Spurs reserve faces crucial days
By Jeff McDonald
In the second half of his Spurs preseason debut Saturday, Salim Stoudamire attempted something he'd recommend no player recovering from a strained groin try.
The high hurdles.
Stoudamire was closing in fast on Indiana's T.J. Ford, when the Pacers guard abruptly stopped his drive and up-faked. The move sent a surprised Stoudamire leaping over Ford's head and, ultimately, crashing shoulder-first into the court.
The entire AT&T Center seemed to cringe at once.
“It wasn't as bad as it looked,” Stoudamire said afterward.
Stoudamire came out of his first preseason game no worse for wear, an important first step in his bid to make the Spurs and revive his flailing career. He had been out of practice since Sept. 30 with an injured left groin.
The 26-year-old former Atlanta Hawks guard is in camp on a make-good deal. In order to guarantee the full value of his contract, he must first earn a roster spot.
In that regard, he is guaranteed nothing, and he knows it.
“It's do-or-die as far as my situation is concerned,” Stoudamire said. “It's a challenge, and I'm looking forward to it.”
Over the next eight days, leading up to the NBA's Oct. 27 deadline for roster cuts, Stoudamire will do his best to earn a nameplate over his locker at the AT&T Center. At the very least, perhaps he can force the Spurs to recover the one belonging to his older cousin Damon, who appeared in 38 games with the team last season, out of the trash heap.
One thing working in Stoudamire's favor: His resume contains real NBA experience, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich tends to prefer players who have demonstrated they can play in the league.
Taken by Atlanta with the first pick in the second round of the 2005 draft, Stoudamire spent his first three seasons with the Hawks — though a falling out with coach Mike Woodson eventually precipitated his departure this offseason.
One thing working against Stoudamire in San Antonio: Simple mathematics.
The Spurs already have three points guard with guaranteed contracts — Tony Parker, Jacque Vaughn and rookie George Hill.
Popovich says he would have to think long and hard about keeping a fourth point man.
“That would be difficult to do,” Popovich said. “Salim knows he's in a tough spot. He hasn't been able to play. So he's going to want to show us he's got skills we can't resist.”
Stoudamire, a career 40.7 percent shooter, wasn't irresistible in his preseason debut against the Pacers, but was intriguing.
The Spurs believe he could serve the same purpose Eddie House did for the Boston Celtics last season, providing quick-strike offense in well-timed spurts off the bench.
Ten seconds into his first-quarter stint Saturday, Stoudamire showed why, uncoiling his smooth left-handed stroke and draining a 17-footer.
He finished with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes of the Spurs' 106-98 victory. Not bad for shaking off the rust.
“It's always hard when you haven't played for a while,” Parker said, “but I thought he did all right.”
If the Spurs do decide to keep Stoudamire, there are steps they could take to loosen the logjam at point guard.
They could look to trade Vaughn, who is in the final year of a reasonable contract that would pay him $1.2 million this season.
Popovich, however, values Vaughn for his steady hand and leadership, as well his potential to mentor the newcomer Hill. So the Spurs might rather keep him around.
Stoudamire could become more attractive to the point-guard laden Spurs if he shows he could play shooting guard as well. At 6-foot-1, he would be undersized for that role on a consistent basis, but could be of use against smaller lineups.
“The other possibility is if he could play some ‘two' (shooting guard) or George Hill could play some ‘two,'” Popovich said. “If he played well enough to make us think in that direction, we could do it with a different sort of flexibility — using Salim and George as ‘one-twos,' so to speak.”
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