Spurs Waive James Anderson (Update: Signs three-year deal with Rockets)

Spurs Waive James Anderson
Dec. 20, 2012
SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have waived James Anderson.

Anderson was signed by the Spurs on Nov. 21 and saw action in 10 games, averaging 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes.

http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/121220...james_anderson

:depressed

I know it makes room for another player but he seemed to be making progress in learning how to play within the confines of his feet issues and I was rooting for him. Defense is what will keep him a job in this league and I hope he makes that a focus.

Best of luck to you James!

:toast

Was his foot injury something that will forever impair him?

:(

Well that didn't take long. I thought he would be good insurance in one of our wings went down in the future again, but I guess there wasn't any room for him anymore...

Defense is not what will keep him in the league; shot making will. He lacks the physical tools to ever be anything more than a neutral defender and he's not skilled enough to be a creator on offense. Therefore, he needs to shoot at least mid-high 30's from three to stick.

He may have shown enough to get picked up elsewhere at some point, but if not, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him brought back, whether it's post trade dead line or in the off season.

well, it was expected.. hopefully he goes unclaimed and we sign him for the D league. Not sure if i am right on the process though.

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Originally Posted by monkeypunk

:depressed

I know it makes room for another player but he seemed to be making progress in learning how to play within the confines of his feet issues and I was rooting for him. Defense is what will keep him a job in this league and I hope he makes that a focus.

Best of luck to you James!

:toast

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I am also sad to see him go for good probably this time. Great guy and imo definitely has the talent to make it. I think someone like Green got here at the right time and got lucky that way, of course he also made the best out of the opportunity with his hard work but I really feel like Anderson got unlucky with his injury first and then with the guards situation when he came back.

His baskeball instincts I feel are superiors to several of our players, his talent for shotblocking and playmaking was proof of that imo.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

Defense is not what will keep him in the league; shot making will. He lacks the physical tools to ever be anything more than a neutral defender and he's not skilled enough to be a creator on offense. Therefore, he needs to shoot at least mid-high 30's from three to stick.

He may have shown enough to get picked up elsewhere at some point, but if not, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him brought back, whether it's post trade dead line or in the off season.

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It's hard to watch his college footage and say he's not skilled enough to create his own shot.

Bummer. Really liked what I saw from him. Best of luck to him.

Wonder if the Spurs use the last spot on a big now??

Green and Blair should've left with him.

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Originally Posted by loveforthegame

Bummer. Really liked what I saw from him. Best of luck to him.

Wonder if the Spurs use the last spot on a big now??

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It looks as if the plan all along was just use JA as a stop gap with Kawhi/Jack out. He made sense, as others have mentioned, because he would be up to speed automatically due to his familiarity with the Spurs system. Unless there was some magical huge improvement (which, don't get me wrong, he played pretty damn well) the Spurs were going to let him go regardless when Jack and Kawhi were healthy which is what you are seeing now.

Not just because of already having 14 roster spots, but because it's still so early they didn't want to lose the flexibility. This move isn't a precursor in and of itself, but since it's so early the Spurs likely wanted the flexibility in case something came along. If you don't have that flexibility you somewhat handcuff yourself. If this were later in the year I would imagine JA probably would have been kept (but that's pure speculation on my part).

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Originally Posted by weebo

Green and Blair should've left with him.

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Don't be so quick to give up on either...especially Danny. Blair looks a lot more shaky and he should be out of the rotation for now, but he's proven he can be productive when healthy (which looks like he's not). Danny can be a fine player, but he's watched with a disapproving eye by many because of expectation. He's paid like an average decent role player and those guys all have a lot of holes/inconsistencies as well. I have confidence in Danny because he's a hard worker, has his mind right and shows flashes of doing the things that good role players do.

ALready posted in the KL thread :lol

The last few weeks have definitely improved JA's stock. He'll get another shot in the NBA.

Poor guy. Probably getting real sick of being rejected by the Spurs. :lol

How long before Dallas signs him?

poor guy. I hope he has a thick skin, it looked like he really liked being a part of the team unlike last year. Sucks to be released like trash twice by the same team. The business part of the sport really sucks.

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Originally Posted by Chris

How long before Dallas signs him?

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:lol No shit. There should be an All "Former Spur/Dallas Maverick" Team

it seems like y'all didn't read the Kawhi returns thread 2hrs ago where it stated JA was gone.

