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One of his better articles. Hopefully McDonald continues to step up his game.
Spurs' Mason turns out to be first-rate second option
By Jeff McDonald
Just before 7:30 tonight, Corey Maggette will hear his name called by the public-address announcer at the AT&T Center. He will trot to center court, and take his place as a key member of his team's starting five.
It will be just as the Spurs envisioned it last summer, when they made Maggette a lucrative free-agent offer, with one glaring exception.
Instead of the silver and black of the Spurs, Maggette will be decked out in Golden State blue and gold.
The Spurs aren't crying over spilled free-agent milk. After all, signing Maggette then would have come with a consequence now.
“If Corey Maggette had accepted our offer,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “Roger Mason wouldn't be here.”
So far this season, the Spurs' free-agent loss has also been their gain. Mason has emerged as a Grade A Plan B, averaging 14.1 points and ranking among the league leaders in both 3-point production and accuracy.
Mason, the ex-Washington Wizard, has made 46 3-pointers, tied for third-most in the NBA, and is swishing them at a 47.9-percent clip.
Truth be told, the Spurs knew their courtship of Maggette, a 6-foot-6 scoring swingman, was a long shot from the beginning. They tendered the best offer they could — multiple seasons, starting at the full mid-level exception of $5.8 million — knowing another team would almost certainly outbid them.
That team turned out to be the Warriors.
Had Maggette not opted to follow the money, accepting a five-year deal worth $50 million from Golden State, Mason would be doing his gunning for another team right now.
When Maggette decided to take Golden State's money and run, Mason knew his phone was due to ring and it would be the Spurs.
“They were very clear I was their No. 1 option, if they didn't get Corey,” Mason said. “They made it known pretty early on they wanted me, but they wanted to see if they could get him first.”
The Spurs had long been high on Mason, who had worked out for them a summer earlier, before opting to re-sign with Washington.
“Every team has people on their radar screen where they say, ‘If he's ever available, he's a guy we want to get,'” Popovich said. “(Mason) has been near the top of our list for a few years now.”
Last summer, the only name above Mason's on that list belonged to Maggette.
Mason, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, never minded his status as the Spurs' second choice. He understood the allure of Maggette, who had averaged more than 19 points in four of his past six seasons with the L.A. Clippers.
“Corey Maggette scored nearly 20 points a game last year. He had great numbers,” Mason said. “My ego is never involved in things like that.”
That absence of ego has allowed Mason to mesh well in San Antonio, where Popovich routinely reminds his players of the need to “get over themselves.”
Bruce Bowen, one of the longest-tenured denizens of the Spurs locker room, says Mason arrived with but one character flaw.
“He loves his Redskins,” said Bowen, the Spurs' most outspoken Dallas Cowboys aficionado. “He was born in that area (Washington D.C.), so he can't help himself.”
Other than his unfortunate taste in NFL teams, Mason has acclimated well to his new NBA home. Bowen has been impressed with Mason's work ethic, which dovetails nicely with one of the league's more blue-collar teams.
“When a guy is willing to work at his craft, puts in his time, that makes it easier to accept anyone,” Bowen said. “We want to see a new player work as hard as we work, because our goal is to win championships.”
Where Mason has surfaced as a round peg for a round hole in San Antonio, Maggette appears to be on the verge of setting a new land speed record for wearing out a welcome in the Bay Area.
He has been bothered by a pair of perpetually balky hamstrings, which have caused him to miss four games.
When he's been healthy, Maggette has scored — 19.7 points per game — but he has donelittle to alter his reputation as a “shoot first, ask questions later” player.
According to a recent report on SI.com, Warriors team officials have privately admitted to buyers' remorse when it comes to Maggette. The Spurs harbor no regrets when it comes to their free-agent consolation prize.
Not only were the Spurs able to snag Mason at a fraction of Maggette's price tag, they were able to maintain a modi of salary-cap flexibility for the much ballyhooed summer of 2010, when a bevy of All-Stars will flood the free-agent market.
With no apparent hard feelings about Maggette's first refusal, Popovich declines to engage in an Aesopian game of sour grapes.
He doesn't pretend to possess the wherewithal to predict how life would be different with Maggette on his bench.
Thanks to Mason, he doesn't have to.
“Some people were happy Corey went elsewhere, some people were sad we didn't get him,” Popovich said. “Suffice it to say, nobody was sad we were able to bring in Roger.”
Last edited by duncan228; 12-05-2008 at 11:31 PM.
One of his better articles. Hopefully McDonald continues to step up his game.
Not bad at all.
this is one of the first half decent article's that I've read from Ronald...
“Suffice it to say, nobody was sad we were able to bring in Roger.”
