Get Refuel: How To Rebuild For 2008-09

[silk]

We're not in that bad a situation guys, think about it, the solutions could come from the inside, namely Mahinmi and DerMarr, if Mahinmi is able to play decent 20 mn and Dermarr to be a 10 point shooting threat , we would be okay

Sure it's quite a big leap for them, but not an impossible one

Unlike most of you, i like what pop said about the offseason and 'im glad he's running the things inside instead of some other one who would panick and just follow something in the air

Pop in a no nonsense guy who will do the best possible thing with what he have, most of the time, it is sufficient and the best attitude possible

[mystargtr34]

Regardless of how close we might have been, were stil going to have to get younger. Signing either JR Smith or Azubuike to the MLE for 2 years would be the way to go, and throw Mahinmi out there and let him develop so hes ready to give the team something toward the end of the season.

This wont hurt out 2010 plan.

Get rid of Horry. And if were keeping Barry, then we should get rid of Finley (expecially if we sign one of the above). Bonner is basically worthless at this point.

[mattyc]

We need to put some faith in Mahinmi.

[bigdog]

Finley walks, DerMarr is in. The only thing slowing down DerMarr is opportunity. He'll got an opportunity to learn the Spurs system in Austin, and also practicing and playing with the Spurs. He should get a spot on our summer league team, and I think will be partially guaranteed for training camp.

If we look elsewhere, look for Pietrus, Azibuke, Gomes, Barnes, or some type of player like that. Those guys won't demand a ton of money.

JR Smith is someone the Spurs need to stay away from. I liked the idea a few years ago, but once he went to Denver he turned into the kind of guy we don't need. He's not that great of a shooter, he's just streaky.

[SenorSpur]

amazing how everyone forelorned the loss of Washington, but other teams in the NBA never picked him up.

It's not simply the loss of Washington, it's the signals coming from the Spurs that he had promise. They ridded themselves of Beno, presumably in favor of this kid Washington. Then he gets released a couple of weeks later, leaving them with only Jacque Vaughn.

It's like this organization doesn't have or will not commit toward identifying and sticking to suitable backup players. Even one that needs to develop. They simply seem to have no patience for it.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Chump, seriously dude, your posts are making no sense anymore. I don't know what your timezone is, but it's time to log off for a while. Your responses are barely in the same zip code of what I've just said.

Your posts have never made sense, so I guess you have something in common with him.

Actually, you don't, his posts make a helluva lot more sense than your empty bitching about a guy in Javtokas who couldn't even get off the pine for his own team in Europe, yet you insist would be a 35 minute a night starter next to Tim if he were here in SA.

[T Park]

It's not simply the loss of Washington, it's the signals coming from the Spurs that he had promise. They ridded themselves of Beno, presumably in favor of this kid Washington. Then he gets released a couple of weeks later, leaving them with only Jacque Vaughn.

It's like this organization doesn't have or will not commit toward identifying and sticking to suitable backup players. Even one that needs to develop. They simply seem to have no patience for it.

He did have promise, until he went to total shit.

It happens. I don't know why you think its exclusive to the Spurs.

Heres the thing though, you can't have development of players, AND win now.

You guys want both at the same time, when its not really possible.

BTW, Washington was in the organization alot longer than "a couple weeks"

[ducks]

washington sucked in with toras

why would you want him on spurs

[kobyz]

we most get Ryan Gomes, he our perfect guy, he can play the 3 or the 4 in a shorter lineup, he can shot the 3, he can rebound, he can give us another offence.
i really think he is our perfect guy, we MUST have him!! if it's depend on me i give him the entire MLE.

[T Park]

Ryan Gomes is not a good player.

He isn't even worth the LLE.

Guys like Delfino, Azubuike and JR Smith are worth the full MLE.

[kobyz]

Ryan Gomes is very underrated player

[K-State Spur]

Heres the thing though, you can't have development of players, AND win now.


That would seem to be the case. You just can't use a rotation spot on a young guy if he doesn't fit a role in the hopes of developing him for the future.

Lakers/Jazz/Bulls/Rockets - None of these groups successfully developed young players to take over when their cores aged.

That doesn't mean that you can't add some youth and hope to reload. But it's extremely difficult to do and there's a track record against developing young guys during a championship run.

Maybe the best example of that actually happening was the '03 Spurs. We were able to develop a few unproven (at least at an NBA championship level) players that year. However, IMHO, the NBA (and especially the west) was nowhere near as deep with title contenders in that season as it is currently.

[K-State Spur]

he can shot the 3, he can rebound

Unfortunately, he doesn't do either of those things particularly well.

He's not the worst option that the Spurs could chase - but there is no "MUST HAVE HIM" involved here at all either.

[Spur-Addict]

Ryan Gomes is not a good player.

He isn't even worth the LLE.

Guys like Delfino, Azubuike and JR Smith are worth the full MLE.

Gomes could step in and contribute right now. Is he the right player for us? No. But if we could get him with what we need then we'll be better off. You don't know him to well,

[bigdog]

Ryan Gomes is not a good player.

He isn't even worth the LLE.

Guys like Delfino, Azubuike and JR Smith are worth the full MLE.

I think Delfino and Smith are a step ahead of Azubuike.

Kelena isn't worth the full MLE, but definitely worth some of it.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Don't sign Delfino!

He has the mental toughness of a crystal cup, and an attitude that can't be backed up by his in-court performance. Under Pop he'll be Beno part II.

[Spur-Addict]

Don't sign Delfino!

He has the mental toughness of a crystal cup, and an attitude that can't be backed up by his in-court performance. Under Pop he'll be Beno part II.

Del is soft and will fold under pressure like Oragami. No D, but he can put the ball in the hoop. J.R is a better scorer if that's what you want.

[GSH]

The Spurs need help at the 2 for sure. Even if they can pick up a decent FA, it would be nice to draft someone who will actually see some minutes for them. They've had, and still have their share of projects already.

They're not going to get a lottery pick, obviously. So they are going to have to try to find a sleeper. They might have to trade up a couple of spots to get him, but Chris Douglas-Roberts looks like one of those. He's mature enough to start playing right away, and he's a character guy who would fit right into the Spurs's organization. He's also a good defender.

And he's got skills. This was from an article in April: The numbers are pretty staggering when you look at them and compare what he’s doing with his peers in this draft class. On a per-40 minute pace adjusted basis, Douglas-Roberts ranks in the top five in scoring amongst realistic shooting guard prospects, as well as #1 by a large margin in FG%, top five in 3-point percentage, top 5 in free throw attempts, top 5 in PER, top 5 in points per possession, top 5 in true shooting percentage, top 5 in effective field goal percentage, and 8th best in turnovers per possession.

Derrick Rose is an incredible player. But this guy had a lot to do with Memphis' success too. I don't think there is another player that the Spurs could legitimately get to that could do as much for them right away.

[Spur-Addict]

The Spurs need help at the 2 for sure. Even if they can pick up a decent FA, it would be nice to draft someone who will actually see some minutes for them. They've had, and still have their share of projects already.

They're not going to get a lottery pick, obviously. So they are going to have to try to find a sleeper. They might have to trade up a couple of spots to get him, but Chris Douglas-Roberts looks like one of those. He's mature enough to start playing right away, and he's a character guy who would fit right into the Spurs's organization. He's also a good defender.

And he's got skills. This was from an article in April: The numbers are pretty staggering when you look at them and compare what he’s doing with his peers in this draft class. On a per-40 minute pace adjusted basis, Douglas-Roberts ranks in the top five in scoring amongst realistic shooting guard prospects, as well as #1 by a large margin in FG%, top five in 3-point percentage, top 5 in free throw attempts, top 5 in PER, top 5 in points per possession, top 5 in true shooting percentage, top 5 in effective field goal percentage, and 8th best in turnovers per possession.

Derrick Rose is an incredible player. But this guy had a lot to do with Memphis' success too. I don't think there is another player that the Spurs could legitimately get to that could do as much for them right away.

When evaluating all of these stats you have to take in account the system he played in. An uptempo, pressing style of game that suited him. We on the other hand do not play that way mostly. But, we do need easy buckets and he would fit well with Tony in the running aspect. My only concern is when the game breaks down, will he be adequate enough to get a good shot on a consistent basis in the top league in the world. I'm not sure to be honest, but his speed says yes.

[bravemouse]

I'll tell you what to do: We find or plant a Spurs alumni at the highes level at any of the other 29 teams in the NBA and get him to trade their best player to us for crap and expiring contracts.

This is what A) Kevin Mchale did when he sent Garnett from the Timberwolves (where Mchale is currently Vice President of Basketball Operations) to the Celtics (where he made his living) and B) Jerry West did when he sent Gasol from the Grizzlies (where West is currently President of Basketball Operations) to the Lakers (where he made his living).

There you have two trades from the current season, involving the teams who are going head-to-head for the NBA Championship this year.

[Lakers Dynasty]

Buy NBA League Pass.

Root for the Lakers.

Championship solved.

[ducks]

in az I can watch kcla which is the lakers station
however they have big homers that announce the game

[Bito Corleone]

How can the Spurs get better in the off-season? Here is a start - sign JOSH CHILDRESS this summer. He is young, athletic, and best of all smart. Stanford boy would would fit in well and be able to learn our system faster than most.

Other than that, we can't spend too much money this summer or we will miss out on the free agent frenzy that will be next summer. But overall I think our core (minus Horry, Vaughn, Fin, and maybe Bonner) is still good enough to compete for the next few years.

More importantly, we can't pull a Luis Scola move with Tiago Splitter (let him go b/c we are to cheap to pay his buyout) which was a huge mistake on our part - we should have brought over Scola 2 or 3 years ago, and the talk that he wasn't/isn't an "NBA-level forward" can definitely be dismissed after this year.

[Birn]

After the Celtics dispatch of the Lakers, we won't have to worry about Laker trolls coming around Spurs message boards. They all talk pretty big for a team that hasn't even started their Finals series. The Celtics will bring them down to earth and all will be good once again. It'll be very interesting to see if the Laker trolls will be man enough to come into these forums after getting destroyed in the Finals.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Ryan Gomes is not a good player.

He isn't even worth the LLE.

Guys like Delfino, Azubuike and JR Smith are worth the full MLE.

Gomes is a geat glue guy that can get you double digit rebounds night in and night out.

But I don't think he's a FA.

[MagnusKrauss]

while we're still arguing on who should we get for this offseason, what should we do with our current (developing) players?

Ime Udoka: it's been a nice first year for him, but i think everybody forgot that because he played well. so, for the next year, we should expect an increase in his overall performance. over the offseason, Ime should focus on training his quickness and speed. Strength-wise, he's all what we'd hope he would be (for an undersized forward). but quicker guards (like kobe) are still making him pay. it would be nice if he got faster and quicker over the offseason.

Matt Bonner: he's still young, he's got a three-point shot. he hustles. he rebounds. maybe he should do a reverse-David West and slim down. Maybe then he'd run faster or quicker. Playing him at the 4 spot isn't what we need now, but playing at the 3 spot might be the way out of the doghouse for him. after all, we play him as a perimeter player right? it'd be faster for him to slim down than to develop a better low-post game.

DerMarr Johnson: it would be nice if he did become SJax '03. but that DWI just seems to be a sign of bad things to come. for now, we'd better wait for the Summer League so we can better assess on his level of development.

Ian Mahinmi: An offseason spent in the US Virgin Islands would be profitable for everybody involved. Tim would spend less time staring at the wall waiting for the 09 season (joke) and Ian just might pick up a thing or two. maybe half the offseason with Tim and the other half spent with DRob?

Kurt Thomas: for half a season spent with the Spurs, he definitely made an impact. we still expect more from him next season (if there is one).

=======================

everybody seems sold on JR Smith.

now that Kerr is the Suns GM, maybe we could raid the Suns' roster for some spare parts? (maybe that's why he accepted that job. you never know, right?)

[E20]

I definitly want the SPurs to resign Kurt Thomas. Infact I wished he played more in the Laker series, he played well with the minutes he was given in Game 5. (LOL @ Chumpdumpers sig)

[E20]

I was hearing when D'Antoni became the Knicks head coach that David Lee was out. Lee is a guy I'd really like on the Spurs. He is young, good for 10+ boards, high FG%, score inside, and put back, good athleticism, runs the floor pretty well, and also is sort of a bruiser. His outside game is lacking, but there is room for development. Any chance we can possibly trade for him? He's looking to make around ~4 million in the next two years.

[L.I.T]

I was hearing when D'Antoni became the Knicks head coach that David Lee was out. Lee is a guy I'd really like on the Spurs. He is young, good for 10+ boards, high FG%, score inside, and put back, good athleticism,also is sort of a bruiser. His outside game is lacking, but there is room for development. Any chance we can possibly trade for him? He's looking to make around ~4 million in the next two years.

Bonner for Lee. I'm sure the Spurs could convince D'Antoni Bonner is a perfect fit for his run n gun offense. Just imagine it D'Antoni...Marbury to Bonner! Marbury to Bonner!

[SPARKY]

What would make sense is something like Bonner + 2nd rounder in a sign and trade for Matt Barnes. A big man who shoots the 3? Nellie is listening already.

[E20]

What would make sense is something like Bonner + 2nd rounder in a sign and trade for Matt Barnes. A big man who shoots the 3? Nellie is listening already.
There is a chance that Matt Barnes might not even be in the GS picture according to some local newspapers here. It said that they were looking to keep the core relatively young (Predicted major signings are Ellis, Biedrins, Azubuike, maybe Davis), Barnes turns 29 this year.

[SPARKY]

There is a chance that Matt Barnes might not even be in the GS picture according to some local newspapers here. It said that they were looking to keep the core relatively young, Barnes turns 29 this year.

Right. I doubt they would want to take back a contract for him, especially if it's just a reserve big. But you never know. Big men who shoot don't come along all the time, and in Nellie's O, he'd fit in.

Being able to pull off a sign and trade for someone like Barnes keeps your MLE free to go after a JR Smith or a Pargo.

[K-State Spur]

Gomes is a geat glue guy that can get you double digit rebounds night in and night out.