Well since Kawhi is back that makes sense. But I still feel bad for the guy. If Jax gets injured again, they should test out bringing someone else up.

Expected this tbh.

He looked decent and noticeably better this time around. However, we just have too many wing players now that everyone is healthy. Here's to hoping he winds up in a good environment where he can get good coaching and a real shot at cracking the rotation. Orlando seems like a good place for him.

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Originally Posted by justinandimcool

poor guy. I hope he has a thick skin, it looked like he really liked being a part of the team unlike last year. Sucks to be released like trash twice by the same team. The business part of the sport really sucks.

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Indeed. If you are a fringe player and you don't have thick skin you are better off just heading to Europe.

Making room for a trade.

He looked good enough to be an end of the bench NBA player. Now, Spurs didn't need a 10th perimeter player. JA wasn't worth Spurs using their last roster and the little money they had below the tax threshold on him.

Hopefully for JA, his good performances with Spurs will have been noticed by another team that isn't as deep at SG/SF than Spurs.

Another possible explanation of this waiving is that Spurs want to re-sign him to a better contract for them with a team option for 2013-2014 but I find that unlikely.

I'm sure he is both disappointed and appreciative of the opportunity they gave him. Him being around long term was very unlikely, but the Spurs had the confidence in him to call his phone rather than someone else's. His chances for more NBA play this year is definitely higher now given his decent play.

James will be allright. He made more money in his few minutes with the Spurs then i've earned in my life so far. He'll be fine no matter where he ends up or what he ends up doing. Seemed like a nice dude. All the best JA. (Just don't hit any big shots or make any big plays against the Spurs in the playoffs and i'll wish you the best)

Damn, I was really hoping for good things. I'm hopeful that his time on the Spurs garners him a contract elsewhere. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors

WTF! He was playing well!

There was an Express-News article that came out about a week ago where Pop was quoted as saying they didn't think they could keep Anderson because it would put them above the Luxury Tax Threshold.

Good move. He can't get much play time with spurs. I hope he can sigh with a team which can give him some rotation play time

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Originally Posted by KaiRMD1

Damn, I was really hoping for good things. I'm hopeful that his time on the Spurs garners him a contract elsewhere. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors

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wonder if he ends up with the Timberwolves. Lots of injuries at the 2-3 position with Howard going down with an ACL injury.

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Originally Posted by lmbebo

wonder if he ends up with the Timberwolves. Lots of injuries at the 2-3 position with Howard going down with an ACL injury.

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They just waived Josh Howard. He'd also be the only real SG on the roster with Lee and Roy out.

I know he got waived. They cut him because of the ACL injury. He fits a need of theres.

Good luck to JA. I think his broken feet give him a limited upside but he's good enough be an 10th man on a bad team or a 12th man on a good team.

Oh well, never thought or saw much in him like others did but I wish him well!

Rofl. JA is that bitch you fuck each time you and your gf break up. She gets excited, thinks this next time might just be "it," and then you stop returning her calls after you and your gf get back together.

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Originally Posted by justinandimcool

poor guy. I hope he has a thick skin, it looked like he really liked being a part of the team unlike last year. Sucks to be released like trash twice by the same team. The business part of the sport really sucks.

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This. Good guy too, hope he finds a home, even if it is playing in Europe.

Best of luck to James Anderson.

It would surprise me if he stays a free agent. He looked pretty promising for any team in need of some wing depth.

timvp fav scrub

He'll have a lot of PT to show what he's got in Hidalgo.

Minny could be a good opportunity for him.

What would be nice for Spurs is that a team claims him from waivers. It will remove his salary from Spurs team salary and give them more space below the tax to work with for trade talks. It's not a lot of money ($161K) but with Spurs being so close to the tax, it could be useful.

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Originally Posted by Fpoonsie

Rofl. JA is that bitch you fuck each time you and your gf break up. She gets excited, thinks this next time might just be "it," and then you stop returning her calls after you and your gf get back together.

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It's funny how people view the Spurs as having abused James in some way. They have gone WAY out of their way to seek a soft landing for him somewhere, playing him last year when his option had not been picked up and he wasn't even playing well, putting him on the SL team when they had no roster plans for him this year, calling Ferry to get him a camp invite to ATL, and even picking him up this year. According to Bruno, he made $160K for this stint, a MULTIPLE of an entire year's d-league salary.

