Chad Ford Insider Regarding Spurs

[Jimcs50]

Can you post the Chad Ford article in Insider, on whether the Suns can catch Spurs with Jackson now on the bench?

[ChumpDumper]

Cheapskate....

Spurs: What's not to like about the Spurs? They are the best team in the league defensively, yet they are still finding a way to score 97 points per game. The have a legit MVP candidate in Duncan; Tony Parker continues to grow into an All-Star point guard; Manu Ginobili is lightning in a bottle (did you catch his 48-point performance against the Suns this weekend?); and they have the most underrated bench in the league.

Their coach, Gregg Popovich, is as steady as they come and has loosened the reins a little on his team offensively, which explains in part why Parker and Ginobili are having such great years. They have the experience it takes to go all the way. You'll be hard-pressed to find an executive in the league that doesn't have this team penciled in to go all the way. "We used to be like a swamp that (bred) mosquitoes," said former Spurs star and current television analyst Sean Elliott. "Our offense was totally stagnant. We would dump the ball into the low post, and everybody would stand around and watch Tim (Duncan) and Dave (Robinson). Now we have people who cut, move, pass. We can score with anybody in the league, and defensively, we're better than everybody."

What can they do to seal the deal? Their frontcourt is a little soft, especially at center. Rasho Nesterovic is having an off year and hit the injured list this weekend with a sprained ankle. The team is still holding out hope that Karl Malone will join the team. If Malone is fully healthy, the Spurs can move Duncan to center, Malone to the four and bring Nesterovic off the bench. Malone has been coy about his intentions so far, but league sources claim that if he does decide to play this year, the Spurs are the heavy favorites to get his services.

If Malone doesn't come back, expect the Spurs to remain active on the trade front. They recently tried to pry away Tyson Chandler from the Bulls and continue to look for a long, athletic big man who can block shots and rebound. They're offering Nesterovic as trade bait but would be willing to give up anyone not named Duncan, Parker or Ginobili if they could find the right guy.

Suns: After a red-hot start, the Suns have lost six of their last seven, prompting the team to take some pretty strong medicine on Friday when they traded Casey Jacobsen, Maciej Lampe and Jackson Vroman to the Hornets for veteran Jim Jackson. While everyone knows that the loss of Steve Nash led to the Suns' six-game skid, the trouble Phoenix experienced without him in the lineup underscored a general feeling upstairs: The team desperately needed more help off the bench, and management seriously believes it can win it all this year.

By pulling the trigger on this trade, the Suns believe that they've significantly narrowed a pretty wide chasm between their fifth man and their sixth man. Jackson is a significant improvement over Jacobsen and should fit well into the Suns' style of play. Now, if a Suns starter gets injured, the team shouldn't suffer quite as much drop off.

Despite rumors to the contrary, the trade wasn't made in preparation for a bigger trade involving Joe Johnson, sources told Insider this weekend. Talk of a swap with the Clippers for Chris Wilcox or with the Sixers for Samuel Dalembert is bogus. We've been writing in this space for more than a month that the Suns have interest in Dalembert, and they still do. But they've been given zero indications that the Sixers would be willing to swap him for Johnson and/or the pick they own from the Bulls. Will the addition of Jackson be enough to justify trading away big for small and young for old? Obviously the answer is yes if the Suns win the title. If they don't? The team gave up two young centers that they were high on because they weren't ready to contribute this season. If Jim Jackson, who turned 34 in October, fails to provide the expected kick, the trade could hurt them down the road. I understand why they did it, but if Lampe or Jacobsen kick-start their careers elsewhere, the team could be kicking itself down the line.

[Jimcs50]

thanks

[ducks]

interstersting

[timvp]

interstersting

Indeed.

:smokin

[FromWayDowntown]

That Johnson for Dalembert idea still makes no sense to me, given the Suns' commitment to running and gunning. Joe Johnson is a nice fit for that scheme; Dalembert, even with some athleticism, is not.

Then again, if the Suns can't figure out how to run a half-court offense in 4th quarters, they've got bigger problems than that one.

[ducks]

If Malone doesn't come back, expect the Spurs to remain active on the trade front. They recently tried to pry away Tyson Chandler from the Bulls and continue to look for a long, athletic big man who can block shots and rebound. They're offering Nesterovic as trade bait but would be willing to give up anyone not named Duncan, Parker or Ginobili if they could find the right guy.

