=e55cef1a10e4660723&cmpid=twitter-premium … (http://t.co/ReFbunDbBv) via @mySA (https://twitter.com/mySA)

[Harry Callahan]

The video I saw I was impressed given the sheer size Bobbi possesses. He moves well enough to alter shots and clog the middle. He can't move as well as Tiago, but that is apples and oranges. Bobbi is much taller and heavier.

[Ice009]

The video I saw I was impressed given the sheer size Bobbi possesses. He moves well enough to alter shots and clog the middle. He can't move as well as Tiago, but that is apples and oranges. Bobbi is much taller and heavier.

There is one thing I like about Boban over Tiago and that is he will try and dunk it anytime that he's near the rim. I hated Tiago's finishing around the rim. Loved the rest of his game (when healthy), but couldn't stand his choice of finishing soft around the rim. He should have tried dunking it more.

[ceperez]

There is one thing I like about Boban over Tiago and that is he will try and dunk it anytime that he's near the rim. I hated Tiago's finishing around the rim. Loved the rest of his game (when healthy), but couldn't stand his choice of finishing soft around the rim. He should have tried dunking it more.

Tiago had problems with like of Andre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Boban will have less of a problem, it's either a foul or the defender will take some physical punishment.

Oh... and about Tiago needing to dunk more...... he barely could dunk, so that was his real problem. He had to make an effort to dunk and that slowed his execution.

[Seventyniner]

Dan McCarney @danmccarneySAEN
(https://twitter.com/danmccarneySAEN)Duncan endorses "Bobby" Marjanovic: "He's really good. For his size, he runs and moves great. He's impressed a lot of guys out here."



First Bobby Horry and now Bobby Marjanovic. Never change, Tim. Never change.

[spurslegacy]

that's not an alien! wtf seriously 2K, get your graphics team to fix that.


:lol this is what he looks like in 2k16

http://i.imgur.com/heLTxcK.jpg

[Russ]

Question -- Can Boban be extended during the regular season? If so, 2-3 years at $3 (or so) million/year would be my bet.

Do any of our many "rules" experts know whether he can be extended before the summer?

[Mel_13]

Question -- Can Boban be extended during the regular season? If so, 2-3 years at $3 (or so) million/year would be my bet.

Do any of our many "rules" experts know whether he can be extended before the summer?

Can't be extended.

[wildbill2u]

The guy has some basketball skills beyond just taking up a hell of a lot of space. Good hands, pretty good close-in shooter, and passer. To add to this, he really plays hard, running the court in transition.

RELEASE THE KRAKEN!

[cjw]

Question -- Can Boban be extended during the regular season? If so, 2-3 years at $3 (or so) million/year would be my bet.

Do any of our many "rules" experts know whether he can be extended before the summer?

He's a RFA so Spurs will have a chance to tender him an offer, and then match anything he gets. Offers extended to him stay outstanding for 72 hours and lock up cap space, which is why we see few RFA offers from outside teams. Could happen though.

My expectation is the team locks him up in offseason during moratorium period.

[Russo21]

Hopefully no stupid front office offers him a ridiculous contract and he can stay a Spur. He's a beast and already a fan favourite, not just in SA either, fans In other cities embrace him when he is on the court and playing well. He seems like a really nice fella and Tim seems to be mentoring him really well. Given his insane size he may not have a very long career and I hope he stays with the good guys. Go Boban! Hopefully RC and Peter show him some love this offseason :) Would help his chances of staying with us If he can raise the LOB Trophy 30 feet high in the air in June!

[cutewizard]

BOBANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[ceperez]

He's a RFA so Spurs will have a chance to tender him an offer, and then match anything he gets. Offers extended to him stay outstanding for 72 hours and lock up cap space, which is why we see few RFA offers from outside teams. Could happen though.

My expectation is the team locks him up in offseason during moratorium period.

Boban needs the right teammates to make him effective. So I doubt other teams are going to pay premium.

There are plenty of other teams like the Lakers with Hibbert and the Hawks with Tavares who have trouble exploiting the size. The problem is the lack of mobility is a liability in today's NBA.

