Barry not totally useless?

[Dex]

Looking through the end of the year stats, I came upon an interesting discovery.

For the 06-07 season, Barry ended the year with a .446 3P%, which was 3rd among players who averaged at least three a game (and 4th among players who put up at least two).

The only bombers who finished better than Brent were Jason Kapono and Steve Nash. And that's even after he admittedly cooled off towards the end of the season and resumed his spot on the bench.

Granted his defense is still suspect and he's got to make his one stereotypically-ridiculous turnover a game, but he's always been a spark as a playmaker and apparently is still doing what the Spurs signed him to do - hit three-pointers.

(And for those of you who want to argue that Barry doesn't shoot enough: the only people with a higher 3PpG either play twice the minutes, or play for Phoenix. )

You'd think the guy would be able to stick a damn spot in the rotation, if not bring us a little trade value. I'd like to think that if he happens to still be around next season, he'd be able to make himself a useful counterpart.

I'm too lazy to change my friggin avatar.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Barry certainly has his moments. Even though he's overpaid, I have always enjoyed him as a 8th-10th player for the Spurs.

It seems to me that, on average, once in every 4 games he'll come out and change the momentum with a few 3s or some mad hustle play. I also get the feeling he's a great glue guy in the locker room.

I particularly remember two games in the 2005 Finals where he played crucial roles, and he played a bunch of great games in January this year when I was in SA.

I'm glad he was here to get the rings.

Onya BB!

[bdictjames]

I always liked Barry. He hits shots and hustles out there. I never really saw the point of people saying "Ship Beno and Barry for ______". Beno shipped is great, but we never know we might lose someone special in old Brent.

[AFBlue]

Barry is a great character guy and an excellent (albeit somewhat streaky) shooter. He's also an underrated ball-handler and athlete.

Having said that, I think his contract and his less-than-stellar (though not deplorable) defense have made him a prime target for relocation.

The saddest part (because he's such a good guy) is that I think the likelihood of his departure only increases with the addition of Ime Udoka. There are only so many minutes to go around, and if Ime asserts himself early, Barry might find himself out of the rotation and ultimately off the Spurs.

[AFBlue]

I always liked Barry. He hits shots and hustles out there. I never really saw the point of people saying "Ship Beno and Barry for ______". Beno shipped is great, but we never know we might lose someone special in old Brent.

If Udoka is able to show his defensive skill as well as the ability to knock down open 3's, I wouldn't mind using that phrase above.

The Spurs could use a long 3/small ball 4, a legitimate backup PG, another low-post threat, or another slasher that can create their own shot.

If Barry + Beno helps them to that end, I don't think I'd mind....

[Darkwaters]

The issue with Barry does not have anything to do with his inability to knock down shots (we all know he can do that). But rather that he doesn't always take his wide open looks. He hesitates and makes one too many passes...either allowing the defense to recover to giving the shot to a far inferior shooter. If it comes down to Barry shooting the ball with a hand in his face or Jacque Vaughn shooting a wide open jumper then I'll take Barry any day. Hes a shooter. Thats what he does. But when he loses confidence in his shot he becomes expendable.

[timvp]

Even if Udoka signs, I'm fine with keeping Barry on board. Sure he's overpaid but might as well ride out the end of his deal. If the Spurs are desperate at the trade deadline, his contract is one that is easily traded.

Put him in a Steve Kerr role where he can be the third point guard and used in spot situations when the Spurs need to knock down some shots and he can fit that role perfectly. He's no longer an everyday player in the playoffs but he can still produce in the regular season and has shown an ability to understand his role.

[Bunz]

Even if Udoka signs, I'm fine with keeping Barry on board. Sure he's overpaid but might as well ride out the end of his deal. If the Spurs are desperate at the trade deadline, his contract is one that is easily traded.

Put him in a Steve Kerr role where he can be the third point guard and used in spot situations when the Spurs need to knock down some shots and he can fit that role perfectly. He's no longer an everyday player in the playoffs but he can still produce in the regular season and has shown an ability to understand his role.

EXACTLY

[SequSpur]

Brent Barry is not overpaid. This dude can ball. The only reason he doesn't get to ball is because he has Manu and Finley in front of him.

In certain situations last year, this dude did a great job. On the other hand, paying Bonner more than hourly minimum wage is frickin luda.

[smrattler]

Even with Udoka signing, I still like the idea of keeping Barry. He brings things to this team on the court and locker room that wins games. We won the le for obvious reason: defense, Manu/TP, TD, Pop... But one reason that gets overlooked was being the #1 3 point shooting team (or pretty close to #1, I forget if we got passed up).

When you have bad shooting nights overall, being able to hit a nice %age of your 3's makes up for that. Giving up offensive rebounds some nights to certain teams? You win the game behind the arc and you make that up. Have a problem with turnovers some nights? The 3 ball cleans that up for you. It erases a lot of problems you might have on some nights. Not to mention allows our Manu and TP to drive at will and gives TD some extra room down low.

Barry is a big part of that success. He also is a great teamate in the locker room, on the bench, on the court (always looking to get guys shots). And now with a couple of les, he knows how to stick a dagger in a team for the big wins in June. I wouldn't trade him just for the sake of trading him.

[pad300]

My question about Barry is
Do you think he will be willing to sign for the minimum next year? I think the Spurs would happily take him back for a couple of years at that price, and I don't think too many other teams would offer him more (he's 35, going on 36 as of 31 Dec.)

