Monroe: Relatively Good News About Hill's Thumb

[tav1]

A cruel irony would be Phoenix snagging him.

Phoenix doesn't have the $$$.

[xellos88330]

I do not know what to think anymore. It seems that this off-season did turn out to be quite pleasant after all, and now the Spurs are having trouble deciding which of the new cogs fit the best. Their problem is that they all seem to be a good fit. They are going to need to get a microscope to separate some of those new guys.

[#2!]

I think a lot of people are underestimating the minutes that Fin is going to be getting this year. Firstly, if Mason continues playing as inconsistently as he is right now I'd be willing to bet that Finley starts at the beginning of the season. C'mon do you really think Pop wouldn't play a proven and tough minded veteran like Finley, especially if he's in such good shape.

I could see once Manu comes back, and if Mason has kicked it into gear, scaling his minutes back some to save him for the playoffs. But remember his rhythm seemed to depend on starting and playing consistent minutes last year, so if he starts slipping too much I'm sure Pop'll give him the time right back.

[polandprzem]

Good news as a first thing in the morning.

Hopefully he will be back in the second week of a season ready to produce

[Manufan909]

Hope Salim can show us what he's made of, finally.

EDIT: Man I hope either Hill or Ian get at least 10 minutes + against Indiana, since I have tickets for that one, and they're the 2 Spurs I'm most excited about, not counting Mason.

[exstatic]

Hope Salim can show us what he's made of, finally.

EDIT: Man I hope either Hill or Ian get at least 10 minutes + against Indiana, since I have tickets for that one, and they're the 2 Spurs I'm most excited about, not counting Mason.

I think they said Ian was out for the pre-season.

[mrspurs]

For some years now, so many rookies have been coming into the NBA and playing on teams who drafted them. And I for one havnt kept up with all the names or the places they came from. I mean I hear a name here and there and have an idea which team they're playing for etc. And thou I know its still the preseason, Ive caught a few of the games they've been showing. And some of the highlights on teams that havnt been shown. And wow can these new kids play. Other then Hill and Tolliver, the talent on the teams with all of these young players grabbed in the 1st and 2nd rounds who have been playing for more then a year in the league, by far are better then the rest of the young guns on our squad. And Im comparing our young guys based on exactly what Ive seen summer leagues, preseason games etc. Heres the fact, if we dont pick up some of the guys that have been named in this thread, I dont see why those other NBA teams would waste their time with them. Those D-leagues is where they belong. Not on our bench wasting time. I would guess the best thing you can hope for is one of them showing great potential in order to use them as trade bait. If your not LA or the Celts, and you cant get a high profile FA to sign. Then I for one dont expect the spurs to be better then last season. Not because we got worse, but simply because the rest of the teams are getting better awhole lot faster.

[tav1]

I think a lot of people are underestimating the minutes that Fin is going to be getting this year. Firstly, if Mason continues playing as inconsistently as he is right now I'd be willing to bet that Finley starts at the beginning of the season. C'mon do you really think Pop wouldn't play a proven and tough minded veteran like Finley, especially if he's in such good shape.

I could see once Manu comes back, and if Mason has kicked it into gear, scaling his minutes back some to save him for the playoffs. But remember his rhythm seemed to depend on starting and playing consistent minutes last year, so if he starts slipping too much I'm sure Pop'll give him the time right back.

Inconsistently? He's played in two preseaon games. It's too early to know much of anything about Mason, other than he's a first year player.

[tav1]

Random question: would it violate the CBA for a wealthy friend of the Spurs to pull a Angelopoulos, albeit more modestly, and secure a house or two between Austin and San Antonio for select Toros players to live in while with the team. Nothing outrageous, but maybe with a chef, weight room and leased car.

In other words, would this help protect against call ups. If, in addition to his official salary and per diem, a friend of the team let, say, Hairston live in a house with chef and car. Just a thought.

[ChumpDumper]

Toros get housing already, and there is no little perk that would outweigh the positives of an NBA call up. A player can make almost as much in a 10-day NBA contract than in an entire season in the D-League, to say nothing of the exposure and opportunities any amount of time in the NBA can provide.

I'm all for the NBA's raising D-League salaries across the board however. That could keep a few players from heading overseas each year.

[tav1]

Toros get housing already, and there is no little perk that would outweigh the positives of an NBA call up. A player can make almost as much in a 10-day NBA contract than in an entire season in the D-League, to say nothing of the exposure and opportunities any amount of time in the NBA can provide.

I'm all for the NBA's raising D-League salaries across the board however. That could keep a few players from heading overseas each year.

Well, that kills today's bright idea.

Higher salaries to prevent players from going overseas is needed, I agree.

But I'm more concerned about the Spurs ability to protect other teams from poaching their draft picks. It would be great if they could retain Hairston's rights through the Toros without having to give him a Spurs roster spot--higher pay is certainly part of this solution. The NBDL is not well conceived for those situations wherein an NBA team owns a farm team.

There was a piece on True Hoop last week that stated the NBA supplements the sentimental boondoggle known as the WNBA to the tune of 12 million a season to offset their losses. The writer suggested that money go to the NBDL instead, which sounds like a great idea to me.

I've mentioned this before, but I'd like to see the concept of player "franchising" built into the next CBA for those teams that own a NBDL squad. In other words, the Spurs could "franchise" Malik Hairston through the Toros, and by so doing would obligate themselves to paying him a "franchise" fee or supplemental salary, or some such. This option would be available for any player a team had drafted or given a training camp contract to.

The options would exist alongside the alternate of giving the player a Spurs contract and placing him on assignment, but would increase the total number of players the Spurs could be grooming in Austin and give them protection against poaching.

Players could refuse franchise contracts.

Other details need sorted out of course. For example, maybe there need be a one or two season limit on franchising. But in general, it's a good idea.

Under this scheme, it's likely that James Gist, Viktor Sanikidze and Malik Hairston could all play for the Toros this season, as franchise assignment. The Spurs could also send down a player like Mahinmi if they so chose.

[angelbelow]

i think salim is gonna light it up.