[bic50]

Hopefully no stupid front office offers him a ridiculous contract and he can stay a Spur. He's a beast and already a fan favourite, not just in SA either, fans In other cities embrace him when he is on the court and playing well. He seems like a really nice fella and Tim seems to be mentoring him really well. Given his insane size he may not have a very long career and I hope he stays with the good guys. Go Boban! Hopefully RC and Peter show him some love this offseason :) Would help his chances of staying with us If he can raise the LOB Trophy 30 feet high in the air in June!

He will likely get offers from other teams. Hopefully he'll stay

[Chinook]

He will likely get offers from other teams. Hopefully he'll stay

He's an Arenas RFA. His absolute max is $52M/4. For the Spurs, that would be 5, 6, 20, 21. For other teams, it'd be 13 flat. But no one is going to come close to that. I imagine Boban will sign a two-year deal at less than $7 Million total.

[bic50]

He's an Arenas RFA. His absolute max is $52M/4. For the Spurs, that would be 5, 6, 20, 21. For other teams, it'd be 13 flat. But no one is going to come close to that. I imagine Boban will sign a two-year deal at less than $7 Million total.

Hope so

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Boban needs the right teammates to make him effective. So I doubt other teams are going to pay premium.

There are plenty of other teams like the Lakers with Hibbert and the Hawks with Tavares who have trouble exploiting the size. The problem is the lack of mobility is a liability in today's NBA.

Boban is a humongous big with quick feet and good hands. He's not a stiff like Hibbert and runs the floor. Same with Tavares. You sound like someone who hasn't been watching him run with PF up and down the court beating them to the paint and then burying dunks in their faces. He got Wall on a switch and shut him down.

We need to see more but your take is stupid and without basis. Mentioning marginal bigs and trying to force a comparison is asinine.

[Mel_13]

We need to see more but your take is stupid and without basis. Mentioning marginal bigs and trying to force a comparison is asinine.

#ceperez

[ajh18]

My fear is that teams see him as equivalently productive to an Aaron Baynes, and offer him similar money. They are very different players, but some teams might simply see the role and Spurs pedigree and make the jump. Baynes is getting close to $7M/year and I seriously doubt we'd match anything over $5M annually for Boban. Really hope we can keep him for $3-4M a year though.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

My fear is that teams see him as equivalently productive to an Aaron Baynes, and offer him similar money. They are very different players, but some teams might simply see the role and Spurs pedigree and make the jump. Baynes is getting close to $7M/year and I seriously doubt we'd match anything over $5M annually for Boban. Really hope we can keep him for $3-4M a year though.

Baynes had a rescinded tender. I bet Boban's isn't and he ends up never seeing the market. He wanted to come here and it seems like he is getting along well with the team.

I think the Baynes deal is a fair comparison. He likely won't play as much as Baynes but he looks to be a better prospect than Baynes as well. It's not an unreasonable starting point.

[Mel_13]

My fear is that teams see him as equivalently productive to an Aaron Baynes, and offer him similar money. They are very different players, but some teams might simply see the role and Spurs pedigree and make the jump. Baynes is getting close to $7M/year and I seriously doubt we'd match anything over $5M annually for Boban. Really hope we can keep him for $3-4M a year though.

Baynes got one year/2M as an RFA after playing 491 minutes as the 5th/6th big. He got the big money coming off a season as a unrestricted rotation big.

When Asik got 3 years/25M as an RFA , he had played nearly 2000 minutes in his first two seasons.

Boban has played 75 minutes in the NBA. Barring an injury to one of the 4 primary bigs, he probably won't play more than 400 minutes this season.

[GSH]

He got Wall on a switch and shut him down.



I'm glad somebody remembers that play. That was beautiful.

Two years at around $7M is exactly what I was thinking. The Spurs will be hard pressed to find anyone as good without spending substantially more than that. He WILL get other offers/interest, but I hope that would be enough to keep him here. But I wouldn't be shocked if someone offered more than that. You can't teach tall.