I can see him back in a Spurs jersey next year. Can you?

[lotr1trekkie]

Brent can also play the point in an emergency. Bye Beno!

[thispego]

what does koopa have to say about this? nothing?

[timvp]

My question about Barry is
Do you think he will be willing to sign for the minimum next year? I think the Spurs would happily take him back for a couple of years at that price, and I don't think too many other teams would offer him more (he's 35, going on 36 as of 31 Dec.)

I can see him back in a Spurs jersey next year. Can you?

I don't know about planning for more than just this coming year out of Barry. With Barry, much like Bowen, you have to realize that one day they will wake up and just not have it. It happens to everybody. And with both players being north of 35, that time is coming sooner rather than later.

I'm comfortable with Barry taking a Steve Kerr type role for this upcoming season. Maybe even expand his minutes a bit in the regular season since he's a good regular season player. However, I don't think the Spurs can expect him to be a big factor in next season's playoffs, much less years to come.

[ducks]

I think spurs should cut beno and let barry fight it out to backup tp

[Thomas]

No bad word about Brent Barry, he's the man

[urunobili]

Keep Barry!!!!

[duncan228]

Even with Udoka signing, I still like the idea of keeping Barry. He brings things to this team on the court and locker room that wins games. We won the le for obvious reason: defense, Manu/TP, TD, Pop... But one reason that gets overlooked was being the #1 3 point shooting team (or pretty close to #1, I forget if we got passed up).

When you have bad shooting nights overall, being able to hit a nice %age of your 3's makes up for that. Giving up offensive rebounds some nights to certain teams? You win the game behind the arc and you make that up. Have a problem with turnovers some nights? The 3 ball cleans that up for you. It erases a lot of problems you might have on some nights. Not to mention allows our Manu and TP to drive at will and gives TD some extra room down low.

Barry is a big part of that success. He also is a great teamate in the locker room, on the bench, on the court (always looking to get guys shots). And now with a couple of les, he knows how to stick a dagger in a team for the big wins in June. I wouldn't trade him just for the sake of trading him.

I just started to type my thoughts and re-read the thread before I posted.
Glad I did because you said everything I was going to!

Barry's contributions on and off the court are good enough to keep him around. I think because he wasn't traded these last 2 seasons that the team has made it clear they'll keep him. (Unless packaging him with Beno is the only way to get rid of Beno! )

[Hoy]

I have derogatory opinion of Berry's game. His vaunted basketball intelligence is absolutely negated by his instincts so he make bad passes, he is no use in playoffs because he can't handle pressure. I rather look and develop young potentials than waste anymore time and resources on players who can't play most critical games.

[wildbill2u]

We used to pay Sean Marks several million a year for no other contribution than a warm body in practice, a good guy in the locker room and appearances in 23-25 games a year.

Barry is still worth a roster slot and could have some trade value.

[thispego]

I have derogatory opinion of Berry's game. His vaunted basketball intelligence is absolutely negated by his instincts so he make bad passes, he is no use in playoffs because he can't handle pressure. I rather look and develop young potentials than waste anymore time and resources on players who can't play most critical games.

well, since you can't even spell his name correctly in a Brent Barry thread, i'll take your opinion of him and his game with a grain of salt

[Dex]

I've always been a Barry supporter. People who say he can't play in the clutch obviously aren't remembering some of the huge shots he hit in 2005, not to mention that series-shifting game winner in 2006 against the Kings.

But he has gotten slower with his age, and he was never particularly quick to begin with.

Unfortunately, I think the Udoka signing does only make Brent more obselete. The wings are already going to be pretty full with Manu, Finley, and the possible Ime. And Brent has even admitted himself that while he can manage to backup the 1 in a pinch, he's not quick enough for a lot of the leagues point gaurds. As long as we've got Vaughn to fill in behind Parker, I don't see Barry picking up any extra minutes there.

He better start the season shooting fitty-percent again if he wants to crack that rotation.

[thispego]

get beno's ass outta here, then we wont have to worry about losing Brent instead of Beno's punk ass. Every time I look at the cover of the San Antonio Express's 2007 Championship issue I get pissed looking at beno's stupid smile

[kskonn]

I have derogatory opinion of Berry's game. His vaunted basketball intelligence is absolutely negated by his instincts so he make bad passes, he is no use in playoffs because he can't handle pressure. I rather look and develop young potentials than waste anymore time and resources on players who can't play most critical games.

seriously?? did you watch the 05 playoffs? He was the only guy besides Tony that could bring the ball up against the pistons defense. That was the first time Beno started showing his true colors. Personally it sounds like you have a personal hatred of Barry, but whatever.

[Solid D]

The Spurs needed an extra swingman as injury insurance with James White! gone. The Spurs are long in the tooth on the wing, in fact Manu is the youngest even with Ime. With age comes chronic uprisings of pain inside our bodies.

Darkwaters reminds us all that Brent Barry's biggest problem isn't shooting but it's shooting without hesitation when open. Pop blew a gasket more than once with Brent over not taking the shot and Pop's feelings about that are evident in one of the video clips from the huddle at the end of the year.

Regarding Ime again, this is a bargain price for this guy, if true. He's not Bruce Bowen and he will have to learn how to play screen/rolls better based on what I've seen of him, plus tweener size will be noticed...but he makes up for some of his weak points with hustle and intensity and a nice stroke.