Since he's only averaged about 6 boards per game, and about 7.5 per 40 minutes - that's probably an overstatement.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Bring back Finley and Horry? Please LJ, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

PG - TP Barry ?
SG - ? Manu Barry
SF - Bowen Udoka ?
PF - Duncan Thomas Mahinmi
C - ? Oberto Thomas

So, who do we fill the holes with?

PG, I don't know. As a centre and back-to-the-basket player I've never been a great judge of PGs, so I'll leave that one to others who know more. It seems to make more sense to sign a veteran rather than draft a youngster for backup PG though, given how long it takes to learn the position. Because he runs the motion offense so beautifully with the second unit, I'd be happy to use Barry as TP's backup, but given his age I just don't see Pop doing it.

Any of Azubiuke/Childress/Delfino/JJones would be a great acquisition for the vacant swing role, and if you want a sixth guy I'd try and get Mo Evans for cheap - he's a scorer with a nice midrange game... I've always considered him under-rated. I like Gomes, but he duplicates a lot of what Udoka does, and he's not a great athlete. I think this team desperately needs more athletes, not more ground-bound guys.

As for big men, I think the FO would be idiotic to part with KT at this point. The guy slotted straight in with almost no prep, so I imagine he'll be better with a pre-season under his belt, and he's a good stop-gap on the boards and post-D when Timmy sits. If he'll re-sign for a reasonable figure you've got to make that happen. Oberto didn't have a great season and it's about time he moved on, although I'm sure he'll be here next season to finish out his contract. Bonner is probably gone (give Ryan Bowen a go, anyone? Bostjan Nachbar? Pop seems to like to have a PF with 3 range around. The guy I'd love is Linas Kleiza, but that's not happening). Ian had better be ready for some minutes, and Splitter should check his head out. Sounds crazy, but for the last big, maybe Chris Andersen? I have a feeling he's exactly the sort of guy who might blossom in the stability of the Spurs organisation... edit - he's 30, so I take that back. We need more youth. Hmmmmm...

It sure is a barren FA list this offseason...

[Marcus Bryant]

What's Jumaine Jones up to these days?

[Nbadan]

What's Jumaine Jones up to these days?

...about 5 to 10 depending on good behavior...

[kobyz]

this is the important off-season that the spurs have in some time, we will need a brilliant decisions from R. C. Buford (somthing that wont happened in a while i most say) the little pieces that we will bring will define if we will be a contender.

in my dreams we convince Splitter to come over, we take Brandon Rush in the draft, we trad Bonner for Charlie Bell (milwaukee will agree because bell is unhappy there and they will get a shorter contract in bonner contract), we sign Ryan Gomes in free agency (if he want i even give him the MLE, yes he that good), we resign Kurt Thomas, resign Finly on the vet minimum.

and the roster is:

Parker, Charlie Bell, Brent Barry

Ginobili, Brandon Rush, Michael Finley

Bowen, Ryan Gomes, Udoka

Duncan, Oberto, Mahinmi

Splitter, Kurt Thomas

[Zero Point Four]

After the Celtics dispatch of the Lakers, we won't have to worry about Laker trolls coming around Spurs message boards. They all talk pretty big for a team that hasn't even started their Finals series. The Celtics will bring them down to earth and all will be good once again. It'll be very interesting to see if the Laker trolls will be man enough to come into these forums after getting destroyed in the Finals.

Now, now, now.

Is that any way to treat your guests?

Denver said the Lakers couldn't get by the superior defense of the Jazz.

Utah said the Lakers couldn't get by the experience and heart of the Champions.

And now you say we'll get "destroyed in the Finals."

The shame you must feel.

You should be honored that lakers fans would still come here. After all, your organization has peaked, and is on the decline. The Lakers, however, are just getting liftoff!

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20080602/capt.cps.mpi31.020608170109.photo03.photo.default-355x512.jpg?x=238&y=345&sig=h2vVCRSO6Q9cP2LZtgtgFA--

[mystargtr34]

:lol

[Spur-Addict]

What's Jumaine Jones up to these days?

Hopefully staying far away from the Spurs.

[Penya]

this is the important off-season that the spurs have in some time, we will need a brilliant decisions from R. C. Buford (somthing that wont happened in a while i most say) the little pieces that we will bring will define if we will be a contender.

in my dreams we convince Splitter to come over, we take Brandon Rush in the draft, we trad Bonner for Charlie Bell (milwaukee will agree because bell is unhappy there and they will get a shorter contract in bonner contract), we sign Ryan Gomes in free agency (if he want i even give him the MLE, yes he that good), we resign Kurt Thomas, resign Finly on the vet minimum.

and the roster is:

Parker, Charlie Bell, Brent Barry

Ginobili, Brandon Rush, Michael Finley

Bowen, Ryan Gomes, Udoka

Duncan, Oberto, Mahinmi

Splitter, Kurt Thomas

Bell is a great player. He impressed here, in Spain, three years ago. He scored 30+ points in 15 games, he was a machine. Now he's unhappy in Milwaukee, fans booed him in many games; but he's a good defender and he can score 8-10 points.

If we sign him, I'll be very happy, he's a nice guy.

[SCdac]

Could the Spurs in any way trade for Yi Jianlin?

I know some on here have been interested in Villanueva, and that wouldn't bother me at all, but Yi and Duncan would make a pretty big and long frontcourt. Jianlin is listed at 7-0, is still young. Had a really inconsistent rookie year and was/is injured a bit (all of which could help the Spurs get him, who knows), but I think he'll be a good player. Great, I don't know, but next to Duncan and with the international-friendly Spurs, he could develop. He may not be as NBA-ready as Villanueva, or as much as a "scorer", but I could see him being more of a defensive player (especially on help-defense) than Charlie could ever be with the Spurs. In 66 games, Yi blocked 56 shots, half as many as Villanueva in his two and half seasons in the NBA (110). In terms of this season, that's bout as many blocks as G. Wallace, K. Thomas, McDyess, and Nesterovic had - and significanty more than, say, Jamison, Wilcox, Bargnani, Moore, Okur, etc. Defense aside, Jianlin has pretty well-rounded offensive game. He can shoot midrange, he can put the ball on the floor well for his size, hit a three every now and then, and he's 80%+ from the line.... If we could land Yi Jianlin, Maurice Williams, and maybe Desmond Mason in a deal sending Parker to the Bucks, I'm not sure I would refuse. The disparity between Parker and Williams isn't that huge (imo). Same age, both are 6 apg kind of players, both can score and are efficient from the field. Parker much better penetrator/finisher, but Williams' much better shooter (1.4 tpg) and from the line (85%). If we are going to trade anybody, we should sell Parker high while he still has Finals-MVP buzz, and keep Ginobili (imo). And trade for players with high ceilings.

[bbt]

what do you guys think about steve francis? if he is motivated to play for a champ contender team like spurs, he might be a great asset to help spurs to score some points when parker is on the bench.

[Tully365]

I think Ryan Gomes is a very good option. He can play either forward position, he scores, he rebounds... he has overachieved in the league since being drafted in the 2nd round three years ago... he could easily give the Spurs 30 minutes a game, and is by all accounts a good teammate-- he won't demand the ball or get upset about the number of shots he gets a game, but would be a perfect 4th scoring option behind the Big 3. I see him as a Battier-type glue guy, but with more points and more rebounds.

[sehui]

So..is corey maggeutte (spelling..?) completely out of our grasp?
He'd be a good asset.
I also like the idea about getting Yi, but, definetly not for tony parker..comparing him to Maurice Williams is like comparing bonner to david west (not really, but you get my point). Tony is still developping and getting better every year, so why trade him?

If we did have to give away one of our big 3, sadly it would be manu, just because his game is so dependent on athleticism, and he aint getting younger.

Azuibuike would be a good fit, hes athletic as hell..
We need some young energetic guys..I think vaughn is fine as the 3rd string pg, maybe having Brent play PG.

I'd love to see someone with timmy in the paint as well, maybe like an andris biedrins or something...?

[sehui]

also..I heard some rumors about vassilis Spanolious (spelling), I heard he would like to play with the Spurs, and he's a pretty young SG/PG, (reminds me of vujacic)

[kaji157]

Could the Spurs in any way trade for Yi Jianlin?

I know some on here have been interested in Villanueva, and that wouldn't bother me at all, but Yi and Duncan would make a pretty big and long frontcourt. Jianlin is listed at 7-0, is still young. Had a really inconsistent rookie year and was/is injured a bit (all of which could help the Spurs get him, who knows), but I think he'll be a good player. Great, I don't know, but next to Duncan and with the international-friendly Spurs, he could develop. He may not be as NBA-ready as Villanueva, or as much as a "scorer", but I could see him being more of a defensive player (especially on help-defense) than Charlie could ever be with the Spurs. In 66 games, Yi blocked 56 shots, half as many as Villanueva in his two and half seasons in the NBA (110). In terms of this season, that's bout as many blocks as G. Wallace, K. Thomas, McDyess, and Nesterovic had - and significanty more than, say, Jamison, Wilcox, Bargnani, Moore, Okur, etc. Defense aside, Jianlin has pretty well-rounded offensive game. He can shoot midrange, he can put the ball on the floor well for his size, hit a three every now and then, and he's 80%+ from the line.... If we could land Yi Jianlin, Maurice Williams, and maybe Desmond Mason in a deal sending Parker to the Bucks, I'm not sure I would refuse. The disparity between Parker and Williams isn't that huge (imo). Same age, both are 6 apg kind of players, both can score and are efficient from the field. Parker much better penetrator/finisher, but Williams' much better shooter (1.4 tpg) and from the line (85%). If we are going to trade anybody, we should sell Parker high while he still has Finals-MVP buzz, and keep Ginobili (imo). And trade for players with high ceilings.

The trade you propose is no way trading Parker High.

I am ok in getting Yi Jianlian if this gives Holt extra cash to go over the luxury tax, but that is all the use i see in YI, also with Pop around Yi will be spending all the year on the bench cause he can´t defend any over the average power forwards.

Anyway i don´t see Milwaukee trading Yi for an equal talent player, they will demand something ridiculous unless he goes vocal on wanting a trade.

About trading TP, if you trade him you have to be sure you get a good PG and a good center or pf AT LEAST, because is not like you are getting CP3 for TP.

If that PG is Mo Williams we should at least ask for Bogut.

[tav1]

I like Villanueva's game. He's not a definite starter, but he's a rotation player for sure. He comes with an inexpensive contract and can score in bunches with some range on his jump shot, given his size. I'd be fine with Villanueva, but I don't see a lot of scenarios where a trade would make sense.

[5in10]

What about trading the rights to splitter to the blazers for the rights to rudy fernandez? http://youtube.com/watch?v=UzaRAZ_yNTQ

[Ocotillo]

also..I heard some rumors about vassilis Spanolious (spelling), I heard he would like to play with the Spurs, and he's a pretty young SG/PG, (reminds me of vujacic)


Not sure who that is? A little help please.......

[xmas1997]

also..I heard some rumors about vassilis Spanolious (spelling), I heard he would like to play with the Spurs, and he's a pretty young SG/PG, (reminds me of vujacic)


And he's a lot better, and will be cheaper than Vujacic!!!!!!!
It's V. Spanoulis. and plays in Greece.

[spursfan98]

WERE NOT GETTING VSPAN
That would be such a waist of room

[ChumpDumper]

Never heard of him.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I'd like VSpan but if we do sign him, we'd get at least 15 threads a day throughout the season of KBP riding his balls.

[spursfan98]

I'd like VSpan but if we do sign him, we'd get at least 15 threads a day throughout the season of KBP riding his balls.

VSPAN is a pussy bitch and was not ready for the nba and i dont think he will be and if he is i doubt we will sign him. we only got him in a trade to free some salary cap space

[Spur-Addict]

I like Villanueva's game. He's not a definite starter, but he's a rotation player for sure. He comes with an inexpensive contract and can score in bunches with some range on his jump shot, given his size. I'd be fine with Villanueva, but I don't see a lot of scenarios where a trade would make sense.

Charlie V can light it up.

[ss1986v2]

i dont get how some people can love CV. hes like antoine walker on an off night. shot less than 30% from three last year while attempting more than 2 per game (29.7% on 185 attempts, with a career 31.8% mark). thats god awful. i guess if you could reign him in, but i dont see that happening. man loves that outside shot, even though he cant hit the broad side of a barn. i cant help but think of a more athletic, more well rounded matt bonner, minus any stroke on his shot.

[jag]

what do you guys think about steve francis?

We don't.

[angelbelow]

i doubt the bucks give up yi, they played hard ball with him all summer.charlie v is definitely more realistic because i dont think they see him as their franchise PF.

[JoshO501]

Any thoughts on roger mason jr.? i think he would fit in nicely.

[5in10]

I say we make some kind of run at rudy fernandez hes the next manu and could give us help immediately.

[kobyz]

I say we make some kind of run at rudy fernandez hes the next manu and could give us help immediately.

Rudy Fernandez still not ready to contribute in a strong team in the NBA

[Jobbs]

if you haven't heard. Dumars is going to break up the Pistons. Prince and Rip in Spurs uniforms would look good.

[Sparco41]

if you haven't heard. Dumars is going to break up the Pistons. Prince and Rip in Spurs uniforms would look good.

Have to admit I've been thinking about a trade with the Pistons also. They may need some changes. I'm a big fan of Ginobili, but the Spurs don't have a lot of other players that other teams will be that interested in having. And, because Ginobili and Oberto have such good chemistry, I would think a lot of teams might be interested in that pair. Maybe the Spurs could get either Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton + Chauncey Billups for that pair. Probably not, but I think Ginobili is a little better than Hamilton or Prince, so it would not be a good trade for the Spurs unless they can pick up a veteran like Billups as part of the deal. I don't think the Spurs would want Rasheed Wallace instead of Billups, though he can be immensely good when he wants to be good. The Spurs have already done the bad boy thing once before with Dennis Rodman, and I doubt they want to go there again with Rasheed Wallace.

[sehui]

if you haven't heard. Dumars is going to break up the Pistons. Prince and Rip in Spurs uniforms would look good.

Tayshaun Prince would be a perfect fit..I don't know who to give up for him though, IMO we should trade bonner (someone else also) and rights to Splitter for him..I doubt it would work, but Prince is so good!