"He needs the right teammates to be effective"? WTF does that even mean? Everybody is better when they are surrounded by talent. But an experienced 7'3" guy who isn't a bean-pole? He's going to be effective for anyone. The only caution I have is how many minutes he's capable of playing on a regular basis. A lot of really huge guys just can't keep going for long stretches - heart size is what I've heard. I have a feeling he might start to slow down if he has to go much past 20 minutes on a regular basis. But I'll take a giant who can give 20 solid minutes a night, any time.

[Chinook]

#ceperez

:lol

[Mel_13]

:lol

It deserves an entry on Urban Dictionary.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Baynes got one year/2M as an RFA after playing 491 minutes as the 5th/6th big. He got the big money coming off a season as a unrestricted rotation big.

When Asik got 3 years/25M as an RFA , he had played nearly 2000 minutes in his first two seasons.

Boban has played 75 minutes in the NBA. Barring an injury to one of the 4 primary bigs, he probably won't play more than 400 minutes this season.

Asik was RFA over 4 years ago but that does make a decent ceiling for RFA in general. Cap was $58m when he signed and $70m this year. So that is 3/30 in last years terms.

Boban isn't going to get anywhere near that. OTOH, 1/15th of the cap is now nearing $5m.

Baynes got better working out of the high post and in general not getting lost in the motion but he struggled mightily in both departments out the gate. He had post offense that finished with both hands and was a solid defender. Baynes struggled with awareness while Boban has presence. Baynes was the better leaper. But overall with superior stamina --another area Baynes struggled,-- flexibility, swivel, quickness, footspeed, 4 inches of height, 4 inches of reach, and 40 lbs, Boban makes the much superior athlete.

He's more comfortable running offense through him. Started out hitting his jumper with touch from more places on the floor. He plays the pnr shading much like Tiago does, cutting people off, forcing bad shots and even better getting some blocks. He cannot hedge, recover and play outside like Tiago could though. He does know how to use his size and space to good effect on switches. That remains more of an adventure with the Big Banger. Boban stopped being so tentative going after rebounds. Boban's reach is only 5 inches shy of the rim and he is showing a nose for blocks. I hope both continue to improve but he's already showing a talent.

I bet he gets far more than the $2m Baynes got his last year here. Spurs are the most pragmatic team in pro sports. They'll work it out if they haven't already.

[Mel_13]

Asik was RFA over 4 years ago but that does make a decent ceiling for RFA in general. Cap was $58m when he signed and $70m this year. So that is 3/30 in last years terms.

Boban isn't going to get anywhere near that. OTOH, 1/15th of the cap is now nearing $5m.

Baynes got better working out of the high post and in general not getting lost in the motion but he struggled mightily in both departments out the gate. He had post offense that finished with both hands and was a solid defender. Baynes struggled with awareness while Boban has presence. Baynes was the better leaper. But overall with superior stamina --another area Baynes struggled,-- flexibility, swivel, quickness, footspeed, 4 inches of height, 4 inches of reach, and 40 lbs, Boban makes the much superior athlete.

He's more comfortable running offense through him. Started out hitting his jumper with touch from more places on the floor. He plays the pnr shading much like Tiago does, cutting people off, forcing bad shots and even better getting some blocks. He cannot hedge, recover and play outside like Tiago could though. He does know how to use his size and space to good effect on switches. That remains more of an adventure with the Big Banger. Boban stopped being so tentative going after rebounds. Boban's reach is only 5 inches shy of the rim and he is showing a nose for blocks. I hope both continue to improve but he's already showing a talent.

I bet he gets far more than the $2m Baynes got his last year here. Spurs are the most pragmatic team in pro sports. They'll work it out if they haven't already.

The huge difference in the salary cap from 2014 to 2016 suggests that Boban will do better than Baynes as an RFA. He was also more accomplished in Europe than Baynes. There have also been some reports that Boban had better offers from other NBA teams, but viewed the Spurs as the best organization for his transition. Anything approaching Asik money will require some significant rotation time, imo.

I also believe that the Spurs will lock him up early in the July moratorium.

