Reply With Quote
Dorell Wright?
The Spurs have made some major moves towards reloading their team for serious championship runs in what are expected to be the last three seasons of Tim Duncan's NBA career, with the acquisitions of Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess, as well as the recent drafting of All-American DeJuan Blair and Jack McClinton. The Spurs have also signed Marcus Haislip, a former NBA lottery pick in 2002 who has significantly refined his game in the Turkish Basketball League and the Spanish ACB league over the last four years.
I think it's obvious that a trade will be forthcoming. The Spurs have all but guaranteed that Blair and McClinton will be on the opening day roster. 2008 draft pick James Gist has been quoted as saying that he will be playing in SA next year after his successful Serie A season in Italy.
Here's a look at the Spurs as they stand today.
Current Team Under Contract
Points
1 Parker
1/2 Hill
Swingmen
2 Ginobili
3 Jefferson
2 Mason
2/3 Finley
2/3 Williams
2/3 Hairston
Bigmen
4 Haislip
4 Bonner
4/5 Duncan
4/5 McDyess (verbal commitment)
5 Mahinmi
2009 Draft Picks
2 McClinton
2 De Colo
4 Blair
Draft Rights Held
3 Sanikidze
4 Gist
4/5 Javtokas
5 Splitter
5 Karaulov
Once McDyess officially signs, the Spurs will have thirteen players under contract. As mentioned above, Blair, McClinton, and Gist will likely sign with the Spurs as well. That will give the Spurs sixteen players under contract. It seems likely that they will make at least one more trade this offseason. Of note is that the Spurs currently have seven players whose contracts expire after the 2009-10 season: Ginobili, Finley, Mason, Bonner, Williams, Hairston, and Haislip. Expiring contracts are a valuable commodity in today's NBA as they allow teams to shed longer term financial commitments. The three most likely Spurs from that group to be traded are Finley, Bonner, and Williams.
Looking at the roster as it stands today, I think the most obvious needs are perhaps a veteran center for the bench and a defensive minded swingman who can shoot the 3. That said, it certainly wouldn't hurt the Spurs if they were able to find a combo forward who could defend both forward positions.
There have been rumors that Bruce Bowen, part of the trade which landed Jefferson, may be returning to San Antonio. He would be fine as a backup small forward and could likely be signed for the veteran's minimum.
Looking around the league at potential defensive oriented swingmen who could be acquired by trade, we have:
Raja Bell
Bell is 32 years old and has one year left on his contract at $5.25 million. He has proven to be one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA and a solid outside shooter.
Thabo Sefolosha
Sefolosha is a 25 year old swingman with decent defensive a en and an expriring contract of his own.
On the bigman front, there are a few interesting candidates.
Jeff Foster
Foster, a San Antonio native, is a 32 year old, 10 year NBA veteran. An excellent rebounding bigman, he has spent his entire NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. He has two years and $12.7 million remaining on his contract.
Marcus Camby
Camby, a first round pick of the Raptors in 1996, has also played for the Knicks and Nuggets, and is currently with the Clippers. Camby scored 10.1 points, brought down 11.1 rebounds, and blocked 2.1 shots a game with the Clippers last season. The Spurs attempted to trade for the 35 year old center prior to last February's trade deadline. His contract expires after the end of the 2009-10 season.
Troy Murphy
Murphy, 29, is an 8 year NBA veteran who played with the Warriors before he was traded to the Pacers in the 2006-07 season. Last season he averaged 14.3 points and 11.8 rebounds in 34 minutes a contest. He also shot 45% on 358 3-point attempts. Think of him as Bonner with a pair of testicles. His contract has two years and roughly $23 million left on it.
On the combo forward front, there are two interesting candidates.
Andres Nocioni
Ginobili's Argentinian national teammate is 29 years old and freshly deposited in Sacramento as part of the trade which eventually led the Spurs to acquire former Spur Drew Gooden. The Spurs have been interested in him for some time and missed out on drafting him when Sam forgot his age. He has proven to be a decent scorer, excellent outside shooter, and solid rebounder who brings tremendous hustle to the game during his NBA career. He has three years and $21 million remaining on his contract which ends after the 2011-12 NBA season.
Boris Diaw
Diaw, 27, was Tony Parker's best man when he married Gabby. He is a 6 year NBA veteran who has played for the Hawks, Suns, and now Bobcats. Last season he averaged 15.1 points and 5.9 boards in 37.1 minutes a night in 59 games with the Bobcats after being traded by the Suns. He also shot 41.9% on 167 3-point FG attempts. He has two years and $18 million left on his current contract.
The Spurs have truly surprised us all this offseason with their aggressive activity and were quite fortunate in the recent concluded draft, landing easily one of the top prospects in the entire draft with selection #37. At this point, I'd say there's no reason to believe that they are finished. Given the shape of the current roster, it looks like more moves will be made as the major part of free agency wraps up and other teams begin to sort out their own rosters. The potential trade targets I have mentioned above may be players of interest to the Spurs. I think the most likely trade will be for a bigman, or perhaps for a combo forward. This is a very interesting time to be a Spurs fan. So kick back, enjoy a sip of Patrón as I am doing, and savor it.