He plays defense, long and athletic to cover up that big 3 spot...he can play the 4, and he has a good offensive game.

[Srupsog]

The spurs need to get rid of horry, stoudamire, thomas, vaughn, finley, demar johnson.

And then pick up an athletic center and powerforward, then pick up an athletic wing that can shoot 3's and find own shot, and then get a back-up point guard that has a consistent jumper.

[Srupsog]

Spurs need this:

1) Jermaine or Elton Brand or Antawn Jamison
2) Ron Artest or Corey Maggette
3) Stromile Swift or Desanga Diop or Jamaal Magloire
4) Flip Murray or Jannero Pargo or Chris Duhon

[Ocotillo]

^^ Ok, I'll play and we pay for all those guys how?

[Big P]

Brand, Artest, Maggs, Jamison are all pretty much out of reach, unless a miracle happens and Maggette takes a full MLE contract to play here(I wish), but trading Bonner for Stromile Swift does make sense, we would have to include a little cashor a draft pick, but I'm sure something could be worked out. We get out of Bonners contract & a one season rental of Swift gets us rebounding, shotblocking & atlecticism..everything that everyone has been saying we need. I know he is not the brightest kid out there, maybe he will show what he can do when his NBA career depends on it.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

if you haven't heard. Dumars is going to break up the Pistons. Prince and Rip in Spurs uniforms would look good.

:lmao

C'mon now. Like to dream, huh? Not going to happen. Why the hell would Dumars let Prince and Rip go, when they are the two youngest guys in his core? They are paid too much to come here anyway.

With the four youngsters they have coming through, I doubt they do much more than trade Sheed or McDyess somewhere to make room for Maxiell and Johnson. They might try to offload Billups if they're really high on Stuckey. Prince and Rip are the two guys going nowhere, that I know.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Spurs need this:

1) Jermaine or Elton Brand or Antawn Jamison
2) Ron Artest or Corey Maggette
3) Stromile Swift or Desanga Diop or Jamaal Magloire
4) Flip Murray or Jannero Pargo or Chris Duhon

Offseason certainly brings out all the 14yo GMs... :lmao

O'Neal is over-rated and oft injured, has an ego the size of the Titanic, and a big salary; Brand would have to take a massive pay cut; same with Jamison. No.

Artest/Maggette are not the type of guys to take a massive paycut to play here (although with Artest, you never know what he'll do). Highly unlikely.

Swift is an idiot - no thanks. Magloire's game died 2 years ago. Diop would be nice if we could get him cheap.

Pargo would be great, and if we can't get him, Duhon or Murray for cheap would be fine.

However, you ignore our glaring weakness - SWINGMEN.

[jag]

if you haven't heard. Dumars is going to break up the Pistons. Prince and Rip in Spurs uniforms would look good.

Sheed may be gone, but Rip, Chauncey, and Prince will stay in Detroit.

[angelbelow]

Tayshaun Prince would be a perfect fit..I don't know who to give up for him though, IMO we should trade bonner (someone else also) and rights to Splitter for him..I doubt it would work, but Prince is so good!

He plays defense, long and athletic to cover up that big 3 spot...he can play the 4, and he has a good offensive game.

i would becareful with prince, his annual disappearing act might be long enough for a tenure.

[Jobbs]

:lmao

C'mon now. Like to dream, huh? Not going to happen. Why the hell would Dumars let Prince and Rip go, when they are the two youngest guys in his core? They are paid too much to come here anyway.

With the four youngsters they have coming through, I doubt they do much more than trade Sheed or McDyess somewhere to make room for Maxiell and Johnson. They might try to offload Billups if they're really high on Stuckey. Prince and Rip are the two guys going nowhere, that I know.



Yeah it's a reach. Joe did say that anyone who was untouchable before is expendable which is why I thought he would dump his whole starting 5 for less than market value. His bench could win 40+ games depending on who ends up as the coach.

[PDXSpursFan]

Our FO should make a run for Prince. Give any combination of anything outside our big 3's. Even if it costs Mahinmi and/or Splitter.

[K-State Spur]

His bench could win 40+ games depending on who ends up as the coach.

I would doubt that.

[Jobbs]

I would doubt that.

They looked good when the starters we're taking games off at the end of the season.

[bresilhac]

Bringing Tayshaun into the Spurs fold would be a terrific move. If RC could pull it off. I have heard that Joe Dumars is very upset at the play of his team against Boston and also the faulty coaching of the Pistons. Hence the firing of Saunders. He also said he wants to make big personnel moves in the offseason. Could Prince be in a Spurs uniform soon? Maybe.

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/SPORTS03/806040384/1048/SPORTS

[venitian navigator]

Anything can happen, but imho Prince is a pipe dream...

I red the nets would like to sell their picks for experience...how about a re-signed finley and thomas (horry?) for, just to say, a re-signed Diop and pick 21 ?

[E20]

I would not trade Thomas.

Pop would never do that to Horry or Finley.

[Tully365]

Since he's only averaged about 6 boards per game, and about 7.5 per 40 minutes - that's probably an overstatement.

Gomes averaged 9.4 boards per 48 min, which is a pretty good rate considering he spent some time playing SF. He's an especially good offensive rebounder.

[T Park]

The Spurs are not trading for Prince.

Bring better ideas than this please.

[Big P]

We need to offer FUll MLE contract for 4 or 5 years to the SG/SF scorer that the FO targets this summer

[El_Mago]

The ideal situation is for the Spurs to sign a wing without breaking the bank.

JR Smith, Josh Childress, Corey Maggette, Kelenna Az, etc....would cost too much money.

Thus, the Spurs should take a look at CJ Miles.

He was drafted out of High School, and the kid has good stroke. He has played under Jerry Sloan, and the kid knows the defense is a must. He is still young and could possibly flourish under a system like the Spurs were the perimeter players get ton's of looks. He did not have an outstanding season in Utah, so we could probably get a young, sharp shooting wing on the cheap.

Then, we should throw the majority of the MLE to Diop and get him away from NJ. I know NJ really likes him and wants to keep him, but I believe they might be a little cash strapped right now. We all know what Diop can do. He can defend, REBOUND, and score around the basket. Most importantly, he is another agile big to play around Duncan, and he is still young!

Lastly, draft a domestic rookie PG to back up Tony Parker with our first. We could maybe package our two 2nd rounders for a very early 2nd or late 1st, and take a gamble on a foreign wing like Casspi or a Russian foreign player....whose name I can not recall right now.

Thus, the squad would like something like this.

Parker/Rookie PG/Vaughn
Miles/Ginobili/Finley
Bruce/Udoka/Barry
Duncan/Mahimni/Bonner
Diop/Thomas/Oberto

15 Man squad....if I could, I would trade Bonner....but don't think that is happening.

This roster I believe is ideal and realistic....it does not break the bank and it adresses our needs in a competitive fashion.

[Admidave50]

You didn't respond to our main problem against the Lakers, a proving scorer who can help our big drought.

I clearly doubt that CJ Miles or a rookie will be the key, we need someone that can score from the bench right away!

[venitian navigator]

The ideal situation is for the Spurs to sign a wing without breaking the bank.

JR Smith, Josh Childress, Corey Maggette, Kelenna Az, etc....would cost too much money.

Thus, the Spurs should take a look at CJ Miles.

He was drafted out of High School, and the kid has good stroke. He has played under Jerry Sloan, and the kid knows the defense is a must. He is still young and could possibly flourish under a system like the Spurs were the perimeter players get ton's of looks. He did not have an outstanding season in Utah, so we could probably get a young, sharp shooting wing on the cheap.

Then, we should throw the majority of the MLE to Diop and get him away from NJ. I know NJ really likes him and wants to keep him, but I believe they might be a little cash strapped right now. We all know what Diop can do. He can defend, REBOUND, and score around the basket. Most importantly, he is another agile big to play around Duncan, and he is still young!

Lastly, draft a domestic rookie PG to back up Tony Parker with our first. We could maybe package our two 2nd rounders for a very early 2nd or late 1st, and take a gamble on a foreign wing like Casspi or a Russian foreign player....whose name I can not recall right now.

Thus, the squad would like something like this.

Parker/Rookie PG/Vaughn
Miles/Ginobili/Finley
Bruce/Udoka/Barry
Duncan/Mahimni/Bonner
Diop/Thomas/Oberto

15 Man squad....if I could, I would trade Bonner....but don't think that is happening.

This roster I believe is ideal and realistic....it does not break the bank and it adresses our needs in a competitive fashion.


I Like this plan.
And I think is "affordable"...obviously, the difficult, and more important part, is the Diop part, while the "risky" part is Miles.
Some other name for the wings would't be bad either, given draft picks to look at in the summer leagues (exemple : sinikidze, our second choices of this year like a Marcus Dove...) or via trade ( a re-signed Delfino for rights to onner and some second choice ?)
The rookie pg could be Chalmers.

[venitian navigator]

You didn't respond to our main problem against the Lakers, a proving scorer who can help our big drought.

I clearly doubt that CJ Miles or a rookie will be the key, we need someone that can score from the bench right away!

I think that we had the player you mean, but he wasn't in shape (manuginobili).
He and Mahinmi from the bench shuold give enough points...


Parker - Finley (Delfino)- Bowen - Duncan - Diop
Chalmers - Manu - Barry - Mahinmi - Thomas
Voughn - cj Miles - Udoka - Bonner (2^ pick) - Oberto

[bigdog]

no need to say this again, but I will anyways, just to get it through the thick-headed skulls of some of the people on here, and I'm not trying to be an asshole.

Wing: Free Agency. We need a guy to contribute now. We can afford some of the wings with the MLE. Draft one in the 2nd round and get him to the D-League. He can develop there.

Post: Ian. Possibly Diop or someone else through FA. Again, we can draft someone to develop, but the need for a post is scratched if Ian can contribute.

PG: Draft someone in the 1st round. Vaughn can run an offense and defend. For scoring, we have Barry(who I think will get more time at PG next year) and Ginobili. Then the rookie can contribute if they need him. There's some pretty decent ones that should fall to us.

that's it.

[silk]

One realistic choice as a dynamic scorer off the bench, ten point scoring threat, good shooting percentage, pop kind of guy , is maurice evans

The spurs already thought about him before getting finley

For those who want pietrus, i'm not sure he would be a good fit, he's athletic and has potential, but deceived a lot of people in france, he chokes and his relationship with tony is kind of damaged ( don't know if it is fixed but not sure tony can call him and help make him come..)

And i would like some precisions on several scenarios involving signing kurt thomas and a good swingman, can we really afford both ? kurt made more than 8 million this year, not sure he would take the vet min, more like half the MLE or close, so, the money for the swingman is really limited

Future does not seem bright but i feel like, with the big 3 healthy, we always have quite good a shot

[ss1986v2]

And i would like some precisions on several scenarios involving signing kurt thomas and a good swingman, can we really afford both ? kurt made more than 8 million this year, not sure he would take the vet min, more like half the MLE or close, so, the money for the swingman is really limited
we have kurts bird rights, meaning we can sign him without touching our MLE money.

[Big P]

CJ Miles & Diop are NOT the answer...wtf are you smoking?

[rj215]

this might be the year we have to go ahead with the old heads on the bench in the hopes that we make a big splash in next years free agency...duncan didn't restructure his contract for nothing.....

[oligarchy]

no need to say this again, but I will anyways, just to get it through the thick-headed skulls of some of the people on here, and I'm not trying to be an asshole.

Wing: Free Agency. We need a guy to contribute now. We can afford some of the wings with the MLE. Draft one in the 2nd round and get him to the D-League. He can develop there.

Post: Ian. Possibly Diop or someone else through FA. Again, we can draft someone to develop, but the need for a post is scratched if Ian can contribute.

PG: Draft someone in the 1st round. Vaughn can run an offense and defend. For scoring, we have Barry(who I think will get more time at PG next year) and Ginobili. Then the rookie can contribute if they need him. There's some pretty decent ones that should fall to us.

that's it.

What do you need to get through? That you have some opinion and others may not agree? That you're making a bunch of assumptions like everyone else, yet you're right?

Spurs have: MLE and LLE
They also have: Thomas' Bird Rights
They also have: one first round pick and two second picks

So, they are going to sign a contributing wing and a big, with the MLE and LLE? They should use the first on a PG?

[Marcus Bryant]

Likely bigman rotation heading into next season:

Duncan
Thomas
Oberto
Mahinmi
Bonner

Re-signing Thomas makes the most sense. You are going to be hard pressed to find a big of his caliber with the MLE and if you keep him then you are free to use the MLE and LLE on other positions.

[oligarchy]

Likely bigman rotation heading into next season:

Duncan
Thomas
Oberto
Mahinmi
Bonner

Re-signing Thomas makes the most sense. You are going to be hard pressed to find a big of his caliber with the MLE and if you keep him then you are free to use the MLE and LLE on other positions.

Nobody foresee a S&T situation with Thomas? And, you still have the MLE and LLE.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Likely bigman rotation heading into next season:

Duncan
Thomas
Oberto
Mahinmi
Bonner

Re-signing Thomas makes the most sense. You are going to be hard pressed to find a big of his caliber with the MLE and if you keep him then you are free to use the MLE and LLE on other positions.

Exactly. Bring back Kurt, bring up Ian.

Spend the MLE on Kelenna or another wing scorer.

Draft:

PG
Long SF
Project big to stash in Austin

Spend the LLE on whatever else you can find in FA.

[big daddy russ]

1.) We need another wing who can attack the rim. Preferably young. With Ginobili slowed and Parker held in check most of the playoffs, defenses were in our shooters' faces all postseason long. We didn't have anyone to draw in a defense and then kick it out (and no, Duncan doesn't count... he has a hard time finding the open man after he goes into his move). Doesn't have to be the next MJ, just an aggressive guard. Fred Jones would be great. Except that he's not young. And that New York probably did to his game what it did to Steve Francis.' I don't know much about Azubuike, but I like what I'm reading.

2.) I'd also like to see us upgrade our depth at PG. I don't mind Vaughn. In a pinch. Damon Stoudemire's a PG who relies on his quickness and explosiveness to get to the rim and put pressure on the other team. Unfortunately, he'll be 35 at the start of next season, his quickness went with his youth, and he can't distribute the ball.