[ajh18]

The huge difference in the salary cap from 2014 to 2016 suggests that Boban will do better than Baynes as an RFA. He was also more accomplished in Europe than Baynes. There have also been some reports that Boban had better offers from other NBA teams, but viewed the Spurs as the best organization for his transition. Anything approaching Asik money will require some significant rotation time, imo.

I also believe that the Spurs will lock him up early in the July moratorium.

There's also the fact that he's a "Spurs project Big" to consider though. Plenty of teams can see how Baynes, and before him, Ian Mahinmi, developed in the Spurs system and turned into solid NBA bigs. It's not out of the realm of possibility that a team simply puts their faith in the Spurs' scouting and developmental system and tries to scoop Boban up before he hits unrestricted free agency by slightly overpaying now.

[Mel_13]

There's also the fact that he's a "Spurs project Big" to consider though. Plenty of teams can see how Baynes, and before him, Ian Mahinmi, developed in the Spurs system and turned into solid NBA bigs. It's not out of the realm of possibility that a team simply puts their faith in the Spurs' scouting and developmental system and tries to scoop Boban up before he hits unrestricted free agency by slightly overpaying now.

I don't believe a slight overpay will keep the Spurs from matching and I believe a gross overpay is extremely unlikely.

[Chinook]

Speaking of Ian, I think he could be a dark-horse candidate to return to the Spurs as the starting five if Tim retires. He's become a legitimate center since leaving the team. He's still a little foul-happy, but he's actually decent enough in that department to play starter's minutes. The guy is still under 30 despite the Spurs drafting him 11 years ago, so he'd fit in with LMA for a couple of years.

By far the best option for the Spurs next year is to hope Tim (and Manu) return -- regardless of what happens this year. But if that doesn't happen, the Spurs will be extremely limited on what they can do financially. Ian shouldn't be too expensive (though he won't be really cheap either), so unless there are still some hard feelings between him and the team, he looks to be the best outside option out there.

[sasaint]

Speaking of Ian, I think he could be a dark-horse candidate to return to the Spurs as the starting five if Tim retires. He's become a legitimate center since leaving the team. He's still a little foul-happy, but he's actually decent enough in that department to play starter's minutes. The guy is still under 30 despite the Spurs drafting him 11 years ago, so he'd fit in with LMA for a couple of years.

By far the best option for the Spurs next year is to hope Tim (and Manu) return -- regardless of what happens this year. But if that doesn't happen, the Spurs will be extremely limited on what they can do financially. Ian shouldn't be too expensive (though he won't be really cheap either), so unless there are still some hard feelings between him and the team, he looks to be the best outside option out there.

I have been pretty impressed by Ian's development since we let him go - so much so that I have wondered from time to time why we did let him go. Was it just money, or were there other issues? Barring such "other issues" I wouldn't mind bringing him back at the right price. However, I really expect Tim to return for at least 2016-17 and possibly even 2017-18.

[Chinook]

I have been pretty impressed by Ian's development since we let him go - so much so that I have wondered from time to time why we did let him go. Was it just money, or were there other issues? Barring such "other issues" I wouldn't mind bringing him back at the right price. However, I really expect Tim to return for at least 2016-17 and possibly even 2017-18.

He wasn't very good with the Spurs. I mean, he wasn't very good at all. So there's that. Then you have to add in that they let him go the summer they got Splitter. I guess they didn't want that many developmental centers. Had Pop been on his game, he would have started Tim and Tiago off the bat and brought in McD off the bench. Then he could have subbed in Blair, Bonner and Mahinmi as needed.

[Mel_13]

He wasn't very good with the Spurs. I mean, he wasn't very good at all. So there's that. Then you have to add in that they let him go the summer they got Splitter. I guess they didn't want that many developmental centers. Had Pop been on his game, he would have started Tim and Tiago off the bat and brought in McD off the bench. Then he could have subbed in Blair, Bonner and Mahinmi as needed.

That history is not quite right.

When the Spurs traded Scola in the summer of 2007, they had a plan. The plan failed, but there was a plan. They brought back the whole squad that won a ring in 2007 for one more try in 2008. They signed their 2005 first round pick, Mahinmi, with the intention of training him in Austin for the entire season and having him ready to join the big team in 2008-09. Their 2007 first round pick, Splitter, was expected to play out his contract in Spain and also join the team for the start of 2008-09 season.

