Lo Wright Gets Elson Money

[timvp]

Center Wright returning to Hawks
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


The Hawks have reached an agreement with free agent center and former Hawk Lorenzen Wright on a two-year contract worth an estimated $6 million, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Wright, a 6-11, 250-pound 10-year veteran, played the past five seasons in Memphis, alongside All-Star center Pau Gasol. He started 58 of 78 regular season games for the Grizzlies this past season and averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while playing just 21.7 minutes per game.

Wright spent two seasons with the Hawks, 1999-00 and 2000-01, posting a career high scoring average (12.4) during his second season.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the seventh pick in the 1996 draft, Wright has career averages of 8.8 points and 6.9 rebounds. He fills a huge need for the Hawks as the backup center to fourth-year pro Zaza Pachulia.

While I'm not a big Wright fan, a lot of people were saying Elson was a better choice because he was far cheaper. Turns out they get the same amount of money.

The thing about Wright is he has a history of playing well against the Mavs and Suns. In the playoffs, Wright was the lone Grizzly who played pretty well against Dallas.

Seeing as salary turned out to be equal, would you rather have Elson or Wright?

Question.

[Tom_Foolery]

While I'm not a big Wright fan, a lot of people were saying Elson was a better choice because he was far cheaper. Turns out they get the same amount of money.

The thing about Wright is he has a history of playing well against the Mavs and Suns. In the playoffs, Wright was the lone Grizzly who played pretty well against Dallas.

Seeing as salary turned out to be equal, would you rather have Elson or Wright?

Question.


Sometimes I wonder if this board is occupied with 90% of people closely associated (or works) with the San Antonio Spurs organization. People on the board hardly ever disagree with what the management of the team does, which is weird for me to comprehend since "questioning authority" really is what America is about.

With that said, yeah I find it strange that they didn't make a push for Wright. The guy is a much better defender, rebounder, just a way better all around player. I've seen him guard Duncan well at times in the past too.


But, this is the same management that:

a. made a push for Jason Kidd after Parker helped the Spurs to the championship, when they really needed a center and didn't really look into that position very well.

b. signed rasho for a stupid amount.

c. overpaid for malik rose in fear of malik signing with the Lakers(after Samaki did a season prior).


I love the Spurs, but you guys have forgotten that Management aren't "perfect"...actually far from it, but some of you guys get so upset when ANY fans question what management does.


I personally would love to start Duncan & Wright together, they would make a great defensive tandem. Wright has much better hands as well.

[phxspurfan]

Elson seems to run the floor better and has a better midrange jumper. He is also a *couple* inches taller isn't he? In nba.com comparison he also shoots better from the line and field, and has better blocks and steals per game with about the same rebounds per. I'd take Elson also bc he has been sitting at the end of a bench, developing that hunger to contribute.

[boutons_]

" "questioning authority" really is what America is about."

... will get you indicted, subpoened, trashed as traitor.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Spurs management made the right choice :smokin

[ChumpDumper]

While I'm not a big Wright fan, a lot of people were saying Elson was a better choice because he was far cheaper. Turns out they get the same amount of money.I actually thought Wright would get less this summer.

I don't think there would be a ton of difference between the two, though Lo strikes me as having the higher bball IQ.

[Dre_7]

A while back I mentioned Wright, and got laughed at and told it was a dumb idea to go after him. :)

[NBA Junkie]

Bad signing for Atlanta considering the amount of money they're giving him. IIRC, the Timberwolves showed interest, but were scared off when he refused to take a physical until after he signed a contract.

Just goes to show why the Hawks are the most poorly run team in basketball.

[Bruno]

I take Elson over Wright without a doubt. Wright is the better player but he can be a cancer : Don't forget the story with his wife last summer and the fact that he has asked to be traded because Grizz haven't given him an extension.

[Rynospursfan]

Story with his wife? Fill me in.

[Bruno]

Story with his wife? Fill me in.

I haven't a link to the whole story but is was something like he has threatened his wife with a gun. Add that he has refused to take a physical with Minny : I wouldn't get him, even for the min.
Elson > Nothing > Wright.

[exstatic]

" "questioning authority" really is what America is about."

... will get you indicted, subpoened, trashed as traitor.
Not to mention the fact that the Spurs front office has no authority over me or my life. Bad analogy. You're not questioning authority Foolery, you're just second guessing the FO that brought us 3 river parades, with the benefit of hindsight. You Oracle, you.

LJ, I think that Lo played well against Dallas ONLY because they suck at big ball, but didn't want to tip their hand one series early. Elson is better able to run the floor and use his quickness.

[Solid D]

I would have preferred the Spurs sign Javtokas over Wright or Elson. The Spurs went a different direction by getting a guy they felt could cover space more quickly. Wright signed late and this year late=cheap.

[LEONARD]

Ouch....HUGE mistake by the Spurs...HUGE....oh man... :fro

[mabber]

Not to mention the fact that the Spurs front office has no authority over me or my life. Bad analogy. You're not questioning authority Foolery, you're just second guessing the FO that brought us 3 river parades, with the benefit of hindsight. You Oracle, you.

LJ, I think that Lo played well against Dallas ONLY because they suck at big ball, but didn't want to tip their hand one series early. Elson is better able to run the floor and use his quickness.

Mavs just chose to concentrate on slowing down Gasol and Miller knowing that Wright wasn't going to beat them.

[Louis]

While I'm not a big Wright fan, a lot of people were saying Elson was a better choice because he was far cheaper. Turns out they get the same amount of money.

The thing about Wright is he has a history of playing well against the Mavs and Suns. In the playoffs, Wright was the lone Grizzly who played pretty well against Dallas.

Seeing as salary turned out to be equal, would you rather have Elson or Wright?

Question.


Wright is way better than Elson...

[Tom_Foolery]

" "questioning authority" really is what America is about."

... will get you indicted, subpoened, trashed as traitor.


It is also the reason why this country isn't British;)

[LEONARD]

It is also the reason why this country isn't British;)

Hahahaha...Tom Foolery :lol

[Supergirl]

Sometimes I wonder if this board is occupied with 90% of people closely associated (or works) with the San Antonio Spurs organization. People on the board hardly ever disagree with what the management of the team does, which is weird for me to comprehend since "questioning authority" really is what America is about.

With that said, yeah I find it strange that they didn't make a push for Wright. The guy is a much better defender, rebounder, just a way better all around player. I've seen him guard Duncan well at times in the past too.


But, this is the same management that:

a. made a push for Jason Kidd after Parker helped the Spurs to the championship, when they really needed a center and didn't really look into that position very well.

b. signed rasho for a stupid amount.

c. overpaid for malik rose in fear of malik signing with the Lakers(after Samaki did a season prior).


I love the Spurs, but you guys have forgotten that Management aren't "perfect"...actually far from it, but some of you guys get so upset when ANY fans question what management does.


I personally would love to start Duncan & Wright together, they would make a great defensive tandem. Wright has much better hands as well.

You forgot

d) (the same management that) has won 3 NBA championships in the last 7 years.

Also, Malik was signed not so much out of concern about him signing with the Lakers, but because he was/is TD's best friend, and we wanted every leverage we could get to resigning TD.

Lorenzen Wright=Francisco Elson. Haven't seen enough difference to make it count. And they're both better than Rasho and Nazr in this day and age, because they can run. But when we signed Rasho, it was the height of Shaq's career, and Rasho is the only one of the 4 who can adequately guard Shaq.

[mabber]

I find it hard to believe that so many of you seem to know so much about Elson to be able to have strong opinions on how he'll do or if he's an upgrade or downgrade. Or if he's better or worse than Wright. I'm sure some of the really hardcore hoop guys have a decent idea but I follow the league pretty damn close (watch a lot of games) and haven't seen enough of Elson to really have a good idea what to expect. Yeah, I know the scouting reports on him but that doesn't really tell me squat until I see him play meaningful minutes a few times. I'm assuming a lot of your opinions are based on what you've read about him in the San Antonio papers and not based on actually seeing him play a lot (cuz he hasn't really played that much). Anyway, just curious and/or amazed that so many people seem to think they know what to expect from this guy. He reminds me of when Diop came to Dallas...I had no CLUE what to expect.

