Kings waive Gooden; Spurs next?

[MarHill]

Contract motivation doesn't improve BB IQ unfortunately.

It definately can't hurt if he brings the right at ude.

Yes, that's probably true.

But if Gooden shows he can be a contributor to a playoff-tested, championship contending team...his value goes up in the offseason.

And if he gets a ring.....that's even better!

[MarHill]

Pops Kunta-Kinte it is.

Yeah, Marcus I believe Pops will be waived.

I will wait and see on Thursday..because you know things can change quickly!!!

[MaNu4Tres]

Wednesday night/ Thursday morning is when the 10 day contract to Pops Ali-Bonsu expires so signing Gooden thursday makes sense.

[silk]

I understand your reasoning, Timvp, but i like bonner with timmy and tony , and i think kurt thomas will also be solid come play off time, so there's only spot duty on the bench, scoring some point in the paint when timmy's out, a little time here, a litlle minutes heres

i see him more like a point burster off the bench


4th big

and i really hope we sign him, for the rest of the mle, we just can not not go after him

[MaNu4Tres]

I understand your reasoning, Timvp, but i like bonner with timmy and tony , and i think kurt thomas will also be solid come play off time, so there's only spot duty on the bench, scoring some point in the paint when timmy's out, a little time here, a litlle minutes heres

i see him more like a point burster off the bench


4th big

and i really hope we sign him, for the rest of the mle, we just can not not go after him

Gooden has the skills to take Bonner and Kurts minutes but it won't happen quickly. I see Pop bringing in gooden off the bench for maybe 15 -18 minutes a game for his first 5-10 games until he starts getting his assignments somewhat down and earns more minutes. Ultimately in the end, I see Gooden starting next to Tim and getting 25-28 mpg with Bonner and Kurt coming off the bench with Manu and Bruce.

[Spursfan092120]

Thanks.

Not a problem...

[Marcus Bryant]

Yeah, Marcus I believe Pops will be waived.

I will wait and see on Thursday..because you know things can change quickly!!!

No, I mean Pops will be the Spurs' 5th big if that's what those knuckleheads are reporting.

[justinandimcool]

Is there a difference between waving Pops and sending him back down to Austin? Would they be one and the same thing?

[MateoNeygro]

So let's narrow down the list. It's not hard, actually. Boston has a full roster, L.A. has little chance of meaningful playing time, and the Cavs would be off the list too once they added Smith.
That takes us to the league's second tier of contenders, which looks roughly like: San Antonio, Orlando, Houston, Utah and perhaps Denver.
Of those, we can safely eliminate Utah (which simply has no need for another power forward) and probably Houston too (it has several decent big men and is up against the luxury-tax line).
There's a good chance that money knocks out two other teams. Orlando is a possibility given its paucity of frontcourt reserves and Gooden's previous history there, but I'm not sure how seriously people take the Magic's chances of contending since Jameer Nelson went out. At any rate, the Magic have used their midlevel and biannual exceptions this summer so they can offer him only the veteran's minimum.
Denver offers similar pros and cons for Gooden. The Nuggets have a thin frontcourt where he'd almost certainly earn minutes, but are pinned against the tax line, making it unlikely they could offer more than the minimum.
Do the math and one destination emerges as the most likely: San Antonio. The Spurs can give him a piece of their midlevel exception (about $1.5 million through the end of the season), a realistic path to a conference finals appearance at the least, and a chance to earn big chunks of minutes (Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto have been found wanting all season).
The only problem, it seems, is saying it out loud: Drew Gooden on the Spurs? Really? The guy who's known for mental errors and has a medusa beard, signing on with the league's must buttoned-down, no-nonsense outfit?
But the logic on every other level is too strong to dismiss it. The Spurs have done this dance before, remember -- think of Cap'n Jack in 2003 -- and no matter what it will be only the second-most eyebrow-raising waiver pickup this winter (take a bow, Starbury).
And in this case, the Last Chance Saloon metaphor couldn't be more fitting. For a San Antonio team trying to squeeze one more le before what will likely be a wholesale restructuring around the Duncan-Parker nucleus in 2010, there's really not much choice -- they need to belly up to the bar and drink whatever's on tap, so to speak, because this is the only way to match up in the playoffs with the L.A.s and Utahs of the West.

