Rumor: Malik Hairston to Montepaschi? (Confirmed)

[MannyIsGod]

I like Temple a lot. I thought he and Malik would be nice. Like most said, this does not do anything really for the Spurs chances, but this is ST and we care about guys 1-15

We have a sickness

[DesignatedT]

Malik showed in limited minutes that he was an NBA level player. At this point Neal has not. Why do you feel Neal has a higher upside?

Malik showed in limited minutes that he was an NBA level player.

You're opinion....

I feel Neal has the skillset to be a better player. No doubt he is better offensively it's not even close and while his defense is nothing to write home about neither is Hairstons. Spurstalk is ridiculous for slobbing all over Hairstons defense when he's done/shown nothing. The guy is not some shut down defender. Pop is in love with defense... you think he would cut a guy who's the next "bruce bowen" according to yall.

plus Neal has succeeded in every league he's been in overseas and would have been a guaranteed first rounder if it weren't for his run in with the law. that's a fact.

[ElNono]

We have a sickness

The offseason is just too long..

[HarlemHeat37]

You're opinion....

I feel Neal has the skillset to be a better player. No doubt he is better offensively it's not even close and while his defense is nothing to write home about neither is Hairstons. Spurstalk is ridiculous for slobbing all over Hairstons defense when he's done/shown nothing. The guy is not some shut down defender. Pop is in love with defense... you think he would cut a guy who's the next "bruce bowen" according to yall.

plus Neal has succeeded in every league he's been in overseas and would have been a guaranteed first rounder if it weren't for his run in with the law. that's a fact.

[MannyIsGod]

I think Pop is in love with Temple's D and shooting, and said so as much when interviewed. I definitely see the Temple SF experiment extensively tested this season.

I don't know what his wingspan is but at 6'6" his versatility is the stuff coaches love.

It will be exciting to see young guys get minutes this year no matter what. With no bad vets on the roster at these positions and Pop's likely reluctance to play Manu too many minutes we're going to see some intersting combinations between Anderson, Neal, Temple, and Gee.

[DesignatedT]

And Neal did?

He hasn't been given a chance yet. He has succeeded in every other league he's played in overseason (which are a lot more compe ive than the NBA dleague) and I believe he could be a solid player in the NBA.

[ElNono]

You're opinion....

I feel Neal has the skillset to be a better player. No doubt he is better offensively it's not even close and while his defense is nothing to write home about neither is Hairstons. Spurstalk is ridiculous for slobbing all over Hairstons defense when he's done/shown nothing. The guy is not some shut down defender. Pop is in love with defense... you think he would cut a guy who's the next "bruce bowen" according to yall.

plus Neal has succeeded in every league he's been in overseas and would have been a guaranteed first rounder if it weren't for his run in with the law. that's a fact.

[Obstructed_View]

I don't know what hating small ball has to do with conspiracy theories.

What conspiracy theory? The Spurs value shooting over defense, value vets over young players, and value guys Pop has a crush on over everything. I simply said I expect Neal to get a lot more burn than Hairston got. We saw it with Anthony Tolliver so it's not like there's no precedent.

Actually, I think we'll see far less of four smalls on the court this year. The Spurs have 5 solid bigs and there really shouldn't be a reason to play small ball. I do think we'll see a lot of our 2s getting minutes at the 3 which will be interesting to see on defense but those 2 spots are fairly interchangeable.

Better interior defense will go a long way to making that a smaller issue as well.

I'm not sure where you think the Spurs have five solid bigs. I'm really hoping Splitter can be a starting quality center on the defensive end, but most people are projecting him to be the backup at this point. That leaves Duncan, Dice, Bonner and Blair. Not much size there, and not a lot of solid interior defense to back up the lack of size on the perimeter. There's a very real danger of seeing Bonner as the first big off the bench in defensive situations. Again.

[DesignatedT]

jokes on you. Defense is still Pop's focal point and it's always been that way. Why would he cut Malik if his defense is so spectacular and then he brought in Bogans last season for the same exact thing.

