Bonner Update - Talks about JR Smith

[timvp]

Also at the ACC today was Matt Bonner. Before anyone gets too excited it turns out he's staying in Toronto this summer as he's getting married in August to his girlfriend Nadia, who's from Toronto. The wedding is in Toronto, and like teammate Tony Parker Bonner said he's planning to sell the photography rights to People “to pay for the castle.”

Anyway, because Matt likes to work out he got approval from the Raptors via R.C. Buford to have access to the Raptors facility. Bonner said he was curious to see if Robert Horry retires or not, given that it will have a big impact on his potential minutes with the Spurs, and when I asked him how such a boy-scout troop like the Spurs might absorb J.R. Smith – less than a boy scout insiders would suggest – Matt said that the organization doesn't really tolerate any mess, and than everyone pretty much falls in line behind Duncan, Ginobili and Bowen. If the rumours are true and Smith does end up in San Antonio and he fits in well that will be a major boost to the Spurs. That kid can flat score.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080623.WBwbbasketball20080623163658/WBStory/WBwbbasketball

[DMX7]

I orginally though J.R. Smith wasn't evan a possibility but now I'm warming up to the idea... well, just a little. I think he would fall in line with the others but not without an occasional mishap.

[xtremesteven33]

if hes put in a good enviorment, he will change as a person.

besides its not like the spurs players are boring old guys....:downspin:

[SequSpur]

Bonner still has to wait for the 4 beer sellers to retire before getting minutes also.

[TDMVPDPOY]

bonner for delfino do it pop

[Tully365]

Can't wait to see Bonner & the Mrs on the front cover of People magazine!

[AlamoSpursFan]

Can't wait to see Bonner & the Mrs on the front cover of People magazine!

Maybe Peeps magazine...

http://citykelly.com/kellyanncollins/blog/uploaded_images/peeps-798084.jpg

[Brutalis]

The hell the JR rumors coming from? Hoopsworld? Give me a fing break.

[Brutalis]

Bonner still driving that 97 Grand Prix?

:lmao

[SenorSpur]

Can't wait to see Bonner & the Mrs on the front cover of People magazine!

Can't wait to see Bonner in another team's uniform. :lol

[Spur-Addict]

Can't wait to see Bonner in another team's uniform. :lol

Ditto! :toast

[jag]

he's planning to sell the photography rights to People “to pay for the castle"



I guess this means he's having his wedding at Disney World

http://albums.mouseplanet.com/MPPromotional/golden_castle.jpg

[taps]

^ I remember him bricking an open shot in the lane at the buzzer against Houston in January after Houson bricked 3 consecutive free throws and 2 layups. We lost by two points. I didn't see him really play much the rest of the season. That single shot effed our seeding by one or maybe 2 spots. Serious consequences for our postseason, home court advantage. I try not to think about it.

He got his chance to show what he's got in the clutch in a big game against a long-time rival. He blew it.

[0201rinckwater]

^ I remember him bricking an open shot in the lane at the buzzer against Houston in January after Houson bricked 3 consecutive free throws and 2 layups. We lost by two points. I didn't see him really play much the rest of the season. That single shot effed our seeding by one or maybe 2 spots. Serious consequences for our postseason, home court advantage. I try not to think about it.

He got his chance to show what he's got in the clutch in a big game against a long-time rival. He blew it.

In his defense he was fouled on that play

[Sway]

^ I remember him bricking an open shot in the lane at the buzzer against Houston in January after Houson bricked 3 consecutive free throws and 2 layups. We lost by two points. I didn't see him really play much the rest of the season. That single shot effed our seeding by one or maybe 2 spots. Serious consequences for our postseason, home court advantage. I try not to think about it.

He got his chance to show what he's got in the clutch in a big game against a long-time rival. He blew it.

He misses one game winning shot and you think he should be on the bench for the rest of the year? With that mentality even Jordan in his prime wouldnt have gotten off the bench.

[Sigz]

I want JR.

[Spur-Addict]

Get rid of them both.

[The Truth #6]

In Matt's defense, Pop forced Bonner into an Horry protege role. Bonner will never be the clutch assassin that Horry was able to be. Pop should focus on Bonner playing to his strengths and see what he gives.

However, some of it is on Bonner. He was often a space cadet on defense, in particular I remember one moment he played versus Boston when he missed an assignment and Pop sat him back down for the remainder of the game. (I'm sure Bonner felt great after buying a bunch of seats for his family and friends to come watch him play.) Pop still does need to show patience because he sure does give that patience to Finley and Horry when they completely suck for weeks/months at a time.

