Austin Toros Unveil New Team Logo

[ChumpDumper]

http://www.nba.com/media/dleague/austin/toros_logo_new_200.jpg

AUSTIN, Texas August 17 – The Austin Toros will unveil a new logo today following the purchase of the NBA Development League team by Spurs Sports and Entertainment earlier this summer. With the purchase, the San Antonio Spurs became the second NBA team to own their development league affiliate.

San Antonio Spurs Forward Bruce Bowen, Senior Vice President/General Manager R.C. Buford, Executive Vice President of Business Operations Russ Bookbinder, and mascot Coyote will join Toros Head Coach Quin Snyder, mascot Da Bull, and Toros staff for the noon ceremony.

Starting today, the Austin Toros will offer a Spurs and Toros Flex Pack that includes tickets to three Spurs games (Greece, Rockets, Mavericks) and Toros ticket vouchers that can be used to attend any Toros home game during the 2007-08 season.

The Toros tip-off season three at the Austin Convention Center on Saturday, November 24 at 7 p.m. For Toros season and group ticket information call the Toros office at (512) 236-8333 or visit austintoros.com.

http://www.nba.com/dleague/austin/logo_070817.html

Another nice turnout. More corporate, potential sponsor types this time around. Not much difference in the logo of course -- the Toros and the other SW Basketball teams were lagging behind the rest of the D-League using the old standardized lettering. I wonder if Da Bull has to change his nose/horn/eyebrow color from blue to silver?

It's starting to really seem like this is RC's baby. He's made several appearances before and after the purchase of the team and it turns out he has a history with Quin Snyder that he brought up during the conference. I spoke to him briefly afterwards about the changes he was seeking with D-League players. He said he would like to see the three send-down limit eliminated (which now that I think about it, could only be an issue with the players' union) and he wants the Spurs to hold some kind of rights on the Toros' non-assigned players.

Bruce is much more entertaining with smaller crowds. He related some stories about his CBA experience and gave some advice to the players in the room about conditioning and consistency of effort.

Anthony Fuqua was the only Toro in attendance. He said he didn't have any solid camp invites at this time.

The new ticket packages available. The Dallas and Houston games are regular season matches in case anyone was wondering. You get get twenty or forty vouchers for the Toros games of your choice.

The four LOB trophies were very shiny.

The "luncheon" consisted of hamburgers and hot dogs. It is the D-League after all.

[ChumpDumper]

Almost forgot.

RC said that Ian would be spending a lot of time in Austin "if he signs with us."

He said nothing about Williams.

[timvp]

Damn, Chump, where you been? Did you end up going to summer league?

That new logo looks much improved. Can't go wrong with silver and black.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Woo! ChumpDumper's back! :smokin

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Slick. I'd like to try to make it up for a game or so this season.

[ChumpDumper]

Yeah I went to SL. A good time except I got food poisoning one day.

[timvp]

It's starting to really seem like this is RC's baby. He's made several appearances before and after the purchase of the team and it turns out he has a history with Quin Snyder that he brought up during the conference. I spoke to him briefly afterwards about the changes he was seeking with D-League players. He said he would like to see the three send-down limit eliminated (which now that I think about it, could only be an issue with the players' union) and he wants the Spurs to hold some kind of rights on the Toros' non-assigned players.Interesting.

Did RC give any indications about the ability for the Toros to sign a player who the Spurs hold the rights to? For example, could the Toros outright sign Williams or Sanikidze without the Spurs first giving the player a contract?

[MoSpur]

Interesting.

Did RC give any indications about the ability for the Toros to sign a player who the Spurs hold the rights to? For example, could the Toros outright sign Williams or Sanikidze without the Spurs first giving the player a contract?

That would be interesting.

[T Park]

It's starting to really seem like this is RC's baby

poor Austin.

[PM5K]

Holt Cat won't even spring for colors?

[ChumpDumper]

Interesting.

Did RC give any indications about the ability for the Toros to sign a player who the Spurs hold the rights to? For example, could the Toros outright sign Williams or Sanikidze without the Spurs first giving the player a contract?Yeah, I should have asked about that but I didn't want to be an asspain. I can't see the players' union going for that at all unless the team in question carries a full roster all year -- though I think the league could circumvent that with the player allocation system. With two teams already owned by NBA teams (I would also include the new Utah franchise, which will practically operate as a Jazz farm team) and potentially more on the horizon (I've read the Knicks and Mavericks are interested), it's only a matter of time before these kinds of changes take place.

[Kori Ellis]

Not Toros related - But who did you really like in summer league (not just on the Spurs team)?

[timvp]

Might as well get the whole ChumpDumper update. :)

1) Rockets trade: Yay or Nay?

