I was thinking the same thing. The timing part IS crucial though. The Spurs are very close to not making the playoffs if the RRT doesn't and the rest of a very demanding schedule doesn't produce some consistantcy and wins.
Using a healthy Ratliff against the Lakers just might not be an option if the Spurs can't find a way to make the playoffs.
Yep...I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the front office realized they made a mistake by not picking up his option.
Now, they are trying to make it look like there is something wrong with him, so they can re-sign him to a longer term on the cheap. It's a reach, but I'm just trying to make sense of why he's not getting any burn.
And I don't buy the "he's terrible at practice" excuse. After after all it's just
That's a ty thing to do if that's the case. He's going to get a better offer than the Spurs can give him based simply on the game against the Nets combined with his size and athletecism. If they ed up by not picking up his option, then they're just compunding it by wasting the time he's here. Besides, if they're going to do that, Mahinmi will take less money just to get the out of San Antonio.
Or maybe they didn't pick up his option for a reason. Round and round we go...
Nobody on the board knows for certain, so we may as well trust the people who's job it is to make this team compe ive.
And maybe people who blindly trust the coaching staff never to make a mistake and never to have an ulterior motive should refrain from posting in speculation threads.
We're both blind, champ -- what's the difference between a positive assertion and a negative one? It all amounts to bull in the end
I agree. I'm just running out ideas why an athletic, young big the Spurs invested some time in, isn't getting a least getting a chance, especially after the Nets game. Then to further the insult (to Mahinmi), Bonner and Finley come back from injury and immediately get time...huh? What's Pop thinking? What's Mahinmi thinking? What are the other players thinking, particularly Duncan? When his potential defensive help is languishing on the bench. Again, I'm not setting up Ian as the savior, I just want him to have a REASONABLE chance.
So I'm still puzzled as to why you waste your precious time in such a bull thread if you actually believe it to be bull .We're both blind, champ -- what's the difference between a positive assertion and a negative one? It all amounts to bull in the end
I'm all for playing Ian and giving him a shot to see if he can contribute. At least for about 8-10 a game. The Spurs (Pop) doesn't have a set rotation yet and is obviously trying different things. Why not give Ian a shot during this whole experimenting period?
What gets me is why did Pop play him against New Jersey? He did a solid job against the. Its obvious New Jersey is the worst team in the NBA, but still the Nets are NBA talent and Ian did his thing. Why play him against the Nets and then put him back on the bench to rot? Was Pop showcasing him? Did Pop not like what he saw? If so, what about Ian's game didn't he like? Its very confusing.
Oh, I completely agree with you, and it's a valid theory, one I really don't like to think about being true. It fits the facts far better than anything else if we are to believe that the coaching staff sees the same things we've seen.
The good news is that Pop has thrown young guys into the fire for the RRT in the past. If there's any hope of seeing him and/or Hairston this year, they might get their chance during the upcoming stretch.
Pop loves veterans. PERIOD. You had an athletic PF/SF at 6-10 who could shoot the 3 and you cut him (Haislip). You still have an athletic Center who can guard quicker PF's and defend the paint to a degree+ has a nice offensive game and is 6-11(Mahinmi) but never gets any playing time. You have a 6-5 guard who is supposed to be a decent shooter and is obviously athletic and young+ plays good defense supposedly(Hairston) but never gets playing Tim either. Haislip(29)Mahinmi(23)Hairston(23). Just Imagine????
G - Parker (27) / Hill (23)
G - Hairston (23)/Manu (32)
F - RJ (29) / Possibly Hailsip/Mason Jr. ( both 29)
F - Duncan (33) / Blair or Haislip (Blair 20-21?)
