Blair's arrival fills a need for Spurs
Jeff McDonald
In April, just after the Dallas Mavericks sent the Spurs to their earliest playoff exit in more than a decade, members of the Spurs braintrust gathered to compile a specific wish list for the offseason.
No. 2 on the list, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, was ass-kicking forward.
The Spurs just didn't expect to find such a player in the second round of the NBA draft.
On Wednesday, the 20-year-old who the Spurs hope can fill that bill walked through the doors at the team's headquarters for the first time. DeJuan Blair says he will be all too happy to oblige.
Selected with the No. 37 overall pick in last week's draft, Blair is expected to contribute immediately to a Spurs frontcourt that needed another keister-kicker even before Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto were dealt for Richard Jefferson last week.
I didn't ever think we'd get that in the second round, Buford said.
Blair, a 6-foot-7 All-American from Pittsburgh, has no doubts as to why he is here.
The Spurs ranked 18th in the league in rebounding last season. Blair hopes to help remedy that.
I'm going to rebound, Blair said. I go get the ball. I don't let it come to me. If I've got to knock you out of the way to go get it, that's what I'll go do.
Blessed with frying pans for hands, a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a nose for the ball, Blair is a fierce and natural rebounder.
If that much isn't obvious by the numbers as a sop re last season, Blair led the nation in offensive rebounding (5.6 per game) and ranked fourth in overall rebounding (12.3 per game) then check the highlight tape.
A quick YouTube search readily produces the clip for which Blair is most famous: a shuddering body-slam of UConn sensation and eventual No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet in a game last February.
The two were grappling for a rebound. Blair got it, flinging the 7-3 Thabeet to the court in the process.
It was the seminal moment in what became a life-altering game for Blair.
Blair finished with 22 points and 23 rebounds in a Pitt victory and left Hartford, Conn., that night with an eye toward the future.
That's when I kind of realized I could play in this league, Blair said.
The Spurs never dreamed Blair, a projected lottery talent, would still be on the board when their pick came up. Neither did Blair.
They hadn't even worked him out during their draft preparations. Their only contact with him had been a 15-minute interview at the Chicago pre-draft camp.
After an MRI taken during a routine pre-draft physical revealed he had no ACL in either knee, the result of twin surgeries in high school, Blair began sliding past the lottery, through the first round and into the second before the Spurs gleefully snapped him up.
On draft night, Blair vowed a little playful revenge on the teams that passed over him. He didn't exactly back off that vow Wednesday.
I've got a poster of the whole draft, Blair said. I'm going to check off every team that passed on me.
The Minnesota Timberwolves should be especially wary. They overlooked Blair four times.
The Spurs were the eventual beneficiaries of Blair's precipitous slide.
It fills a big hole, Buford said. We still need size. We still need more bigs. But to think we'd be able to add a guy who can come in and contribute right away, in a specific need, through our draft pick that was kind of a reach going in.
Later this month, Blair will play with the Spurs' summer-league entry in Las Vegas. He is hoping simply to make his mark, to showcase his talents, to do something to justify the Spurs' faith in him.
All of that, however, is still in the future.
Blair, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh, was in San Antonio for the first time Wednesday. He toured his new hometown, checked out the AT&T Center and walked around the team's practice facility on the Northwest Side.
At some point during the day, reality finally began to set in. He is very nearly an NBA player.
Handed his new No. 45 silver-and-black jersey at Wednesday's news conference, Blair seemed momentarily overwhelmed.
I'm lost for words, Blair said. It really hasn't hit me yet. But I see my number on my jersey and my name. It's pretty amazing.
For now, Blair is just happy to be given the chance to be any kind of NBA forward.
The posterior-kicking part can wait.
*********************
Spurs' Las Vegas summer roster
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. DOB From Yrs.
1 Malik Hairston G 6-6 215 2/23/87 Oregon 1
3 George Hill G 6-2 190 5/4/86 IUPUI 1
10 James Gist F 6-9 235 10/26/86 Maryland R
13 Nando De Colo G 6-5 200 6/23/87 France R
14 Donnell Taylor G 6-5 193 7/26/82 UAB 2
16 Carldell Johnson G 5-10 180 1/28/83 UAB R
17 Antonio Anderson G 6-6 215 6/5/85 Memphis R
18 Eric Dawson F/C 6-9 235 7/7/84 Midwestern St. R
19 Marcus Vinicius F 6-9 235 5/31/84 Brazil 2
23 Romel Beck G/F 6-7 185 5/29/82 UNLV R
28 Ian Mahinmi C 6-11 250 11/5/86 France 1
33 Jack McClinton G 6-1 185 1/19/85 Miami (Fla.) R
35 Alonzo Gee G 6-6 219 5/29/87 Alabama R
45 DeJuan Blair F 6-7 265 4/22/89 Pittsburgh R
Head coach: Don Newman
Assistant coaches: James Borrego, Patrick Spurgin, Quin Snyder, Marcelo Nikola, Darryl Hardy, Darko Rajakovic, Henry Duque
Trainer: Nixon Dorvilien, Daisuke Yamaguchi
Summer schedule
Date Opponent Location Time
July 12 New Orleans Cox Pavilion 3 p.m.