Then lots of things went wrong. After playing the 07-08 season in Austin as planned, Mahinmi had a mysterious ankle ailment that defied proper diagnosis for months, eventually requiring surgery and costing him and the Spurs Year 2 of his rookie contract. Meanwhile, Splitter's sister had a cancer that recurred and eventually took her life, which led him to take a much more lucrative deal and remain in Spain until he was no longer bound by the rookie scale. So Splitter didn't arrive until 2010.

When the 2009-10 training camp began, Ian was starting Year 3 of his rookie contract and the Spurs had to decide whether or not to pick up his 4th year option by the end of camp. They had drafted DeJuan Blair in the 2009 draft and the simple truth is that Blair outplayed Mahinmi over the course of that camp. If the play-by-plays of those games still exist, I'm certain they'll show that Ian was ahead of Blair in the rotation the early games, but was outplayed and moved down in the rotation. When training camp ended, the Spurs declined to exercise Ian's Year 4 option and he was a lame duck for the 2009-10 season and played less than 200 minutes. He was an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010 and signed a 2 year minimum deal to take his chances with a new team in Dallas.

[Uriel]

Boban is already 27, though. Granted, it's only his 1st year in the NBA, but one has to wonder how much upside he still has left.

[ceperez]

That history is not quite right.

When the Spurs traded Scola in the summer of 2007, they had a plan. The plan failed, but there was a plan. They brought back the whole squad that won a ring in 2007 for one more try in 2008. They signed their 2005 first round pick, Mahinmi, with the intention of training him in Austin for the entire season and having him ready to join the big team in 2008-09. Their 2007 first round pick, Splitter, was expected to play out his contract in Spain and also join the team for the start of 2008-09 season.

Then lots of things went wrong. After playing the 07-08 season in Austin as planned, Mahinmi had a mysterious ankle ailment that defied proper diagnosis for months, eventually requiring surgery and costing him and the Spurs Year 2 of his rookie contract. Meanwhile, Splitter's sister had a cancer that recurred and eventually took her life, which led him to take a much more lucrative deal and remain in Spain until he was no longer bound by the rookie scale. So Splitter didn't arrive until 2010.

When the 2009-10 training camp began, Ian was starting Year 3 of his rookie contract and the Spurs had to decide whether or not to pick up his 4th year option by the end of camp. They had drafted DeJuan Blair in the 2009 draft and the simple truth is that Blair outplayed Mahinmi over the course of that camp. If the play-by-plays of those games still exist, I'm certain they'll show that Ian was ahead of Blair in the rotation the early games, but was outplayed and moved down in the rotation. When training camp ended, the Spurs declined to exercise Ian's Year 4 option and he was a lame duck for the 2009-10 season and played less than 200 minutes. He was an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010 and signed a 2 year minimum deal to take his chances with a new team in Dallas.

Wow... impressive backgrounder.

Blair had a natural feel for the game that Mahinmi did not. I think it has taken Mahinmi a while to figure it out and he apparently is doing much better now with the Pacers. The NBA game has become quite complex that it takes a long while for players to figure it out. It is starting to remind me of the the NFL.

[Chinook]

That history is not quite right.

When the Spurs traded Scola in the summer of 2007, they had a plan. The plan failed, but there was a plan. They brought back the whole squad that won a ring in 2007 for one more try in 2008. They signed their 2005 first round pick, Mahinmi, with the intention of training him in Austin for the entire season and having him ready to join the big team in 2008-09. Their 2007 first round pick, Splitter, was expected to play out his contract in Spain and also join the team for the start of 2008-09 season.

Then lots of things went wrong. After playing the 07-08 season in Austin as planned, Mahinmi had a mysterious ankle ailment that defied proper diagnosis for months, eventually requiring surgery and costing him and the Spurs Year 2 of his rookie contract. Meanwhile, Splitter's sister had a cancer that recurred and eventually took her life, which led him to take a much more lucrative deal and remain in Spain until he was no longer bound by the rookie scale. So Splitter didn't arrive until 2010.

