48MoH: The End of the Roster

[Spursfan 87]

the spurs should waive or trade bogans for a pick. I think that haislip is learning the system, thats why he has look lost out there, but I think that the spurs could use him. He has a lot of potential especially if he can defend guys like dirk and odom.

[barbacoataco]

I've liked what Pop did in 2007 with Udrih/Vaughn. He gave the minutes to the question mark player at the start of the season and when he saw he sucked, he went back with the known quan y.

The Hairston/Bogans situation could (should?) be manged the same way. Give some regular season minutes to Malik and after an extended try, Pop could decided what to do with him(cut him, continue to give him minutes or send him to Austin).

I also think it's important that Pop gives a chance to one of Haislip and Mahinmi. Duncan, McDyess, Bonner, Blair and Ratliff don't have the tools to defend players like Dirk or Odom. Having a quick big in the rotation will be important in some matchups.

Agree with all of that. The OP made some great observations.

Spurs need a quick big man in the worst way. Mahinmi and Haislip seem like the only options.

[tp2021]

I know he's practically as athletic as they come, but I don't think that means Ian can guard face-up bigs on the perimeter. His game to me is in the paint, even if he does have more speed than most bigmen. North-south speed doesn't matter when you're playing defense. Speed doesn't always translate to lateral quickness, even more so in a bigman.

[mountainballer]

So the challenge before Gregg Popovich is not deciding whether or not Malik Hairston is an NBA player. Hairston is obviously deserving of a spot on someone’s roster. The challenge is weighing his talent against the big backdrop questions of team needs, the salary cap, and projecting the roster forward.

I'm pretty sure all teams observe closely what moves and cuts other teams make during their camps. and teams with a deep and talented roster (like the Spurs) will be scanned even more intensive, because other teams know that they will be forced to cut some legit NBA talent. so, I can't see that Malik IS NOT on the radar of some teams. his numbers might not look impressive on first sight, but they are very very good when looking closer. especially his per40 minutes numbers for rebounds, assists and blocks are fantastic for a SG. and team will notice his very low TO rate and his good scoring efficiency and they will also scout him or watch tapes and so they will also notice his good defense.
so I really can't see that last years scenario of cutting Hairston and still keep him on the Toros could work again. if they cut him this time, he definitely will be gone forever, this time another team will steal him.
in the long run some now saved bucks might turn into a very expensive move. 2010 the Spurs will have to re sign or replace 4 of their wings. 2010-2011 Spurs will very likely still be lux tax payer. if Malik turns into a legit rotation player, who can at least competent fill the spot of the 5th wing (I absolutely have no doubt), it will be much easier for the Spurs to make their negotiations and decisions about their wings in 2010. if they keep Malik, he will be on a minimum contract till 2012. Spurs might have to pay more money on the FA market to get a similar quality player, or they might only get a weaker player for the same amount of money. if Malik even shows the potential to take the 3rd or 4th spot in the wing rotation, this will make the negotiations for a reasonable contract extension for Mason much easier. (I just assume that Manu will be re signed and he and RJ are #1 and #2 in the rotation). if you already have 3 of your 4 regular wings under contract, you are not forced to keep the 4th wing at any cost to keep a working rotation.
not that I wish that the Spurs lowball Mason, but almost 4 million per seem to be a bit to high for a player of his quality.
so, in a best case scenario for offseason 2010, Spurs could fill 2 of the 5 wing spots with minimum salary players (Malik + Bogans type signing), Mason re signs for a 2 years LLE type contract (or a Finley type contract) and Manu re signs for 2 or 3 years. Spurs would have the same talent on the wings, but for less money. and if this turns out like this, the "investment" of about 1.5 million to keep Malik might turn into a bigger return of money.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Mountainballer, your assessment makes a lot of sense but seeing that Hairston was only guaranteed 50K, he must not be too highly rated by other NBA teams just yet. This, of course, is a wild guess. Btw, do you know when his contract becomes fully guaranteed?

So, based on that, and the educated guess that the Spurs are not likely to waive anyone with a guaranteed contract or trade Fin/Mahinmi for a trade exception before the deadline, I don't think Malik is such a guarantee to make the final cut. In fact, I believe that Marcus Williams has the better chance right now because of his versatility, mainly his ability to play the point. Malik, being the 6th wing, would not play a bigger role on the team than Marcus, even though he has outplayed some of the other players in pre-season.

My idea is that unless the Spurs have caught wind that some team is seriously interested in Malik, they might waive him and get him back to Austin, until there's a slot/minutes open for him on the Spurs.

For all we know, the Spurs might not be willing to keep 15 players on the roster with guaranteed contracts ( assuming Hairston's, if kept, will become guaranteed too ). It's not out of the realm of possibility that the Spurs might pick up a vet back-up PG at some time during the season, or pick up a decent player who gets bought out later on. I think there's a very big chance that all Jerrels, Williams and Hairston get waived, with Hairston going to Austin.

[mountainballer]

Malik, being the 6th wing, would not play a bigger role on the team than Marcus, even though he has outplayed some of the other players in pre-season.

a little difference is, Malik could be sent to the Toros if he is on the Spurs roster, Marcus not.
so Marcus might be the more versatile player, but Malik would give them a bit more flexibility when thinking about role, spot and playing time.
yes, he would be the 6th wing at the beginning, but I have no doubt he could at least outplay Bogans for the role of the 5th wing. and as I tried to point out, it might be more about the investment for the 2010-11 season, when Malik could take the 4th wing spot and therefore be a pretty cost saving option.

and his contract becomes guaranteed on January 10th.

[benefactor]

Again...the Spurs are not going to eat money before the season has even started by waiving Bogans or Hailslip. They will likely give them the first part of the season to see if anything is there and trade them if things still aren't working out.

[mountainballer]

i guess none speculates that Bogans or Haislip could be waived. it's all about the question who takes the remaining 15th spot (Hairston or Williams), or if this spot will be used at all.

[ooshmay]

yes...