Keith Bogans will sign with Spurs

[timvp]

wouldn't be surprised to see Finley being dumped to another team.

Dumping Finley would make this a near perfect offseason. Keeping Bonner for his experience is fine but I think Finley hurts the team more than he helps at this point.

If the Spurs do decide to trade Finley, it'll likely be before training camp starts.

[NFGIII]

Nothing like a little compe ion in training camp to see what you really have. The pressure is squarely on both Williams and Hairston and I'm fine with that. If these two guys really want to play for the Spurs and contribute to a championship run then they had better bring their A game. Not that they weren't going to but as of now they are on notice to perform. And it should be this way, too. TD has only a couple of years or more left in the tank so the Spurs had better do whatever it takes to win. With all the signings this summer they are doing just that.

I like the move and can't wait for training camp to start and see what we've got.

[DPG21920]

Sounds good. Now all we need is a team out there who thinks that Bonner and Finley make them better.

Finley is still a solid rotational player if he is your 3 or 4th option at SG/SF. Bonner fills a role as well and their expiring contracts could be appealing. If you are picking up guys to shed salary next year, Finley/Bonner have some talent and are great locker room guys, so it is not a bad deal.

Dumping Finley would make this a near perfect offseason. Keeping Bonner for his experience is fine but I think Finley hurts the team more than he helps at this point.

If the Spurs do decide to trade Finley, it'll likely be before training camp starts.

It just seems strange to bring in a guaranteed contract when it will create a log jam.

[kbrury]

So I was wondering can Gist go back to Italy or is it too late?

[TD 21]

Dumping Finley would make this a near perfect offseason. Keeping Bonner for his experience is fine but I think Finley hurts the team more than he helps at this point.

If the Spurs do decide to trade Finley, it'll likely be before training camp starts.

I disagree. What would have made this a near perfect off season is if McDyess were about 2-3 inches taller, 10-15 pounds heavier, and 3-4 years younger. As it is, the Spurs are still undersized in the middle.

As for Finley, he's now in a more suitable role for him at this late stage in his career. Roughly a 15 mpg backup SF, who can come in as a spot up shooter, as well as provide veteran leadership in the locker room, and on the bench to the younger guys. Pop has always lauded Finley for this.

Plus, other than free throws, Finley is a known clutch shooter. At 6'7'' he can still elevate, and if not shoot up over the top, at least not have his shot particularly bothered by opposing wings, in terms of taking do-or-die shots. That's important in those situations, because it's tough to get a tone of space. Outside of Jefferson, he's the Spurs 2nd biggest wing, and can still be used in certain small ball alignments.

[timvp]

It just seems strange to bring in a guaranteed contract when it will create a log jam.

I think the Spurs look at their roster as 13 deep now with two spots open. Mahinmi's contract is technically guaranteed but I think he'll need to show something to avoid getting salary dumped somewhere. If he doesn't show improvement (or gets hurt again), I think he's gone.

Mahinmi, Hairston, Williams, Gist and McClinton fighting for two roster spots is plenty. Down the line, probably either zero or one of those players turns out to the an NBA level player.

[Bruno]

Clippers looks like the best destination to dump Finley.

[Shifty]

Damn I'm good.

Can you elaborate on that?

Anyway, I know I'll make mistakes but here is a list of the roster detailing the status of each player, their options and the available spots remaining:

Contract Locked:

1. Parker
2. Mason
3. RJ
4. TD
5. Dice
6. Manu
7. Hill
8. Bonner
9. Blair
10. Haislip
11. Finley
12. Ratliff
13. Bogans

Probables:

1. Hairston
2. Williams
3. Mahinmi
4. Gist

Depth Chart:
TP-Hill-Williams
Mason-Manu-Finley
RJ-Bogans-Hairston-Gist
Dice-Blair-Bonner-Haislip
TD-Ratliff-Mahinmi

Some positions are interchangeable.

We are crowded! Trade should be coming, even if considering the "locked" as the only players to have into the season.

[pad300]

I'm very surprised it's a guaranteed contract. If it really is guaranteed, this I would be surprised that they wouldn't make a cost cutting move or two - goodbye to Finley, Bonner, or Both (or perhaps Mahinmi).

[DPG21920]

Clippers looks like the best destination to dump Finley.

Because of their bigman rotation log jam? They have Eric Gordon/Al Thornton/Rasual Butler/Ricky Davis as their SG/SF's.

My mind first went to the Clippers as well when moving Finley came to mind. But I was thinking, who could the Spurs take back since most of the Clippers contracts are expiring as well?

[completely deck]

This off season gets stranger and stranger.

[Bruno]

Because of their bigman rotation log jam? They have Eric Gordon/Al Thornton/Rasual Butler/Ricky Davis as their SG/SF's.

Because they have a trade exception big enough for Finley and because they only have 3 decent SG/SF (Gordon, Thornton and Butler).

[Shifty]

This off season gets stranger and stranger.

I think Pop and Buford are doing all this just to mess with us

[kbrury]

besides the Clippers which teams are capable of taking a 2 for 1 trade?

[completely deck]

I think Pop and Buford are doing all this just to mess with us

Thats my

[DPG21920]

Because they have a trade exception big enough for Finley and because they only have 3 decent SG/SF (Gordon, Thornton and Butler).