Interesting. I would like to get my hands on that list.“Every team has people on their radar screen where they say, ‘If he's ever available, he's a guy we want to get,'” Popovich said. “(Mason) has been near the top of our list for a few years now.”
Last summer, the only name above Mason's on that list belonged to Maggette.
While Maggette is obviously the better player, I would rather have Mason. Mason fits the backup PG/SG we've needed for years.
Don't you think we are more in need of a scoring SF?
damn straight.
not if we're healthy. there are only so many shots to go around when tim, tony, and manu are on the floor.
what magette does give you (arguably the only thing he really gives you) is the ability to get to the free throw line when everything else stagnates.
but i think if the team knew that mason would be this good, they never would have offered magette to begin with.
Roger that.
Absolutely. If the Spurs could trade Mason for Maggette right now, would they do it? More importantly, would the Warriors?
Pop needs to talk to Money (and the team as a whole) about end of shot clock situations. I really don't like seeing Mason dribbling the ball with time winding down. He should be on the receiving end with only 3 secs left and let fly.
the warriors would do it just to get rid of his contract......
the only players on their payroll atm with any significant trade value is only their center......
I was thinking the same thing. I would love to know who the Spurs have on this so-called "radar screen" too. I'm sure Chris Bosh and Nicolas Batum are 2 players the Spurs would love to get their hands on, down the road, if it were ever possible."Every team has people on their radar screen where they say, ‘If he's ever available, he's a guy we want to get,'” Popovich said. “(Mason) has been near the top of our list for a few years now.”
Last summer, the only name above Mason's on that list belonged to Maggette.
So you're saying you'd rather have Roger Mason Jr. than Maggette at roughly 5 million per year? Now that's funny.
I think the Spurs loved the fact that Maggette takes the ball to the basket. Right now, only Manu and Tony do that. Roger just does on occasion too. But, that was his biggest draw. He will either get the points or go to the free throw line.
We still lack another player that can do that. However, I think the Spurs are impressed at how well Mason plays defense and how well he shoots off the dribble or a screen. Perhaps that was a pleasant surprise.
I would not be surprised at all if we went hard after Bosh. I think he is the most attainable FA on the list and will be best suited for us at the time. Finley will be gone and as long as RMJ continues to play well over these next two season we should re-sign him to solidify our back court. Hopefully we can pick up a young, athletic SF sometime before then.
A lot of this will depend in Manu too. If he really show serious signs of decline next season I would not be against throwing a big wad of cash at Joe Johnson. He is built like a typical Spurs player...good defender, lights out shooter, gets to the rim and can play both guard positions.
Well, it was closer to 6 and would escalate over 5 years.
Money independent - I'm not sure that I would rather have Mason. But it's close, and Mason makes half of what Maggette does for less time.
Mason does a couple of things that Maggette doesn't - he stretches the floor, he can run the point, and he plays competent defense. CM gets the FT line and rebounds well for his position. But he's a sieve defensively and goes into stretches where he's a chucker.
If everybody's healthy come this postseason - I think Mason fills a role on this squad better. If Manu's playing on a bad wheel again - then we'd need someone like Maggette.
You can add G Hill to that mix as well. Right now he still seems hesitant but by the end of the season I think he will take the ball to the hole much more consistently.
Is Mason the first shooter that the Spurs have brought in who didn't immediately go into a shooting slump for the year?
I think it may have been good luck that Manu went out and we had to rely on him for the first part of the season. He was told to shoot and keep us in games and did a good job. Must have been great for his confidence in coming to a veteran championship level team.
Roger is a brilliant fit for the Spurs, he was meant to be in black and white.
Turkoglu and Beno are very talented players but they weren't able to express their talent as spurs.
they were able to maintain a modi of salary-cap flexibility for the much ballyhooed summer of 2010, when a bevy of All-Stars will flood the free-agent market.L James or bustInteresting. I would like to get my hands on that list.
It took Barry 3 years to get comfortable with the team/system .
But Finley was pretty decent - 39.4% from 3 in his first year (well above his career average). Just maybe not quite what we had hope for. He was also pretty decent in the playoffs that year. He had a pretty good series against Dallas (really the ONLY guy outside of the big 3 who was competent in that postseason).
And, while he wasn't brought in to be a shooter - there's no doubt that Bruce greatly improved his shooting after coming here.
I agree. He seems to have more success when someone swings it to him and he can then let er rip. Mase can bring up the ball just fine, but I like the idea of someone finding him in position than him creating his own shot. Leave that to Tony and Manu. But I'm sure he's working hard and we'll see continued improvement from Mase as the season continues. He hasn't been bad-ass in every single game, but he definitely has been good more often than not. And keep in mind he did create his own game winning shot a few weeks ago (was that against the Clips?). so all in all, I'm really pleased with this guy. And I think we have him for 4 years.
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