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Hairston better make it.
Hairston, Williams hold own
Jeff McDonald
For the Spurs' Malik Hairston and Marcus Williams, D-Day has almost arrived. Five days remain before the NBA's roster deadline Monday, and they have almost certainly begun to do the math.
There is one likely spot up for grabs. Two legitimate contenders for it. One preseason game left.
Put together, that's not a lot of time to make a closing argument.
Hairston, a 6-foot-5 second-year forward, and Williams, a 6-foot-7 third-year wing, both have fans throughout the Spurs' organization.
Both are former second-round picks, and both are former Development League All-Stars. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn't seem eager to cut either.
“They've steadily improved since the day they became a part of the program,” Popovich said. “They've put in their time in the D-League in Austin and summer leagues with us. They've both continued to develop nicely.”
Hairston was obtained in a draft-day deal with Phoenix in 2008, part of the same trade that also gave the Spurs the No. 37 pick used to select rookie DeJuan Blair this year. He appears to be a front-runner for the Spurs' 15th and final spot after following a successful run in the Las Vegas summer league.
Williams, who lost time during the summer due to a wrist injury, has played more sparingly this preseason. He did not play against Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
The Spurs could save some money by declining to keep a full complement of 15 players. Popovich intimated earlier this offseason that a non-guaranteed player would have to wow him to make the team.
Whatever happens to Hairston and Williams, Popovich is confident that cut day won't be the last he sees of them.
“They're both going to have a place in the league,” Popovich said. “They're good enough to be in the league and will make a team.”
Work in progress: Popovich released some semblance of a regular rotation during the 119-102 win over Oklahoma City.
The result? The Spurs hit 14 of 19 3-point shots, had five players score at least 13 points, and eclipsed the century mark with 10:08 to play.
Not bad considering many of the combinations Popovich used were playing together for the first time.
“It's like every timeout there's still a lot of questions being asked, a lot of things needing to be explained,” new small forward Richard Jefferson said. “Sooner or later, it's going to be a matter of everybody knowing their job and just needing to go out and execute it.”
Hairston better make it.
No brainer!?! Hairston > Williams. So we all think.
Anyone care to guess on the likelihood of the 3 possible outcomes?
I'd say:
Malik: 40%
Neither: 40%
Marcus: 20%
With Finley gone next year, Malik is ideal for his spot. IMHO. Common Pop, don't blow this one.
If neither, who takes the spot of the one who otherwise would make it?
Nobody? I think the minimum is 13 players on the roster, 15 max (Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong)
You are correct. You only have to carry 13, but can carry anywhere from 13 up to 15. If the Spurs cut both, they'll likely go with 14.
Duncan
Parker
Ginobili
Mason
Jefferson
Blair
McDyess
Ratliff
Haislip
Bonner
Finley
Mahinmi
Bogans
Hill
Presuming these guys are the 14, why would we not take a 15th? That means the decision comes down to, as the article suggests, Hairston vs. Williams. So its gotta be one or the other, right? Unless we want to drop one of the above 14....
Not keeping either player results in a savings of slightly more than 1.5M in salary and tax.
Money. The Spurs are in heavy tax territory, and footing a 1.5 or 1.6 million tab for a 15th player who will almost never see the floor might be more than they want to pay. I don't think it's one or the other, I think it's one or none.
But at this point, when we've already committed to spending a lot, and have invested a lot of time and money into both guys, arguably more into Hairston, but still, why wouldn't we carry one of the two into the regular season? That amount of money, given the decisions the team has made to spend for a championship in the immediacy, doesn't seem cost prohibitive.
How many season tickets have you bought?
But isn't one or the other the same as one or none? We're talking about a 15th man on a maximum 15 man roster. I'm just saying that since the team has already committed so much money to winning this year, don't you think they'll make a (admittedly hard) decision to pick either Williams or Hairston for the 15th slot?
As many as I can find.
If only I had money to buy a sign dragged by a plane just as Pop is leaving his favorite winery. "Spurstalk majority thinks Hairston should make the team."
How Pop would make his decision right then and there.
We are Pop.
Have you spent money on tickets for games you will not attend?
I hope Hairston makes it.
Another thing to look at is the investment they've made in the Toros. The Spurs want to show fans that it is worth their time to watch them and follow the players. Isn't there a possibility of cutting either Bogans or Haislip?
I'm not sure what this has to do with the topic. I guess it goes to a "1.5 million is not an insignificant amount" argument, but given that the team has already committed to spending a lot over the next year or two, and has invested time and money in developing both Hairston and Williams (again, probably more in Hairston), why would they not fill the 15th roster spot with the guy they felt was best equipped to help the team? I'm not sure of the DLeague implications but are either or both of them eligible to return to Austin? If not, then that adds to the stakes of the 15th slot decision.
I'm not in the tank for either one, I'm just saying it seems to make sense to me to fill that 15th spot rather than leave it open.
1.5 million is a lot of money for a players that might simply not see the floor at all, IMHO.
Plus if they get waived the Spurs could hire them later on during the season if the need arises (unless another team takes them first, which I would argue is unlikely given the current state of the economy. A gamble nonetheless).
This is pretty much it. There is some risk that Hairston could wind up on another NBA team, but I would say that possibility is quite small. It's also possible that he goes to Europe for a year and then we don't see him again until Summer League.
I want them to keep Malik, but I'll understand it if they don't.
If they keep Marcus over Malik, I'll be scratching my head.
Actually, no, it isn't. One or none allows for a 14 man roster as the end result. One or the other does not.
It's really easy for us in the forum to say "it's only 1.5-1.6M", but that's actually a of a lot for a player that may get into 15-20 total games at garbage time. I'm not going to bag on Holt if he doesn't want to pay it. Caterpillar isn't doing too well this year. He stepped up big already in taking on the tax burden for this year.
hurry up and give Hairston the place
I think you're right. I think Hairston is the more valuable commodity. Assuming that's the case, if there is little risk of losing Hairston to someone else, it makes sense to preserve an open 15th slot for whatever need may arise. If the need is for a Hairston-type player, we can sign him (assuming he's available). If we need someone else or want to swing some kind of trade that would fill our 15th slot, we retain that flexibility.
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