Reported by: Don Harris
Email: [email protected]
Last Update: 7/22 11:17 pm
San Antonio--The roster moves continue for the San Antonio Spurs. NBA sources confirming to News 4 WOAI's Don Harris that the Spurs have come to an agreement with veteran shot blocker Theo Ratliff. The 36 Year old center only played in 46 games with Philadelphia last year averaging about 13 minutes per game. He will be a nice addition as a 3rd center for the Spurs and can still defend in the low post and is still a very effective shot blocker who can defend the longer, bigger centers in the west. Ratliff likely won't play big minutes for the Spurs but can be an effective back-up if his health holds up. Ratliff is a 14 year NBA veteran who has played with 6 teams including the Pistons, Hawks, Sixers and Blazers.
Opposing players driving to the basket will have someone aside from Timmy to worry about. he's all about shotblocking and changing shots, an area of the game where the Spurs were deficient. No longer. It would seem Pop and the FO have methodically plugged the gaping holes in the Spurs' game.. all w need now is for everybody to report healthy to training camp and getting familiarized with one another.
i just pray ol'theo has something,nething left to give this comin season and when needed can be healthy and ready to contribute even in rare spot duty
Good Move!
TD, Blair, Mahinmi, Ratliff, McDyess clogging the lanes? I'll take it.
So who will be the odd man out? Will the Spurs start the season with 7 bigs??
no more roster space remaining?
Probably yes, but whis this bigs the Spurs can play with Bonner as 3 Point Shooter, like a SF. Whit TD inside and other Big.
In the 08-09 Spurs Duncan played only an average of 5 minutes as PF, thes other minutes was C, because the team needs a Big under the Board, and the only one who can was TD.
Now, with Dice he can play more minutes as PF, specially if we have a 3rd Center in Theo.
Every year i sayed if we donīt have a Great Center, not Bonner, Horry or Fabri, Duncan necessary must to play as Center. Because is needed a Big for the rebounds and a lot of times Duncan take the Half of the Spurs rebounds, and no one can take more than 5 in a week.
We have ridht now:
Parker, Hill, Manu, Mason, Finley and Jefferson as perimeterīs players, we donīt need more Help. Why? We have 48 minutes x 3 spots= 144 Minutes.
Parker is a 35 MPG, Jefferson too, Manu is a 30 Minutes players, Mason is 20, Finley and Hill can too. We have here 160 Minutes, 16 more.
We have in the paint: Duncan 35 Minutes, Dice 25, Bonner 15, and more than 20 minutes for Ian, Blair, Hairston and Theo if he is signed.
And every year the problems were The others Big, and we have now a lot of them, thatīs really good, because we can play with Parker and a Second PG in Hill, with Manu as the 3rd if necessary, and Mason and Finley helping the SG and SF and Jefferson playing 35 MPG, donīt need any more.
what has been his injuries particularly the latest one? has he resolved it?
Decent move. He's got nothing really left in the tanks, but he can rebound and block shots.
as far an I know he didn't have an injury last season. the small number of 46 games was mostly a result of many DNP-CDs and also not being on the active roster.
(as long as Brand was healthy, the Sixers front court was pretty deep with Brand, Dalembert, Evans, Speights, Marshall)
the season before (07-08) it was a sore right knee that kept him out for half the season and the season before (06-07) that it was also the same problem.
and the season before (05-06) it was a bulging disc.
definitely a lot of troubled areas in Theo's body. (he also has had hip problems and shoulder problems for years)
Last edited by mountainballer; 07-23-2009 at 07:55 AM.
At half health he brings depth to this team. He will block shots at 80 yrs old and he still can grab boards and defend the gasols of the world
I guess this means bye bye Bonner.
Theo is a good man and funny as . But don't see him contributing to anything on the floor
Ratliff gives the Spurs a physical, shotblocking presence as an option for when the Spurs face teams with a more traditional bigman. For a minimum or LLE contract, this isn't a bad acquisition.
Moving forward, the bigman rotation for next season may look like...
Starters
4 Duncan
5 McDyess
Bench
3/4 Haislip
4 Blair
4/5 Mahinmi
5 Ratliff
The Spurs appear to be ready to start the season with 20 year old Blair as the first bigman off the bench. Further, Ian Mahinmi figures to be the 4th bigman, while Pop will have Ratliff to go against bigger frontcourts or if he wants a greater defensive presence inside. Haislip appears to be RC's stab at finding the elusive big 3 who can play both forward spots. I think Gist will be slated for another year in Italy or will spend the season as a Toro. Bonner is on the way out.
Pretty much spot on.
With this many bigs it's hard to imagine a trade not being in the works, especially with rumblings from the FO during the offseason about bringing in another defensive wing.
has Ratliff ever gotten a ring in his 14 years in the NBA? Not sure what all the 6 teams are that he has been on.
I'd still like to see a defensive 2/3 who can get us spot minutes and special assignments, similar to what ratliff will bring in the paint. However, no more roster spots, and it now appears like Pop won't go for his usual, veteran 3rd string PG. That's a BIG vote of confidence for Hill.
As it is with Bonner, the Spurs could do A LOT worse than him. He's still money on the 3 ball and can help space the floor because of his range. But if anyone goes, he appears the most expendable, largely because if Haislip, Mahinmi, or even Hairston pans out the Spurs are going to have more talent than they can put on the floor (this is NOT a bad thing). If Blair turns into something special, that's an even bigger logjam.
I still like finley when used as a super-role player. He's a good vet presence, he still knocks down his shots (mostly), and he's still clutch as ever. Someone on here said it best before me: I think Spurs fans are afraid Pop was going to continue his man-love with fin, and they wanted him traded so that doesn't happen. Spurs have RJ though now, another year with hill, and Manu should now be healthy. Plus Money Mason is gonna have another year in the Spurs system as well. From that perspective, I still hope they do keep Fin.
Though as I said above, I'd like to see that defensive backup SF. So if Bonner is the odd man out, then I'd hate to see him go but it could be worse. If Fin has to sweeten the deal, then the Spurs better get something good in return.
FANTASTIC move with Ratliff though, that is precisely what the Spurs doctor ordered I believe.
GO SPURS GO!!!
he will get some spot up minutes from time to time
def a downgrade from Kurt Thomas as our backup big, but I'm guessing KT wasn't getting dumped by Milwaukee and therefore wasn't available for re-signing. If Ratliff has anything left in the tank it could be a good signing. But that's a big if.
Who are Don Harris' sources at such a early hour in the morning?
Exactly what I want to know.
Can pretty much guarantee that he signed for the vet minimum, not the LLE. He signed/played for the vet minimum last year and there's nothing that warrants being signed for anything more than that this year.
And no, Ratliff has never won a champsionship.
Blair will fill that role. Even if he isn't a rebounding monster, a combination of his posterior, his long arms, his youth and his athleticism will at least make up for the veteran defense of KT. Bonner had to start last year and KT was arguably weaker -- or at least could play fewer effective minutes -- that him. Now Bonner will be a very specialized roll player, if he's even on the roster at the start of the season.
Ratliff is not the Spurs backup big. He's their 7th big, filling the veteran don't-you-dare-mess-with-me roll. His age and more importantly his health will prevent him from being anything close to a consistent backup. But you can't compare him to KT. Apples to apples.
... And on a related note, I'm salivating at the number of fouls the Spurs now have to give. That cleveland game is going to be hilarious **cue the wackety sax music and Shaq at the free throw line**
McDyess replaced Thomas, essentially. Ratliff replaces Oberto.
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