Trade Idea: Bonner & Finley for Jeff Foster

[Whisky Dog]

Let's see if I got this - trade a young, big defensively challenged white guy and an old jump shooting black guy for one old, big offensively challenged white guy? I fail to see the upside here.

Finley can be useful as a shooter if used effectively. Sometimes he can get hot and put up points like a couple of preseason games ago so you throw him out there for a few min and get him a couple of shots to see if he's on. If so give him minutes and ride the production. If not, get him out for someone like Hairston who gives more athleticism, rebounding, energy and defense.

[Whisky Dog]

Let's see if I got this - trade a young, big defensively challenged white guy and an old jump shooting black guy for one old, big offensively challenged white guy? I fail to see the upside here.

Finley can be useful as a shooter if used effectively. Sometimes he can get hot and put up points like a couple of preseason games ago so you throw him out there for a few min and get him a couple of shots to see if he's on. If so give him minutes and ride the production. If not, get him out for someone like Hairston who gives more athleticism, rebounding, energy and defense.

[BlackBellamy]

Post so nice, you have to post it twice ^.

[TIMMYD!]

Thinking about a Duncan/Foster/McDyess/Ratliff/Blair front line sure is exciting though. You get all the rebounding you can handle(and some) and 48 minutes of solid interior defense no matter who is on the floor.

Nobody would want to mess with us in on the inside if we had this lineup although put Mahinmi in for Foster and we're more mobile.

[benefactor]

Nobody would want to mess with us in on the inside if we had this lineup although put Mahinmi in for Foster and we're more mobile.

Not by a whole lot though. Foster is actually quite mobile and moves very well without the ball. Plus his defensive fundamentals are about twenty times better than Ian.

[kobyz]

Jeff Foster is basically other version of Kurt Thomas, we find out that it not the tipe of player we need!

[024]

i like foster, i think i even advocated a trade for him last season. but i don't think there is a need for him yet. foster is nothing spectacular, solid defense and brings rebounding but comes with a pretty big price tag and will be 33 by next year's playoffs. it's not that big of an upgrade currently but if mcdyess can't hang with bynum/gasol/garnett/shaq then i can see a trade happening.

[MI21]

Biggest impact of this trade would be on what it would do to the Spurs' offensive philosophy. Bonner, Finley, and Bowen between them took over 8 3-point shots/game last year (40% of the team total). Manu will probably pick up some of that (although looking at his numbers you could argue that he shouldn't), and RJ is probably going to get 2-3 shots a game. Can't imagine Mason taking more three-pointers than last year in fewer minutes.

So is Pop ready to abandon the Spurs' reliance on the 3-point game, and put more emphasis on low post, slashing, and getting to the line? That (in addition to the defense) would be a nice return to old-time Spurs Basketball.

Even without this trade, I've been hoping some of what you said will ring true.

Jeffersons ability to get to the line is unquestioned, and with the type of ball movement the Spurs are renowned for, he will have a lot more driving lanes than he is used to. He will also be able to get out and run with Tony on the break which will lead to more free throws.

With more offensive options, Timmy should be able to operate 1 on 1 a little more, which means more FT attempts as his defender will be forced to foul more often. Tony when he is in "run fast directly at hoop" mode picks up FT's, we know about Manu and his knack for getting to the line. George Hill has already shown he has a similar knack.

Throw in more Blair, McDyess and less Bonner and this team should be putting opposition in foul trouble a lot more than last season. I can't wait.

[Marcus Bryant]

I guess I'm the only one who remembers how awful Bonner was last postseason. But he can shoot the 3! Finley would fit the veteran shooter role at the end of the bench, but isn't a big who can be the first off the bench or start more important? The only thing that makes sense is that the Spurs might be able to pull someone better than Foster for Finley and Bonner if they wait until closer to the February trade deadline.

[bishopospurs]

We can do better than Foster for Bonner and Finley.

[Dalamar_the_Dark]

Doesnt work. Foster plays too much under the basket. Will just crowd out Duncan.

[MaNu4Tres]

Cueing MaNu4Tres

lol too funny Mel. As Mel pointed out I have to respectfully disagree with this trade proposal for 3 Reasons:

1. Bonner won't be traded unless its for a clear cut obvious improvement, good enough to warrant 25-30 minutes a game when April, May, and June come around. That's just the realistic side of the whole theory on this proposal. Popovich values Bonner way more than any of us know. He values the special skill he has for a big man and values and respects the way he plays defense and hustles. That is a reason why they are currently working on an extension.