Salim Stoudemire's not much of a distributor, but can shoot the lights out. Shaun Livingston, DeJuan Wagner, and Jay Williams (bet you haven't heard those names in a while) are worth fliers with a LLE or vet's minimum. Wagner and Williams can score, and if Livingston can regain he feet, would be Eric Snow at worst. And at least one of them could be had for next to nothing.

2.) The thing we need more than anything is a post to eventually replace Duncan. I'm still not sold on Splitter. Don't get me wrong, he can finish, has a soft touch around the basket, great vision, is explosive, and was a great value. He also COULD be a great help defender.... but he sometimes looks lost out there on D and gets pushed around entirely too much. I'd love having him on our team right now, but I'm not banking on him to save the franchise after Duncan's gone. He'll struggle with his back to the basket in the NBA, so he'll have to rely on finesse to get the job done. A post who can't play under the rim isn't what we need.

3.) Udoka will be fine filling in for Bowen when he gets his feet under him. He was brought in last year as an understudy to Bruce, and he brings more offensive game. Sure, he was sloppy with the ball this season, but he hasn't got consistent minutes yet. Lets wait until he gets into a rhythm before passing judgment.

3a.) Addendum to the Udoka clause: I would make a trade for Corey Brewer in a heartbeat. The only defensive-minded wing I would go out on a limb for. Already a great man defender, developing offensive game, and in the four or five T-Wolves games I saw this year, he didn't get many minutes. The chances of us landing him are slim to none, but I love his game.

[MacGyver]

How about Jim Jackson? He'd like to win a ring, no doubt about it. He could be helpful from the bench, he can hit 3s and he likes to hustle!

[rj215]

How about Jim Jackson? He'd like to win a ring, no doubt about it. He could be helpful from the bench, he can hit 3s and he likes to hustle!

yeah why not penny hardaway or jamal mashburn? are some of you people on drugs or just messing around? we need people that can help us now that are cheap or we just have to wait til free agency in '10 to sign a big name.

[MacGyver]

Why? He has experience.

[waly.mg]

i only want one thing:

A Full MLE player

5-6 millions a year, specially a PF or a Center

[Ocotillo]

Is Jim Jackson still alive?

[kobyz]

these are the FA that i consider:
J.R Smith
Ryan Gomes
Beno Udrih
Chris Duhon
Daniel Gibson
Mickael Pietrus
Matt Barnes
Kareem Rush
Ronny Turiaf
Kwame Brown
Ricky Davis
Desagana Diop
Keyon Dooling
Maurice Evans

[Duncan2177]

these are the FA that i consider:
J.R Smith
Ryan Gomes
Beno Udrih
Chris Duhon
Daniel Gibson
Mickael Pietrus
Matt Barnes
Kareem Rush
Ronny Turiaf
Kwame Brown
Ricky Davis
Desagana Diop
Keyon Dooling
Maurice Evans

Well there you go Rc and Pop get to work.

[silk]

Ronny turiaf would be great for the MLE, lakers already have several bigs, well over the cap, and rather keep vujacic than turiaf, but according to some posters he's not a realistic option, though i do not really see why...

[Big P]

Another swingman that we might consider is Gelabale from SeattlePretty sure he is an UFA next season...I know he is coming off knee surgery, but he is young, athletic & can hit the 3...I'm not saying make him the main target with the MLE, but it might be worth it to take a chance with him for a minimum contract.

[Bruno]

Another swingman that we might consider is Gelabale from SeattlePretty sure he is an UFA next season...I know he is coming off knee surgery, but he is young, athletic & can hit the 3...I'm not saying make him the main target with the MLE, but it might be worth it to take a chance with him for a minimum contract.

I like Gelabale but he is out until about January.
It won't be easy to include a young player that has missed the training camp and a couple of months.

[Big P]

Thanks Bruno...I knew he was out, but I didn't know he was out until January...your right though, he won't be able to help us out this year most likely...

[Tully365]

Many decisions on who to sign will become clearer after the draft. I'd love for the Spurs to make an offer to Ryan Gomes, and if the Timberwolves pick Lopez or Love, that will lower the likelihood that they'd match a good offer. If they go for Mayo or a point guard, chances are they'll match any offer. Right now, I think Pietrus is the safest plan to at least keep in mind, and signing him might have some advantages beyond his youth and athleticism-- it could possibly make things more comfortable for Mahinmi to have two guys around who speak his language... if Pietrus could give 10 ppg, 6 rpg and Ian could supply 15 mpg, 5 ppg, 5 rpg, 1 bpg, that would be enough to keep the Spurs in the hunt for ring # 5.

[Biggems]

What if our only FA signings were Jannero Pargo and Kurt Thomas?

What if there was no one we wanted at 26 and we traded the pick for two 2nds, and then we traded 57 for a 2nd in 2009?

2 - DeVon Hardin - we can never have enough dominant low post defenders
2 - Lester Hudson - being compared to Stuckey (if he can be anything close to Stuckey, this will be an excellent addition)
2 - Keith Brumbaugh - can score at will, great size, is a Spurs fan


C - Oberto, Mahimni, Bonner
PF - Duncan, Thomas, Hardin
SF - Bowen, Udoka, Brumbaugh
SG - Manu, Barry, Hudson
PG - Parker, Pargo, Vaughn

We could sign all 3 draft picks and then send them to Austin to get playing time and work on their individual skills, as well as learn one another. If they show anything in the DLeague, we bring them up to the regular roster and try to get them minutes in the rotation.

[Biggems]

another scenario

GOOD-BYE
F Robert Horry
G/F Michael Finley
G Damon Stoudamire

TRADE BAIT
F/C Matt Bonner
PG Jacques Vaughn

DRAFT
2 - F/C DeVon Hardin
2 - G Lester Hudson
2 - F Keith Brumbaugh
2 - traded for 2009 2nd

FA Signings
G/F Matt Barnes
PG Jannero Pargo
F/C Kurt Thomas


2008-09 ROSTER
C - Oberto, Mahimni, Bonner
PF - Duncan, Thomas, Hardin
SF - Bowen, Udoka, Brumbaugh
SG - Manu, Barnes, Barry
PG - Parker, Pargo, Hudson


With this lineup, we still keep our Championship core. We also add some youth, athleticism, and much needed offensive firepower, while at the same time being able to maintain our defensive prowess.

[all_heart]

what about getting back Devin Brown. He can defend and is capable of scoring. Monte Ellis? Eduardo Najera?

[LakerLanny]

these are the FA that i consider:
J.R Smith
Ryan Gomes
Beno Udrih
Chris Duhon
Daniel Gibson
Mickael Pietrus
Matt Barnes
Kareem Rush
Ronny Turiaf
Kwame Brown
Ricky Davis
Desagana Diop
Keyon Dooling
Maurice Evans

Kareem Rush and Kwame Brown are utter and complete stiffs. I hope you do sign one or both.

[Ocotillo]

Here is what I see going on this off-season.

Barring any trades, I think there will be four open spots to fill. Trades cannot be forecasted, we can all speculate that this player or that might be had for a trade but it's just wild ass guessing on our part because it takes at least two to make it happen, if not more.

Our end of season starting line up was:

C/Oberto
PF/Duncan
SF/Bowen
SG/Finley
PG/Parker

Of that bunch, I can see Oberto being moved to the bench. He is an asset and while there is much gnashing about his lack of athleticism and anemic offense, he is quite good at passing, is familiar with the system, is a heady player, has a chemistry with Manu and can be effective in team D. I would like to see his role moved to coming in for spot help when Manu is on the floor.

Question is who takes over the starting position? I would offer it may be time for Duncan to be the center. I know in the Spurs system it doens't make a lot of difference so we may only be discussing semantics here. The second big should be either Thomas or Mahinmi. I am advocate of keeping Thomas. I think you want to keep some vets and not go entirely young. Thomas will be better with a training camp under his belt. He was thrown into the fire mid-season with the team and shined some moments and disappeared others. I think he improves this upcoming season.

If Mahinmi shows enough, he can take over the starting power forward spot. If not, Thomas is the starting 5 and Duncan your 4. One of the spots that will need to be filled will be Horry. Whether he retires or not, his time has come for him to leave. Bonner will likely stay and will get another chance to earn playing time. He may be part of a trade, who knows? So your bigs would be:

Duncan, Thomas, Oberto, Mahinmi, Bonner and open slot.

I don't think Diop is who you go with there. He would command too much money and unless Ian is a total bust, you go with someone for the Toros to develop. I think this also puts to rest the Javtokas talk as well. He ain't playing in Austin and unless they ditch on of the above five, there isn't room for him.

Small forward despite him being 37, I see Bowen as the starter until someone takes it from him. Ime Udoka should be better after a season with the team as well. DeMarr Johnson is gone. Unless Udoka is part of some package, I think you go with Bowen and Udoka as his back up. You replace Johnson with a draft pick.

Shooting guard is where we have the biggest challenge. I think the Spurs should say good bye to Finley. I know in the Express News there have been comments that they would like to keep him, I hope that is just CIA stuff. His productivity is not what you need from a starting guard on a contending team. Manu should stay as the back up or sixth man and his minutes managed especially coming off the summer he will have. Barry should be kept because of his familiarity with the system, small contract and the ability to play point in a pinch. This is where we need to spend the MLE money, for Michael Finley's replacement.

Point guard is probably our strongest starting position if you take into account age, experience and talent. Tony needs someone ahead of Jacque Vaughn in the depth chart. Damon Stoudamire is not that guys. I like using the LLE to try and get that player.

So the players that need to be replaced are:

Robert Horry
DeMarr Johnson
Michael Finley
Damon Stoudamire

I hope we use the MLE and are able to get J.R. Smith to replace Finley. Use the LLE for Dan Dickau. In the draft, I want Bill Walker in the first round. Get a project big to play in Austin in the second round and if he is available at 57, I would take a flyer on the Brumbaugh and have him in Austin.

In the past, the Spurs MO was to get vets that were hungry to play for a team that had a realistic chance of winning it all. That formula was different when our big three were youngsters themselves. Now Manu and Tim are both over 30, we get some of what the vets bring us from them. I think you keep some of the older guys (Bowen, Barry, Oberto, Thomas and Vaughn) but you also need some young blood to be groomed by the vets as well.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

these are the FA that i consider:
J.R Smith
Ryan Gomes
Beno Udrih
Chris Duhon
Daniel Gibson
Mickael Pietrus
Matt Barnes
Kareem Rush
Ronny Turiaf
Kwame Brown
Ricky Davis
Desagana Diop
Keyon Dooling
Maurice Evans



You lost me at "Beno".





I'm all for going after Brian Cardinal myself. Dude looks like a baller.

[wildchild]

Question is who takes over the starting position? I would offer it may be time for Duncan to be the center. I know in the Spurs system it doens't make a lot of difference so we may only be discussing semantics here. The second big should be either Thomas or Mahinmi. I am advocate of keeping Thomas. I think you want to keep some vets and not go entirely young. Thomas will be better with a training camp under his belt. He was thrown into the fire mid-season with the team and shined some moments and disappeared others. I think he improves this upcoming season.

If Mahinmi shows enough, he can take over the starting power forward spot. If not, Thomas is the starting 5 and Duncan your 4.

Thomas in the starting lineup with Tim? Again?
I wish that never happens. In regular season we lost 5 of 9 games with KT as starter. In postseason we lost 4 of 8 games with him in starting position. That didn't work.

You said the Spurs need young blood and you want KT who was born in 1972 re-signed? C'mon. Diop born 1.982 and has more size, Lee is young too.

Any guy but not more KT, Horry or Finley. Don't get me wrong. I love these guys strong and savvy vet, but sincerely we need more size or less years.

[timvp]

Here is what I see going on this off-season.

Barring any trades, I think there will be four open spots to fill. Trades cannot be forecasted, we can all speculate that this player or that might be had for a trade but it's just wild ass guessing on our part because it takes at least two to make it happen, if not more.

Our end of season starting line up was:

C/Oberto
PF/Duncan
SF/Bowen
SG/Finley
PG/Parker

Of that bunch, I can see Oberto being moved to the bench. He is an asset and while there is much gnashing about his lack of athleticism and anemic offense, he is quite good at passing, is familiar with the system, is a heady player, has a chemistry with Manu and can be effective in team D. I would like to see his role moved to coming in for spot help when Manu is on the floor.

Question is who takes over the starting position? I would offer it may be time for Duncan to be the center. I know in the Spurs system it doens't make a lot of difference so we may only be discussing semantics here. The second big should be either Thomas or Mahinmi. I am advocate of keeping Thomas. I think you want to keep some vets and not go entirely young. Thomas will be better with a training camp under his belt. He was thrown into the fire mid-season with the team and shined some moments and disappeared others. I think he improves this upcoming season.

If Mahinmi shows enough, he can take over the starting power forward spot. If not, Thomas is the starting 5 and Duncan your 4. One of the spots that will need to be filled will be Horry. Whether he retires or not, his time has come for him to leave. Bonner will likely stay and will get another chance to earn playing time. He may be part of a trade, who knows? So your bigs would be:

Duncan, Thomas, Oberto, Mahinmi, Bonner and open slot.

I don't think Diop is who you go with there. He would command too much money and unless Ian is a total bust, you go with someone for the Toros to develop. I think this also puts to rest the Javtokas talk as well. He ain't playing in Austin and unless they ditch on of the above five, there isn't room for him.

Small forward despite him being 37, I see Bowen as the starter until someone takes it from him. Ime Udoka should be better after a season with the team as well. DeMarr Johnson is gone. Unless Udoka is part of some package, I think you go with Bowen and Udoka as his back up. You replace Johnson with a draft pick.

Shooting guard is where we have the biggest challenge. I think the Spurs should say good bye to Finley. I know in the Express News there have been comments that they would like to keep him, I hope that is just CIA stuff. His productivity is not what you need from a starting guard on a contending team. Manu should stay as the back up or sixth man and his minutes managed especially coming off the summer he will have. Barry should be kept because of his familiarity with the system, small contract and the ability to play point in a pinch. This is where we need to spend the MLE money, for Michael Finley's replacement.