That was so gangster!

[Marcus Bryant]

Is there a difference between waving Pops and sending him back down to Austin? Would they be one and the same thing?

If you need a roster spot, they would be different.

[FromWayDowntown]

Is there a difference between waving Pops and sending him back down to Austin? Would they be one and the same thing?

For the Spurs to send Pops to Austin directly and have him there exclusively for a call-up, he has to be one of the 15 players on their roster.

I can't imagine that a release by the Spurs would prohibit Pops from resigning with the Toros and continuing to play in something resembling the Spurs' system; but unless he's under contract with the Spurs, he can be called up by any team in the league if it so chooses.

[Spursfan092120]

If you need a roster spot, they would be different.

Yeah..and someone else could pick him and up store him...that would suck.

[Kindergarten Cop]

Good catch. My mistake.

No problem.

[Spursfan092120]

WOAI Channel 4..Don Harris is about to talk about Gooden.

[Spursfan092120]

Harris' sources say Gooden will wind up with the Spurs, and might be signed by Thursday.

[EricB]

Yeah it's pretty much a done deal.

[Spursfan092120]

Yeah it's pretty much a done deal.

What do you think about it?

[Russ]

Harris' sources say Gooden will wind up with the Spurs, and might be signed by Thursday.

In retrospect, I think we will be saying that this was a red-letter date.

[The Truth #6]

If they're smart they'll cut JV since he's the one who doesn't even play anyway. Gooden is only going to be around for the rest of this season. There is no way this guy ends up with us next year. I'd take a chance on Gooden, keep Pop as an investment for the future, and get rid of JV.

If JV has to play any minutes in the playoffs, then that implies something is seriously wrong anyway. Mason is a better option at the 1 then JV. Give JV a job next year as an asst. coach, if not this year for the remainder of this year.

[EricB]

What do you think about it?

I think for the money it's a great signing but I don't look for him to be the savior or anything.

[Marcus Bryant]

Let's face it, Matt Bonner is no defensive stalwart, yet somehow the Spurs have the 5th best record in the NBA with him as their starting center and with however many games lost between their big 3.

I think acquiring Camby for George Hill would have made for a red letter date. Getting a 27 year old big who can put up 12 and 8 for the minimum is not a bad deal, especially when your 3rd best bigman is Matt Bonner.

[Spursfan092120]

I think for the money it's a great signing but I don't look for him to be the savior or anything.

Agreed 100%. Question is..will he be a Spur next year? I doubt it.

[SenorSpur]

ESPN's Mark Stein was just on the local Mavs pregame show (his usual appearance) and he confirmed what we already know - Spurs are indeed the frontrunners for Gooden. He claimed it would be between Spurs and Cavs, yet because the Cavs are almost certainly going to sign Joe Smith, Gooden would be the logical choice for the Spurs. He claims the reason the Spurs are the frontrunners is because they have a portion of their mid-level exception still available, whereas other possible lower-tier suitors (Mavs, Hornets) do not.

Another interesting note that he pointed out was the Fakers actually did make an inquiry about Gooden. However, it was just a possible ploy attempt to keep him from the Spurs. However with the expectation that Bynum would be coming back soon, it didn't make a lot of sense for them.

[EricB]

Let's face it, Matt Bonner is no defensive stalwart, yet somehow the Spurs have the 5th best record in the NBA with him as their starting center and with however many games lost between their big 3.

I think acquiring Camby for George Hill would have made for a red letter date. Getting a 27 year old big who can put up 12 and 8 for the minimum is not a bad deal, especially when your 3rd best bigman is Matt Bonner.

Agreed although I have to disagree with the tone of your post regarding matt bonner.

[dbestpro]

Prediction: Gooden signs with the Spurs and becomes the darling new Spur to Spurs fans matching their same surprise they had in Mason. Gooden provides average defense which is enough along side Duncan. His real value shows as he averages double digit rebounds and provides inside offense when Duncan is on the bench. In the end it becomes apparent that Gooden has never played along the likes of Duncan and it helps him elevate his game. The play of Gooden and Duncan as they learn to work off of one another shocks the pundits and propels the Spurs to the NBA finals. The Lakers cry foul because they never played the Spurs, but got eliminated in the first round by another Texas team.
Let the insults begin.