2.

Yep.

I'm high enough on Blair to conclude we don't need to trade two of the team's best shooters for a player who does essentially the same thing, and it's a fair bet Blair will be better. Sure, Foster is taller -- he just doesn't really play taller than Blair.

Agree with this 100 percent. With Blair showing to the whole NBA that he is indeed the real Alexander and plays big ( Hence check out the boxscore against the Rockets), there really aren't significant minutes available to where Foster can make the kind of impact that justifies trading away our trading assets. Why trade away our trading assets to get a player that would be competing for the 4th big spot in the rotation with Ratliff and possibly Mahimni? And when both Foster and Ratliff are healthy Foster isn't the better player by an obvious margin.


3. The need for a player like Foster, was a reason why we signed Ratliff. Of course some of you want to rebuttal and say, " Ratliff is made of glass, Ratliff isn't durable." Which has been true in recent years. At the same time, I'm sure the Spurs' doctors checked out Ratliff thoroughly before the Spurs signed him this off-season. Combine that with the fact that Ratliff won't be seeing more than 15 minutes a game in spot up duty throughout the course of the year and how Popovich is great at managing minutes to prolong health during the course of the season, much less hardly ever holds intense practices throughout the year. Taking all that into consideration trading for a player like Foster wouldn't be a smart move. Unless it's February and Ratliff is out for the year and Blair is hitting the rookie wall then I'd say trading for Foster would be wise to do as Spurs would only have McDyess outside of Duncan to mix it up inside. But that simply is not the case right now.


Fact is most of the bigmen that would be available anyway wouldn't really get the playing time to bring anything significant to the table if the Spurs front-line is healthy. The pool of big-men in the league is already watered down as is and the best we could probably do is get a guy that would just add extra depth in quan y opposed to quality, which is something we already have.

This is a reason why I've been an advocate on using our trading assets ( Mason/ Finley and Mahimni ( if needs to be added)for an all around multi-dimensional player on the wing to rotate in and out with Manu and Richard Jefferson. This would give a Spurs a more threatening and efficient 48 minutes attack on both ends of the floor from the wing position whenever Manu or RJ are resting. This three wing rotation: RJ 32-34 minutes: Manu 25-30 minutes: Nocioni or Jackson 25-30 minutes would be the best rotation in the league and match up great with (Artest/ Kobe) ( Allen/ Pierce/ Daniels) ( Lebron/West or Parker) ( Carter/ Lewis/ Barnes/ Pietrus) ( Roy/ Outlaw/ Webster) ( Melo/ Jr Smith) both offensively and defensively.

Then if Finley does indeed come back in 30 days we'd have him in our back pocket along with Hairston and Bogans for 10-12 minutes a game for foul trouble purposes.

I'm an advocate on using our trading pieces to make our 3rd wing rotational spot an all-around threat on both ends of the floor that can also hit the open three. ( Something Nocioni and Jackson can do with great efficiency). Opposed to using our trading pieces for a big man that would just add depth and not really be a significant improvement over anyone we have if we are indeed healthy.

[Ice009]

Yep my number one trade choices are Jackson and Nocioni.

Foster would be good too, but if those other two players are available I think it would make us a lot more dangerous like Manu4tres said.

[benefactor]

Well MaNu4Tres, we at least agree on one thing....I would trade those guys for Jackson before I would trade for Foster.

[Ice009]

I really want Jackson back and coming in these threads that are discussing it kind of sucks .

[Marcus Bryant]

Bonner gets far too much love in this forum. He's a situational player at best in SA. His D sucks and if he didn't have the outside shooting touch nobody would give a about him. That's the attraction for most of his jockers. It's no coincidence that in the season in which Bonner started 67 games and logged over 1,900 minutes that the Spurs had their worst opponents' FG% showing in a decade. It's like fans creaming themselves about Matt Bullard. It's beyond disgusting. Finley at this point is a veteran shooter for the end of the bench. He's often a turnstile on defense himself. It's not hard to see the Spurs dealing him and a team buying him out for a return to SA if the Spurs wanted him as the 5th swingman. Or they could always pick up another vet for that role.

Foster's rebounding rate last season was 73% higher than Bonner's. Plus he doesn't play like a pussy. End the man love for Bonner already.