C - Mahinmi (23) / Dice (35) Ratliff (36) can alternate games so that each is ready for Playoffs
Out - Bonner (to slow, doesnt rebound well for his size)
Finley ( Too old and takes Time/shots away from the younger players that actually can play D)
Bogans ( Plays hard, but is short and unathletic as in can dunk and is 29)
For the same reasons as yourself, I imagine: I wouldn't be on ST if I wasn't in the mood to voice my opinion. My opinion is there isn't enough data for us to make a good assessment of Ian, and further, that what little we do know suggests he's a foul-machine (not based on nice comments from nice-guy Dice, but on watching each of his pre-season games which came after being with the Spurs for a good while, injury notwithstanding), meaning his production would have to equal or exceed the deficit he puts the team at risk of to merit PT. Heaven forbid we trust the people who watch him play every day rather than the limited information we have as outsiders which amounts to one Pops Mensa-Bonsu standout performance and a lot of nothing else. Pop must want us to lose, right?
Anyway, we disagree. Noted.
I don't know why you keep looking at some conspiracy theory with Ian why the situation is damn clear:
Spurs gave a chance to Ian during the training camp. He even started a preseason game. Spurs didn't like what they saw from him and decided not to pick his option and they logically put him at the end of the depth chart.
Spurs playing him against Nets was a little weird, but if you consider that a showcase for them, it makes a lot of sense.
Trouble is, Haislip is the very definition of a veteran. Yet he got little PT and was happily cut. Maybe it had to do with his play.
I guess Pop thinks if he plays Ian, or Hairston to develope them Spurs could lose some games. Oh wait...
I wouldn't say that, there has been zero evidence of him being a bad teammate and his overall personality just doesn't mesh with that idea. I don't care if he's a good or bad practice player, in the real burn he got he almost put up a double double on Brook Lopez. Some guys may not be great in practice but step up when the lights come on. It's inexplicable that he hasn't gotten any burn since he is exactly where this club I'd deficient - athletic size. I agree there is something behind the scenes, but I'm sure it's with Pop's prejudice against the kid for some reason.
The Spurs were something like 19-2 when Elson got 20+ minutes in 2007.
Started the season 12-0 in games when Frankie did 20+.
Tallball with defensive nutts attatched
Won a le with Frankie, altho by then he had been put in Insecure Pops *doghouse*, nonetheless he still did 12 mpg in the playoffs.
So much for Ian being unable to contribute.
Dumbass Popovich.
Yes, if it was indeed a showcase game, then maybe they don't want to take a chance on messing up the "15 and 9 display case" for interested GMs before the trade deadline.
Do you think there's a chance Mahinmi will get some playing time if the deadline passes and he's still on the roster?
If that's the case they ed up royally. You don't give up on a project that you've invested a first round pick and so much time on without seeing what he could do in a regular season stint. Even if what you are saying makes sense, why continue to bench him when he puts up a near double double and looks capable defensively more than what you've been playing in the one game you play him? It makes no sense at all, there is some alterior motive here. Has to be, unless Pop suddenly is the worst coach at 2 levels of basketball.
If Spurs don't do a trade, I think Pop will continue to give most of the minutes to Duncan, McDyess, Blair and Bonner. I can also see him giving some minutes to Ratliff to have him ready for the playoffs.
IMO, Ian will be on the inactive list when TP will be back.
Well, Ian also played against Memphis and was way less successful. And it's just too late in the season to start working with a player as green as him. Ian was done as a Spur when they decided no to pick his option for 2010-2011.
From what you're saying above, we agree about almost everything. Everyone is saying there isn't enough data to make a good assessment of Ian, and we're speculating exactly why that might be, since it makes absolutely zero sense to anyone aside from Bruno why Ian's not getting ANY minutes after the amazing performance he put up against New Jersey.
Any fool knows that young bigs have foul trouble, but you don't find out what a guy can do until you play him. Claiming that you know that his fouling would cost the team every night is foolish. If you want a guy to be able to play from day one, you don't draft an 18 year old kid from France and spend five years grooming him only to deny him playing time when he has a chance of turning the corner and contributing.
Suggesting that Pop learned enough from Ian's 15/9 performance to deny all game PT to a guy that's clearly such an unknown quan y at a position of need for this team, you've entered the EricB stratosphere of Pop-sucking.
Who's Francisco Elson? And who is Mahinmi everyone is talking about?
While you were busy rocking the condescension, you failed to acknowledge the point about Ian's play in the last summer league, which fell short of many greener centers -- even by SL standards, where the refs are more lenient and the number of fouls allowed is greater.
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