Point guard is probably our strongest starting position if you take into account age, experience and talent. Tony needs someone ahead of Jacque Vaughn in the depth chart. Damon Stoudamire is not that guys. I like using the LLE to try and get that player.

So the players that need to be replaced are:

Robert Horry
DeMarr Johnson
Michael Finley
Damon Stoudamire

I hope we use the MLE and are able to get J.R. Smith to replace Finley. Use the LLE for Dan Dickau. In the draft, I want Bill Walker in the first round. Get a project big to play in Austin in the second round and if he is available at 57, I would take a flyer on the Brumbaugh and have him in Austin.

In the past, the Spurs MO was to get vets that were hungry to play for a team that had a realistic chance of winning it all. That formula was different when our big three were youngsters themselves. Now Manu and Tim are both over 30, we get some of what the vets bring us from them. I think you keep some of the older guys (Bowen, Barry, Oberto, Thomas and Vaughn) but you also need some young blood to be groomed by the vets as well.Good post. I agree for the most part. The biggest need is shooting guard. That should be priority number one in the offseason. The shooting guard needs to be able to score and be good enough to start.

The draft you can get a DerMarr Johnson replacement. Walker, Rush, CDR, Batum or Budinger would be great to add to the fold at 26.

The two easiest spots to fill are the sixth big and the backup point. If Chalmers is on the board at 26, perhaps you take him and then get your swingman youngster at 45 by taking someone like Weems, Giddens or Forbes. I don't agree with Dickau cuz Dickau is even worse than Vaughn. I'd go with someone like Juan Dixon with the LLE.

The sixth big is the lowest priority. DeVon Hardin at 45 would be outstanding. If Jason Thompson falls, that's another great pick. Joey Dorsey at 45 is also very good.

As far as who starts at center, I don't like the idea of starting Thomas. He's too slow when paired with Duncan. I'd honestly just force feed Mahinmi. If Mahinmi can't handle it and fails, send him back to Austin and stick Oberto back into the starting lineup at around the All-Star break. If Mahinmi swims, that's fantastic. If he sinks, oh well at least he got experience and the Spurs can try again the next year.

I think basically it comes down to having four holes (starting SG, backup point, project wing and project big) and at least four assets (MLE, 26, 45 and LLE). And perhaps the biggest asset is the Spurs' ability to trade and take on contracts since they are so far below the luxury tax.

The Spurs need some retooling but I'm extremely confident they can get the job done. This isn't one of those summers where they have a couple dollars below the lux tax and a low pick in a bad draft. The Spurs actually have some tools to work with for the first time in a while.

[Big P]

It would be nice if we could raid the Trailblazers & take all the players they don't want...

Jarrett Jack- Backup PG

Martell Webster- SF we are looking for

Channing Frye- Backup C/PF

[Blackjack]

It would be nice if we could raid the Trailblazers & take all the players they don't want...

Jarrett Jack- Backup PG

Martell Webster- SF we are looking for

Channing Frye- Backup C/PF

Where did you hear that the Blazers are looking to unload Webster?

[Big P]

Reading Portland forums..I didn't say they were going to "unloand" him, meaning giving him away, but last year they were happy with Outlaw & James Jones, not sure if he is going to resign with them, but I would not be suprised if he did..they need some type of vet leadership in that locker room..so if Webster can be moved for the right piece, I'm sure he will..its not like he is their franchise player..

[Blackjack]

Reading Portland forums..I didn't say they were going to "unloand" him, meaning giving him away, but last year they were happy with Outlaw & James Jones, not sure if he is going to resign with them, but I would not be suprised if he did..they need some type of vet leadership in that locker room..so if Webster can be moved for the right piece, I'm sure he will..its not like he is their franchise player..

I just wanted to know if you were wishing, or had some kind of info. I hadn't heard.

He may not be their franchise player, but he's a local product they drafted in the early lottery. I just can't see them dealing him(not that we'd have anything they'd want) because of their happiness with James Jones.

I Love the kids game and could even see him being are starting shooting-guard, but I don't see any chance in hell of it happening.

[Big P]

Of course no chance in hell...with us...here's some more info on it..realgm.com has a 30 teams in 30 days thing going on..heres the link..

http://realgm.com/src_twoplusthefoul/202/20080609/30_teams_30_days_portland_draft_preview/

Sorry bout the long link...it wouldn't let me name the link


Here's he part we are talking about...

Greatest Areas of Improvement:


Upgrade at Small Forward
As mentioned above, this team only has two holes in the starting five – point guard and small forward. Martell Webster has been a suitable starter, and Travis Outlaw and James Jones provide plenty of punch off the bench, but if they wish to take themselves deep into the postseason, they need to consider packaging all of these extraneous point guards and small forwards and trade for an elite All Star level player at the three position.

Who Do the Fans Want?

According to Andrew Perna’s Portland Lottery Summit, an interactive column featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Trail Blazer Draft discussion, the fans of Portland have made it known that they would an upgrade at the small forward position. The consensus of the Blazer faithful suggested whom they want as the thirteenth overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft:

Nicolas Batum, SF – France

[Blackjack]

Of course no chance in hell...with us...here's some more info on it..realgm.com has a 30 teams in 30 days thing going on..heres the link..

http://realgm.com/src_twoplusthefoul/202/20080609/30_teams_30_days_portland_draft_preview/

Sorry bout the long link...it wouldn't let me name the link


Here's he part we are talking about...

Greatest Areas of Improvement:


Upgrade at Small Forward
As mentioned above, this team only has two holes in the starting five – point guard and small forward. Martell Webster has been a suitable starter, and Travis Outlaw and James Jones provide plenty of punch off the bench, but if they wish to take themselves deep into the postseason, they need to consider packaging all of these extraneous point guards and small forwards and trade for an elite All Star level player at the three position.

Who Do the Fans Want?

According to Andrew Perna’s Portland Lottery Summit, an interactive column featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Trail Blazer Draft discussion, the fans of Portland have made it known that they would an upgrade at the small forward position. The consensus of the Blazer faithful suggested whom they want as the thirteenth overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft:

Nicolas Batum, SF – France

:toast

If Batum does go at thirteen, makes you wonder what swingman will be left at 26.

[silk]

[QUOTE=timvp;2589138]Good post. I agree for the most part. The biggest need is shooting guard. That should be priority number one in the offseason. The shooting guard needs to be able to score and be good enough to start.

Who do you think this shooting guard could be , TimVP ? i do not really see the ideal fit from the free agents already discussed ( besides dickheads I'd rather not to think of, see, vujacic, ricky davis, jr smith..) , so it could be by trade...every year spurs FO kind of surprise me

I could see them, maaaybe, splitting the MLE between James Jones and Eddie Najera, LLE on Juan Dixon, and a genius strike somehow by RC ( weirdest things happen ) to get Rush in the draft.

[Ocotillo]

I think I want to go the "bad boy" route this draft and free agency.

J.R. Smith
Bill Walker
J.R. Giddens

For good measure, invite Keith Brumbaugh to summer camp. Originally I posted we should take a flyer on him at 57 but the more I read, the more I feel he will go undrafted.

[JUUOT]

The two easiest spots to fill are the sixth big and the backup point. If Chalmers is on the board at 26, perhaps you take him and then get your swingman youngster at 45 by taking someone like Weems, Giddens or Forbes. I don't agree with Dickau cuz Dickau is even worse than Vaughn. I'd go with someone like Juan Dixon with the LLE.


PLEASE NO! I have seen first hand dixon as a raptor and he can not play any point guard minutes, and he was sold to raptors fan as a 3point threat too but that disappeared too. might as well rely on barry. Jarrett Jack definitly intrigues me way more. What would it take to get him from there?

Also i really think that out of the 4 needs identified by ocotillo the back up point guard is the one i worry about the least. vaughn and barry can run it.
my ideal scenario is MLE and 1 pick on wing, for the Big and the PG i don't really mind what happens. Hell, bringing back horry as the 6th would be fine with me.

lol i just read again what you guys said and i am in agreement. just reading dixon's name fired me up

[pad300]

Strategy Question Time

Traditionally we have carried 3 PGs on the 15 man roster

05/06 Parker, NVE, Beno
06/07 Parker, Vaughn, Beno
07/08 Parker, Vaughn, MM/Darius Washington

In all cases our 3ed option PG has been pretty useless, and sometimes our 2nd option as well. Both Manu and Barry have played point for us in critical situations when parker needed a break... We effectively Benched Vaughn, Beno, and MM in the playoffs, and should have benched NVE vs Dallas.

Should we really carry 3 pg's? Or would we be better served by admitting that our PG Rotation really looks like : Parker, Vaughn, Barry/Manu and should stay that way...

This gives us 4 players who can fill the spot, and frees up a roster spot. This spot could be used for a tweener SF/PF type that would help a lot of matchup problems. Projecting from this strategically gives us

Signed and Definitely Back
Bigs - TD, Mahinmi
Wings - Bowen, Udoka, Manu
PG's - Parker, Barry (Has a player option, that I presume he will exercise to stay with the team - why else would he have negotiated for it...)

Likely to be back (Signed but possibly traded)
Bigs - Oberto, Bonner
PGs - Vaughn

Likely to be resigned
Bigs - Thomas (we have his Bird rights, and he is a vet)

Leaving 4 roster spots for FA's and draft picks...
Sign Nick Fazekas as a project 6th big - offer him 2 guaranteed years of vet min and he will jump on it...
Offer a 5 year Full MLE contract, with a team option at the start of year 3 (10/11 season) to JR Smith. If he doesn't accept, move on to Azabuike (possibly offer less money...) and then maybe Gomes
Draft the Best wing prospect available - Maybe Bill Walker
Use either 2nd round picks or LLE to get a SF/PF tweener for small ball play... Or maybe even that Georgian guy we have rights to - Sanikidze

[Spur-Addict]

Strategy Question Time

Traditionally we have carried 3 PGs on the 15 man roster

05/06 Parker, NVE, Beno
06/07 Parker, Vaughn, Beno
07/08 Parker, Vaughn, MM/Darius Washington

In all cases our 3ed option PG has been pretty useless, and sometimes our 2nd option as well. Both Manu and Barry have played point for us in critical situations when parker needed a break... We effectively Benched Vaughn, Beno, and MM in the playoffs, and should have benched NVE vs Dallas.

Should we really carry 3 pg's? Or would we be better served by admitting that our PG Rotation really looks like : Parker, Vaughn, Barry/Manu and should stay that way...

This gives us 4 players who can fill the spot, and frees up a roster spot. This spot could be used for a tweener SF/PF type that would help a lot of matchup problems. Projecting from this strategically gives us

Signed and Definitely Back
Bigs - TD, Mahinmi
Wings - Bowen, Udoka, Manu
PG's - Parker, Barry (Has a player option, that I presume he will exercise to stay with the team - why else would he have negotiated for it...)

Likely to be back (Signed but possibly traded)
Bigs - Oberto, Bonner
PGs - Vaughn

Likely to be resigned
Bigs - Thomas (we have his Bird rights, and he is a vet)

Leaving 4 roster spots for FA's and draft picks...
Sign Nick Fazekas as a project 6th big - offer him 2 guaranteed years of vet min and he will jump on it...
Offer a 5 year Full MLE contract, with a team option at the start of year 3 (10/11 season) to JR Smith. If he doesn't accept, move on to Azabuike (possibly offer less money...) and then maybe Gomes
Draft the Best wing prospect available - Maybe Bill Walker
Use either 2nd round picks or LLE to get a SF/PF tweener for small ball play... Or maybe even that Georgian guy we have rights to - Sanikidze

:toast

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

i have a question for Spurs fan, it is in regards to the Nuggets draft. Should they take Chalmers at #20?

[cze1860]

i have a question for Spurs fan, it is in regards to the Nuggets draft. Should they take Chalmers at #20?

no one konws except manager of Nuggets。

[bigdog]

i have a question for Spurs fan, it is in regards to the Nuggets draft. Should they take Chalmers at #20?

well, does his game fit your team? he's not an amazing point guard, and is better when playing off the ball.

i think denver needs a real point guard on that team.

[Biggems]

well, does his game fit your team? he's not an amazing point guard, and is better when playing off the ball.

i think denver needs a real point guard on that team.

Chalmers = taller Earl Boykins

I hope that answers your question.

[Biggems]

Of course no chance in hell...with us...here's some more info on it..realgm.com has a 30 teams in 30 days thing going on..heres the link..

http://realgm.com/src_twoplusthefoul/202/20080609/30_teams_30_days_portland_draft_preview/

Sorry bout the long link...it wouldn't let me name the link


Here's he part we are talking about...

Greatest Areas of Improvement:


Upgrade at Small Forward
As mentioned above, this team only has two holes in the starting five – point guard and small forward. Martell Webster has been a suitable starter, and Travis Outlaw and James Jones provide plenty of punch off the bench, but if they wish to take themselves deep into the postseason, they need to consider packaging all of these extraneous point guards and small forwards and trade for an elite All Star level player at the three position.

Who Do the Fans Want?

According to Andrew Perna’s Portland Lottery Summit, an interactive column featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Trail Blazer Draft discussion, the fans of Portland have made it known that they would an upgrade at the small forward position. The consensus of the Blazer faithful suggested whom they want as the thirteenth overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft:

Nicolas Batum, SF – France

They would be fools to pass on Joe Alexander if he is still there at 13. He can play both F positions. He and Aldridge would make a very nice starting F tandem. In fact, if Oden comes back healthy.....that starting front line of Oden, Aldridge, and Alexander will be very formidable on the defensive end and very solid on the offensive end.

[DPG21920]

Ramon Sessions, Rashad McCants and John Salmons would be nice if we could not get J.R.

How about this trade. The Bulls need active big men that are veterans and have high basketball I.Q. The Spurs need to get younger, more athletic and need some upside at the 2 spot and the 3/4 spots. I feel this trade solves both problems. Let me know what you think:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/feature...4~24&te=&cash=

[lotr1trekkie]

Time to be bold, RC! We have a 4 year window with Timmy and Manu. Need to ask the shareholders to take a hit on the salary cap because the the will get their return if we are still winning rings.
If Elton Brand opts out we need to go for him. Tim moves to center officially[for All Star voting purposes]. They are worth 45 and 25 every nite. Pau or Elton---not even close. Brand wants to play for a perrenial winner---that's the Spurs. He might make some sacrifices to play alongside Tim. Time to go for it. Don't worry about 2010 and Lebron.