I thought last year was make or break for Bonner, yet somehow this year seems the same way. If we could get a good deal for him in a trade package we should, otherwise we should finally play him.

[taps]

I'm not talking about Horry I'm talking about MBonner. Besides, it's not like Horry hasn't earned himself a little leeway with MADE shots. Comparing Bonner to Jordan? Please, Jordan had his first 40 point game like 11 games into his rookie season (against SA, though that's not relevant.)
Houston game: If he was fouled it was way before the shot before he got to put the ball on the floor for two dribbles. And yes, given that he hasn't really done anything big for us, I say bench him based on that and his general track record of looking like a deer in headlights in the rotation

[Ronaldo McDonald]

Wow, you guys are really down on Mattie B here. I can tell you this much, unless it is very benificial to the Spurs we will not trade Matt. This season I would rather have had Matt play Robert's minutes, but Pop is all about the XP, so he played Robert over Matt.

Matt Bonner is a hard working guy. He can hit the three, post up a big, and he even had a 25 and 17 game this year! Robert Horry hasn't had the ability to have a 20/ 10 game in the past 2 years. Granted when Matt did this Tim wasn't playing, and it was against the warriors. But I still believe that Robert was kind of coasting these past years with the Spurs. He has always coasted in the regular season, but in the playoffs he wasn't Big Shot Rob as often as he hoped, and shooting less than 20% is something Matt wouldn't have done.

I will defend Matt Bonner as a player as long as he plays in the NBA, I think he could be that guy no one pays attention to and quietly scores 10 to 15 points with 5 to 10 boards a night. There have been times when his confidence was up, he has playing minutes and he has made the other team call a time out. He once had a 3 pointer from the corner go in, then a dunk, then another 3 pointer leading to the other team calling a time out. Then he gave a great pump fake and drove for a dunk in another game. I sadly didn't watch his 25 and 17 game, but I bet it was quite the show.

All I am saying is that he needs more of a chance than Pop or you guys are giving him.

What?

The only way Matt Bonner could score 10 to 15 points on a nightly basis is if he is being guarded by himself. Hell, he might go for 15 to 20. That's how worthless he is.

[Spur-Addict]

You totally didn't read past my first two sentances.

What? About the warriors game? Or about the Finley stuff? I have nothing against Finley as a deep sub guy. Horry and Bonner have to go if something better is there. 3 Mil for him is a bit much. Horry, well, in his late thirties i'm not sure I can call this season an off year. Despite his injuries, even if he was 100 it's not like he could stay with Chandler or West. He can't guard Amare or Shaq. I recently seen Hilton Armstrong give him the business (:wow).

I want players who can play in the regular season and the playoffs (who earn what Matt earns). Horry only gives half and Bonner isn't suitable in the playoffs. I don't care about him not getting the opportunity, I don't like his game at three million dollars a year. If his contract was a bit smaller i'd reconsider. Matt should be happy, he has a ring, a nice contract and now he's getting married. The Spurs have given him alot, many with more skill haven't even sniffed that kind of life. 3 Mil? Geez.

[SenorSpur]

Robert Horry missed a 3 pointer against the celtics that would have won us the game instead of calling a time out. That was later in the season.

All I am saying is one play in January doesn't mean he is a bad player. If he makes that shot do people on this board start praising him? No. We always get on our players more for the bad thing than we do for the good things. We complained about Finley all year, yet we forget that he has been a clutch player for us. He has hit so many over time sending and game winning shots for us in the years that we just look at his shooting slumps sometimes and say we need to get him out of here. Finley hit a shot with a hand in his face from the corner to send a game against the Knicks in New York into overtime this season? Does anyone pay attention to that? No. They pay attention to the next game when he goes 2 for 9. Manu puts up 40 points twice this season, yet he gets hurt in the offseason and we talk about trading the player who lead us in scoring and kept us in the upper half of the playoff seeding when he we hurt this season. Stop looking at a player for a bad game or a missed shot or a stupid foul, understand that they are better than the small mishaps that we focus on and they are all small parts of a puzzle that helped this team win a championship.

Sorry dude! I'm not letting Matt off so easy. I'll give Matt kudos for being a hard-working player, who leaves it on the court. He hustles, get some offensive rebounds, but is a terrible defensive player overall. We can all agree that his penchant is shooting. However just like Finley, he came up short late in the regular season, whereby Pop sent him to the end of the bench. Furthermore just like Finley, if he's not scoring, he's a liability on the court.

