McDonald: For Spurs, Free Agency Begins At Home

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Originally Posted by Buddy Holly

I Miss Ludden.

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Can we start a petition to bring Ludden back? I don't care how happy he is with Yahoo.

Pop better be talking out of his ass. Don't tell me age didn't have anything to do with Horry and Finley being no shows in the playoffs. Those guys looked and played old.

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Originally Posted by coopdogg3

Can we start a petition to bring Ludden back? I don't care how happy he is with Yahoo.

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unless you can somehow make print media as popular as internet media, then i think its for naught.

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Originally Posted by td4mvp21

Pop better be talking out of his ass. Don't tell me age didn't have anything to do with Horry and Finley being no shows in the playoffs. Those guys looked and played old.

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No shit. Apparently he didn't see things as we did. Or else he's jacking around.

I'm always amused at the way Pop bristles everytime anyone mentions age. He acts as though it's some "badge of honor" to have the oldest team in the league.

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Originally Posted by SenorSpur

No shit. Apparently he didn't see things as we did. Or else he's jacking around.

I'm always amused at the way Pop bristles everytime anyone mentions age. He acts as though it's some "badge of honor" to have the oldest team in the league.

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Age can be a good thing, experience can be a good thing-when the guys providing it can actually make a difference on the court. Bowen is old but he makes an impact defensively and is a very consistent shooter in the playoffs. The only thing Finley brought was his streaky shooting, and Horry didn't even bring much other than a decent performance in Game 7 vs. New Orleans.

I can see the Spurs signing one player using the MLE and resigning Thomas, Finley, and Horry.

I can't see the Spurs adding more than 3 young players this summer. Mahinmi, Hill, and MLE player this year with more youth coming next summer.

Has anyone heard if we are gonna sign R Javtokas?

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Originally Posted by K-State Spur

Pop & RC haven't been near as stagnant over the years as people on this board seem to think. And when they have brought back the rosters intact, it was in years where it made sense to do so. This year, it does not, so I don't expect them to stand pat.

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It's not doom and gloom or panicking on my part.

What are they saying and what are they doing compared to last summer.

Last summer they talked about letting the team defend it's title with no big changes and said that Mahinmi wouldn't get any chances and play in the d-league.

What did they do?

Re-signed nearly the entire previous roster and didn't give Mahinmi any chances on the big stage so he played in the d-league. They did a modest modification of adding Udoka to the mix.

What are they saying now? Talking about how the important thing is the health of Tim, Tony and Manu and NOT any signing. Some are explicitly mentioned by the Spurs as being re-signed (Thomas) and others are written about by McDonald that the Spurs are interested in re-signing considering the cost (Finley and Horry). Sure they'll say the usual about keeping on top of things and being able to make a move if necessary. And the talk of getting younger has already been satisfied with Hill.

What will they do?

I don't know. I know what I hope them to do, I know what lots of other people hope for them to do (JR Smith for some, Diop for some, Najera for some, Azubuike for some, Maggette for some, Pietrus for some, etc)

But it's not so outlandish to think that the Spurs bring back the same roster with minor tweaks (G Hill, a 'Udoka-type' addition of a cheap veteran) unless there's an issue of money and/or years with KT, Finley and Horry.

That's a reasonable and possible outcome of the summer.

Is there anyone on the board who would be straight up SHOCKED and SURPRISED if the Spurs re-signed Horry or Finley? I don't mean disappointed by it, but shocked?

Doesn't mean it's likely, but I sure wouldn't be surprised.

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Originally Posted by td4mvp21

Age can be a good thing, experience can be a good thing-when the guys providing it can actually make a difference on the court. Bowen is old but he makes an impact defensively and is a very consistent shooter in the playoffs. The only thing Finley brought was his streaky shooting, and Horry didn't even bring much other than a decent performance in Game 7 vs. New Orleans.

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Therein lies the difference - productivity (and in Bowen's case, perhaps superior conditioning)

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Originally Posted by spurman20

Has anyone heard if we are gonna sign R Javtokas?

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my guess would be only as a distant contingency plan if some other team gives Kurt Thomas a contract the Spurs don't want to match and if the other alternatives like Najera are off the board.

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Originally Posted by objective

It's not doom and gloom or panicking on my part.

What are they saying and what are they doing compared to last summer.

Last summer they talked about letting the team defend it's title with no big changes and said that Mahinmi wouldn't get any chances and play in the d-league.

What did they do?

Re-signed nearly the entire previous roster and didn't give Mahinmi any chances on the big stage so he played in the d-league. They did a modest modification of adding Udoka to the mix.