[vander]

-
horry
finley
vaugn
thomas

+
mahimni
sasha vujacic

barry and manu can back up the point or we could go after gibson from cleveland

[tonski17]

scola was really a loss for the spurs.. i hope they can still get splitter back..
health was really a problem for them and also conditioning.. i hope they would bounce back next season, because its an odd number year again..ehehe
manu should be healthy he's the firestarter for their team..:flag:

[Manufan909]

I know many on here have prophesized down years because the Spurs will be restructuring, but what about this years Celtics? Not only are they one win away from winning a Championship, but their whole team is practially new to each other. Hell, their Big3 just got together this year. Since the Spurs have a Big 3 that KNOW each other, and will hopefully get MUCH younger, wouldn't it be possible for them to replicate Boston's success next year? I didn't personally like JR this season, or Sasha for that matter, but if we could somehow get them with the MLE and LLE I think that would be a stellar team for sure, since it would look like this:

(I am putting who I think should start first)
PG: Tony 25, Vaughn 6, Barry 14
SG: JR 24, Manu 27
SF: Udoka 26, Bowen 22
PF: Tim 26, Bonner 14
C: Mahinmi 26, KT 15, Fabricio 15

I'd like to see this for at least the first ten games to see what the new players are made of.

[Spur-Addict]

I know many on here have prophesized down years because the Spurs will be restructuring, but what about this years Celtics? Not only are they one win away from winning a Championship, but their whole team is practially new to each other. Hell, their Big3 just got together this year. Since the Spurs have a Big 3 that KNOW each other, and will hopefully get MUCH younger, wouldn't it be possible for them to replicate Boston's success next year? I didn't personally like JR this season, or Sasha for that matter, but if we could somehow get them with the MLE and LLE I think that would be a stellar team for sure, since it would look like this:

(I am putting who I think should start first)
PG: Tony 25, Vaughn 6, Barry 14
SG: JR 24, Manu 27
SF: Udoka 26, Bowen 22
PF: Tim 26, Bonner 14
C: Mahinmi 26, KT 15, Fabricio 15

I'd like to see this for at least the first ten games to see what the new players are made of.

At least one of those players cannot be on the roster in my opinion. It's out of Bonn, KT and Oberto. Hopefully, it's Bonn on his way out.

[Big P]

They would be fools to pass on Joe Alexander if he is still there at 13. He can play both F positions. He and Aldridge would make a very nice starting F tandem. In fact, if Oden comes back healthy.....that starting front line of Oden, Aldridge, and Alexander will be very formidable on the defensive end and very solid on the offensive end.

I hear you about Alexander...whats even more interesting is what is going to happen to the SG/SF position in Portland after they bring Rudy Fernandez in next year...I know the article is from Hoopsworld, but it does seem to clear the picture up in Portland of who may be in & who may be out...

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9080

Making Room For Rudy

By: Wendell Maxey Last Updated: 6/7/08 5:58 PM ET | 3278 times read
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Rudy Fernandez is finally coming to Portland, and the Blazers are finally putting the pieces together for next season. But how exactly does Rudy fit into the plans in the Blazers backcourt?

After numerous recruiting visits from the Blazers front office – including owner Paul Allen - over the past few months, Fernandez announced on Friday that he's agreed to join Portland, a decision Fernandez admitted was not an easy one by any means.

"It wasn't an easy decision to take but it is the time for a new challenge after a fantastic year with (DKV) Joventut," the 23-year-old shooting guard, who plans to join the Blazers after the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer, said.

"They have pushed hard for me to join them and have assured me I will be an important figure for them."

The question now is will the "important figure" make the Blazers starting five? Or does Fernandez join the likes of friend and countryman Sergio Rodriguez in the second unit, a role even Rodriguez had difficulty cracking for head coach Nate McMillan? Then again, finding a role that fits Fernandez – and the Blazers - best is one of several adjustments GM Kevin Pritchard and head coach Nate McMillan will look to solve this offseason.

Now with Fernandez available at shooting guard, does McMillan finally make Brandon Roy the Blazers full-time starting point guard? Does Pritchard select another point guard in the upcoming NBA Draft, or shop the free agent market for a floor general?

Obviously, Portland will be better off with Fernandez, a two guard who has a shelf full of MVP trophies and continues to draw comparisons to the San Antonio Spurs Manu Ginobili, than without him. And although many of the backcourt and roster dilemmas in Portland will play themselves out in the coming months as player pieces begin fall into place, Fernandez' arrival certainly creates a ripple effect on the rest of the team.

James Jones – an unrestricted free agent and perhaps one of the most integral members of the Blazers last season – has a choice to make about returning to Portland this offseason.

With Portland already crammed at small forward with Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster, the addition of Fernandez could have a bearing on his decision. Jones (8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 44% 3pt fg) was troubled by a knee injury for the majority of last season and appeared in only 58 games, but when healthy and on the court the sharpshooter made every minute and shot count. Knowing Portland's obsession with getting older instead of younger, losing Jones to free agency would be a major loss in the locker room and on the floor.

Martell Webster is also sure to have his role re-adjusted.

Throughout all of last season, it was more common than not to have McMillan and his coaching staff to ask for more consistent scoring from Webster. Yet the jury is still out if the Blazers liked what they saw. Did Webster really improve? Was he aggressive enough going to the hoop when he put the ball on the floor? His numbers were up (10.7 ppg., 38% 3pt fg) and so were his minutes (28.4 in 70 starts), but will that be the case next season?

Webster – who has been rumored to be on the block in Portland – may be the odd man out at small forward, especially considering how crucial Travis Outlaw was to the Blazers success last season and knowing the supporting minutes behind Roy may not be there anymore.

Jarrett Jack will also fill some ill effects with a new guard in town.

Jack is no stranger to trade talks, and last season was rumored to land in Cleveland or New Jersey at February's trade deadline. After sharing time with Steve Blake and Segrio Rodriguez in the Blazers backcourt, Jack often found himself watching from the sidelines in the fourth quarter while McMillan opted for placing the ball in Brandon Roy's hands. McMillan has already admitted he isn't opposed to having Roy run the point more often next season. Couple this with Fernandez' recent arrival - and belief that the Spaniard could even soak up minutes running the point now and again - and Jack's days in Portland could be coming to an end.

Portland now finds themselves in a high stakes poker game with plenty of chips to work with.

They have some players available to move if needed (read: Webster, Jack, and perhaps even Channing Frye), and four draft picks (13, 33, 36, 55) to use as liquid assets. The rest of June and surely July will bring more changes for the organization, but for now there is a true excitement around Portland with Rudy Fernandez named the newest member of the Blazers.

Let the chips fall where they may.

[Sway]

Wow, Im still amazed everytime I look at all the talent that Portland is bringing in. They have the talent to be really good for a long time. My hat is off to the job their FO has done.

[Manufan909]

At least one of those players cannot be on the roster in my opinion. It's out of Bonn, KT and Oberto. Hopefully, it's Bonn on his way out.

I don't know, I seem to differ with nearly every fan on this forum when I argue for Bonner to stay. He has a stroke, alot of energy, he hustles every second he's out there, AND he is 27, I don't think we should trade any of the 20yr olds for the moment. But I don't know who I'd rather have stay: KT or Fab. They both do all the little things, but Fab knows Manu inside and out, while KT brings another defensive ace to the table, especially when it comes to players like Shaq. I think I'd go with KT over Fab, and maybe try for Diop. Then the Spurs would have 3 big men who could control the paint.

[Sway]

After posting this in another thread I realized that it should have gone here. My apologies if you have already read it.

For some reason this upcoming Draft and FA have really caught my attention this year. Maybe its because how important it is that we have a good Summer, especially since Splitter isnt coming over. Here is my list of players I like:

Draft:

PG: Ty Lawson (20), Mario Chalmers (26), Lester Hudson (48), George Hill (undrafted?)

SG: Brandon Rush (15), Courtney Lee (27), Chris Douglas-Roberts (28)

SF: Donte Greene (14), Nicholas Batum (21), Bill Walker (31), Omri Caspi (39), Pat Calathes (45), Keith Brumbaugh (undrafted?)

PF: Marreese Speights (23), Jason Thompson (37), Ryan Anderson (36)

FA:

(1) JR Smith (2) Kelenna Azubuike, (3) James Jones or Matt Barnes


Ideally the Spurs can trade/buy for a mid-first rounder (as has been rummored) making my ideal Summer something like this:

Draft:

Mid-1st: Donte Greene

#26: Marreese Speights

#45: Lester Hudson or George Hill

#57: Trade away?

FA:

MLE: JR Smith

Now that is what I call a Summer! Too bad its only going to happen in my dreams. :lol

[Spur-Addict]

After posting this in another thread I realized that it should have gone here. My apologies if you have already read it.

For some reason this upcoming Draft and FA have really caught my attention this year. Maybe its because how important it is that we have a good Summer, especially since Splitter isnt coming over. Here is my list of players I like:

Draft:

PG: Ty Lawson (20), Mario Chalmers (26), Lester Hudson (48), George Hill (undrafted?)

SG: Brandon Rush (15), Courtney Lee (27), Chris Douglas-Roberts (28)

SF: Donte Greene (14), Nicholas Batum (21), Bill Walker (31), Omri Caspi (39), Pat Calathes (45), Keith Brumbaugh (undrafted?)

PF: Marreese Speights (23), Jason Thompson (37), Ryan Anderson (36)

FA:

(1) JR Smith (2) Kelenna Azubuike, (3) James Jones or Matt Barnes


Ideally the Spurs can trade/buy for a mid-first rounder (as has been rummored) making my ideal Summer something like this:

Draft:

Mid-1st: Donte Greene

#26: Marreese Speights

#45: Lester Hudson or George Hill

#57: Trade away?

FA:

MLE: JR Smith

Now that is what I call a Summer! Too bad its only going to happen in my dreams. :lol

No Dante! PLZ I beg, no Dante.

[angelbelow]

They would be fools to pass on Joe Alexander if he is still there at 13. He can play both F positions. He and Aldridge would make a very nice starting F tandem. In fact, if Oden comes back healthy.....that starting front line of Oden, Aldridge, and Alexander will be very formidable on the defensive end and very solid on the offensive end.

this is exaclty why we should make a play for outlaw/jamesjones/webster.

[kobyz]

the heat are shoping Haslem, maybe we can get him, we can give the heat our first round draft pick for him!

[Slippy]

A back-up point who can spread the floor is a must . The very reason they brought in Stoudamire mid-way through the season. He was a longshot that didn't work out. Hopefully they can do better in the off-season.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Re-sign Kurt.
Draft Chalmers and a project big.
Sign JR Smith.
Bring Sanikidze over.
Work Mahinmi into the rotation.
Call it an offseason.

[T Park]

Re-sign Kurt.
Draft Chalmers and a project big.
Sign JR Smith.
Bring Sanikidze over.
Work Mahinmi into the rotation.
Call it an offseason.

Im 100% in on that offseason.

[AA2120]

i swear..if we get vuyabitch on our team...id never watch the spurs again...

[John_C]

Who's the best power forward available out there that could actually shoot the ball facing the rim, and could also post up? I really think this is a position where we have really had a problem for the past few years.

[200 miles]

Who's the best power forward available out there that could actually shoot the ball facing the rim, and could also post up? I really think this is a position where we have really had a problem for the past few years.

jason thompson at pick 26 or trent plaisted at pick 45

[kobyz]

The Spurs have two big holes to fill:
1) wing with size who can score
2) second big man next to TD

[team-work]

Smaller holes (but not too small):
1. backup point guard (I wonder what's up with Darius Washington. Has he progressed after 1 year in overseas? Greece if I remember correctly?)

2. shooting guard who can spare Ginobili of heavy minutes, preferably who can drive to the rim too, so that Ginobili can take more jumpshots

It's still vital to stick to & rebuild around the Big Three. However, many Spurs fans in this forum, e.g. SenorSpur, have expressed hope about adding talent & I hope the FO won't disappoint us. Last year, the very decision to bring back the whole championship team is the single most important reason for failing to repeat in 08, while other teams were improving against the Spurs.

[remingtonbo2001]

There's a mock draft having the Spurs selecting Roy Hibbert at 26.

I think the Spurs could really use a bruiser on the team.

I think we can fill our athletic needs in the FA market.

[bigdog]

roy hibbert is not a bruiser, he's soft.

[rj215]

roy hibbert is not a bruiser, he's soft.

mock drafts are hardly ever right after the lottery. but i think it's about time to draft a player that can contribute right away and not someone we have to stash in a foreign league for 3+ years.

[taps]

Will the Spurs ever have have any use for Sanikidze outside of traidbait? Does he have the weight/defense needed to be effective at small forward for us?

[kobyz]

Will the Spurs ever have have any use for Sanikidze outside of traidbait? Does he have the weight/defense needed to be effective at small forward for us?

no, he will never be a NBA player

[VaSpursFan]

roy hibbert is not a bruiser, he's soft.

ITA. i'm a georgetown fan from before i went there for undergrad...and hibbert is tall as shit...but that's about it. at his best, he will a tad better than dikembe because he can score the ball a little. i just think the NBA game is going to be to fast for him. i hope i'm wrong and he turns out to be a stud...

[Tully365]

If Hibbert was a tad better than Dikembe, the Spurs would unquestionably take him. I don't see him ever being a defender or player on a level with Dikembe.
Mutombo's stats his rookie year with Denver ('91-92): 16.6 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 3 bpg. Career averages: 9.9 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.7 bpg.

[Drom John]

Forget a young stud. Get older. Sign Mutombo.

[Jobbs]

How much cap space does the team have? Looks like Atlanta won't go over $11 mil for Josh Smith.

[Tully365]

Forget a young stud. Get older. Sign Mutombo.

Yeah! What's Artis Gilmore doing these days?! :fro Maybe one year beside Duncan would give him the final push he needs to get into the HOF!