When the 2009-10 training camp began, Ian was starting Year 3 of his rookie contract and the Spurs had to decide whether or not to pick up his 4th year option by the end of camp. They had drafted DeJuan Blair in the 2009 draft and the simple truth is that Blair outplayed Mahinmi over the course of that camp. If the play-by-plays of those games still exist, I'm certain they'll show that Ian was ahead of Blair in the rotation the early games, but was outplayed and moved down in the rotation. When training camp ended, the Spurs declined to exercise Ian's Year 4 option and he was a lame duck for the 2009-10 season and played less than 200 minutes. He was an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010 and signed a 2 year minimum deal to take his chances with a new team in Dallas.

I do appreciate the history. I was more of a casual observer of the team back then and didn't know the backstory. Still think that two things were true:

1) Ian sucked as a Spur. I watched enough of him back then to know he showed flashes but could never put it together. Without the ankle injury, maybe things would have been different. But that is true with James Anderson and his foot too.

2) The Spurs knew Splitter was coming over in 2010 and didn't want to keep Mahinmi around to be the seventh big. I think the Spurs and Splitter knew 2010 was going to be the year in 2009. The Spurs had just drafted Blair, whom they considered a steal (and used the MLE to sign for four years). They loved Bonner and probably planned on re-signing him. They had McDyess inked to a two-year deal (with the third year salary ballast). There just wasn't room to develop Ian on the big club anymore.

I agree the situation wasn't as cut-and-dried as I implied, but it still seemed like a numbers game combined with his poor performance. I wished they would have kept him around, but really, I guess it didn't matter.

[Mel_13]

I do appreciate the history. I was more of a casual observer of the team back then and didn't know the backstory. Still think that two things were true:

1) Ian sucked as a Spur. I watched enough of him back then to know he showed flashes but could never put it together. Without the ankle injury, maybe things would have been different. But that is true with James Anderson and his foot too.

2) The Spurs knew Splitter was coming over in 2010 and didn't want to keep Mahinmi around to be the seventh big. I think the Spurs and Splitter knew 2010 was going to be the year in 2009. The Spurs had just drafted Blair, whom they considered a steal (and used the MLE to sign for four years). They loved Bonner and probably planned on re-signing him. They had McDyess inked to a two-year deal (with the third year salary ballast). There just wasn't room to develop Ian on the big club anymore.

I agree the situation wasn't as cut-and-dried as I implied, but it still seemed like a numbers game combined with his poor performance. I wished they would have kept him around, but really, I guess it didn't matter.

That was largely the case. Ian had to perform at 2009 training camp to stay with team and he didn't. Even with the numbers stacked against him, his 4th year option was so small that they would have exercised it if he had shown anything at all. It wasn't until his fifth season on an NBA payroll that Ian cracked an NBA rotation. People also forget how little playing time Ian had gotten as a pro in France. He was just incredibly raw when he arrived in the States.

[Chinook]

That was largely the case. Ian had to perform at 2009 training camp to stay with team and he didn't. Even with the numbers stacked against him, his 4th year option was so small that they would have exercised it if he had shown anything at all. It wasn't until his fifth season on an NBA payroll that Ian cracked an NBA rotation. People also forget how little playing time Ian had gotten as a pro in France. He was just incredibly raw when he arrived in the States.

Kinda the track LJC is going on.

[Mel_13]

Kinda the track LJC is going on.

Unfortunately. Athletes with NBA bodies who need to be taught how to play basketball at an NBA level.

[SAGirl]

Kinda the track LJC is going on.


Unfortunately. Athletes with NBA bodies who need to be taught how to play basketball at an NBA level.

Thanks for the team history. It was interesting for me since I didn't follow the Spurs back then.

LJC case is interesting right now. Not only does he have an NBA body, but he's very athletic with the kind of defensive dedication Pop loves. However, he has no offensive game whatsoever and didn't seem to have good hands, kind of Jeff Ayers' like (hopefully that was just lack of chemistry with guys). Right now Cady is probably getting more experience in the dleague and has improved. It's unknown what LJC is doing in Europe.