-MB
Last edited by Marcus Bryant; 07-08-2009 at 11:37 PM.
Dorell Wright?
Boris Diaw in a Spurs uniform has always been a dream of mine, I always thought he would be perfect on our team. The only problem was his contract was always so long and expensive I never truly wanted him. Now, with McDyess, I think someone like Marcus Camby would be a lot better suited.
williams under contract?? huh?
Didnt they just sign Jack Vaugn too??
Nice take. I hadn't thought about Bell too much but he makes a pretty good amount of sense. The Bobcats have been shopping him and may be interested in opening up playing time for younger prospects. With RC saying that the Spurs want to add a defensive piece to the perimeter, Bell would be one of the best fits in the league.
And yeah, a trade wouldn't be too surprising. The Haislip signing was somewhat odd if there wasn't more planned. Add in Gist saying he'll make the team and there very well could be something in the works.
doesnt raja bell hate the spurs or ginobili?
I would rather have bowen then bell
Nocioni in a Spurs uniform would be my dream.
he hates spurs kicking his ass out of playoffs
so he would welcome not to be playing against them in posteason
3 years ago
Not when you get to play with them
You've got some boring dreams
I have to say, I think we should fine a backup point guard. That's not George Hill bashing, who I like a lot, but Hill was a 2 in college. I hope the transition works (it showed some signs last year, but also some problems) but might also look for another backup at the point, in case Pop moves Hill back to the 2 or uses him mainly in the role as a defensive specialist.
Hey guys, i'm one of those that usually like to read and not sign in but decided to add to this thread. I really enjoy reading everyone's takes at spurstalk! Anyway, i was thinking that the Spurs may be looking to get a point guard to help out Tony. What do you all think?
I agree! (And welcome to the board!)Hey guys, i'm one of those that usually like to read and not sign in but decided to add to this thread. I really enjoy reading everyone's takes at spurstalk! Anyway, i was thinking that the Spurs may be looking to get a point guard to help out Tony. What do you all think?
Bonner/Finley for Raja Bell works in the NBA trade machine.
We'd lose shooting with Bell instead of Finley but we need a perimeter defender especially if Bowen doesn't return.
I agree.
With all credit to PHILACHAMBERLAIN from another thread, how about Finley and Bonner (and whatever else is needed - picks, cash) for Shane Battier? The trade works, he'd round out the team perfectly - defensive 3 who can play some smallball 4 and hits from deep, not to mention All-American team guy. Also, his contract ends in two years, which fits the 2011 retooling plan. That would bring the roster back to 15 and we'd have the stopper we need.
Call in the Scola favour - GET IT DONE!
Thanks!I agree! (And welcome to the board!)
Trades have to be within 125% (plus $100K). Taken the other way, it means the Spurs could take back a player making 80% of the one(s) they send to the other team. Which means they could ship out Bonner and Finley, with aggregate salaries of about $5.75M, and take back a player with a salary of $4.55M. That particular trade would save Holt $2.4M, right off the top, because of the Lux Tax match.
If the player they receive has any value at all to the team, it would be a great deal. With all the young talent in the pipeline, they can fill out a roster. Dumping a couple of million worth of expenses would be really attractive. I'm starting to think we won't see a trade unless it is something of that nature.
[Edit: this is an example, not a suggestion.] Spurs trade Bonner/Finley to Minnesota for Darius Songaila, and Holt gets to keep almost $2.5M worth of salary and Lux Tax in his bank account. If you really believe Bonner and Finley are expendable to this team, that trade would be a no-brainer. (Please... I didn't say the Wolves would do it. Just an example.)
Last edited by GSH; 07-09-2009 at 12:06 AM.
Bonner/Finley for Bell would be a good move.
PG parker hill
SG/SF manu RJ mason Finley
pf/c td, dice, Mahinmi, bonner haislip Blair
This will be my active list, it looks they have more than enough bigmen but are short of a backup pg. I like Hill, but he seems to me more like a sg, so bonner for a vet pg (only as the 3rd pg maybe) would be a wonderful trade.
Nice work Marcus.
I thought about this after the 'Dice signing and felt it was clear a trade was forthcoming, but was too busy to do the leg work on potential targets.
I really think we try and add a backup point, with someone at the 3/4 being an option as well. I have a sneaky su ion that Thomas and Bowen both find their ways back after things play out, which puts us at 18 players.
We could put together two packages that send out more players than we get back, and address both positions. We shall see, but it's hard to look at this roster and not think another deal is on the way (or two).
Battier >>>>>>>>>>>> Bell
....just bring Bruce back and call it an offseason.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