[Marcus Bryant]

How much cap space does the team have?

Not enough.

[angelbelow]

How much cap space does the team have? Looks like Atlanta won't go over $11 mil for Josh Smith.

even then, we need a sign and trade at best.

[Tully365]

This modest dream for next year would make me ecstatic:
Mahinmi gives 6 pts, 6 reb, 1 blk per game...
Courtney Lee gives 7 ppg, shoots 47.0 FG%
Ryan Gomes gives 11 ppg, 5 rpg
Kyle Lowry gives 7 ppg, 3 apg

That's all-- Is that too much to ask?

[AC#21_TD ERA]

Simple get rid of Oberto,Finley,Damon,Horry,and the garbage truck Vaughn.

Get solid back up PG (Delonte West or Duhon)
Get a servicable Center
Get an atheltic sg of sf. like (JR smith or Peitrus)
Don't draft any international players.
Start Manu. That stinks when he comes off the bench.

[Jobbs]

even then, we need a sign and trade at best.

not really. Hawks GM today sounded kinda iffy about matching a high contract. Even if you do a sign and trade, the Hawks would have to get back players that would equal up to 90% of Smith's contract.(I think that's how the NBA trade thing works..correct me if i'm wrong) That's why you hear the 76ers rumors pop up. They have enough to sign him for 20 mil. Of course it depends on if the 6ers can sign Brand first.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Simple get rid of Oberto,Finley,Damon,Horry,and the garbage truck Vaughn.

Get solid back up PG (Delonte West or Duhon)
Get a servicable Center
Get an atheltic sg of sf. like (JR smith or Peitrus)
Don't draft any international players.
Start Manu. That stinks when he comes off the bench.

You're not good at this are you?

[T Park]

Simple get rid of Oberto,Finley,Damon,Horry,and the garbage truck Vaughn.

Get solid back up PG (Delonte West or Duhon)
Get a servicable Center
Get an atheltic sg of sf. like (JR smith or Peitrus)
Don't draft any international players.
Start Manu. That stinks when he comes off the bench.


God you fail so horribly.

[AC#21_TD ERA]

You're not good at this are you?

Tell me what the f*** is wrong this. What are your thoughts keep the same team and enjoy going through offensive droughts. Get it through your head we 2 get some youth.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Tell me what the f*** is wrong this. What are your thoughts keep the same team and enjoy going through offensive droughts. Get it through your head we 2 get some youth.

Oh, I'm all for getting younger.
The thing is that your scenario is the least bit realistic, nor possible.
Therefore your plan, for lack of a better word, sucks.

[AC#21_TD ERA]

So your telling me we cant get rid of the players i mentioned most of them are FA, also that we can't start Manu, and that we cant get a better center than we have, and we can't draft anyone but an international player. I understand our cap space is tight but 2 get our title back we have to make these moves.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Getting West/Duhon and Smith/Pietrus and another center for our scrubs plus Oberto isn't gonna happen.
We can get younger but not necessarily with just these guys.

[AC#21_TD ERA]

Getting West/Duhon and Smith/Pietrus and another center for our scrubs plus Oberto isn't gonna happen.
We can get younger but not necessarily with just these guys.

Yeh i understand where you are coming from. Its easier said than done. I think we both agree that we need a solid back up PG,and a center that can grab boards and block shots and Manu needs to start. In a few years time i hope those areas are adressed.

[bigdog]

ITA. i'm a georgetown fan from before i went there for undergrad...and hibbert is tall as shit...but that's about it. at his best, he will a tad better than dikembe because he can score the ball a little. i just think the NBA game is going to be to fast for him. i hope i'm wrong and he turns out to be a stud...

don't get me wrong, i think the guy is a good basketball player, but to me he's soft, and he's way too slow to compete in today's NBA game.

[bigdog]

mock drafts are hardly ever right after the lottery. but i think it's about time to draft a player that can contribute right away and not someone we have to stash in a foreign league for 3+ years.

yeah, but Hibbert is not the answer.

[Bruno]

Not worth starting a thread about that for the moment but some Greek reports are saying that Olympiakos is trying to sign Michael Finley.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:lol

[Spur-Addict]

Anyone heard from Robertas Javtokas? Do we still hold his rights? Euroleague don't have him on the website with Panawhatever. Any clue out there? I'm up for trading Tony Parker,obviously for the right price.

You are an idiot.

[rondoistimmyspenis]

trade TP? wow...
and we own the rights to about 5 players who we will never see, a complete waste of draft picks...

[TDMVPDPOY]

we shouldve just trade the 2 clowns we just drafted for more 09 2nd round picks.....then use it to move in the first round for 09.....rebuildin plan

[marcflynn2009]

the key is to get rid of

oberto- too soft... not good enough for the 3.5 mil he gets
horry- worthless, old, waste of 3.6 mil we give him
vaughn- getting old... turnover machine... hill can replace him
stoudamire- 34?? too old for spurs... horrible player
bonner- great player... but if you arent gonna play him the trade him

questionable keeps

thomas- awesome defnder, can shoot... sign him for a year
barry- still has a year... good perimeter player, perfect for spurs
finley- awesome mid range... still has a few good years


needs:

BIG MEN!!!

we have plenty of small guys... not a good backup point but we have plenty of small guys... we have no real big men... we have oberto(garbage), elson(garbage), thomas(old), and duncan(two big men positions and he is only one big man)

get biedrins!!

diaw!!

bulls have plenty of big men are trying to change things around!!

go for brand!!

make a move spurs... im tired of everyone making changes and we're sitting and drafting ppl from indiana university purdue university at indiana???? wth??

the draft is for teams that are rebuilding... western conference qualifiers dont need rebuilding... they need improving... quit wasting your time getting multiple 2nd round draft picks that might be good... go get a player that has already proved himself

[ss1986v2]

quit wasting your time getting multiple 2nd round draft picks that might be good... go get a player that has already proved himself
how, pray tell?

[rondoistimmyspenis]

my opinion is that almost everyone on the team sucks besides the big 3, but here is my analysis of our current team

Parker: Just fine (KEEP)
Ginobili: has had health issues but nothing serious, he will be just fine (KEEP)
Duncan: Beast (KEEP)

vaughn: horrible, but hopefully george hill will take his spot (LET GO)

stoudamire: disappeared last season after his signing came with hopes of a contribution. good shooter, but no place on the team especially now that we drafted hill (LET GO)

finley: pretty much a spot up shooter at this point in his career, worth keeping around but we need to find his replacement soon (JR Smith anyone?)(KEEP)

demarr johnson: will probably never get a chance although I think he has the potential to be a good role player, but 28 is kind of old to be a "potential" guy. He has been a good role player on other teams (Atlanta and Denver), averaging around 8 ppg in the span of about three years with those teams. great size and length for a sg/sf but I don't think he will ever contribute too much. (KEEP)

bruce bowen: getting old, but still valuable as a spot-up shooter and lockdown defender. He is losing speed but his desire keeps his defense on point. (KEEP)

ime udoka: I had no idea that he was as old as he is (31), but bruce bowen didn't even make a contribution to the spurs until about that age. He is a strong defender who can spot up for three (the young bowen nickname is appropriate). A very limited offensive player, but potential to be a great defensive player under bowen's tutelage. (KEEP)

Kurt Thomas: Another old player but was solid in the playoffs for the most part. Solid role player who can hit the mid-range jumper and defend. Far better defender than oberto. (KEEP)

Ian Mahinmi: Young foreign draftee who has actually played for us. Very athletic and has potential. Young potential players are something we should keep around (KEEP)

Robert Horry: Just decided today that he wants to play another season. I am torn on this one because he has contributed quite a bit to us (Game 5 of the 2005 finals was historic. His performance went way beyond that last shot. He continually brought us back throughout the 4th quarter and OT). However, he may not have anything left in the tank. This postseason he was a liability on the court, and some of this may have been due to his injury. It would be nice to have him in somewhat of a groove by the time the playoffs come around so I will say (KEEP) barring injury

Matt Bonner: I could write a book on how much I hate his game, but I will keep it short. He is 6-10 "shooting" PF that is one of the worst players in the NBA. How he is in the NBA simply boggles my mind. He is a decent shooter, but misses shots in every form, even dunks. I have seen him single handedly lose us two games this past season and I did not even watch all of our games. He is unathletic, a defensive liability, and his offense does not make up for his lack of a basketball IQ or defense. (GET RID OF BONNER NOW!!!!)

Fabricio Oberto: Another guy I could write a book about. Not a positive one. Every time I watch the rockets and luis scola I want to cry because we traded away a player that is better and younger than Oberto. I think he and bonner have a bet in which the guy who gets scored on the most wins the bet. He is an atrocious defender. Watching West, Chandler, Odom and Gasol continually dominate him was hard for me. Especially considering that Kurt Thomas was on the bench. Oberto is terrible on both ends of the floor, and Duncan needs help at center because Oberto is completely inept of taking any pressure off him in the middle. (GET RID OF OBERTO NOW!!!!)

Brent Barry: If we sign any kind of SG help we should probably release barry. He is a great shooter but is very old and not much of a defender anymore. (KEEP unless SG is signed(HELLO JR SMITH??))

Darius Washington: Another young potential player but his chances on the team are greatly reduced because we drafted hill. I would rather have him as a 3rd pg than vaughn (KEEP)

As for the rookies, I cannot judge but only hope that they will contribute. I am sure Hill will be a decent player, but if Vaughn beats him out for the backup pg job I will be very worried about whether Hill can be a successful NBA player.

[T Park]

Darius Washington: Another young potential player but his chances on the team are greatly reduced because we drafted hill. I would rather have him as a 3rd pg than vaughn (KEEP)


Darius Washington signed with a european team back in January and is not even in America.

:rolleyes

[rj215]

the key is to get rid of

oberto- too soft... not good enough for the 3.5 mil he gets
horry- worthless, old, waste of 3.6 mil we give him
vaughn- getting old... turnover machine... hill can replace him
stoudamire- 34?? too old for spurs... horrible player
bonner- great player... but if you arent gonna play him the trade him

questionable keeps

thomas- awesome defnder, can shoot... sign him for a year
barry- still has a year... good perimeter player, perfect for spurs
finley- awesome mid range... still has a few good years


needs:

BIG MEN!!!

we have plenty of small guys... not a good backup point but we have plenty of small guys... we have no real big men... we have oberto(garbage), elson(garbage), thomas(old), and duncan(two big men positions and he is only one big man)

get biedrins!!

diaw!!

bulls have plenty of big men are trying to change things around!!

go for brand!!

make a move spurs... im tired of everyone making changes and we're sitting and drafting ppl from indiana university purdue university at indiana???? wth??

the draft is for teams that are rebuilding... western conference qualifiers dont need rebuilding... they need improving... quit wasting your time getting multiple 2nd round draft picks that might be good... go get a player that has already proved himself

Bonner is not a 'great player' and Finley's 'awesome mid range' sucks. Both must go, Bonner via trade and Finley via FA.

[kobyz]

The roster at the moment:

PG: Parker, Hill, vaughn

SG: Ginobili, Barry

SF: Bowen, Udoka

PF: Duncan, Bonner

C: Mahinmi, Oberto

So there is 4 open spot, Kurt Thomas should be one of them, and maybe one of the second round pick will make the roster, and it's possible that Finley and horry will resign.

[Specialk610]

This is how i think our roster should look for next season:


PG: Parker, Hill, vaughn

SG: Ginobili, Barry, Siskauskas

SF: Bowen, Udoka

PF: Duncan, Garbajosa, Bonner,

C: Mahinmi, Oberto, Horry

The only problem with signing Ramunas Siskauskas and Jorge Garbajosa is that it might take up most if not all our money. Thats why i resulted in signing horry back instead of thomas. horry has stated that he would play for the league minimum. So hopefully, we would still be under the cap... Just a suggestion.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I would switch Garbajosa with Thomas.

[SenorSpur]

my opinion is that almost everyone on the team sucks besides the big 3, but here is my analysis of our current team

finley: pretty much a spot up shooter at this point in his career, worth keeping around but we need to find his replacement soon (JR Smith anyone?)(KEEP)

demarr johnson: will probably never get a chance although I think he has the potential to be a good role player, but 28 is kind of old to be a "potential" guy. He has been a good role player on other teams (Atlanta and Denver), averaging around 8 ppg in the span of about three years with those teams. great size and length for a sg/sf but I don't think he will ever contribute too much. (KEEP)


Robert Horry: Just decided today that he wants to play another season. I am torn on this one because he has contributed quite a bit to us (Game 5 of the 2005 finals was historic. His performance went way beyond that last shot. He continually brought us back throughout the 4th quarter and OT). However, he may not have anything left in the tank. This postseason he was a liability on the court, and some of this may have been due to his injury. It would be nice to have him in somewhat of a groove by the time the playoffs come around so I will say (KEEP) barring injury

.

I'm really curious to know what it is you've seen to make you want to keep both Finley and Horry into next season? If Finley is nothing more than a spot-up shooter at this point (and you're right), that means he's a liability if his shot isn't falling. Which doesn't happen consistently from game to game. Hell, we can bring in another younger shooter (JR Smith or James Jones) and get better production from that position.

As for Horry, I totally understand the sentiment. I have the same emotional tie with him. Yet that was 3 years ago. Didn't last season truly reveal where Horry is now? He has declined to the point where he is now a defensive liabiltiy because he can't react fast enough to get loose balls or rebounds and he can no longer slide his feet quick enough to stay in front of anyone. He virtually has nothing left in his tank. Furthermore, players tend to be more injury-prone as they age. Can we not find another big that can spread the floor (Najera, perhaps)

We got hurt badly in the Fakers series because we couldn't match their quickness and athleticism. Our big three carried us courageously through fatigue and injury, yet the bench play (outside of Barry) was non-existent.

All that said, why would you expect any type of upsurge in performance from either going into next year? I feel safe in declaring that what we all saw last year only the beginning of the decline for both Finley and Barry. Therefore, I fail to see the point in bringing back either.

[tp2021]

All that said, why would you expect any type of upsurge in performance from either going into next year? I feel safe in declaring that what we all saw last year only the beginning of the decline for both Finley and Barry. Therefore, I fail to see the point in bringing back either.