2) Do you agree with Williams being unimpressive and Sanikidze being relatively impressive during summer league?

3) Ime Udoka: Yay or Nay?

4) V-Span, Beno or neither?

5) Any free agents you want the Spurs to look at currently?

6) Does Brent Barry need to be traded? [/whotttbait]

7) Are the Celtics the team to beat in the East?

8) Who is going to be starting at shooting guard come playoff time?

9) Oberto, Bonner and Vaughn: Bargains or Overpaid?

10) How did it feel being free from whottt for a couple months?

Tha-a-aa-aa-aa-aa-a-aa-a-aanks.

:smokin

[spurster]

Chump spent all that time away from ST to make that stupid logo?!

[ChumpDumper]

Not Toros related - But who did you really like in summer league (not just on the Spurs team)?Oleksiy Pecherov looked great (well, his playing looked great -- dude is ugly). If the Wiz ever get a post player who is worth a crap, he'll really spread the floor. Nick Young has potential too -- the Wiz have made some good choices.

I was impressed by Craig Smith. He completely owned Jackie Butler when we played the Wolves and he did just fine against other players who were bigger than him.

Mike Harris is another undersized PF that might be able to do something in the league. I think he's going to be in the Rockets camp this fall.


Yi Jianlian looked like dogshit in Vegas, but if you caught any of the Stankovic Cup on NBAtv, you'll know he looked really, really good against the same level of competition. That's the only performance I really thought was an abberation.

[Kori Ellis]

Oleksiy Pecherov looked great (well, his playing looked great -- dude is ugly). If the Wiz ever get a post player who is worth a crap, he'll really spread the floor. Nick Young has potential too -- the Wiz have made some good choices.

I was impressed by Craig Smith. He completely owned Jackie Butler when we played the Wolves and he did just fine against other players who were bigger than him.

Mike Harris is another undersized PF that might be able to do something in the league. I think he's going to be in the Rockets camp this fall.


Yi Jianlian looked like dogshit in Vegas, but if you caught any of the Stankovic Cup on NBAtv, you'll know he looked really, really good against the same level of competition. That's the only performance I really thought was an abberation.

Thanks. I have seen little of Yi. I wonder what's going to happen with him and the Bucks.

Did you say Hi to Noel? :lol
Did you see his 28 point game?

[T Park]

1) Rockets trade: Yay or Nay?

2) Do you agree with Williams being unimpressive and Sanikidze being relatively impressive during summer league?

3) Ime Udoka: Yay or Nay?

4) V-Span, Beno or neither?

5) Any free agents you want the Spurs to look at currently?

6) Does Brent Barry need to be traded? [/whotttbait]

7) Are the Celtics the team to beat in the East?

8) Who is going to be starting at shooting guard come playoff time?

9) Oberto, Bonner and Vaughn: Bargains or Overpaid?

10) How did it feel being free from whottt for a couple months?

interested to know the answers to this as well.

[ChumpDumper]

Might as well get the whole ChumpDumper update. :)

1) Rockets trade: Yay or Nay?I thought maybe we could have gotten more for Scola, but it was pretty apparent that Butler was never, ever going to play Spurs defense. It was almost embarrassing rooting for the Spurs while he was on the floor.


2) Do you agree with Williams being unimpressive and Sanikidze being relatively impressive during summer league?Absolutely, but I'll give Williams a pass since he seemed like the typical overwhelmed rookie who had too much Spurs indoctrination in his head to be able to play with any rhythm. Viktor looked great though. I want him signed as soon as possible, if only to play in Austin for a season.


3) Ime Udoka: Yay or Nay?Yay, but his signing probably increases to need to move Barry.


4) V-Span, Beno or neither?V-Span, but not by much. Even THud would be fine by me at this pont. Gambles are much easier to make when you have a backup with championship experience.


5) Any free agents you want the Spurs to look at currently?Not really. I think we already hold the rights to our Derrick McKey unless we want to sign someone bigger to hold his place.


6) Does Brent Barry need to be traded? [/whotttbait]I guess he doesn't need to be traded as he won't bitch about sitting on the bench, but he did become more expendable in case we develop a need during the season.


7) Are the Celtics the team to beat in the East?No depth. They just reached New Jersey Net status for now.


8) Who is going to be starting at shooting guard come playoff time?Finley.


9) Oberto, Bonner and Vaughn: Bargains or Overpaid?Bargain, fairly paid with bargain potential and fairly paid, respectively.


10) How did it feel being free from whottt for a couple months?He's on ignore, so I'm still counting.

[ChumpDumper]

Did you say Hi to Noel? :lol
Did you see his 28 point game?Unfortunately I only saw one of his games on tv while I was sick.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Welcome back chumpdumper. :tu

[T Park]

fantastic analysis from chump as always.

encouraged with his comments on Marcus WIlliams

[leemajors]

poor Austin.
huh?