Sure Pop was destined to give playoff minutes to Big Shot Rob. That was expected, and he wasn't much better. However, whenever Bonner's number was called, he came up empty. It seemed that Pop lost confidence in him and it seemed as though he lost confidence in himself.

Going into the summer, I want Horry gone first and at all costs. I think Bonner, if he stays, can assume his minutes. However, if Pop decides to package Bonner in a trade to net something more favorable, I'm cool with that too.

[SenorSpur]

In Matt's defense, Pop forced Bonner into an Horry protege role. Bonner will never be the clutch assassin that Horry was able to be. Pop should focus on Bonner playing to his strengths and see what he gives.

However, some of it is on Bonner. He was often a space cadet on defense, in particular I remember one moment he played versus Boston when he missed an assignment and Pop sat him back down for the remainder of the game. (I'm sure Bonner felt great after buying a bunch of seats for his family and friends to come watch him play.) Pop still does need to show patience because he sure does give that patience to Finley and Horry when they completely suck for weeks/months at a time.

I thought last year was make or break for Bonner, yet somehow this year seems the same way. If we could get a good deal for him in a trade package we should, otherwise we should finally play him.

Boy isn't that the truth. It's Pop penchant to undervalue younger players and give them a short leash, yet he will often overvalue or overtrust veterans that are washed up. Don't forget the patience he extended to NVE 2 seasons ago. A move for which I'm still having flashbacks. Ouch, there it goes again!

[AC#21_TD ERA]

I hope Horry retires so the Red Rocket gets more minutes. He can hit his open shoits. Thanks Rob but your done. Get JR Smith to San Antonio he will be a great pick up if he doesn't become a victim of Pop's doghouse.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I hope Horry retires so the Red Rocket gets more minutes. He can hit his open shoits. Thanks Rob but your done. Get JR Smith to San Antonio he will be a great pick up if he doesn't become a victim of Pop's doghouse.

Yeah, they'd give a guy the MLE, start him, and turn around and put him in the doghouse :rolleyes

This is as dumb as your trade Manu for Artest thread.

[AC#21_TD ERA]

Yeah, they'd give a guy the MLE, start him, and turn around and put him in the doghouse :rolleyes

This is as dumb as your trade Manu for Artest thread.

If Pop cant guarntee Duncan's minutes then he cant guarantee JR minutes.lol. You know Pop if you stuff up on D or make silly mistakes your in the doghouse. But for garbage JV, Oberto its ok he lets them get away with murder.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

If Matt played Robert Horry's minutes, and maybe some of Kurt's then I could easily see him averaging 8 to 12 points on a season. there is no way he could have done as bad as Robert. Matt is young, and hard working, we set up end of the quarter plays just for him last season. If you think a big man as strong as Matt, as hard working as Matt and a shooter as good as Matt, who I should mention shoots the three ball better than anyone one the team except Brent, is worthless then you sir have what I call low basketball IQ.

Yea, he's good at end of quarter plays, but that's it. And that's only because he catches team's who don't respect his shooting ability - the only thing he has going for himself - off guard. Once they do he practically useless.

[WildcardManu]

People seem to miss that we don't have much to work with around the Trio of tim, manu and tony.

[timvp]

While the Raptors brain trust spent yesterday morning presiding over yet another workout for prospects in the furious lead-up to Thursday night's NBA draft, an established NBA asset loped into the Air Canada Centre to keep in shape.

Matt Bonner, who has been employed by the San Antonio Spurs since the Raptors traded him a couple of summers ago, isn't simply living in Toronto during the offseason; he's getting married here in August. Bonner was scarce with the details, but he did offer that his bride-to-be's name is Nadia, that she grew up in the Beach, and that they've known each other about two years.

"I never knew her when I played here," said Bonner, 28. "It's a long story. I'm not going to let the tabloids have the details ..."

Bonner laughed, and then he talked some hoops, providing a post-mortem on the Spurs' five-game bow-out to the L.A. Lakers in the Western final.

"I don't want to make excuses, but we caught a tough break with the scheduling," he said, noting that San Antonio, after winning a seven-game Western semifinal against New Orleans, was forced to spend the night on a team plane beset by mechanical troubles.

"We had half a day on no night's sleep to prepare for the Lakers, who'd been waiting for five days ... and we blew a 20-point lead (in Game 1)."

And as for Manu Ginobili's bum left ankle: "I think it was worse than he lets on. When I was watching (Boston's) Ray Allen go right by (L.A.'s Sasha) Vujacic and lay it in every time (this after Vujacic hamstrung Ginobili) I was like, `Yeah, it must have really been hurting.'"