[FromWayDowntown]

Cuban has a rant about Chad Ford (and apparently, Ford's take on the Mavericks decision re: Steve Nash) on his blog today:

Mark Cuban's "I Don't Wanna Talk To the Media No More; I Want to Rant Without Repercussions" Blog (http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000097028762/)

[Ghost Writer]

Funny, but I remember saying here that I'd much rather Dalembert than Rasho.

Can you imagine our team with a young, shot-blocking, ball-dunking big man to complement Duncan's post-game?

What will it take to trade for Stromile Swift?

And cap room left over this summer or are we tapped out now?



P.S.

I don't think Ford is correct in insinuating that the Spurs would trade Parker or Ginobili to upgrade their center spot. I feel like the team is committed to the Duncan-Ginobili-Parker triumverant rather than going back to a Twin Towers formula... even though that delivered two (2) titles.

[Spurminator]

They're offering Nesterovic as trade bait but would be willing to give up anyone not named Duncan, Parker or Ginobili if they could find the right guy.

[Ghost Writer]

Thanks, Spurm. I must've glazed over that.

[T Park]

glazed over

you are about 90% of the time.

If Dalembert is so great, how come he doesnt start ahead of the mediocre Marc Jackson.

Question

[Ghost Writer]

He does.

Check Yahoo's Game Log.

Since healing, Dalembert starts and M. Jackson sits.

Glaze a donut.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

I'm thinking that the Spurs would love to make a trade that packaged Rasho and Rose for a Swift or Chandler like player, but I'm not sure what they would have to do to make the salary work there. I honestly don't think that Brent Barry is going anywhere either because this orginization is that of class and we wouldn't deal a player who took less money to come here.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Funny, but I remember saying here that I'd much rather Dalembert than Rasho.

Can you imagine our team with a young, shot-blocking, ball-dunking big man to complement Duncan's post-game?

Funny, Dalambert can't even keep his job with 86 year old Marc Jackson looking over his shoulder, yet he'd be the difference here in SA?

:lmao

[ChumpDumper]

Chad Ford got his information from a made up Sam Smith article.

Shame on anyone who would possibly think it's true -- if you have any respect for Mark Cuban as a plain talker, read his blog.

I really don't think Philly is stupid enough to trade Dalembert just as the logo wasn't so stupid as to trade Swift. The more you pretend it's a real possibilty the more removed from reality you become.

When was the last 7 footer with that kind of perceived upside traded in his third season?

Question.

[genghisrex]

What will it take to trade for Stromile Swift?
This season? Shredding the CBA. Swift signed his one-year qualifying offer and can't be traded. He'll be unrestricted this summer, but barring a sign-and-trade he'll be out of the Spurs' reach (MLE).

[Kori Ellis]

I'm thinking that the Spurs would love to make a trade that packaged Rasho and Rose for a Swift or Chandler like player.

Rasho and Rose combined make $11.6M. Chandler makes $4.8M. The Bulls would have to give up Chandler PLUS someone just take Rasho OR Rose.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm thinking if anything, the Spurs just floated Rose out there for Chandler + crap just in case they were totally fed up with him. A Rasho/Curry frontline makes little sense. That said, I don't think there's anything to it at all.

[ducks]

would you trade barry for chandler ?

[dougp]

would you trade barry for chandler ?
I don't think that would make sense, we already have a competent inside threat, yet lack the flex on the outside which Barry has finally started to provide.

[ducks]

it would make better sence to trade a big for a big
but our bigs will not get us chandler

[Tom_Foolery]

It would make more sense to trade one of our PFs(Rose, Horry, Marks) for a Center. Although Chandler would be an upgrade over Chandler, Chandler's very injury prone and he may be a bigger risk than Rasho.

We have only 1 true Center...Rasho. Everyone else is really a PF playing out of position(Horry, Rose, Marks & Massenburg). Rose & Mass being very, very undersized at that position too.

If we could get someone like Brendan Haywood, a real banger, someone that just likes to band and play inside to rebound & block shots, I'd be fine with even trading Barry for a guy like that.

What about Barry +$$$ for Kwame Brown? I don't know if Washington would be up for taking Brent's contract, but they aren't doing anything with Kwame either. Kwame has the Jermaine O'Neal-type body, but doesn't have the work ethic. But I have faith in Pop that if he was able to turn Stephen Jackson around, he probably could do a good job on Kwame Brown. The potential is there, but the motivation isn't. I think it would take a good coach to get that potential out.

I think we could do with Devin Brown coming off the bench as the 6th man. We would be risking it a bit, but atleast it would solve our problem at the Center position. We would either have a legit backup for Rasho or a legit backup for Kwame...whoever starts.