[Bruno]

I've read that Kris Lang from North Carolina was working out in SA and tried to get a training camp contract, do ChumpDumper or someone else know something about him ?

[timvp]

Kris Lang pretty much sucks. He's a big plodder who has very little game. His best asset is his lukewarm hustle. He's not close to being able to make the Spurs.

However, he's pretty decent training camp fodder. He'd be a big, active body for the other bigs to work out with at training camp.

[Spurs 21+20+9=50]

Chump - I was at the luncheon today as well and thought Bruce and RC were great. Got to meet Bruce before it started. His Big Mac story was hilarious!

[ChumpDumper]

Ditto on Lang. I've never liked him much. He's only fair in any one aspect of the game and has zero upside.

If we are looking at big men, I want to know where Deji Akindele is. Or maybe invite D'or Fischer. He's a bit of a head case, but he can block shots like crazy (7'6" wingspan).

[Bruno]

Thanks timvp and ChumpDumper :)

[ChumpDumper]

Speaking of big men, maybe one of our sunfans can tell me if they did anything with Otis George. I always liked him and he was rebounding very well in Vegas.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

They're mad at us right now.

[Phenomanul]

They're mad at us right now.


They've been mad at us since '03.... :hat

[Kori Ellis]

If we are looking at big men, I want to know where Deji Akindele. Or maybe invite D'or Fischer. He's a bit of a head case, but he can block shots like crazy (7'6" wingspan).

I'd take either one of those two just on the cool name factor.

[Budkin]

Hopefully the uniforms will be Spurs colors now. I wish they would have changed the design of the logo as well... it just looks a bit amateurish. Anyway being in Austin I can't wait to go to some games this season. GO TOROS GO!

[ChumpDumper]

Toros banking Spurs affiliation will help develop young players

By Mark Rosner
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, August 18, 2007

Always angling for an edge in player development, the San Antonio Spurs have in recent years hired a nutritionist, added a shooting coach and, most recently, bought themselves a farm team.

On Friday, the Spurs and the Austin Toros celebrated their affiliation at a luncheon and news conference in downtown Austin and introduced a new logo for the minor-league team.

For the past two seasons, the Spurs have been one of three NBA teams tied to the Toros of the National Basketball Development League, sharing them in 2006-07 with Houston and Boston. During that time, the Spurs sent one player, James White, to Austin. He played with the Toros this past season.

In June, the Spurs joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the only NBA franchises that own D-League teams. Now that they have control of the Toros, the Spurs hope they can use their minor-league club to identify and develop good young players.

"We hope to build it like baseball," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "It's too early to tell. This is a work in progress. As much as anything, it's an opportunity to develop players at a time when we don't get to play young players."

One possible addition for the Toros this season is Ian Mahinmi, an athletic but raw 6-foot-11-inch forward from France. He was the Spurs' first-round draft pick in 2005. Mahinmi, 20, spent last season playing in France.

NBA teams are allowed 15 players on their rosters, 12 of them active for each game. Some of those on the end of the bench rarely, if ever, play. Some spend time in the D-League.

According to NBA rules, only first- and second-year players can be sent to the D-league, each of them up to three times per season.

If the Spurs sign Mahinmi, he could shuttle between San Antonio and Austin. The Spurs could have done that when they were sharing the Toros with other NBA teams, but now they can determine how players are developed.

"It's our own coaches, and it's being able to build our own developmental program," Buford said. "It's proximity to the organization, the ability to move back and forth."

Quin Snyder, a former coach at the University of Missouri, was hired by Toros owner David Kahn before he sold the team. Buford said the Spurs, because of their two-year affiliation, were consulted on the hiring.

"This was a no-brainer, a chance to work with the Spurs organization," Snyder said. "We will try to simulate some of what they do on the court."

The newest Spur, swingman Ime Udoka, was a star in the D-League before he played for Portland in the NBA. Udoka, 30, signed with the Spurs this week as a free agent.

He can provide backup for Bruce Bowen at small forward. But Bowen, 36, said he does not want his playing time diminished in deference to his age.

"No cutting back for me," Bowen said. "But if my production falls, then I'll understand."

[email protected]; 445-3958

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/08/18/0818toros.html

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Nice read. I like Bruce's comments at the end. Shows how much he cares about the team.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

ORFLROFL

chumpdumper LOVES the toros

[ChumpDumper]

ORFLROFL

chumpdumper LOVES the torosThey gave me a t-shirt and a hot dog.

What's not to love?

[TDMVPDPOY]

[center]
and he wants the Spurs to hold some kind of rights on the Toros' non-assigned players.