[ElNono]

bonner gets far too much love in this forum. He's a situational player at best in sa. His d sucks and if he didn't have the outside shooting touch nobody would give a about him. That's the attraction for most of his jockers. It's no coincidence that in the season in which bonner started 67 games and logged over 1,900 minutes that the spurs had their worst opponents' fg% showing in a decade. It's like fans creaming themselves about matt bullard. It's beyond disgusting. Finley at this point is a veteran shooter for the end of the bench. He's often a turnstile on defense himself. It's not hard to see the spurs dealing him and a team buying him out for a return to sa if the spurs wanted him as the 5th swingman. Or they could always pick up another vet for that role.

Foster's rebounding rate last season was 73% higher than bonner's. Plus he doesn't play like a pussy. End the man love for bonner already.

+1

[MaNu4Tres]

Bonner gets far too much love in this forum. He's a situational player at best in SA. His D sucks and if he didn't have the outside shooting touch nobody would give a about him. That's the attraction for most of his jockers. It's no coincidence that in the season in which Bonner started 67 games and logged over 1,900 minutes that the Spurs had their worst opponents' FG% showing in a decade. It's like fans creaming themselves about Matt Bullard. It's beyond disgusting. Finley at this point is a veteran shooter for the end of the bench. He's often a turnstile on defense himself. It's not hard to see the Spurs dealing him and a team buying him out for a return to SA if the Spurs wanted him as the 5th swingman. Or they could always pick up another vet for that role.

Foster's rebounding rate last season was 73% higher than Bonner's. Plus he doesn't play like a pussy. End the man love for Bonner already.

Tell that to Pop.

I'm not an advocate of Bonner, I'm just aware of the love Pop has for him and how he overvalues his outside shooting.

I don't mind Bonner playing 15 minutes a game to be honest. Just hope Pop makes decisions based on defense more than the contrary. Meaning start games and end games with McDyess.

[Marcus Bryant]

We know Pop never makes mistakes or falls in love with players.

And he played Bonner so much last season because the frontcourt was that thin.

[Marcus Bryant]

And in order for Bonner to be effective offensively he needs regular minutes. And he needs to start. He possesses the wrong mentality for a player with his skill set. He needs to be able to sit for extended stretches and then enter crucial parts of the game and not F up. He was the opposite in the two seasons prior to 2008-09.

[Marcus Bryant]

If anything, he doesn't get enough. He's one of our best players.

ROFL.

The numbers say otherwise.

What numbers? His rebounding is abysmal. All he can do is knock down 3s with regular minutes. Now what is more important to team defense and, oh, I don't know, winning?

Where were his vaunted numbers last postseason?

The attraction is that his PER is outstanding when you compare it with his salary. He's also the best fit playing next to Duncan, no doubt about it.

No he's not. That's re ed. McDyess is clearly the best fit, at least if you bother to understand the game versus think some bull PER stat explains all.

That probably doesn't have anything to do with Duncan losing a step, or Bowen getting dramatically less run/being way less effective on D.

Defense starts in the paint. Putting a human pylon next to TD there is not conducive to good defense. I have precious numbers that point that out.

[TJastal]

Foster is a ing scrub. He's strong and strong on the glass, and that's it. You don't have to guard him at all, which puts you at a huge disadvantage. He also doesn't block shots. If you want to work with a scrub, just use Ratliff.

For once, I agree with Spurstrodamus here.

[TJastal]

we don't need another big, Foster can't play good with Duncan - he is not mobile, i rather give those minutes to Ratliff/Mahinmi/Blair/Haislip.
if we gonna use our expiring contracts it should be on a wing(Jackson, Nocioni) because our wing situation is more problematic - Manu injury risk.

Yup, if the spurs use their expiring contracts it should be for a defensive lockdown wing. Bogans isn't going to cut it, sorry.

[Spursfanfromafar]

I guess I'm the only one who remembers how awful Bonner was last postseason. But he can shoot the 3! Finley would fit the veteran shooter role at the end of the bench, but isn't a big who can be the first off the bench or start more important? The only thing that makes sense is that the Spurs might be able to pull someone better than Foster for Finley and Bonner if they wait until closer to the February trade deadline.

Yes. I agree with that notion. If someone like say, Shane Battier falls into the lap, I would take him for Bonner & Finley. Have nothing against Foster, but I think his USPs are already filled in the current roster (rebounding by Blair, other forms of defense by Ratliff and McDyess). What the Spurs need is a lockdown defender..and Shane Battier can be an ideal replacement for Bowen

[EmptyMan]

Bonner and Finley are great options if used right.

If being a little iffy with senile Pop.


There is no sense in giving them up for yet another Spurs noob.