I hope he does catch on somewhere. I thought he contributed well to our bench with our 2 small forwards out.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

Defense is not what will keep him in the league; shot making will. He lacks the physical tools to ever be anything more than a neutral defender and he's not skilled enough to be a creator on offense. Therefore, he needs to shoot at least mid-high 30's from three to stick.

He may have shown enough to get picked up elsewhere at some point, but if not, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him brought back, whether it's post trade dead line or in the off season.

---

Actually, we know that he has playmaking ability based on his college play (and glimmers here and there during his tenure here) and his shot is a bit off likely due to his broken feet but if he can play passible to good defense he becomes a multi faceted player that has a place in several teams in the league. Single ability players are a dime a dozen but if he can do multiple things, he can stick somewhere. We've seen that he has a nose for being in the right place at the right time for some of his blocks but his foot speed is a concern. I think he has room to grow into a defensive role and if he focuses on that aspect of his game, as I said, he has a chance to turn into a real role player on any number of teams in this league.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

It's not a lot of money ($161K) but with Spurs being so close to the tax, it could be useful.

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161K not a lot of money eh

Hopefully the Spurs will add a PF. Good luck to JA, his stint with the Spurs has been good this season. Too bad he didnt play like that while he was a rookie.

If I knew this move was somehow related to the FO wanting to pick up some front court help, instead of it being about saving a couple hundred grand............well, I woud be so happy that I could shit!

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Originally Posted by phxspurfan

161K not a lot of money eh

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I will take $1700 per minute tbh.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Minny could be a good opportunity for him.

What would be nice for Spurs is that a team claims him from waivers. It will remove his salary from Spurs team salary and give them more space below the tax to work with for trade talks. It's not a lot of money ($161K) but with Spurs being so close to the tax, it could be useful.

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Emiliano Carchia ‏@SportandoBasket T'Wolves eye James Anderson and Donte Greene http://www.sportando.net/eng/usa/nba/48268/t-wolves-eye-james-anderson-and-donte-greene.html …

T-Wolves waived Josh Howard. Maybe we've waived James Anderson to open a roster spot for him?

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Originally Posted by tuncaboylu

T-Wolves waived Josh Howard. Maybe we've waived James Anderson to open a roster spot for him?

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http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news...ve-josh-howard

"The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that they have waived forward/guard Josh Howard after an MRI revealed he has a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the 2012-13 season. "

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Originally Posted by FlAVaK

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news...ve-josh-howard

"The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that they have waived forward/guard Josh Howard after an MRI revealed he has a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the 2012-13 season. "

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Oh my bad. I didn't see injury status in yahoo and didn't figure it out.

GL to James

Good news for JA that Minny showed some interest.

Aside of that, JA cleared waivers yesterday. His salary will count against Spurs cap. It's not a big deal given the low amount it is but it would have been sweet to see a team claiming him from waivers.

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Originally Posted by monkeypunk

Actually, we know that he has playmaking ability based on his college play (and glimmers here and there during his tenure here) and his shot is a bit off likely due to his broken feet but if he can play passible to good defense he becomes a multi faceted player that has a place in several teams in the league. Single ability players are a dime a dozen but if he can do multiple things, he can stick somewhere. We've seen that he has a nose for being in the right place at the right time for some of his blocks but his foot speed is a concern. I think he has room to grow into a defensive role and if he focuses on that aspect of his game, as I said, he has a chance to turn into a real role player on any number of teams in this league.

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He's not good enough (relatively speaking, of course) in any one facet of the game to make it as a multi-faceted player. His only hope to stick is going to be if he can specialize in a specific area and given his physical limitations/mediocre ball skills, that specific area has to be 3-point shooting.

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Originally Posted by phxspurfan

161K not a lot of money eh

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In NBA terms, it isn't.

Peter Holt basically just handed this overhyped pile of dogshit a 160K xmas present. IMHO the legion of loony JA fanbois inhabiting this forum should reimburse him every penny..

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Originally Posted by TJastal

Peter Holt basically just handed this overhyped pile of dogshit a 160K xmas present. IMHO the legion of loony JA fanbois inhabiting this forum should reimburse him every penny..

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Your better off just lurking tbh.

Looks like James Anderson is getting a tryout today, made official by some local Minnesota reporter on Twitter.