I see. Did not know they had a TE.

[coyotes_geek]

Finley is still a solid rotational player if he is your 3 or 4th option at SG/SF. Bonner fills a role as well and their expiring contracts could be appealing. If you are picking up guys to shed salary next year, Finley/Bonner have some talent and are great locker room guys, so it is not a bad deal.

A 2 for 1 is probably the only way to get Finley off the team. Doesn't make any sense to move Finley in a 1 for 1 deal because all you're going to get is a guy who's either not as good as Finley, or has a contract that runs longer than Finley's. In either case, you're better off just keeping Finley.

A 1 for 0 deal would be nice, where Finley gets moved to a team with cap room or a trade exception big enough to absorb his salary. But there are only a handful of teams that can swing a deal like that. It's looking like OKC and Sacramento are going to be the only two teams with cap room. On the TE front damn near everyone either doesn't have a TE big enough, or they just got one from a trade this offseason and won't be in a hurry to use it just to help the Spurs out. Denver and Houston are possibilities, they both have TE's that expire within the next 3 months. But do either of them want to help us out? Plus both have luxury tax issues.

[ajballer4]

Dont sleep on Bogans. He is a solid role player. Mostly like Maurice Evans from the hawks (i think thats where he plays now)

[TimDunkem]

Agreed. Bogans is solid. Personally, I'd take him over Udoka anyday...

[DPG21920]

A 2 for 1 is probably the only way to get Finley off the team. Doesn't make any sense to move Finley in a 1 for 1 deal because all you're going to get is a guy who's either not as good as Finley, or has a contract that runs longer than Finley's. In either case, you're better off just keeping Finley.

A 1 for 0 deal would be nice, where Finley gets moved to a team with cap room or a trade exception big enough to absorb his salary. But there are only a handful of teams that can swing a deal like that. It's looking like OKC and Sacramento are going to be the only two teams with cap room. On the TE front damn near everyone either doesn't have a TE big enough, or they just got one from a trade this offseason and won't be in a hurry to use it just to help the Spurs out. Denver and Houston are possibilities, they both have TE's that expire within the next 3 months. But do either of them want to help us out? Plus both have luxury tax issues.

This is what I was eluding to. You said "you have to find someone who thinks Finley and Bonner make them better". In a 2 for 1 deal with Finley and Bonner you get pretty good role players and expiring contracts. It could be appealing, especially if you get to rid yourself of a contract you don't want. I just do not know if the Spurs would take on any long contracts.

If you are just going to move Finley to clear up a logjam, it would have to be with a team that wants his expiring and that will return a player in a position of need with a longer contract close to his value. Or a team with a TE. The Clippers, as Bruno said fit that mold about as well as anyone.

[benefactor]

Thinking back to that interview, I'm going to guess this was a Pop move. Pop loves the Bogans type of players that are all heart.

I don't think Bogans is very good (I'd much rather the Spurs have signed Bowen) but at least he's another defensive piece added to the mix. He can fill the Udoka role with better defense and better shot selection.

The whole summer I thought Bogans to the Spurs made sense for both sides as long as Bogans wasn't offered more than the minimum elsewhere. He sure did wait it out and apparently the minimum was all he was offered . . .

I remember that game where Pop talked about Bogans. He is kind of effort player that Pop likes(see Tolliver, Anthony) and is a good defender who can shoot the three. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him on the roster next year.

As I said before, not at all a surprising move. We have plenty of scoring punch, so as far as cheap defensive depth goes Bogans is probably one of the better options left on the table.

[DPG21920]

Don't the Clippers already have 15 guaranteed roster spots? I guess they could buyout Ricky Davis. Maybe something like:

Spurs send Finley+1.5M to the Clippers
Clippers send future 2nd round pick swap potentially

[portnoy1]

I was looking thru the possibility of a trade. If you trade Finley / Bonner / Mason Jr. to Clippers for Camby ( who's contract ends at the of this coming season ) it would work financially. Finley is a shooter thats great but he cant guard anybody. Mason Jr. is a shooter that hit clutch buckets but couldn't hit in the playoffs. The only reason Bonner is still here is because Horry left and they needed a big guy who could stretch the defense. If Haislip hits the 3, then Bonners gone. Camby will Give us a midrange jumper and rebounding+shotblocking that Mcdyess can't. We will control the boards and intimidate little guys from driving in the paint. We will also have a perimeter defender who is athletic and can dunk. As for loosing 3 of our 3pt shooters, well that was our problem throughout the season and playoffs. Guys standing around the perimeter watching Parker. Instead we can go back to effecient 3pt shooting like in 04-05 when one guy would drive and pass, next guy drive and pass and the last guy would drive and pass and the end result would be a layup or a WIDE OPEN 3pt attempt because the defense was all strung out.

G - Parker / Hill
G - Bogans / Manu
F - RJ / one of the D-league guys ( Hairston / Williams )
F - Duncan / Blair / Haislip
C - Camby / Mcdyess / Ratliff
it could be 2004-05 all over again when we had all the positions covered.

[DPG21920]

I don't see why the Clippers would want to do that.

[MaNu4Tres]

This makes Mason expendable trade bait with Bonner to reel in something damn good.