What are they saying now? Talking about how the important thing is the health of Tim, Tony and Manu and NOT any signing. Some are explicitly mentioned by the Spurs as being re-signed (Thomas) and others are written about by McDonald that the Spurs are interested in re-signing considering the cost (Finley and Horry). Sure they'll say the usual about keeping on top of things and being able to make a move if necessary. And the talk of getting younger has already been satisfied with Hill.

What will they do?

I don't know. I know what I hope them to do, I know what lots of other people hope for them to do (JR Smith for some, Diop for some, Najera for some, Azubuike for some, Maggette for some, Pietrus for some, etc)

But it's not so outlandish to think that the Spurs bring back the same roster with minor tweaks (G Hill, a 'Udoka-type' addition of a cheap veteran) unless there's an issue of money and/or years with KT, Finley and Horry.

That's a reasonable and possible outcome of the summer.

Is there anyone on the board who would be straight up SHOCKED and SURPRISED if the Spurs re-signed Horry or Finley? I don't mean disappointed by it, but shocked?

Doesn't mean it's likely, but I sure wouldn't be surprised.

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I wouldn't be surprised if he resigned either. I've just seen enough of both these guys where it's obvious that their respective tenures have run their course. Time to move on in another direction. Especially if the Pop wants to upgrade the bench depth.

We will only bring Finley back if no one else wanted to run with us. He is worthless... he cant get to the rim, his shot is so streaky......Horry is done! If we bring him back for more than a couple pcs of gum Pop and Buford should be fired! I have a good feeling we will resign Thomas and possibly sign Robertas Javtokas from Russia.

I would be suprised if The Spurs didn't sign someone with the MLE.

Like I said, RC Parker and others have already addressed they know they need to get younger.

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Originally Posted by T Park

I would be suprised if The Spurs didn't sign someone with the MLE.

Like I said, RC Parker and others have already addressed they know they need to get younger.

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BTW, any link to PArker's comments or can you summarize what he said?

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Originally Posted by T Park

I would be suprised if The Spurs didn't sign someone with the MLE.

Like I said, RC Parker and others have already addressed they know they need to get younger.

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Would you be surprised if the Spurs re-signed Thomas, re-signed Finley, let Horry go, and signed a cheap vet like Mo Evans to a 2 year, 4 million dollar deal? And signed Gist while sending Hairston to Europe?

Getting younger can be satisfied simply by playing Hill and Mahinmi some minutes.

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Originally Posted by SenorSpur

BTW, any link to PArker's comments or can you summarize what he said?

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I don't mean to speak for TPark but this is the interview I was using where Parker talks about only adding 2 or 3 players because Pop likes stability. Parker also talks about the need to get younger. Hope this helps.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...rker+interview

I'd be pretty surprised if Finley is re-signed. Only way I think it'd make any sense at all is if Barry walks and the Spurs want an old veteran to put deep on the bench in case something happens. Pop seemed to trust Finley less and less last year, which usually ends in that player being let go.

Horry I can see either way. I'd say there is a larger chance he doesn't return.

If the Spurs don't spend their entire MLE, I'd be pretty pissed. The Spurs aren't even in lux tax danger, so there really is no excuse. If they offer it to a number of players and they get turned down ... I guess that is understandable. But if they sit on it and bring in a few bargain basement replacements, that'd be a disaster.

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Originally Posted by loveforthegame

I don't mean to speak for TPark but this is the interview I was using where Parker talks about only adding 2 or 3 players because Pop likes stability. Parker also talks about the need to get younger. Hope this helps.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...rker+interview

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thks

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Originally Posted by timvp

I'd be pretty surprised if Finley is re-signed. Only way I think it'd make any sense at all is if Barry walks and the Spurs want an old veteran to put deep on the bench in case something happens. Pop seemed to trust Finley less and less last year, which usually ends in that player being let go.

Horry I can see either way. I'd say there is a larger chance he doesn't return.

If the Spurs don't spend their entire MLE, I'd be pretty pissed. The Spurs aren't even in lux tax danger, so there really is no excuse. If they offer it to a number of players and they get turned down ... I guess that is understandable. But if they sit on it and bring in a few bargain basement replacements, that'd be a disaster.

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Good thing the Spurs drafted a couple of wing players. Now they need to find that new veteran swingman starter in free agency.

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Originally Posted by objective

It's not doom and gloom or panicking on my part.

What are they saying and what are they doing compared to last summer.

Last summer they talked about letting the team defend it's title with no big changes and said that Mahinmi wouldn't get any chances and play in the d-league.

What did they do?

Re-signed nearly the entire previous roster and didn't give Mahinmi any chances on the big stage so he played in the d-league. They did a modest modification of adding Udoka to the mix.