July 14 Denver Cox Pavilion 9 p.m.
July 16 Oklahoma City Thomas & Mack Center 7:30 p.m.
July 18 Portland Thomas & Mack Center 9:30 p.m.
July 19 Memphis Cox Pavilion 7 p.m.
Thanks 228. I am looking forward to seeing this SL team and Blair+Ian. I think someone mentioned the games being broadcast on NBA.com?
Blair looked in great shape in his pictures from the introduction. Lets hope he continues to work hard/play hard and hopefully he can be a pleasant surprise
This quote: “It fills a big hole,” Buford said. “We still need size. We still need more bigs. But to think we'd be able to add a guy who can come in and contribute right away, in a specific need, through our draft pick — that was kind of a reach going in.”
Gives me hope that RC and Pop are not looking at Bass as a serious option, or at least not as the main option.
i cant wait for the SL!!!!!! blair and Ian is going to be pretty sick and i cant wait to see what they do
No. 2 on the list, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, was ass-kicking forward.I'm going to rebound, Blair said. I go get the ball. I don't let it come to me. If I've got to knock you out of the way to go get it, that's what I'll go do.
Absolutely. They can't look at Bass for that reason you mentioned. They need size. Guys that are 6-7 but can play 6-10 are nice and if they are rebounders and bulls, GREAT!
But you still need guys with size. You just do. There is zero chance the Spurs go into next season with just TD and Bonner on the roster over 6'9". And I don't count on Mr. Upside Mahinmi either.
I can't wait for SL either.
BTW, how many SL appearances is this for Ian?
Soft Spurs no more....
This article almost makes me wonder if they're not going as hard for Rasheed or another big name PF as they should.
What if they could land a big swingman via the MLE (ie Childress) and a starting 5 in a trade (Foster)?
Well they sound very up beat about Blair's ability to come in and play, but they also said that they need more size and bigs.
So DeColo will be playing in the summer league? Cool...
I think that would be a huge gamble and still leave the Spurs with a very, very sub par starting center.
Yes, every where else would be taken care of, but Timmy would still have the least amount of help out of anyone on the team and that is not good given his situation.
The young guns would have to perform at an extremely high level just to have a chance to help win a le and that is asking a lot when the FO is investing heavily money wise in Duncan's last years.
If the scenario you outlined comes to fruition, I would not be upset because overall the roster improved, but I think the Spurs would have to wait until next year to have a legit shot at winning #5.
eh, that rotation wouldn't be that bad.
I am not saying it will be bad, just trying to realistically assess the odds of that rotation beating the Cavs, Lakers, Boston and Orlando.
What would the margin for error be? Last year the Lakers could play like ass and still win. The Spurs might be able to win with that roster, but they would need above and beyond production from 2 young bigs and then everyone else would have to play very well.
There would be almost no margin for error and there are a lot of unknowns in that scenario.
It could work for sure, but it is a gamble imo. Thing is, depending on FA, that might be what the Spurs HAVE to do. If so, I am cool with that. There are always trades to be made and the goal is to get Duncan 1 more before he is done, and that extends beyond next year.
So what was No.1 on the list?
I'm going to rebound, Blair said. I go get the ball. I don't let it come to me. If I've got to knock you out of the way to go get it, that's what I'll go do.
Starting center.
Not opposed, but the catch is that the Spurs would have to swing the trade first. I wouldn't want to use the MLE and then be held hostage by teams knowing we had to make a trade for a big.
If McDonald's going to use the quotes, it was "ass-kicking 4."“No. 2 on the list,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, “was ass-kicking forward.”
What they got was an, "ass-kicking 45."
An A.K.-45, if you will...
Man, he really does look ripped right now.
He's also got that look in his eye, hunger.
And I don't mean because he's diet'ng...
Ass kicking 4 and forward sound alike.
The journalism armchair quarter backs are out again.
hahaha
this mofo is serious
Nnnnnnnnng. Can't wait.
its called meth
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