If that's the case, then the Spurs shouldn't sign a center at all. Pop decided to go small 100 percent of the time, which is why the center rotation for a 63 win team sat on the bench while the Spurs were eliminated.
-nodding my head-
Even, that little tidbit, of Oberto getting traded to Detriot, giving them a little more money to work with might have an affect.
Don't remember a summer where the Spurs were the ones coming out swinging.
If that's the case, then the Spurs shouldn't sign a center at all. Pop decided to go small 100 percent of the time, which is why the center rotation for a 63 win team sat on the bench while the Spurs were eliminated.
In other words I have zero ing clue about who's available and would have no idea who would fit, BUT not rasho![]()
my dream scenario for the remaining offseason would be for the clipps to trade camby for bonner, fin, and our 37 pick (Patrick mills?), then either splitter or gist comes over (pref. splitter), resign oberto, resign bowen, and have malik or williams fill in the last spot
Parker/Hill
Mason/Manu
Jefferson/Bowen/Malik or Marcus
TD/Ian/
Camby/Splitter or Gist/Oberto
The biggest issue with both Rasheed and McD is that they have both become primarily jump shooters. Neither one are much of a threat around the basket. Rasheed has always been in love with the 3-pointer, but McDyess used to be a decent scoring threat in the paint. Last season McDyess shot 75% jump shots, and Rasheed shot 89% jump shots. I think it's a sign that they both are slowing down, and don't have the athleticism they once had. If the Spurs are looking for more of a paint presence, neither one of those guys are dream pickups.
McDyess, at least, is a good rebounder. In fact, he's one of the best offensive rebounders in the league - even this late in his career. He didn't convert many of those offensive boards into put-back baskets, but at least they are extra possessions. Rasheed doesn't pick up a lot of boards (for his size) on either end, but he barely picks up any off the offensive glass.
McDyess used to get to the line a lot more often than Rasheed, but that really slowed down the last couple of years. That's obviously related to his shot selection, but is still another indicator that he has slowed down substantially.
Neither are a lock to stay healthy for 82 games. I'm thinking that Dyess would be almost a clone of Kurt Thomas' last season with the Spurs. Who the knows what you get with Rasheed? The Spurs have veteran leadership coming out their ears, so that's not a big selling point either. Bottom line, McDyess will be cheaper - and Rasheed will probably cost more than the Spurs can/will spend.
Note: Drew Gooden gets closer to 50% of his baskets from up close. He gets to the line FAR more than either McD or Rasheed, and he shoots a much higher FT% than either of them. Only 55% of his shots are assisted vs. 75% for Rasheed, and 87% for McDyess. He's not as good of a rebounder as Dyess, but he's better than Wallace. And even though he's been called a "black hole", he makes assists and turnovers at about the same rate as the other two. But he's one of a lot more of a scoring threat than either of them, especially at this point in their careers. Pay the man some money, and teach him to play defense.
If only we had someone, like a power forward maybe, that was worth a damn, to play in the post...The biggest issue with both Rasheed and McD is that they have both become primarily jump shooters. Neither one are much of a threat around the basket. Rasheed has always been in love with the 3-pointer, but McDyess used to be a decent scoring threat in the paint.
There's only one ball.
We don't need the "new" big to be an offensive juggernaut. What he needs to be is a defense-first big who isn't a complete spaz on offense (can hit a jumper occasionally just to keep the defense honest), can rebound, set good screens.
Basically Antonio McDyess.
Starters:
1 Parker
2 Mason
3 Jefferson
4 Duncan
5 Mahinmi
Bench
1 Hill/?
2 Ginobili
3 Finley/Bowen/Hairston
4 Thomas/Gist
5 Oberto/Bonner
I just think it'd be funny if all 3 traded guys were to come back...
Put Gortat in place of McDyess and that roster in the OP is perfect.
Just my opinion - but that is also a description of Fab and KT. We can't have someone who is such a non-en y that it allows the other teams to completely collapse on Duncan. There needs to be some respect for the other big on the floor - enough so that he draws some fouls. Last season, Duncan totally got the crap beat out of him, and it was never more obvious than in the playoffs. If the Spurs want to get the most out of Duncan's remaining seasons, they need someone to take at least a little heat off him.
What if, by some crazy, crazy deal, the target was Amare? How shocking would that be given how unlikely (understatement) it is?
Edit: Even if they didn't get the deal done, just hearing that statement would be shocking to me.
For me the spurs priority now should be signing Gooden, the best available option IMO.
Everyone keeps talking about needing a defensive minded big man to alter shots and rebound. What about getting a big man that can score from mid-range or back to the basket and having Tim slide over into a DRob role circa 1999?
We have a defensive minded big man already. Wouldn't getting a scorer who's a good, not great, defender also serve the needs of the Spurs?
I always liked Rasho, probably the best shot blocker we've had since Robinson (Duncan not included).
I'm starting to think the Spurs are considering re-signing Gooden. Now that the Spurs have RJ, Gooden might want to come back more than he did.
Remember when Gooden kept talking about finally finding a "home"? This could be his chance to find his home. He just might need to take a little paycut. If Gooden was serious at all about finding a home and winning, he will take the paycut to be Duncan's backup.
