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Uh, Buck, that's a different Thomas.
Edit --
Nope, sorry Buck -- my bad.
Buck Harvey: Spurs get better, and also richer
Web Posted: 02/20/2008 11:21 PM CST
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
Kurt Thomas will fit. He will fit somewhere under the armpits of Yao Ming.
He will also fit among other like-minded veterans in the locker room, and he will fit when the Spurs swing the ball in May, with the crowd howling, and they need someone with poise to knock down a 15-foot jumper.
But Thomas also fits into the budget, which is where the Spurs and the other Western Conference powers are so different. While everyone else has spent money this month the way Latrell Sprewell has, the Spurs have found a way to save Peter Holt some.
Will this ever catch up to the Spurs?
The Spurs have won in the past while proving dollars don't produce les. It's been the hallmark of a well-run franchise.
They've also invested when required, and they did in the summer of 2004. Then they gave a four-year deal to get a versatile shooter from the Sonics, and at least one Seattle columnist thought the Spurs had over-spent. Don't guards begin their decline at his age?
Brent Barry, instead, got better as the years went on. He pressed that first season and went through a slump, but he overcame his yips. He eventually fit with the Spurs, and his humor and commitment to San Antonio will be missed.
The rise of Ime Udoka is what made him expendable. The Spurs had a surplus of wing players, and Barry's expiring contract designated him as the easiest one to trade.
The price might seem high for Thomas, since the Spurs also gave up a 2009 first-round pick for a 35-year-old who might stay in town for just three months. Thomas' contract also expires this summer.
But Thomas fits so well that Phil Jackson joked Wednesday night about collusion. Didn't P.J. Carlesimo help out his old team?
Jackson sees what the Spurs see. In a conference that literally grew this month, the Spurs need someone who plays taller than his 6-foot-9 size.
Thomas will push Yao and the rising Rockets, and he will elbow Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol. As Thomas proved with the Suns last season when he defended Tim Duncan, he's smart and tough.
He will also rebound for a team that often struggles in that area, and he won't merely alternate with Fab Oberto. When Thomas subs for Duncan, the Spurs will have a post player with a reliable jumper.
The Spurs say they never considered trading for Ron Artest this season, not even for a moment, but they tried to land Thomas just before the trade deadline in 2004. Then they parked their charter jet on an airport tarmac while they waited to see if the Knicks would take Malik Rose in exchange.
The trade didn't happen and Rose stayed on the plane. But a year later Rose would head to the Knicks, just as Luis Scola went to Houston last summer, and just as Barry and Cisco Elson go to Seattle now. Basketball mattered in every equation, and so did economics.
It's some contrast compared to others in the West. The Lakers stole Gasol, and by doing so their payroll is already set at $75 million next season. That total will grow when they eventually re-sign Andrew Bynum.
The same Suns who dumped Thomas last summer to save money took on Shaquille O'Neal and his $20 million. Because of that, they are scheduled to pay eight players about $70 million next season.
And then there is Mark Cuban, the billionaire with the league's highest payroll. He's already committed about $70 million to seven players next season.
The Spurs actually made money Wednesday. Thomas' contract is about $500,000 less than the combined total of Barry's and Elson's.
The difference likely puts the Spurs under the luxury-tax plateau. Instead of paying a small tax, the Spurs could be in for a rebate worth as much as $2 million.
If the Spurs win this season, they will be celebrated for this. They will have done more with less yet again, and they will be applauded.
But if this is the future? With opponents willing to spend whatever is necessary?
Then there's reason to wonder if the Spurs fit.
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LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.38c573b.html
Last edited by some_user86; 02-21-2008 at 01:20 AM. Reason: Edit for better spacing after the byline.
Uh, Buck, that's a different Thomas.
Edit --
Nope, sorry Buck -- my bad.
Only the Knicks are still free spending -- and the days of that look numbered as well.But if this is the future? With opponents willing to spend whatever is necessary?
No, I think he got it right... KT was traded to Seattle last summer (Summer 2007) to save money.Uh, Buck, that's a different Thomas.
Spurs have roughly $53 mil committed next season.
nice one, buck
That's something we rarely stick in the faces of the opposition trolls who come in here - no only do the Spurs win, but they do it on a budget. Most of our major rivals spend more than we do, and still we have 3 trophies in 5 years. Suns, Lakers and Mavs trolls TAKE NOTICE.
In general, what an interesting season this has turned out to be for the whole NBA - and the most facsinating trade deadline I can remember (I think there was more interesting player movement in the 90s, but my memory of details is hazy).
Charley Finley would be proud.
Will Elson even wear a Sonics uni?
Hooray for Holt! The cheapest mother en owner in sports today! Cheap bas won't even give away a damn T shirt during the Finals!
You'd probably just get paint or mus on it anyways.
WTF are you complaining about? It was a good deal. Idiot.
How many finals tickets did you buy?
The old getting older...
Too bad Pop hates Artest...could have saved money that way too and got a guy that no one else matches up well with, who is a DPOY candidate, and who is much younger than Thomas as well.
Are we going to pretend that that trade package could have gotten Artest?
Spurs Answer Back, Acquire Kurt Thomas
Posted by Chris Bernucca on Feb. 20, 2008 at 11:25 p.m. ET
With the acquisition of rugged forward Kurt Thomas by the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, the wheeling and dealing in the Western Conference has come full circle.
It was the Spurs who triggered a series of moves by championship contenders when they signed free agent guard Damon Stoudamire less than a month ago. After watching Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas acquire superstars, San Antonio has countered as well.
The Spurs sent veteran guard Brent Barry, reserve big Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round pick to the SuperSonics for Thomas, who should help Tim Duncan and Fabricio Oberto defend the low post against Phoenix's Shaquille O'NealLos Angeles' Pau Gasol in a potential playoff matchup.
GM R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich found a familiar willing business partner in Sonics GM sam Presti, who was Buford's assistant until taking the Seattle job last summer.
No word whether Memphis GM Chris Wallace believes the deal is "beyond comprehension."
Thomas should fit right in with the Spurs, given his seasoning and postseason experience. The 13-year veteran was a member of the 1999 Knicks squad that reached the Finals, losing to the Spurs.
facepalm.jpg
35 years old!!! LOL
Suns lost.
We dumped this guy for a second rounder, you signed him for 2 players and a first round pick!!!! LOL
Your owner is cheaper than ours.We dumped this guy for a second rounder, you signed him for 2 players and a first round pick!!!! LOL
Suns lost.
You dumped this guy for a second rounder.We dumped this guy for a second rounder, you signed him for 2 players and a first round pick!!!! LOL
Until the Nuggets don't get him for basically the same thing only subbing Kleiza for Ian or Splitter...Yeah.
You did see Harvey stating that the Spurs never even attempted it...
I've never been against landing Artest, I've only been against the idea that Pop would do it...
Artest remains the only guy I've ever seen Pop go after in the media completely unprovoked(the year the Pacers were sending out flyers) and so I'm pretty sure if the Spurs didn't try it, it's because Pop didn't want him on this team.
Let's just wait see what the Kings end up getting for him...
Spurs good at going after leftovers...
Picking up NBA rejects is your specialty.
Great GM of yours!
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