I hope you meant to type Ho instead.

[Tully365]

This is how i think our roster should look for next season:


PG: Parker, Hill, vaughn

SG: Ginobili, Barry, Siskauskas

SF: Bowen, Udoka

PF: Duncan, Garbajosa, Bonner,

C: Mahinmi, Oberto, Horry

The only problem with signing Ramunas Siskauskas and Jorge Garbajosa is that it might take up most if not all our money. Thats why i resulted in signing horry back instead of thomas. horry has stated that he would play for the league minimum. So hopefully, we would still be under the cap... Just a suggestion.

The year before last, I really liked Garbajosa-- thought he was an intelligent, hard-working player-- but that injury he suffered was horrific. It was on youtube for a while but last I looked had been removed... I wonder if he'll be the same player again. Also, there are a few reports of Euro teams making him offers. He wants to play in the Olympics for Spain so we'll see how he looks at that point. I wouldn't be opposed if he looks like he's back in '06 form, and other options are gone by then.

Ryan Gomes is a similar but younger player in that mold-- combo Forward. He might be a little more expensive, but that's the route I would prefer.

Also agree with Mr Bottomtooth on K Thomas.

[tbilliot]

Easy. This is the Spurs formula:

1. Tank a season.

2. Win the lottery.

3. Add another all franchise center next to your previous #1 pick.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

great formula aint it. but it happened one time. look at how many teams are always in the lottery and get the #1 or in the top 3 and look at what there team is still at bottom of the league. its all about when you get the chance to pick the #1 pick in the draft. do your homework and make the right decision for example: DAVID ROBINSON and TIM DUNCAN. 10 YEARS APART BABY.

[rj215]

great formula aint it. but it happened one time. look at how many teams are always in the lottery and get the #1 or in the top 3 and look at what there team is still at bottom of the league. its all about when you get the chance to pick the #1 pick in the draft. do your homework and make the right decision for example: DAVID ROBINSON and TIM DUNCAN. 10 YEARS APART BABY.

List of #1 overall picks since Tim Duncan was drafted:

2007 Portland Greg Oden Ohio State
2006 Toronto Andrea Bargnani Italy
2005 Milwaukee Andrew Bogut Utah
2004 Orlando Dwight Howard SW Atlanta Christian Academy
2003 Cleveland LeBron James St Vincent-St Marys
2002 Houston Yao Ming China
2001 Washington Kwame Brown Glynn Academy
2000 New Jersey Kenyon Martin Cincinnati
1999 Chicago Elton Brand Duke
1998 Clippers Micheal Olowokandi Pacific


Just looking at that list can tell you that just because you have the number one pick doesn't mean you can't fuck it up. I'd say by looking at the list that it's a 50/50 shot. Don't hate the Spurs because their best player got hurt in 96 and they won the lottery.

[The George Hill]

The Spurs got off on the right foot for refueling, by selecting George Hill.

[Spurtacus]

This is how i think our roster should look for next season:


PG: Parker, Hill, vaughn

SG: Ginobili, Barry, Siskauskas

SF: Bowen, Udoka

PF: Duncan, Garbajosa, Bonner,

C: Mahinmi, Oberto, Horry

The only problem with signing Ramunas Siskauskas and Jorge Garbajosa is that it might take up most if not all our money. Thats why i resulted in signing horry back instead of thomas. horry has stated that he would play for the league minimum. So hopefully, we would still be under the cap... Just a suggestion.

I guess you didn't hear about Garbajosa?

[Manufan909]

Hey TGH, welcome to spurstalk. You go to his college, live near his hometown, or what? Just wondering. Trust me, I want him to make JV as expendable in 08-09 as Damon+Horry+Finley were in 07-08.

[Big P]

With free agency fast approaching, we need to address our need for an athletic wing...we need Corey Maggette...he's going to opt out of his contract so he knows that the only type of contract he can get without a S&T would be a full MLE deal....he is exactly what we need..

[The George Hill]

Manufan909, you are not understanding correctly. Read the profile name to discern my identity.

[bigdog]

LOL @ Darius Washington.

He's overseas playing for some wack team right now. He's been long gone from the Spurs for a while.

[SpursRuleAll21]

Let Go:
Horry, Vaughn, Finley, Stoudamire for sure

DerMarr Johnson, only sign if he's willing to take the league minimum
Barry- definitely resign him, 4th best player in the playoffs behind the big 3
Kurt Thomas- questionable. i really like mahinmi.

Sign Mahinmi and give him a chance, i really think he can be productive.

Don't sign Maggette, he doesn't play defense and is a ball hog.

Has anybody else considered trying to get rid of Bowen? Ime can step in and at least somewhat fill his shoes, and he's just too old now.

Also, does anybody know about the Splitter situation???

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

A little idea that I fiddled with:

duncan/mahinmi/bonner
thomas/oberto
bowen/udoka
barry/manu
parker/hill/vaughn

sign posey with mle
sign skinner with lle
trade udoka + bonner + cash for kelenna azubuike
sign foyle with min

thomas/oberto
duncan/mahinmi/skinner
bowen/posey
barry/manu/azubuike
parker/hill

ir1 vaughn
ir2 foyle
ir3 gist

[Mr. Body]

Has anybody else considered trying to get rid of Bowen? Ime can step in and at least somewhat fill his shoes, and he's just too old now.

Also, does anybody know about the Splitter situation???

Lolz.

[Dex]

Let Go:

Has anybody else considered trying to get rid of Bowen? Ime can step in and at least somewhat fill his shoes, and he's just too old now.

Also, does anybody know about the Splitter situation???

:dizzy

[Manufan909]

A little idea that I fiddled with:

duncan/mahinmi/bonner
thomas/oberto
bowen/udoka
barry/manu
parker/hill/vaughn

sign posey with mle
sign skinner with lle
trade udoka + bonner + cash for kelenna azubuike
sign foyle with min

thomas/oberto
duncan/mahinmi/skinner
bowen/posey
barry/manu/azubuike
parker/hill

ir1 vaughn
ir2 foyle
ir3 gist

E-mail this to RC and Pop immediately!!!
:downspin:

[Tully365]

A little idea that I fiddled with:

duncan/mahinmi/bonner
thomas/oberto
bowen/udoka
barry/manu
parker/hill/vaughn

sign posey with mle
sign skinner with lle
trade udoka + bonner + cash for kelenna azubuike
sign foyle with min

thomas/oberto
duncan/mahinmi/skinner
bowen/posey
barry/manu/azubuike
parker/hill

ir1 vaughn
ir2 foyle
ir3 gist

You're one of the only people on here I see advocating for back up big men, which I think is going to be important against the Lakers, Portland, Boston, and others come postseason.
What about Hairston? I haven't seen him much, but in a game I watched against Arizona, he seriously outplayed Chase Budinger.
Overall, this roster would be great.

[Streakyshooter08]

Looking at the situation right now, my best case would be to sign Maggette for the MLE. As important would be to keep Barry. He knows the Spurs system and showed in the POs that he has something left. He would be awesome in a Kerr-type of role. I would also like Horry and Thomas back. You would go with a linup of:

Parker/ Hill/Vaughn
Bowen/ Ginobili/ Barry
Maggette/ Udoka/ Gist (if he makes the team)
Duncan/Bonner/ Horry
Mahinmi/Thomas/Oberto

What I like about this core is the versatility. You pair great slashers (TP, Maggette, Gino) with reliable shooters (Bowen, Udoka, Barry). You could also add a 3-point shooting big next to TD with Bonner or Horry. Mahinmi and Maggette would give the Spurs good athleticism. Along with that you have a VERY good rebounding team right there.

With that kind of depth you could rest Manu very good during the regular season.

I am not a big friend of signing Delfino because he never shot that ball THAT well. Last year was the fist time he surpassed the 35% from 3.

It will be interesting to see what happens...

[mystargtr34]

Looking at the situation right now, my best case would be to sign Maggette for the MLE. As important would be to keep Barry. He knows the Spurs system and showed in the POs that he has something left. He would be awesome in a Kerr-type of role. I would also like Horry and Thomas back. You would go with a linup of:

Parker/ Hill/Vaughn
Bowen/ Ginobili/ Barry
Maggette/ Udoka/ Gist (if he makes the team)
Duncan/Bonner/ Horry
Mahinmi/Thomas/Oberto

What I like about this core is the versatility. You pair great slashers (TP, Maggette, Gino) with reliable shooters (Bowen, Udoka, Barry). You could also add a 3-point shooting big next to TD with Bonner or Horry. Mahinmi and Maggette would give the Spurs good athleticism. Along with that you have a VERY good rebounding team right there.

With that kind of depth you could rest Manu very good during the regular season.

I am not a big friend of signing Delfino because he never shot that ball THAT well. Last year was the fist time he surpassed the 35% from 3.

It will be interesting to see what happens...

I too would prefer Barry over Delfino for this season... maybe to a one year deal...

[angelbelow]

perhaps we should be going after azbuike while the warriors are focusing on brand and potentially wanting to sign CM.

[venitian navigator]

plan (pipe dream ?)

Re - sign Thomas (4,5 mill.)

Sign and trade : Bonner + Vaughn + 2^ ch. to toronto for Delfino

sign Tony Allen (LLE for 2 years)

re sign Finley (3 mill. 2 years)

sign Kwame Brown (beno exception)


pm parker - hill - mason jr

g ginobili - allen - hairston

f bowen - udoka - finley

pf duncan - oberto - gist

c thomas brown mahinmi

[venitian navigator]

plan (pipe dream ?)

Correction!!!


Re - sign Thomas (4,5 mill.)

Sign and trade : Bonner + Vaughn + 2^ ch. to toronto for Delfino

sign Tony Allen (LLE for 2 years)

re sign Finley (3 mill. 2 years)

sign Kwame Brown (beno exception 2 years)


pm parker - hill - mason jr

g ginobili - allen - hairston/finley

f bowen - udoka - Delfino

pf duncan - oberto - gist

c thomas brown mahinmi

[Jardo]

There are many good US players in Europe who could be NBA starters, like Anthony Parker did. The Spurs can gamble in these proven players.

Delonte Holland is playing great offense and defense in Italy, Terrence Morris is an all Euroleague First team. Both players fill a need, can create their own offense, and could fit the team need for a more offensive second unit.

Jardo.

[screw_ston713]

Tim Duncan is now 32, and only getting older im curious why spurs havent drafted a big man that could be developing while tim is in his prime. They drafted duncan while drob had a few good years left allowing duncan to blossom into the player he is. You look at this spurs team and in 2 to 3 years it could be several needs. Bruce Bowen is 37, manu is 30, michael finley is 35, Robert Horry is 37, damon stoudamire is 34, Fabricio Oberto is 33 Kurt thomas is 35.

[Ocotillo]

Tim Duncan is now 32, and only getting older im curious why spurs havent drafted a big man that could be developing while tim is in his prime. They drafted duncan while drob had a few good years left allowing duncan to blossom into the player he is. You look at this spurs team and in 2 to 3 years it could be several needs. Bruce Bowen is 37, manu is 30, michael finley is 35, Robert Horry is 37, damon stoudamire is 34, Fabricio Oberto is 33 Kurt thomas is 35.

Wow, the Spurs are old.

[anirudh123]

http://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/p.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/o.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/s.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/t.gif http://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/b.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/i.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/g.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/g.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/e.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/r.gif http://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/p.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/i.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/c.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/t.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/u.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/r.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/e.gifhttp://glitter.vfactoree.com/tipos/5/s.gif

[ChumpDumper]

What's going on with Kareem Rush? He had a very streaky season, but I don't know anything else because he was playing for ploohto's shitty team.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

He's an unrestricted free agent, and Oklahoma City is supposedly interested him.
He can be had for the minimum, I'm sure.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Would Shannon Brown be a good fit here? He's been off the radar for quite some time. For a second, I thought he was still with the Cavs.

[ChumpDumper]

Brown's shooting was erratic even in the D-League. I'd prefer more of a finished product considering all the inexperienced players we already have.

[Dglue]

I would like them to sign Jeremy Richardson. Not the biggest signing, but serviceable and that's the most you can get at the end of your bench. Or signing Keith Langford, but I think I'm the only one that want to see that happening...

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I wouldn't mind giving Jeremy another shot either.

[ChumpDumper]

If we are talking about that level of player, I'm fine rolling with Hairston for awhile. The Spurs can always waive him if something better comes along.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Speaking of Kareem Rush... (http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53782/20080728/sixers_agree_with_kareem_rush/)

[ChumpDumper]

Son of an ass.

Well, I'm out of ideas for vets.

Hairston it is.

[angelbelow]

Son of an ass.

Well, I'm out of ideas for vets.

Hairston it is.

would like to see how he does in the dleague, i guess the tricky thing is if we want to retain his rights and sign him to a contract and see if he develops in the dleauge.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Knicks Waive Green and Jones (http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53799/20080729/knicks_waive_green_and_jones/)

[tav1]

A friend and I were talking and he said that he'd rather see Michael Jordan come out of retirement for a limied role off the bench than the Spurs resign Michael Finley. I told him step away from the crackpipe. What would you have said?

[angelbelow]

A friend and I were talking and he said that he'd rather see Michael Jordan come out of retirement for a limied role off the bench than the Spurs resign Michael Finley. I told him step away from the crackpipe. What would you have said?

i would have to agree with your friend.

[sehui]

i would have to agree with your friend.

lol, dude, dont hate on findawg..he had a bad season, so what, happens to a lot of shooters, but you guys sure as hell didnt rag on him when he made that game tying 3 against phnx in game 1

[rj215]

lol, dude, dont hate on findawg..he had a bad season, so what, happens to a lot of shooters, but you guys sure as hell didnt rag on him when he made that game tying 3 against phnx in game 1

Even a broken clock is right twice a day....

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Heat Still Looking To Deal Haslem?
Aug 08, 2008 5:19 PM EST

The Heat are reportedly contemplating the idea of trading forward Udonis Haslem for help at either point guard or center, according to The Palm Beach Post.

Pat Riley is apparently worried that Miami wouldn't get enough back in return for Haslem in a trade.

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53932/20080808/heat_still_looking_to_deal_haslem/#