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Come on Ian. Just play hard and make good decisions. Don't hesitate or get caught going through the motions.
I really hope Ian gets a ton of minutes this preseason. Also, that was pretty nice praise from McDyess.
Mahinmi must show Spurs his worth
Mike Monroe
When Antonio McDyess got into the first five-on-five scrimmage of training camp with his new teammates, he knew what to expect of most of the other big men.
Once he found himself matched up against Ian Mahinmi, however, he began to wonder about a youngster with uncommon size and athleticism.
“I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, this guy is good,'” McDyess said. “I wondered why I hadn't heard more about him. I love his game.”
Spurs fans have been waiting to see more of Mahinmi since the Spurs made him the 28th pick in the 2005 draft. Beginning with tonight's preseason opener at the AT&T Center against the Houston Rockets, they will get another chance.
Mahinmi knows tonight's game is the start of the most important preseason of his young career. He must prove he merits consideration for a spot in a frontline rotation that has added McDyess, veteran Theo Ratliff and rookie DeJuan Blair.
Mahinmi was just 19 when the Spurs drafted him out of the French A League. Young, athletic and raw, he stayed in France for two more seasons before the Spurs signed him on Aug. 23, 2007.
He spent most of 2007-08 with the Spurs' Austin Toros Development League team. His 23 total minutes in Spurs games were but a tease.
The 2008-09 preseason was to be Mahinmi's chance to earn a spot in the Spurs' frontline rotation. A badly sprained right ankle in an August pickup game derailed that plan. He spent most of the 2008-09 campaign looking natty in NBA-mandated business attire behind the Spurs bench.
A tiny bone chip — the source of persistent pain in the ankle — was successfully removed in January, providing relief for both Mahinmi and the Spurs.
Now in the third season of his NBA rookie scale contract, Mahinmi also faces the pressure of an important career checkpoint. The team faces an Oct. 31 deadline to decide if it will extend his contract to include a fourth season.
The Spurs are now well over the NBA's luxury tax threshold, effectively doubling the price of every added contract. Mahinmi's extension, at $1.786 million, would cost the club a total of $3.572 million.
Mahinmi understands what is at stake for him in the team's exhibition games, particularly in the first two or three, when head coach Gregg Popovich typically limits the playing time of proven veterans so he can evaluate untested players.
“I think this is really my first real chance,” he said. “My rookie year, I knew I was going to go to the D-League, so this year is my first chance, and I'm finally feeling good physically.”
Mahinmi got a scare in September when he strained a hamstring while playing for the French national team in the Eurobasket tournament in Poland, whereLes Bleus qualified for next summer's FIBA world championships. The injury proved minor, and he reported to Spurs camp in peak condition.
His ankles, he said, are 100 percent healthy.
Now 22, Mahinmi doesn't know how much playing time he will get. McDyess, Ratliff and Blair also need plenty of preseason time to adjust to the Spurs' system.
“Seriously, I don't expect anything,” he said. “I just take what they give me. Sure, I'm going to get to play, but I don't expect 30, 35 minutes. I do know they're going to play me. I know they're going to try to see what I can bring to the team.”
Popovich is anxious to see if Mahinmi's physical potential can produce tangible results.
“Ian is a very hungry player right now,” Popovich said. “For two years, he's been hurt. It's his turn to show us what he can do.
“He's running the floor really well. He's trying to make some moves offensively. He went down on the block to show he can score a little bit. He's just anxious to exhibit the things he hasn't been able to do because of the injuries.”
*********************
Ian Mahinmi
Birthplace: Rouen, France
Height, weight: 6-11, 250
Age: 22
Position: PF/C
How acquired: First-round draft pick (28th overall) by the Spurs in 2005; signed Aug. 23, 2007.
2007-08 highlights: Spent most of the season with Austin Toros, Spurs-owned team in National Basketball Development League. ... Averaged 17.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks in 45 games with Toros. ... Played in six games with Spurs, scoring 21 points, with five rebounds and four blocks.
2008-09 highlights: Sprained right ankle in preseason pickup game in August and missed entire Spurs season. ... Played only one game with Toros. ... Underwent arthroscopic surgery on right ankle on Jan. 31, 2009, during which a small piece of bone was removed.
2009-10 prospects: Preseason performance could determine if Spurs opt to extend Mahinmi's rookie scale contract through 2010-11 season, which would guarantee him $1.786 million for his fourth season.
Come on Ian. Just play hard and make good decisions. Don't hesitate or get caught going through the motions.
