Drew Gooden officially signed by Spurs

[#2!]

And the best part of it all was when he said "The best play for me is to go get an offensive rebound." I think that gave me wood...lol

lmfao over here.

But yeah i agree, that was the best thing I heard him say. I think that his rebounding at BOTH ends of the court is going to make him a great asset to our team. Plus, he already knows that with all the stars and shooters on our team that he needs to focus on working w/out having plays called for him.

getting excited

[polandprzem]

No worries. The same thing happened to midgetonadonkey a couple of months back.

You both must have follen on your head

[Spursfan092120]

And this one MIGHT come in handy

[thOOdee]

do you think, after him stating he is healthy, that gooden will be a go for the lakers next week?

[BlackSwordsMan]

he's ready to go now he says

[Manufan909]

gooden: "...not just for the rest of the season, but i think there might be a future for me here."

:O

Same reaction here. Hope he doesn't see $$$ if the Spurs get #5, cuz I doubt Pop will give him a fat contract, unless he averages his career numbers alongside Duncan.

If he is serious about win chips, I think he'll be ok with a decent deal. But that ing 2010 is damn annoying, I have to always think around it. I guess they'd sign him for 1 season again. But if Bosh comes, then .

[biba]

Phil Jackson pov:

No help Needed

Jackson said he's comfortable with Cleveland adding free-agent big man Joe Smith and San Antonio doing the same with Drew Gooden, because the Lakers are capable of winning a championship with who they have.

"Those teams really do need extra help," Jackson said. "Gooden is an exceptional rebounder. He's a real quality athlete. He can shoot the basketball and help San Antonio immensely. Smith is a different player; he's more of a scorer, an older player, so he has to be nurtured along."

http://www.pe.com/sports/breakout/st...6.3728b51.html

[Manufan909]

Glad to hear Jackson is still a pompous ass, I hope he underestimates the Spurs. And I want Bynum at least 80%, so neither LAL or SAS fans can pull the injury card. I want this to beat out Dallas-Spurs 06 for best PO series of the 21st century.

And I'm glad Gooden knows his role, and doesn't expect plays called for him. He'll be open alot for a few games with the opposing bigs not respecting him, but teams will learn. But then Tim will get to deal with mostly 1-1 coverage, which should be fine.

[raspsa]

The guy says he's ready to look for a home to settle down after wandering around the wilderness.. San Antonio would be a great place for him if he works hard and buys into the Spurs system. I don't think he really brings any baggage with him and I'm hoping that joining a classy and disciplined organization like the Spurs will motivate him to achieve his best. If Pop and Timmy can't make him better, no one can.

[TheSpursFNRule]

Phil Jackson is handed teams. him and his zen master bull .

[Mr Bones]

Free throws attempted and made this season:

Duncan, 256-366
Parker, 188-229
Manu, 154-175
Gooden, 86-99
Mason, 81-91
Thomas, 27-32
Oberto, 15-27
Bonner, 10-15

[Brutalis]

Do you think Pop will let Gooden grow another beard on the back of his head?

Only if we're winning.

[Brutalis]

Phil Jackson is handed teams. him and his zen master bull .

He is given good teams yes, but does coach excellently well on the court. So much so you could say with the best coaches ever.. right there under Pop.

[completely deck]

Free throws attempted and made this season:

Duncan, 256-366
Parker, 188-229
Manu, 154-175
Gooden, 86-99
Mason, 81-91
Thomas, 27-32
Oberto, 15-27
Bonner, 10-15

Interesting stat, though it feels so odd knowing Oberto of all people has attempted more FT's than Bonner.

[SenorSpur]

Phil Jackson pov:

No help Needed

Jackson said he's comfortable with Cleveland adding free-agent big man Joe Smith and San Antonio doing the same with Drew Gooden, because the Lakers are capable of winning a championship with who they have.

"Those teams really do need extra help," Jackson said. "Gooden is an exceptional rebounder. He's a real quality athlete. He can shoot the basketball and help San Antonio immensely. Smith is a different player; he's more of a scorer, an older player, so he has to be nurtured along."

http://www.pe.com/sports/breakout/st...6.3728b51.html

Sounds to me like Grandpa Phil may be shivering in his old man diapers, just a bit.

[bigdog]

Interesting stat, though it feels so odd knowing Oberto of all people has attempted more FT's than Bonner.

Well Oberto plays more inside than Bonner does, so that's probably why Oberto goes to the line more. It's more physical in the paint.

[SenorSpur]

What a gift this was for the Spurs.

[bigdog]

Sounds to me like Grandpa Phil may be shivering in his old man diapers, just a bit.

Well, the way Gooden put it, the Lakers were trying hard to get him, too.

So I wouldn't doubt if Phil is pissing his pants right now. They obviously didn't want SA to get Gooden.

[Manufan909]

Hope Gooden realizes of Phils fears come Thursday. And in the WCF.

[GSH]

He is given good teams yes, but does coach excellently well on the court. So much so you could say with the best coaches ever.. right there under Pop.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I have a hunch that playing next to Duncan will be a revelation for Gooden and that we'll see a player not seen before. Also, I think this will help Tim -- they may be able to feed of each other a bit like the old twin tower days. I have to believe that Gooden's defense will improve dramatically in the Spurs system with Duncan beside him.

Rebounding and lack of size worried me most about this team when playoff style basketball starts. No rebounds no rings, as Riley used to say. Now we can grind and pound the paint with the Lakers and dominate inside against everyone else in the west.

This may have been the perfect move that finally fell into the Spurs' lap. If so, it's about time after the bad luck with Splitter, Mahinmi, etc. This guy can be more than a role player.

I tend to agree with you that rebounding against the Lakers is huge, we've been outrebounded badly by them when we've met before and I've always thought this was as big an issue as interior defense, if not bigger.

Now, granted that Gooden lacks a bit of positional sense and will probably infuriate us with his rotatations from time to time, I actually think he could help in the defensive department with his size alone. He's not going to shut down any of the lakers bigs but he'll make them work a lot harder, both on offense and defense. The biggest thing for me is whether he can help us in the rebounding department though. If we can bang with them and don't let them outrebound us constantly, then I believe we'll have a very decent chance to win the series.

[rayray2k8]

What I'm really expecting from Gooden is his rebounding and the ability to go to
the basket strong.
Everything else is a plus.

[bigdog]

What I'm really expecting from Gooden is his rebounding and the ability to go to
the basket strong.
Everything else is a plus.

I think his rebounding is a HUGE plus for the Spurs. As long as he rebounds well, at least shows some effort on defense, and hits his 18 foot jumpers, I'll be happy with him. If anything, just having a more athletic, bigger body like his will help the Spurs against Gasol and Bynum(when he comes back). His defense isn't great, but if he can adapt to the system, his one-on-one defense won't look completely horrible.

[timtonymanu]

happy to know he's willing to stick to his word. unlike Maggette. Good luck Gooden! and much respect.

[Mr Bones]

A rebounding stat: Gooden averages 14.2 rebounds per 40 minutes this season.

Bonner averages 9.8 rebounds per 40. That's a difference of 4.4 rebounds per 40 minutes between the two players.

To put that in perspective, the distance between Gooden and Bonner is larger than the distance between Bonner and TJ Ford or Mike Conley, both of whom play point guard and average 5.6 rebounds per 40 minutes.