Also: Wizards sign former Spur Garrett Temple.

Aw poor Garrett I have always liked him as a player but really the NBADL before the bullets, signing with them is career suicide.

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Originally Posted by Gagnrath

Aw poor Garrett I have always liked him as a player but really the NBADL before the bullets, signing with them is career suicide.

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NBA D-League salaries pay around $12,000, $18,000 or $24,000 per season, according to an NBADL player who spoke to InsideHoops.com. http://www.insidehoops.com/nbdl.shtml (about 18 months ago)

Minimum salary for an NBA rookie is over $400K a year, nearly double that if you have a year in the league.

Career suicide, you say? I call it damned smart.

Garrett has some skills. Just wish he could keep it consistent and put it altogether.

Fuck him, he's garbage.

Poor guy, he's made millions for dribbling a basketball and has done little to deserve any of it. Hopefully he lands a good job making 50K a year.

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA After release from Spurs and a workout with Wolves, forward James Anderson will sign with Rio Grande of D-League, league sources tell Y!

Smart move. The D-League showcase start in 10 days (January 7th). It would be a great opportunity for him to shine even if I'm not sure the wild D-League is that well suited for him. Teams will also be allowed to give 10 days contract in a week (January 5th) which should help JA to get a new opportunity with another NBA team.

And if Minny is smart, they will sign Gelabale. He would be a perfect fit to be their backup SF.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Teams will also be allowed to give 10 days contract in a week (January 5th) which should help JA to get a new opportunity with another NBA team.

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Any thoughts on whether the Spurs will give any 10 day contracts and who might get the call?

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Originally Posted by Strategic

Any thoughts on whether the Spurs will give any 10 day contracts and who might get the call?

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I think Spurs plan is to do nothing for the moment.

Spurs have an obvious weakness at PF/C and the most likely ways to fix it are a trade or to sign a bought out vet like Diaw last year. Spurs are really close to the luxury tax threshold and only have one roster spot open so keeping that little financial flexibility and that 15th spot available should be their priority.

Good luck to JA

Disappointed. I always loved JA. I won't lie and say (I was dumb but w/e) that I wasn't expecting more from him than Kawhi.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Good luck to JA

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We're getting close to 10-day contract time. Wonder if that's it, or if he'll get a "real" contract.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

We're getting close to 10-day contract time. Wonder if that's it, or if he'll get a "real" contract.

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There is a team or two around the league that has a recent history of catching players that has slid out of Pop's hands. If James is close to being signed I would think Cubanesque.

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Originally Posted by Strategic

There is a team or two around the league that has a recent history of catching players that has slid out of Pop's hands. If James is close to being signed I would think Cubanesque.

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:lol Yeah, Dallas DOES tend towards liking SA's sloppy seconds.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

:lol Yeah, Dallas DOES tend towards liking SA's sloppy seconds.

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Yeah speaking of sloppys, PTR has a telling pic of Cube this morning. It looks like he woke up on the wrong side of several bordello sticks.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

We're getting close to 10-day contract time. Wonder if that's it, or if he'll get a "real" contract.

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A team can also sign him right now to a non-guaranteed contract and they will have until January 7 to decided whether or not to keep him for the whole season.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Good luck to JA

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Hmmm ... maybe the Nets? They recently let go of Childress and with Gerald Wallace starting at PF for them now, they're going with Bogans at SF. The corpse of Stackhouse is getting some of the backup SF minutes. Add in the few Spurs connections in that org and makes some sense. Don't see how Anderson wouldn't help there.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Hmmm ... maybe the Nets? They recently let go of Childress and with Gerald Wallace starting at PF for them now, they're going with Bogans at SF. The corpse of Stackhouse is getting some of the backup SF minutes. Add in the few Spurs connections in that org and makes some sense. Don't see how Anderson wouldn't help there.

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Solid, definitely agree.

Less likely, but I think he'd be a great fit in Denver. They have a serious need for outside shooting help, and a lack of shooting guards. Wilson Chandler's still out for a couple weeks (not that he's a good shooter, just that he's a guard). He doesn't really have the energy to run with that crew, but not everyone on the floor has to be fast.

Rockets is an odd landing spot. Don't know what his role will be once Delfino returns from his "food poisoning". Toney Douglas has pretty much been backing up both guard spots, with some D. Cook sprinkled in.