I really hope Ian gets a ton of minutes this preseason. Also, that was pretty nice praise from McDyess.
Last edited by DPG21920; 10-06-2009 at 12:20 AM.
This guy is a bust in the making. Blair and Ratliff gontake any minutes this chump could have earned himself by being healthy last year.
He just needs to give 100% effort. His offensive potential and his athleticism are already noticeable IMO, hes just gotta play with heart and purpose.
You're just saying that because he didn't play for the other professional team in Austin.
I have been rooting for Ian for a long time now. Don't make me feel like an idiot Ian!!!
Sorry i wasn't voted brotha lade of oxford med school but i call it as i see it
I really, really, really want Ian to make the roster and prove that he can contribute to the team. He just can't "think" about it too much...just go out there and play.
Ian isn't going to make it very far if he doesn't figure out that hustle is more than just a word. It's the only way he will earn a paycheck. The guy has an outside shot to ever earn a starters position, and that means he will always have to fight for minutes. If he can't be depended upon to at least show up and hustle every game, then he doesn't deserve a spot on the roster or rotation.
Has there ever been another 28th pick in the draft been proclaimed a bust more often?
Hopefully the hesitation and perceived lack of want-to Ian displayed in the scrimmage was nothing more than a guy just trying to stay healthy long enough to show what he's got in a more official setting.
The guy's definitely been snake-bit, but if he can get and maintain the needed confidence in his body to just go out there and play, there's no reason why he shouldn't become a useful player.
It's easier said than done, clearing those mental hurdles when injuries are involved, but Ian needn't look any farther than 'Dyess to draw inspiration; his injuries and setbacks haven't been anywhere near the type 'Dyess has overcome.
That's some nice praise from McDyess..it's pretty clear that Ian has serious talent and potential..if Ian can stay healthy and play with some energy and heart, McDyess won't be the only guy in the NBA that will be wondering why they hadn't heard more about him before..
i really freaked out on ian, and the way he played in practice, he has all the right tools but no drive to use them
I know a girl that is going out with Ian, I guess I'm going to have to tell her to tell him to get his together or he'll have a lot of angry fans
bad plan..
tell her to hold out on him and make him impress her on the court..
that's what Pop says to Finley..of course Pop can't say no to him after though, especially when he gives him that look..
Please, please don't let me down Ian. I have always expected you to be our future. I remembered that a coach from another team said that you had the potential to be an All-Star.
theres no such thing as a bust at the end of the first round....
Mahinmi is a bum...Get over it people
you are right I'll try that
Agreed.
Players like Ratliff and McDyess need to get a decent amount of playing time this preseason to synch in the new system. Guys like Duncan and Bonner pretty much know what to do in the context of the system and just need to improve their conditioning now. I'm not too worried about them. But this preseason's big rotation needs to be about three guys: Blair, Mahinmi and Haislip. All three have a shot at being really good...or floundering for a variety of reasons. What they all could use is time on the court to prove they belong. I hope thats a theme this preseason.
I don't want to see this board's response if the Spurs are forced to cut Mahinmi because of cost and lack of a clear read on him, he's picked up on a minimum salary by some other NBA team and then he pans out. The Scola ordeal will look like a fairy tale with a happy ending in comparison.
The Ian and Scola situations aren't really the same...but I agree...the meltdown will be epic in here if they cut him and he pans out.
Wrong. This is next seasons number. For this season Ian is only costing the team $1,979,340...but with the cap/tax line lowering there is a chance that number could come to fruition next year.The Spurs are now well over the NBA's luxury tax threshold, effectively doubling the price of every added contract. Mahinmi's extension, at $1.786 million, would cost the club a total of $3.572 million.
It's hard to know what to do about Ian if he is still looking unmotivated after the preseason. He is the same age as a lot of rookies, but he knows the system and really has no excuse for not playing hard...especially with a 20 yr old Dejuan Blair out there playing like he is ready to blow past him. The Spurs need some certainty on the front line, so they really can't afford to wait around much longer.
If I were the Spurs I would not keep Mahinmi. He will cost them a lot of money but is very unlikley to get significant playing time in the next two year and after that he will be a FA and cost them to re-sign for a price when he finally may be useful. If he developed on some other team the Spurs could always go after him in free agency which coincides with the end of the Duncan era.
If he develops, he will have a lot of value on the FA market. Why would he sign with the Spurs (a team in rebuild mode, that would have send him away to save a few bucks)?
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