Bonner, who said his wedding's guest list is expected to number about 140, about half as many family and friends as he'd like to invite, can scratch one could-be invitee. Sam Mitchell, the Raptors coach, said that while he is more than happy to open Toronto's gym to an old friend, he's not so sure there's an opening in his August schedule.

"I don't think I'd want to go to Matt Bonner's wedding," said Mitchell, chuckling. "It would be Dorkville."

Indeed, Bonner does little to play down his image as the league's resident geek, a rare proponent of public transit over private jets, Timex over Rolex, old-fashioned rock over new-school rap. Some NBAers come to Toronto to frequent various late-night hotspots. Said Bonner, nodding his head: "I've already hit Tim Hortons and Mr. Sub."

If it's an act, it's elaborate and sustained. Last summer, Bonner turned down an invitation to the celebrity nuptials of this young century because he had a previous engagement at a basketball camp. No matter that the Paris wedding of Spurs teammate Tony Parker to actress Eva Longoria fetched breathless reportage around the globe; Bonner said he didn't want to let down the hoop-loving kids in his hometown of Concord, N.H. Not that he's averse to cashing in on his big day.

"We've got people offering a few mill to cover (the wedding) exclusive," he said, and he shrugged. "It pays for the castle. ... No, I'm joking."

Indeed, the kid they called the Red Rocket proved his lack of cachet a little later yesterday, when he strolled through Union Station. He was spotted by a couple of reporters and exactly nobody else. Perhaps it was because he was wearing a Red Sox cap and a T-shirt and shorts, a backpack slung over both shoulders. Perhaps it's because a wedding-day tux will be a stretch, and not because he's 6-foot-8.

"If it was me, we'd get married at, I don't know, Sneaky Dee's," said Bonner, speaking of the College Street rock-and-nachos dive. "But you know how it is, the guy doesn't have much say about the wedding day. We don't grow up dreaming about our wedding. It's her day. I understand that. Girls like nice flowers and stuff."

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/447788

[travis2]

ummm...6-8? I thought he was 6-10...:wtf

[mrspurs]

Can't wait to see Bonner in another team's uniform. :lol

agreed

[Borosai]

Bonner's gonna destroy some foes this year.

[lotr1trekkie]

The fact that Pop benched Bonner while Horry was playing poorly tells me Bonner is a goner-no pun intended. A trade for Delfino mignt work for both teams. Bonner is a fan favorite up there and could get more minutes in a less defensive system. Delfino could play some backup point. We could then use our draft picks to get a permanent # 2 if Pop isn't enthused about JR. If the Spurs already know that Denver will no match for JR, we then use the picks to trade up for the other Brooks kid.

[Thomas82]

if hes put in a good enviorment, he will change as a person.
besides its not like the spurs players are boring old guys....:downspin:

That's usually the case when you get put in the right environment.

[Marcus Bryant]

Bonner for some restricted free agent the Spurs like might work out. Bonner's a fan favorite in Toronto. The only thing is, is Delfino the right candidate to assume the 'Finley role' (ie starting and playing heavy minutes at the 2?). Is he the right guy to lean on to put points on the board?

You can't exactly bury him on the bench as the swingman rotation as it stands is almost full:

Ginobili
Bowen
Barry
Udoka

There's only one spot left. Ideally whoever the Spurs find to fill it can start and put points on the board. I don't see that with Delfino.

[AA2120]

i dont think ive ever seen matt bonner hit a 3....honestly..and i saw alot of the games this year..lol

[Mr. Body]

The hell the JR rumors coming from? Hoopsworld? Give me a fing break.

SpursTalk. It all began here.

[angel_luv]

Can't wait to see Bonner in another team's uniform. :lol

Boo! I like Matt. I will be glad if he is a Spur next year.

[rascal]

Robert Horry missed a 3 pointer against the celtics that would have won us the game instead of calling a time out. That was later in the season.

All I am saying is one play in January doesn't mean he is a bad player. If he makes that shot do people on this board start praising him? No. We always get on our players more for the bad thing than we do for the good things. We complained about Finley all year, yet we forget that he has been a clutch player for us. He has hit so many over time sending and game winning shots for us in the years that we just look at his shooting slumps sometimes and say we need to get him out of here. Finley hit a shot with a hand in his face from the corner to send a game against the Knicks in New York into overtime this season? Does anyone pay attention to that? No. They pay attention to the next game when he goes 2 for 9. Manu puts up 40 points twice this season, yet he gets hurt in the offseason and we talk about trading the player who lead us in scoring and kept us in the upper half of the playoff seeding when he we hurt this season. Stop looking at a player for a bad game or a missed shot or a stupid foul, understand that they are better than the small mishaps that we focus on and they are all small parts of a puzzle that helped this team win a championship.