[Chinook]

Thanks for the team history. It was interesting for me since I didn't follow the Spurs back then.

LJC case is interesting right now. Not only does he have an NBA body, but he's very athletic with the kind of defensive dedication Pop loves. However, he has no offensive game whatsoever and didn't seem to have good hands, kind of Jeff Ayers' like (hopefully that was just lack of chemistry with guys). Right now Cady is probably getting more experience in the dleague and has improved. It's unknown what LJC is doing in Europe.

One of the many reasons they need to overhaul the d-league to pay prospects a salary competitive with mid- to low-tier overseas leagues. Jean-Charles will only be 22 next season, but he's wasting away in France. His offensive game in the summer league looked worse than it did when he was a at the U-19. Who knows how he'd look if he could have developed in Austin?

[sasaint]

That history is not quite right.

When the Spurs traded Scola in the summer of 2007, they had a plan. The plan failed, but there was a plan. They brought back the whole squad that won a ring in 2007 for one more try in 2008. They signed their 2005 first round pick, Mahinmi, with the intention of training him in Austin for the entire season and having him ready to join the big team in 2008-09. Their 2007 first round pick, Splitter, was expected to play out his contract in Spain and also join the team for the start of 2008-09 season.

Then lots of things went wrong. After playing the 07-08 season in Austin as planned, Mahinmi had a mysterious ankle ailment that defied proper diagnosis for months, eventually requiring surgery and costing him and the Spurs Year 2 of his rookie contract. Meanwhile, Splitter's sister had a cancer that recurred and eventually took her life, which led him to take a much more lucrative deal and remain in Spain until he was no longer bound by the rookie scale. So Splitter didn't arrive until 2010.

When the 2009-10 training camp began, Ian was starting Year 3 of his rookie contract and the Spurs had to decide whether or not to pick up his 4th year option by the end of camp. They had drafted DeJuan Blair in the 2009 draft and the simple truth is that Blair outplayed Mahinmi over the course of that camp. If the play-by-plays of those games still exist, I'm certain they'll show that Ian was ahead of Blair in the rotation the early games, but was outplayed and moved down in the rotation. When training camp ended, the Spurs declined to exercise Ian's Year 4 option and he was a lame duck for the 2009-10 season and played less than 200 minutes. He was an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010 and signed a 2 year minimum deal to take his chances with a new team in Dallas.

Thanks for jogging my memory. I had forgotten about Ian's "lost" second season. But your reminder has served to rekindle the sense of frustration I felt that season. To add one more point about the Blair/Mahinmi competition - IIRC Ian had only been playing basketball for a few short years when he was drafted on his potential.

[k_nguyen93]

All this LJC talk is making me sad about us missing out on Gobert by a pick. Who knows if we actually take him still considering how highly touted LJC was from Nike Hoop Summit and the Parker conection. As a fan I'm proud that other teams want to hire guys from the Spurs to run their organizations but it sucks when they take with them the connections overseas and insight into drafting foreign guys. Nuggets gave away the draft rights to Gobert for a second round pick and cash. Perhaps another part of it is that is teams are scared to do deals with the Spurs. Granted he progressed at the same level with the Spurs, I think Gobert would have gotten some solid minutes last year with all the injuries. Definitely would have been nice for him to have 3 fellow French players with him his rookie season as well.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

One of the many reasons they need to overhaul the d-league to pay prospects a salary competitive with mid- to low-tier overseas leagues. Jean-Charles will only be 22 next season, but he's wasting away in France. His offensive game in the summer league looked worse than it did when he was a at the U-19. Who knows how he'd look if he could have developed in Austin?

I liked Silver's idea of 2 additional roster spots for d-league players. I'd go even up to 4. If they had a different pay scale, say a third of the minimum or something like that, it would not influence the cap space much with the significant increase coming up. Would help teams invest in and develop second round picks, or foreign players.

[DJR210]

All this LJC talk is making me sad about us missing out on Gobert by a pick.

I fucking threw the remote when Utah took him.. Could only imagine the defense with Gobert

[Kawhitstorm]

News Flash: He's rotting on the bench:pop: