Kori Ellis
10-22-2004, 02:39 PM
SAN ANTONIO -- Five observations from San Antonio Spurs training camp, based on an Oct. 18-20 visit:
Contract corner: Less than 10 days remain for the Spurs to sign Tony Parker to a contract extension. If it doesn't happen by Oct. 31, Parker will be a restricted free agent next summer, which means San Antonio would still be the overwhelming favorite to re-sign the Frenchman … but also that Parker could be somewhat unsettled this season by an uncertain future.
Of course, it's worth remembering that Manu Ginobili endured the same wait last season and played through it just fine before signing a six-year deal worth $52 million that many consider yet another Spurs bargain. Parker, meanwhile, insists that his focus won't be affected if talks are put off until July, and the 22-year-old has earned the right to be trusted after three ahead-of-the-curve seasons already.
"We've got bigger stuff going on here," Parker said. "We're trying to win a championship. I think we're getting close (on the contract), but if we're not doing it now, we'll do it next (summer). I'm very confident with the Spurs. Everyone knows I love San Antonio and that I want to stay here. Who wouldn't want to play with Tim Duncan? If I stay here the next six years, we've got me, Manu and Timmy. It's, like, perfect."
Don't I know you from somewhere? The Spurs are famed for their second-half surges in the Popovich Era, but starting fast is a distinct possibility this term. Why? The Spurs are also known for making wholesale roster changes in the offseason, even after championships, but Pop has eight returning regulars: Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Rasho Nesterovic, Robert Horry, Malik Rose and Devin Brown. Brent Barry and rookie point guard Beno Udrih are the only newcomers earmarked for rotation spots.
"Which is astounding for us," Popovich said. "In the past it's always been six or more than we've changed."
The term being thrown around a lot down here is "corporate knowledge." Because these Spurs have a lot of it, Pop doesn't have to start from Page 1 of his defensive playbook, like he did after the 2003 team won the title.
Ghostbusters: Tuesday was San Antonio's first game at the SBC Center since Derek Fisher's buzzer-beater won that unforgettable Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals last spring. Sitting mere feet from the Spurs' premature celebration, after Duncan preceded Fisher's miracle shot with one of his own, it's difficult not to think about how wild that end was ... and wonder whether the Spurs are really past it. The answers vary, not too surprisingly.
"It still hurts," Parker said. "We were playing so great. It looked like we can't lose. ... We're still thinking (about) our mistakes, what went wrong. I think we just have to learn from it and take that as a lesson. I think it's going to help us with this year because now we're very motivated, we're very hungry."
Countered Ginobili: "I forgot about that, especially after what the Olympics gave me. So I got over it. It's a different (season). Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. The same shot, they missed it the year before with Robert. They made it with Fisher. Things happen."
How they look: Don't get caught up in exhibition scores, because the Spurs aren't. They're 0-for-3 so far, but Pop cares more about how, say, Duncan responds to his short post-Olympic break or how Udrih handles the offense in short spells replacing Parker. The coach is encouraged on both counts – Duncan, especially, looks ready to start this season right now – and is likewise hopeful that he and general manager R.C. Buford "might have stumbled onto something" with the signing of swingman Linton Johnson, who didn't stick in Chicago even after the Bulls chose Johnson over Trenton Hassell.
"We look pretty good (for the) beginning stages," Duncan said. "I think we have the pieces to put it together."
Barry has struggled from the field in the games, but Duncan insists that he had been "shooting the ball incredibly" in camp.
OK, let's be honest: When you see Duncan during fourth quarters in the preseason, with ice on both knees as he gives instructions to the free-agent dreamers like James Thomas, you can't help but imagine the worst-case scenario. If anything serious health-wise happens to their franchise player, whose 13 games missed last season were Duncan's most ever during the regular season, San Antonio suddenly struggles to make the playoffs. Because, as even Duncan acknowledges, the Shaq-less West is still "as tough as it's ever been."
Contract corner: Less than 10 days remain for the Spurs to sign Tony Parker to a contract extension. If it doesn't happen by Oct. 31, Parker will be a restricted free agent next summer, which means San Antonio would still be the overwhelming favorite to re-sign the Frenchman … but also that Parker could be somewhat unsettled this season by an uncertain future.
Of course, it's worth remembering that Manu Ginobili endured the same wait last season and played through it just fine before signing a six-year deal worth $52 million that many consider yet another Spurs bargain. Parker, meanwhile, insists that his focus won't be affected if talks are put off until July, and the 22-year-old has earned the right to be trusted after three ahead-of-the-curve seasons already.
"We've got bigger stuff going on here," Parker said. "We're trying to win a championship. I think we're getting close (on the contract), but if we're not doing it now, we'll do it next (summer). I'm very confident with the Spurs. Everyone knows I love San Antonio and that I want to stay here. Who wouldn't want to play with Tim Duncan? If I stay here the next six years, we've got me, Manu and Timmy. It's, like, perfect."
Don't I know you from somewhere? The Spurs are famed for their second-half surges in the Popovich Era, but starting fast is a distinct possibility this term. Why? The Spurs are also known for making wholesale roster changes in the offseason, even after championships, but Pop has eight returning regulars: Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Rasho Nesterovic, Robert Horry, Malik Rose and Devin Brown. Brent Barry and rookie point guard Beno Udrih are the only newcomers earmarked for rotation spots.
"Which is astounding for us," Popovich said. "In the past it's always been six or more than we've changed."
The term being thrown around a lot down here is "corporate knowledge." Because these Spurs have a lot of it, Pop doesn't have to start from Page 1 of his defensive playbook, like he did after the 2003 team won the title.
Ghostbusters: Tuesday was San Antonio's first game at the SBC Center since Derek Fisher's buzzer-beater won that unforgettable Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals last spring. Sitting mere feet from the Spurs' premature celebration, after Duncan preceded Fisher's miracle shot with one of his own, it's difficult not to think about how wild that end was ... and wonder whether the Spurs are really past it. The answers vary, not too surprisingly.
"It still hurts," Parker said. "We were playing so great. It looked like we can't lose. ... We're still thinking (about) our mistakes, what went wrong. I think we just have to learn from it and take that as a lesson. I think it's going to help us with this year because now we're very motivated, we're very hungry."
Countered Ginobili: "I forgot about that, especially after what the Olympics gave me. So I got over it. It's a different (season). Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. The same shot, they missed it the year before with Robert. They made it with Fisher. Things happen."
How they look: Don't get caught up in exhibition scores, because the Spurs aren't. They're 0-for-3 so far, but Pop cares more about how, say, Duncan responds to his short post-Olympic break or how Udrih handles the offense in short spells replacing Parker. The coach is encouraged on both counts – Duncan, especially, looks ready to start this season right now – and is likewise hopeful that he and general manager R.C. Buford "might have stumbled onto something" with the signing of swingman Linton Johnson, who didn't stick in Chicago even after the Bulls chose Johnson over Trenton Hassell.
"We look pretty good (for the) beginning stages," Duncan said. "I think we have the pieces to put it together."
Barry has struggled from the field in the games, but Duncan insists that he had been "shooting the ball incredibly" in camp.
OK, let's be honest: When you see Duncan during fourth quarters in the preseason, with ice on both knees as he gives instructions to the free-agent dreamers like James Thomas, you can't help but imagine the worst-case scenario. If anything serious health-wise happens to their franchise player, whose 13 games missed last season were Duncan's most ever during the regular season, San Antonio suddenly struggles to make the playoffs. Because, as even Duncan acknowledges, the Shaq-less West is still "as tough as it's ever been."