Look, the spurs need to overhaul much of the bench and Bonner should be the first to go. He could not even get into regular playing time rotation. Pop is the coach and he sees his players strenghts and weaknesses more then you do and he did not play Bonner. Bonner needs to go.

Pop has a history of getting rid of players the next season who ride the pine during the playoffs so I expect Bonner to not be with the spurs next year.

[T Park]

Pop has a history of getting rid of players the next season who ride the pine during the playoffs so I expect Bonner to not be with the spurs next year.

That makes sense.

Signed

Stephen Jackson and Fabricio Oberto

[CaptainLate]

Wow, you guys are really down on Mattie B here. I can tell you this much, unless it is very benificial to the Spurs we will not trade Matt. This season I would rather have had Matt play Robert's minutes, but Pop is all about the XP, so he played Robert over Matt.

Matt Bonner is a hard working guy....I will defend Matt Bonner as a player as long as he plays in the NBA, I think he could be that guy no one pays attention to and quietly scores 10 to 15 points with 5 to 10 boards a night....
All I am saying is that he needs more of a chance than Pop or you guys are giving him.

You're absolutely correct. Beno-NVE is the perfect example of stupid Pop screwing with the growth of bench players. Horry-Bonner is the next one.

You fooled us once Pop... :ihit

[T Park]

You're absolutely correct. Beno-NVE is the perfect example of stupid Pop screwing with the growth of bench players. Horry-Bonner is the next one.

You fooled us once Pop... :ihit


Pop didn't screw with Beno's development.

Beno screwed with Beno.

How many times must this be put on here before you fuckers understand this!?!?!?

[SequSpur]

Pop didn't screw with Beno's development.

Beno screwed with Beno.

How many times must this be put on here before you fuckers understand this!?!?!?

Beno was developed, but Pop had no clue.

[T Park]

Beno was developed, but Pop had no clue.

Shut the fuck up. You wouldn't know Beno Udrih from Chauncey Billups.

[SequSpur]

Shut the fuck up. You wouldn't know Beno Udrih from Chauncey Billups.

I know Chauncey Billups very well. He played high school ball in Denver when I lived there and tore that shit up.

You want to try the Merry Go Round again Frodo?

[CaptainLate]

The people I have talked to once told me that Matt and Brent played a game of 3 point shoot out. 100 3 point shots. Brent made 96 out of 100, and Matt made 86. Even if you are wide open that is hard from NBA range.

BS...Urban Legend!!!

Would Bones bet one of his pay checks vs. one of mine he could hit 96 out of 100 FREE THROWS??? That's 96%...I don't think he can do it.

[CaptainLate]

Shut the fuck up. You wouldn't know Beno Udrih from Chauncey Billups.

That's right. Resort to profanities when you can't back up your "stuff". :nope That is a sign of "intelligence". :lmao

Bottom line: Beno proved with the Kings what Beno supporters here knew all along. That given time, he'd produce. Now he has shown that the Spurs FO has made (ANOTHER) mistake with a draft pick. :bang

And the FO wouldn't have to be thinking about picking up a damn backup PG in this yrs draft.

[CaptainLate]

Sure Pop was destined to give playoff minutes to Big Shot Rob. That was expected, and he wasn't much better. However, whenever Bonner's number was called, he came up empty.

Yeah...expect a bench guy who doesn't get GT minutes to come off the pine and produce. That's real smart on Pop's part.

[T Park]

That's right. Resort to profanities when you can't back up your "stuff". :nope That is a sign of "intelligence". :lmao

Bottom line: Beno proved with the Kings what Beno supporters here knew all along. That given time, he'd produce. Now he has shown that the Spurs FO has made (ANOTHER) mistake with a draft pick. :bang

And the FO wouldn't have to be thinking about picking up a damn backup PG in this yrs draft.


Go research what was said about Paino.

Contract year, he plays just hard enough to get a contract.


Wake up.

[T Park]

Yeah...expect a bench guy who doesn't get GT minutes to come off the pine and produce. That's real smart on Pop's part.


So Beno and Bonner should've started?

Genius :tu :tu :tu :tu

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Beno sucks.
Bonner currently sucks, but deserves a last chance until they shut him down for good with the Spurs.