Gooden In Spurs Uniform On Friday

[PeterBurns]

What ya think....Poll time.

Me thinks Yes with Hariston waived and sent to Austin.
Your thoughts...

[benefactor]

Probably...but with Hairston still here and Pops waived.

[Spursmania]

Gooden here-Pops waived.

[Thompson]

Probably with Pops gone, but an outside chance they waive Udoka or Vaughn. It might be nice to have Pops next year, and I don't think it's very likely we'll keep either of the other two (maybe Vaughn).

[johnnyblues]

Gooden in - Udoka out.

[Dex]

Did we sign this guy already and somebody not tell me?

I'm not sure why everybody is getting so excited about a report of the Spurs being the front-runner for a big name.

Not trying to be the wet blanket and I'd be glad to have his services, but that historically hasn't boded well for the Spurs.

[PeterBurns]

Kind of looked at it. Pop is much more raw, but I think teams would give him more of a look than Malik. So might be safer to stash Malik than Pops.

Plus, if there might be some good tutelage of having Pops on the bench for a playoff run just for the experience factor. Either way, neither would get minutes in a series.

[m33p0]

pops back in the d-league and be seen next in training camp.

[EricB]

Yes and pops the golden god is sent packing and spurs fans demand popovich's firing

[exstatic]

Did we sign this guy already and somebody not tell me?

I'm not sure why everybody is getting so excited about a report of the Spurs being the front-runner for a big name.

Not trying to be the wet blanket and I'd be glad to have his services, but that historically hasn't boded well for the Spurs.

Did you read the poll options, specifically the last one?

[Spursfan092120]

What ya think....Poll time.

Me thinks Yes with Hariston waived and sent to Austin.
Your thoughts...

I agree..I think it'll be Hairston as well..

[PeterBurns]

Did we sign this guy already and somebody not tell me?

I'm not sure why everybody is getting so excited about a report of the Spurs being the front-runner for a big name.

Not trying to be the wet blanket and I'd be glad to have his services, but that historically hasn't boded well for the Spurs.

My sister boyfriends cousin said they they saw a text message on Drew Gooden's Housekeepers phone in Spanish. Through translation it said. Milk, Eggs, and Baby Wipes. So, it's practically done. Plus the Ouija Board and 8 Ball Agreed

[TheProfessor]

Kind of looked at it. Pop is much more raw, but I think teams would give him more of a look than Malik. So might be safer to stash Malik than Pops.

Plus, if there might be some good tutelage of having Pops on the bench for a playoff run just for the experience factor. Either way, neither would get minutes in a series.

Popovich is likely more attached to Malik at this point; the Spurs have been impressed with his work on both sides of the ball in Austin and will want him around just to experience the stretch run and playoffs. They see more potential in him than an athletic specimen on a 10-day contract. Not to mention Pops is redundant once Gist is likely brought over next year.

[PeterBurns]

Popovich is likely more attached to Malik at this point; the Spurs have been impressed with his work on both sides of the ball in Austin and will want him around just to experience the stretch run and playoffs. They see more potential in him than an athletic specimen on a 10-day contract. Not to mention Pops is redundant once Gist is likely brought over next year.

Well...that pretty much pwned my thoughts. Nicely put.

[m33p0]

Pop picking up Malik in person said a lot about Pop's perception of Malik.

[Thompson]

Pop picking up Malik in person said a lot about Pop's perception of Malik.

What?

[timvp]

Why Friday? He clears waivers on Wednesday

[Samr]

ASSUMING the Spurs sign him, I'm guessing Mensawhatever gets the cut. However, based upon what I've read (I haven't seen mensabobo play in person), I'd prefer to see JV get the cut and moved to a coaching position, a la Avery Johnson.

But first, let's make sure the spurs actually get gooden. I've been a spurs fan for too long to get excited yet.

[PeterBurns]

Why Friday? He clears waivers on Wednesday

I like the movie Friday. So it made sense.
SMOKEY

[SouthTexasRancher]

What ya think....Poll time.

Me thinks Yes with Hariston waived and sent to Austin.
Your thoughts...

Pop is a fool if he keeps Ime 'The Bum' Udoka over Pops.

If Gooden passes the physical Thursday then he will be a Spur come Friday but, most likely won't even get on the court till Pop has put him through several practice sessions.

BTW, tell Mike Taylor to stop using that fake Texas drawl. You can listen to him for 5 minutes tops and then it is time to switch to Jason & Chris on 1250 The Zone where we have to listen to Chris go on and on and on and on about TO. Hey Chris, just marry the guy and save the rest of us from all the on air kissey-poo!

[m33p0]

What?

Rest for 'Big Three' helps Hairston get first real taste of NBA
Jeff McDonald

Malik Hairston first suspected something was up Tuesday afternoon when the Spurs' early bus to the Pepsi Center picked up a hitchhiker.

Granted, Hairston hadn't been with the team for long, but he'd never seen Gregg Popovich on this bus before.

The early bus is not the cool kids' bus. It is typically the preferred mode of transportation for broadcasters, assistant coaches and out-of-the-rotation players in need of extra work. Not for head coaches.

But Popovich was on board for a reason. He and his assistants gathered Hairston and the rest of the seldom-used players, and offered a hint of what was to come later against Denver.

“They told me I was going to get some minutes, and to be ready,” Hairston said.

It wasn't long before Hairston realized the reason for his impending increased workload. With his team still feeling the effects of a grueling overtime victory at Golden State the night before, Popovich had decided to rest Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley.

Everybody else would be playing more than usual. And Hairston was a part of “everybody else.”

The merit of Popovich's decision to play short-handed — and essentially ribbon-wrap for Denver the playoff tiebreaker — was a point of argument across the Internet and national airwaves Wednesday.

To Hairston, a rookie, there was no debate. He was all for it.

Making just his third NBA appearance, Hairston logged 20 minutes off the bench in the Spurs' closer-than-expected 104-96 loss. He scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and — little more than a week removed from the Development League — was the team's second-leading scorer behind Roger Mason Jr.

Leaving the Pepsi Center, Hairston finally felt like an NBA player.

“You gotta to love it,” Hairston said. “This is what you work your whole life to get.”

It will likely be a long time before Hairston sees as much action in an NBA game again. On a normal night, one in which his head coach does not opt to pretend it is the preseason, Hairston would line up behind Ginobili, Mason, Finley, Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka on the wing.

Yet for Hairston, just slipping on a Spurs jersey is cause for celebration at this point.

Initially acquired from Phoenix in a draft-day swap of second-round picks in June, Hairston — a 6-foot-6 swingman from Oregon — was the Spurs' final cut in training camp.

He landed, unattached, with the Austin Toros, the Spurs' affiliate in the D-League, where he averaged 21.1 points in 23 games. That was enough to earn Hairston a spot in the D-League All-Star Game, to be played during the NBA's All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.

More importantly for Hairston, it was also enough to earn him a second shot at the NBA. The Spurs, who had always valued his defensive prowess, re-signed him Dec. 22, then called him up on Saturday.

By Tuesday night in Denver, Hairston was recording his first NBA points with a slam dunk on his first NBA field-goal attempt — the basketball equivalent of hitting a home run in your first major league at-bat.

Hairston's most profitable experience against the Nuggets came in defending the prolific Carmelo Anthony for several stretches. Anthony got the better of that battle — he scored 35 points, after all — but for Hairston, it was a good day of on-the-job training.

“It's a tough assignment to go against Carmelo Anthony, but he did fine,” said Mason, who assisted on Hairston's inaugural NBA basket. “He wasn't intimidated. He played hard.”

Hairston also drew praise from one of his fellow passengers on the early bus.

“I thought Malik was very aggressive,” Popovich said. “Played good defense. Wasn't afraid to take it to the rim. I thought he played a fine all-around game.”

Mason invitation official: Mason has been officially invited to participate in the NBA's 3-point shootout on All-Star Weekend, the league announced Wednesday. The Express-News first reported Mason's selection in Sunday's editions.

Mason will join a field that includes two-time defending champion Jason Kopono of Toronto, Indiana's Danny Granger, Orlando's Rashard Lewis, Atlanta's Mike Bibby and Miami's Daequan Cook.

[Manu-of-steel]

Popovich is likely more attached to Malik at this point; the Spurs have been impressed with his work on both sides of the ball in Austin and will want him around just to experience the stretch run and playoffs. They see more potential in him than an athletic specimen on a 10-day contract. Not to mention Pops is redundant once Gist is likely brought over next year.

agreed. plus we have a guy named mahinmi next season. so pops is getting waived. vaughn will never be waived, because the play of hill is still not for play-off contender. he's very tentative, he just got aggressive when the game is already out of reach.

[bigdog]

Yes. If Gooden is here, Pops will be gone.

[Hemotivo]

bonsu waived

[loveforthegame]

Wrong thread.