This could be a loophole if this is not going to be regulated....

if a big market team has there own d-league team, they can just sign all the best euros and stash them on that team, till the time is right put them into the nba team, on draft night picks them or sign them as fa's....makes no difference from system thats implemented for soccer/football how theres a reserve team....

[saporvida]

This could be a loophole if this is not going to be regulated....

if a big market team has there own d-league team, they can just sign all the best euros and stash them on that team, till the time is right put them into the nba team, on draft night picks them or sign them as fa's....makes no difference from system thats implemented for soccer/football how theres a reserve team....

awesome!

[Bruno]

Salaries in DLeague are fixed and very low. Best European players have no reason to go in DLeague.

The nba make a lot of efforts to promote the DLeague but face a dilemna :
First, BB is growing in Europe. There are more and more teams with more and more money. European competitions are growing too with more and more teams. As a result, Europeans teams take more and more quality American players. You have too some countries in Asia with a lot of money available for players.
Second, you have more and more DLeague teams. 12 last year, 14 this year and maybe 30 in the future. DLeague need more and more players.

So, you will have less and less quality player available for the DLeague because they go in Europe while the DLeague will need more and more players.

If the nba does nothing, the DLeague will be worse and worse each year (it should start this year). If the gap between nba and DLeague is too big, the DLeague will lost a lot of his interest for nba teams. DLeague won't be a player reserve for the nba because of the low quality of players available. Sending down players will be less interesting because they will play very weak level games in DLeague.

The obvious solution is to raise salaries by a significant margin. If the nba does that, more players will stay in DLeague and the level will be higher. The nba and nba teams will lost a lot of money on the DLeague product. Is a nba team ready to spend $3M per year to have a good DLeague team ?

[ChumpDumper]

I see it more as a cyclical situation. As good as the money is in Europe, the is no match to the exposure to NBA scouts a player can get in the D-League. Several players have shuffled between the two over the years like Ime Udoka and other players seem to have plans to do the same in the future. Players like Jamar Smith who make it through most of an NBA training camp can start out the D-League season with mid to high five-figure salaries already in the bank, so the meager D-League salary isn't so onerous.

One advantage to the low salaries of the D-League is that it allows for very easy player movement midseason. If a player gets cut from a nonguaranteed NBA contract or released from his European deal for whatever reason, he can put his name in the available player pool for the D-League. If he's a quality player, it's a simple matter for a D-League team to waive a player to get him -- if they don't already have an open roster spot from callups or attrition . It's very interesting following the player movement, especially around January when you have the start of 10-day contracts, the deadline for contract guarantees and the MLK showcase. Several players hang around until the showcase then leave for Europe if the callup doesn't happen.

It will be interesting to see what happens as the league attempts to expand. Minor-league basketball in general is experiencing a near-inexplicable period of expansion and startups. I'm going to watch the Toros open their season in the Hidalgo the day after I watch the valley's CBA team play Yakima five miles away in McAllen. Crazy.

[spursincharge]

I'm actually working for the Vipers, the new NBDL team in the valley...it's going to be an exciting product

[ChumpDumper]

I'm actually working for the Vipers, the new NBDL team in the valley...it's going to be an exciting productVery cool. I do have to say I have been very impressed with the job the CBA team has done so far down there. They have been very active in the community really seem to have their act together with their venue, sponsors and media relations, etc. They were way too well-managed and serious for the ABA, and they really upped the ante in the valley by buying into the CBA. It's too bad the market likely won't be able to sustain both.

[T Park]

Where in the valley are the Vipers gonna play?

[ChumpDumper]

The Vipers will play in the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, south of McAllen near the border. The CBA Silverados will play in the McAllen Convention Center.

[lotr1trekkie]

Bigs? Splitter is a given next year and Mahinmi is as tall as Tim and a wee less than Elson. The Spurs biggest need after next season would seemt to be a younger #2 so that Manu can continue to come off the bench which is an incredible advantage and will extend his career.

[jay014]

Hopefully the uniforms will be Spurs colors now. I wish they would have changed the design of the logo as well... it just looks a bit amateurish. Anyway being in Austin I can't wait to go to some games this season. GO TOROS GO! Black & Silvers jerseys. Should've gave them the old 90's style Spurs logo for the people that still sport the chick pink,blue,and orange.

[Kori Ellis]

I'm actually working for the Vipers, the new NBDL team in the valley...it's going to be an exciting product

That's very cool. What are you doing for them?

[spursincharge]

That's very cool. What are you doing for them?

Marketing, Promotions, and Ticket Sales...and when the season rolls around I'll be writing the newsletter...We're actually making it a point to be involved in the communtiy and making it to every event...we sponsored a charity golf tournament last weekend....we're going to be having our dance team debut shortly