What are they saying now? Talking about how the important thing is the health of Tim, Tony and Manu and NOT any signing. Some are explicitly mentioned by the Spurs as being re-signed (Thomas) and others are written about by McDonald that the Spurs are interested in re-signing considering the cost (Finley and Horry). Sure they'll say the usual about keeping on top of things and being able to make a move if necessary. And the talk of getting younger has already been satisfied with Hill.

What will they do?

I don't know. I know what I hope them to do, I know what lots of other people hope for them to do (JR Smith for some, Diop for some, Najera for some, Azubuike for some, Maggette for some, Pietrus for some, etc)

But it's not so outlandish to think that the Spurs bring back the same roster with minor tweaks (G Hill, a 'Udoka-type' addition of a cheap veteran) unless there's an issue of money and/or years with KT, Finley and Horry.

That's a reasonable and possible outcome of the summer.

Is there anyone on the board who would be straight up SHOCKED and SURPRISED if the Spurs re-signed Horry or Finley? I don't mean disappointed by it, but shocked?

Doesn't mean it's likely, but I sure wouldn't be surprised.

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I could see situations where we'd bring back anybody on the roster...but not everybody. I fully expect at least 3-4 new faces to be in uniform compared to opening day last year, and I'm not counting Ian.

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Originally Posted by timvp

If the Spurs don't spend their entire MLE, I'd be pretty pissed. The Spurs aren't even in lux tax danger, so there really is no excuse. If they offer it to a number of players and they get turned down ... I guess that is understandable. But if they sit on it and bring in a few bargain basement replacements, that'd be a disaster.

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I don't disagree about spending the whole MLE or that bringing in guys like Evans or Dixon would be a disaster.

I'm just saying it's a realistic scenario this summer and the reasons it could happen have been laid out by the Spurs to brace the public (ie "all that matters is being healthy, no health = no ring no matter what, new hotshot players aren't that important")

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Originally Posted by timvp

I'd be pretty surprised if Finley is re-signed. Only way I think it'd make any sense at all is if Barry walks and the Spurs want an old veteran to put deep on the bench in case something happens. Pop seemed to trust Finley less and less last year, which usually ends in that player being let go.

Horry I can see either way. I'd say there is a larger chance he doesn't return.

If the Spurs don't spend their entire MLE, I'd be pretty pissed. The Spurs aren't even in lux tax danger, so there really is no excuse. If they offer it to a number of players and they get turned down ... I guess that is understandable. But if they sit on it and bring in a few bargain basement replacements, that'd be a disaster.

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Yeah. They should identify whoever they think is worth it and be willing to offer the max MLE contract past 2 years. I may be off, but I think they could extend Ginobili off his 2009-10 salary (let's say $10 mil) plus have a full MLE contract from this summer and still be able to offer a contract starting at about $10 to 12 mil in 2010.

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Originally Posted by K-State Spur

I could see situations where we'd bring back anybody on the roster...but not everybody. I fully expect at least 3-4 new faces to be in uniform compared to opening day last year, and I'm not counting Ian.

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do you mean 'in uniform' as in on the active roster opening day? I don't even know how that would be possible if Barry is still under contract.

TD, Manu, TP, Bowen, Oberto, Bonner, Udoka, Barry . . . that's 8.

A re-signed Kurt Thomas is 9.

Mahinmi makes 10.

That leaves room for 2 new faces, George Hill and ??? (free agent or Gist or Hairston).

Having 4 new players in uniform seems awfully hard to accomplish. They'd basically have to drop Finley, Horry, Thomas and Barry.

let's put all 15 spots in the equation (active, inactive, whatever).

right now, the spurs have 8 guys under contract(including Mahinmi, and assuming Barry has opted out).

Bring in Hill, make that 9. Resign either Barry or Finley(I think they will choose on one of them, just because I think they want at least 1 of the vets back), that makes 10.

Resign Thomas, make that 11. (unless some other team offers more than Spurs can handle.

Pop and RC like Hairston's chance at making the team, make it 12(remember, inactive/Toros counts, too.)

Spend MLE on a swingman(Smith, Pietrus, Maggette), or split it between a couple of guys(Mason,Hayes,Evans,Jones). that makes it 13, or 14 if we split the MLE.

Then they could possibly bring in Javtokas for the LLE, make that 14, or 15 if we split the MLE between two guys.

after that, if we still have a spot, then fill out the roster possibly with Gist, just to earn some experience with the Toros.

If that happens, I think we can call it an offseason and head to training camp

I don't think I could watch another season of geriatric basketball wearing out Parker and Ginobili.