[George Gervin's Afro]

I find it hard to believe that so many of you seem to know so much about Elson to be able to have strong opinions on how he'll do or if he's an upgrade or downgrade. Or if he's better or worse than Wright. I'm sure some of the really hardcore hoop guys have a decent idea but I follow the league pretty damn close (watch a lot of games) and haven't seen enough of Elson to really have a good idea what to expect. Yeah, I know the scouting reports on him but that doesn't really tell me squat until I see him play meaningful minutes a few times. I'm assuming a lot of your opinions are based on what you've read about him in the San Antonio papers and not based on actually seeing him play a lot (cuz he hasn't really played that much). Anyway, just curious and/or amazed that so many people seem to think they know what to expect from this guy. He reminds me of when Diop came to Dallas...I had no CLUE what to expect.


Most FA's that we have signed have played very well here. We expect him to fit in nicely. What we don't expect is for him to come in and avg a double/double or be a difference maker. We reload on complimentary players and we expect him to be another. His athleticism is what makes me optimistic in how he will fit in. The way I see him, without seeing him play, fitting in is with his ability to to affect shots around the rim and rebound. His ability will allow him to at least be an avg defender when another big takes him 15 ft away from the basket. His athleticism will help him make up ground that Nazr nor rasho could when out of position. From the published Spurs scouting report he seems to have an avg 15 ft jump shot which he will have plenty of opportunties to shoot.

[mabber]

Most FA's that we have signed have played very well here. We expect him to fit in nicely. What we don't expect is for him to come in and avg a double/double or be a difference maker. We reload on complimentary players and we expect him to be another. His athleticism is what makes me optimistic in how he will fit in. The way I see him, without seeing him play, fitting in is with his ability to to affect shots around the rim and rebound. His ability will allow him to at least be an avg defender when another big takes him 15 ft away from the basket. His athleticism will help him make up ground that Nazr nor rasho could when out of position. From the published Spurs scouting report he seems to have an avg 15 ft jump shot which he will have plenty of opportunties to shoot.

That makes sense.

[big3bigD]

Most FA's that we have signed have played very well here. We expect him to fit in nicely. What we don't expect is for him to come in and avg a double/double or be a difference maker. We reload on complimentary players and we expect him to be another. His athleticism is what makes me optimistic in how he will fit in. The way I see him, without seeing him play, fitting in is with his ability to to affect shots around the rim and rebound. His ability will allow him to at least be an avg defender when another big takes him 15 ft away from the basket. His athleticism will help him make up ground that Nazr nor rasho could when out of position. From the published Spurs scouting report he seems to have an avg 15 ft jump shot which he will have plenty of opportunties to shoot.

Your simple ass is over touting the advantages of Francisco Elson's abilities?

WHO CARES???!!!

Stay consistent Afro. The guy is a third tier player at best, so by your own philosophy, you should not even be discussing him.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Your simple ass is over touting the advantages of Francisco Elson's abilities?

WHO CARES???!!!

Stay consistent Afro. The guy is a third tier player at best, so by your own philosophy, you should not even be discussing him.


no choker we discuss spurs signees here and not the 3rd tier players signed by other teams. I know it may be difficult for you to be able to differentiate between the 2 circumstances . Spurs fans were asked by a mav fan about george's SIGNING and my response was who cares..and it still is. Secondly if you were able to indentify from my post (did you?) that i was repsonding to a question posed by a mav fan ABOUT A SPURS PLAYER! AND he wanted to know OUR REASONING WHY WE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD PLAYER WHEN HE HAS NOT PLAYED MUCH. Nice try

[big3bigD]

no choker we discuss spurs signees here and not the 3rd tier players signed by other teams. I know it may be difficult for you to be able to differentiate between the 2 circumstances . Spurs fans were asked by a mav fan about george's SIGNING and my response was who cares..and it still is. Secondly if you were able to indentify from my post (did you?) that i was repsonding to a question posed by a mav fan ABOUT A SPURS PLAYER! AND he wanted to know OUR REASONING WHY WE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD PLAYER WHEN HE HAS NOT PLAYED MUCH. Nice try

that's why there is an NBA News forum, simpleton.

Again, you are discussing the merits of a 3rd teir player who is even far less relevant to his team than george is to the Mavs.

WHO THE HELL CARES??!!!

[George Gervin's Afro]

that's why there is an NBA News forum, simpleton.

Again, you are discussing the merits of a 3rd teir player who is even far less relevant to his team than george is to the Mavs.

WHO THE HELL CARES??!!!


wrong again choker..he will be our starting center..so yes we do care.. and if you don't that's great.. so I will say again who cares if george signed with the mavs.. according to you and your bretheren he will be the 11th or 12th player on the bench..so again who cares?