However, we must remember that Anderson was technically on the Rio Grande Vipers ... so the Rockets (as far as I know; the D-League rules are always changing) had the ability to sign him to a contract to block another team from signing him. Perhaps another team wanted him but the Rockets blocked it.

Either way, congrats to JA. I hope he makes it somewhere -- though preferably not in Houston, tbh.

Well, it could be just an one week stopgap which wouldn't be a good news for JA.

Rockets have 15 players under contract with only one player (Machado) without a fully guaranteed contract. I guess that Machado will be cut to open a roster spot for JA. The issue is that Rockets are going to sign soon Patrick Beverley. Then to keep JA, Rockets will need to waive a player with a guaranteed contract like Daequan Cook.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Well, it could be just an one week stopgap which wouldn't be a good news for JA.

Rockets have 15 players under contract with only one player (Machado) without a fully guaranteed contract. I guess that Machado will be cut to open a roster spot for JA. The issue is that Rockets are going to sign soon Patrick Beverley. Then to keep JA, Rockets will need to waive a player with a guaranteed contract like Daequan Cook.

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JA's best shot may be that the Rockets give up on Royce White and release him. It might seem a bit early to give up on a first rounder but the guy has officially fallen off the looney train. His latest statement might be the last straw:

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/12/30/r...ent/index.html

According to some reports, White wants the Rockets to allow him to skip everything other than actual games. Good luck with that :lol

^ Wow :wow

It looks impossible that it ends well between Royce White and the Rockets. It could get ugly with all the guaranteed money he has on his contract.

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Originally Posted by timvp

According to some reports, White wants the Rockets to allow him to skip everything other than actual games. Good luck with that :lol

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Considering his condition concerning flying that may just be home games and games in Texas and Louisiana. Either way that's quite a statement he submitted. It looks as if he is speaking through his attorneys already.

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Originally Posted by Strategic

Considering his condition concerning flying that may just be home games and games in Texas and Louisiana. Either way that's quite a statement he submitted. It looks as if he is speaking through his attorneys already.

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In one of his latest tweets he says it's not about planes. Rockets should sue him tbh, pretty sure he will change his tune if he has to give back his money.

Great news for JA, it isn't just an one week stint.

IIRC, Spurs really liked Cook in the past. It doesn't make sense to add him given Spurs current roster though.

Great news, I love it, perfect team for him with their fast paced offense that involves everyone. I also think he has the perfect skillset to backup Harden.

Very nice, JA. Congrats. Looks like they may have guaranteed him the rest of the season.

I hope he does well ... but not too well or else we'd never hear the end of it :lol

Great new for James. From my favorite college to my favorite Spurs to.................Houston, hmmphf

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Originally Posted by timvp

Very nice, JA. Congrats. Looks like they may have guaranteed him the rest of the season.

I hope he does well ... but not too well or else we'd never hear the end of it :lol

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First Scola, now James Anderson. :depressed







:lol

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Great news for JA, it isn't just an one week stint.

IIRC, Spurs really liked Cook in the past. It doesn't make sense to add him given Spurs current roster though.

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How's his defense? If he can play the three well, there may be a place for him if Jack moves to the four full time.

Makes sense. JA has experience playingin an uptempo system.

Cook was actually who the Spurs wanted in the draft in which they ended up with Splitter. IIRC, they had a trade agreed to with Washington to move up to snag Cook that only unraveled after Nick Young fell to Washington. Splitter was the second option.

Cook is still only 25 but the Spurs really aren't in the market for a smallish shooting guard whose basically a shooting specialist that can't shoot.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Cook was actually who the Spurs wanted in the draft in which they ended up with Splitter. IIRC, they had a trade agreed to with Washington to move up to snag Cook that only unraveled after Nick Young fell to Washington. Splitter was the second option.

Cook is still only 25 but the Spurs really aren't in the market for a smallish shooting guard whose basically a shooting specialist that can't shoot.

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In hindsight Cook not falling to the Spurs haa benefited them more. Splitter's a very good big and as far as undersized 2s go there's no guy as underpaid as Neal is.

Wow good for him!

Rockets are smart...

Real happy for JA. Glad to see both him and the DLeague rewarded for their production.

I can see the Spurs maybe grabbing Cook if they do a trade that involves some combination of Neal, Mills, or CoJo. Not otherwise, though.