Now, if they don't go after Gooden, then I could see them targeting McDyess and Wallace, maybe even a Pachulia or Gortat, and that's for using the MLE.
If they want to use the LLE, I think someone like Rasho would be a top target.
Duncan's strength defensively has always been his ability to free lance around the basket. The last couple of years the Spurs have had to use Duncan as the primary 1 on 1 defender against the other team's best big and that's really cut down on his overall effectiveness. Yeah he does a good job on his guy, but he doesn't get to guard the rim like he could previously. Getting a defensive minded big man in here makes Tim Duncan better on both sides of the court.
The timing seems right for a scenario I posted. It would be about 10 years after Dave did it for Tim. A more defensive minded role allowed DRob to play a few more years imo because he didn't have to be the man on offense.
However, Dave, like Tim now, could still put the ball in the hoop if needed in 99.
I'm not saying it's the absolute because case scenario, but something that could open up more possibilities for the Spurs as far as looking for big men.
I can see the Spurs putting Duncan in Robinson's role when the Spurs got Duncan.
Duncan can be the high-post guy in offense, but still go down low and kill some teams, but if they had some sort of other offensive-minded big (Gooden,Wallace) that could possibly provide some offense down low, we could create some sort of high-low action, just like we did with Robinson.
this does seem like the right time to do this, if they chose to.
Like I said, we need two more bigs. Can we split the MLE and add those $ to the LLE, so sign two guys for about $4 million each? I am thinking greedy here, I want two guys like McDyess and Gortat more than Rasheed + a scrub or retread (Oberto).
Some good points in there. I see Gooden as a watered down dumbed down Duncan too.
I Immediately thought after the RJ trade that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to keep Gooden.
Manu and Gooden had already begun to develop chemistry even in such a limited time together.
And the same way Mason helps spare Manu from some wear, Gooden can provide relief for Duncan, without taking away too much from what Duncan does offensively.
Going with Gooden and Rasho means less of a learning curve (since both have played in the system), younger and spending less cash.
--edit--
Gooden and Rasho just makes sense on so many fronts. We don't have to go overboard on every pick up, just build a team that fits together. Too many big additions might take too long for us to gel.
Gooden has a little nasty in him and plays in the paint, rebounding has been his thing since college. Rasho is your long defender, that can block shots and rebound. Both are mobile.
Those 2 address what we need from the bigs talent wise, offensively, defensively, skill sets, fiscally and also follows the win now mode because the players are already familiar with what the Spurs do.
Last edited by Yuixafun; 06-24-2009 at 09:52 PM.
Is it at all conceivable that the Spurs might be looking for a way to get into Round 1 to draft a player like DeJuan Blair? He strikes me as the sort of guy who's either going to be a Tractor Traylor clone or a Malik Rose type. His motor runs high and he rebounded like a madman in the Big East. He's a raw offensive player and needs to work hard to maintain his conditioning at the NBA level, but the Spurs have some history of succeeding with those sorts of projects. If he proves to be the second coming of Malik Rose, he might be ideal; and if trading to acquire the pick to grab him costs the Spurs a Matt Bonner or requires the Spurs to take on an unfavorable contract (Jeff Foster?) for a guy that otherwise fills a need, it might make some sense.
I think speculating on draft day deals hurts my brain too much, we'll see tomorrow. Fact is Duncan can't guard the rim like he used to, and we need someone to do that. Ian may be that guy, but we need insurance in case he is not, and one more big for depth. So at least one athletic big that can get boards and blocks, I don't care if he scores at all or can hit 3s and space the floor. Then I'm OK with another plodder old big such as Oberto or Rasho, but that would be a disappointment and surprise to me.
The lack of a 2nd shot blocker is killing our defensive system!
I saw the point about having a big out there nobody guards is an issue, but I think the defensive upgrade trumps that. We have plenty of offensive firepower now with the fearsome foursome!
Harlem is right on, but let's not rule out Gortat being available to us in this down economy for a decent price. And even if he commands the full MLE and the Spurs pay it, who cares? As long as we field the best squad possible, that is all that matters to me.
It's been a long, hot day and I may be hallucinating, but, didn't RC say that they were looking to shore up the 4 position? They have 3 names they are looking at in Free Agency at the 4...I thought this was said which means to me that TD is the 5....He also mentioned replenishing the role of the perimeter stopper.....possibilities abound
I think the difference between McDyess and Thomas, within the Spurs' system, would be negligible. I'm a KT fan, so that's not an insult. It's just that I don't think McDyess advances the Spurs' championship hopes above last years'.
Maybe I'm underestimating McD. But he's only played 1 fewer seasons than Thomas, so it's not exactly a youth movement. And I still think that if you plugged KT into last year's Pistons team, with the same number of minutes, his numbers would look almost identical. That being said, Dyess may still be the best available. I've always been a fan of Rasheed Wallace's game, but I sure as wouldn't break the bank for him, and I would always be worried about pressure situations.
I've seen that comment from Gortat's agent a couple of more times recently. I have a feeling that he may be looking to get back to Europe.
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