Trade Roger Mason????????

[ElNono]

In my mind I have completely deleted last year's performance against the Mavs from all of the player's records - the team was incomplete, beaten-up, had no SPAM chemistry, and was always going to flame out in the first round. I, and a few others around here, said as much a fortnight before the playoffs and got ripped for it. I don't think there was much to learn from that flameout at all, it was just a flameout like 2000 after Tim's injury - sad, inevitable and depressing.

Last year was a forgettable one for every Spur bar Tony.

I didn't forget. I watched. It happened. And this season' team is going to have to work very hard to scrub off Game 3 off my mind. That includes Pop.
Mostly not because I thought we could make a lot of noise. But because it was a team with glaring problems that were not addressed while there was still time.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I didn't forget. I watched. It happened. And this season' team is going to have to work very hard to scrub off Game 3 off my mind. That includes Pop.
Mostly not because I thought we could make a lot of noise. But because it was a team with glaring problems that were not addressed while there was still time.

Time for what? To limp into the second round? I don't think anyone wanted that. Losing to the Mavs, whilst painful and annoying, was actuyally a better result than crawling into Denver and getting slapped around.

I agree with you that there were glaring unanswered problems, although I'd put the timeline on that back to the end of Feb/start of March when Pop decided to sit Hill, jerk Mason around, Tim's knees visibly declined, Manu went out, and then there was no SPAM. SPAM is not imaginary - winning an NBA le is all about bringing all the elements (team health, chemistry, effort, desire, luck) together at the right time, and the good teams generally hit their power band late in March and ride it all the way to the end. That's what SPAM is. Last year there was no SPAM. I blame Pop partly for that, but there were a bunch of factors fedding into it - injuries, Benophobia, etc.

I'm not trying to deny that it happened, I'm saying that by the time the playoffs rolled around it was inevitable.

[Danny.Zhu]

Either Fin or Mason should be traded with Bonner.

[peter_slb]

I can't understand that Mason continues to be classified as "clutch". When it really matters, in the playoffs, he sucked. Being clutch in 3/4 games during the regular season is equal to nothing, in a team that wants to win the championship. He would be a clutch player in the Clippers, not in the Spurs.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Mason's skillset really fits a starting role on the Spurs with TD,TP and RJ, he'll thrive in this situation and while I also think he didn't do well in the playoffs and it was more his fault than Pop's, I disagree about throwing him in each and every trade scenario. We're a team that relies on 3 point shooting and we will keep relying on it, Mason is one of the best spot up shooters in the NBA and he deserves to be given another chance.

I agree he could be dealt in certain scenarios, but people are calling him a choker, pussy, etc. and in the very next sentence they're suggesting we could get a Camby for the supposed choker. WTF? At least be more reasonable unless you expect NBA GMs to know less than people on a message board.

[ElNono]

Time for what? To limp into the second round? I don't think anyone wanted that. Losing to the Mavs, whilst painful and annoying, was actuyally a better result than crawling into Denver and getting slapped around.

I agree with you that there were glaring unanswered problems, although I'd put the timeline on that back to the end of Feb/start of March when Pop decided to sit Hill, jerk Mason around, Tim's knees visibly declined, Manu went out, and then there was no SPAM. SPAM is not imaginary - winning an NBA le is all about bringing all the elements (team health, chemistry, effort, desire, luck) together at the right time, and the good teams generally hit their power band late in March and ride it all the way to the end. That's what SPAM is. Last year there was no SPAM. I blame Pop partly for that, but there were a bunch of factors fedding into it - injuries, Benophobia, etc.

I'm not trying to deny that it happened, I'm saying that by the time the playoffs rolled around it was inevitable.

I actually agree with the timeline you describe. I also want to point out we acquired Gooden when it became painfully obvious that Bonner was not the answer, and Pop barely played him at all in the Dallas series.
Which reminds me, why is that guy still on our roster? I guess we haven't found the right trade yet.

[dbestpro]

Either Fin or Mason should be traded with Bonner.

Either Finley or Bonner will be with the team for the entire year so that we have a spot for Splitter. Trade them both and you may struggle to find a way to sign Splitter when he is most likely to sign. We do not need to do another Jackie Butler.

[CaptainLate]

No way I'd trade him, he was one of the most clutch last year and will only be better this year.

Agreed. And (most?, all?) FA who come to the Spurs seem to be better the second year after a year of getting to know the system. I see a "small ball" lineup of TD, Jefferson, Manu, Mason and Parker being quite formidable.

Spurs 12-man Roster:

TD/McDyess/Blair/Mahinmi
Jefferson/Finley
Manu/Mason/

Parker/Hill/(McClinton?)

On the Hot Seat for 5 other openings:

Bonner
McClinton
Gist
Hairston
Gooden
Haslip
Udoka

[CaptainLate]

In my mind I have completely deleted last year's performance against the Mavs from all of the player's records - the team was incomplete, beaten-up, had no SPAM chemistry, and was always going to flame out in the first round. I, and a few others around here, said as much a fortnight before the playoffs...

And most of the sports talking heads knew the Spurs were done when Ginobili went down for good. Years ago I said Ginobili would have a short career b/c of the way he plays. I hope and pray he and all the Spurs stay healthy enough to grab 2 more rings during the Duncan era.

[CaptainLate]

As for the guff about his playoff performance - please name me a player who played WELL in that series. There was no Manu....Give the guy an incomplete on last year.

A healthy Manu changes the whole outlook of the team. Anyone with enough b-ball knowledge knows that, which is why when he went down, the talking heads knew the Spurs were done as far as le contenders. However, we still
should have kicked the pathetic Mavs' ass, even with a less than healthy TD.