Originally Posted by timvp
I disagree. Come playoff time, teams collapse on Duncan if they can get away with it. Having a power forward who can shoot doesn't allow teams to get away with it.
For an example, just look at the Denver series this year. They put Nene on him and had Camby coming from the weakside. It was a very effective defense against the Spurs . . . until Horry began to spread the court with his three point shooting. If the Spurs didn't have a three-point shooter at the four who could draw Camby out of the lane, he would have had an even bigger impact than he did.
You can also look at the 2005 Pistons. It was almost impossible for Duncan to consistently score without Horry on the court. With Ben Wallace on him and Rasheed free to double team, even Duncan can't consistently overcome that. But if you make Rasheed guard a shooter, then suddenly he can't be so eager to help.
When Ferry was on the team, so was that guy named David Robinson. Lohaus was before Duncan.
And no one is comparing Bonner to Manu and Parker. Bonner fits the role of a power forward who can spread the court. No one is saying he's a superstar.
Croshere sucks and will still probably get a decent contract this summer. Van Horn is retired. Cliff Robinson is five years older than Robert Horry. Sean Marks is an oft-injured player who sucks even when he's healthy.
Fazekas could be decent, but who knows. There's just as big of a chance that he's a bust. You don't let a known commodity walk for a flier on a second round draft pick. Especially when the known commodity is only going to make $3M a year over three seasons.
Who is going to replace all the small things that Horry does? He's one of the best role players of all-time. Robert Horries just don't grow on trees.
To replace him, you have to find a guy who does what Horry does best ... and that's spread the floor. It's no mistake that teams have decided to put him next to Hakeem, Shaq and Duncan. He spreads the court offensively and on top of that does a lot of small things that helps you win games.
A young Horry would cost a whole lot more than $3M a year. But Bonner can spread the floor, he rebounds as well as Horry and he's competitive. For those three characteristics alone, he'll find his time next to Duncan.
And as far as being clutch, who is available that is as clutch as Horry? And how many "clutch" shots has Bonner missed? Two ... maybe three at most? I'd give him a little longer before figuring out whether he's clutch or not.
And did you really single out Cliff Robinson as a replacement and then just point to clutchness as a prerequisite? Uncle Cliffy is a top ten choker in NBA history.
I don't buy that talk from the Scola camp. The Spurs have been trying to buy out Scola's contract for years now. Why believe Scola's camp when the Spurs are saying that Scola's buyout is $14M?
The thing is, there is no buyout clause in Scola's contract. Scola's agents say what they think would be enough to convince Tau to let him go, but when the Spurs talk to Tau directly, they give no indications that they'd let Scola walk for anything less than a boatload of cash.
If Scola's contract was that cut and dry, his value would be more than a second round pick. I'm not gullible enough to believe the spin job that originates from the Scola camp.