[ElNono]

He hasn't been given a chance yet.

And Malik was given a chance?

[DesignatedT]

Why is Hairston going overseas anyway? Why not to another NBA team...

[DPG21920]

You're opinion....

I feel Neal has the skillset to be a better player. No doubt he is better offensively it's not even close and while his defense is nothing to write home about neither is Hairstons. Spurstalk is ridiculous for slobbing all over Hairstons defense when he's done/shown nothing. The guy is not some shut down defender. Pop is in love with defense... you think he would cut a guy who's the next "bruce bowen" according to yall.

plus Neal has succeeded in every league he's been in overseas and would have been a guaranteed first rounder if it weren't for his run in with the law. that's a fact.

Lol your logic is crazy. Malik is a very good defender. The numbers back that up.

[Chieflion]

Why is Hairston going overseas anyway? Why not to another NBA team...

Not too many teams would even need him in a rotation. In Europe, he can make more dough and get more playing time. If he develops his game further, he could make a comeback in the NBA.

[DesignatedT]

And Malik was given a chance?

2 years and 500 more NBA minutes than Neal has.

[ElNono]

Why is Hairston going overseas anyway? Why not to another NBA team...

Europe pays better than the NBA min contract...

[Borosai]

Muuuuuullllleeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkk!!!!!! Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DPG21920]

Why did 26 year old Neal prove himself overseas instead of in the NBA?...

[ElNono]

2 years and 500 more NBA minutes than Neal has.

So you're saying Hairston is more of a NBA player than Neal... since he has 2 years and 500 minutes of NBA experience?

Why did Neal go to Europe instead of playing for an NBA team?

[HarlemHeat37]

jokes on you. Defense is still Pop's focal point and it's always been that way. Why would he cut Malik if his defense is so spectacular and then he brought in Bogans last season for the same exact thing.

Defense is far from Pop's focal point, which is evident from his excessive small ball lineups when the Spurs clearly don't have the personnel to use it, and his over-usage of guys like Finley and Mason over the last 2 seasons..

The fact that he has used Udoka and Bogans as defensive stoppers the last few years, failing to realize that the league has gotten more athletic(which is needed, especially with the lack of handchecking), also speaks on his loss of defensive recognition IMO..

I'm not a Pop hater, never have been, but I can't see how somebody would say he's still focused on defense..

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't care that Hairston is going to Europe..I'm a fan and I'd rather see him stick, but I'm pretty sure he chose to go there to make more money, get PT and develop his game, that's on him, it's probably the best decision he could have made..

My point is simply that I hope the Spurs didn't choose Kobe Neal over him, if it was their decision to get rid of Hairston..

[DesignatedT]

Ian has a better chance of making something out of himself in the NBA than Hairston does. That's the truth. Hairston has always been overrated on a board that flocks to any sort of athleticism (Ian,Pops,Hairston,White)

I like Hairston just like most people but just like I said at the end of last season I would rather have Gee.

[elemento]

lol @ temple at SF

[ElNono]

I don't care that Hairston is going to Europe..I'm a fan and I'd rather see him stick, but I'm pretty sure he chose to go there to make more money, get PT and develop his game..

Ditto. I'm actually glad he got that side deal to go play somewhere. He looks like a good kid, and would have sucked to see him cut and out of work.

[Obstructed_View]

Pop benched Bowen and Hill against the Mavs. To say that the Spurs have cared much about defense the last few years is laughable. RC didn't say the Spurs needed defense, he said they needed shooting, even though the stats clearly don't back that up.

[DesignatedT]

So you're saying Hairston is more of a NBA player than Neal... since he has 2 years and 500 minutes of NBA experience?

Why did Neal go to Europe instead of playing for an NBA team?

I said Hairstons been given a chance... You always twist around everything we're talking about In every damn argument we are in.

Neal would have been a guaranteed first round pick if it wasn't for his run in with the law. Than he had to go overseas.