Luis Scola this season.

[MmP]

No one not Mj, kobe or TMAC is as gifted physically as Lebron.

Manu was physically different from those. More crafty, very flexible and had huge hops. I didn't mean it in the way Lebron uses his big body. Manu has always been very skinny but youg rookie/sop re Manu was very athletic as much (not exactly) as any jumper in the league.

[rascal]

And Rockets are 0-2.

Scola is the Latino version or Randolph: a loser with empty stats. I'm glad Spurs aren't paying $9M for that.

Sour grapes here. Scola is off to a great start, the Rockets as a team are not. Don't confuse the two.

[rascal]

Scola looks slow and unathletic - leaden-footed to tell the truth - but he kills people with fundamentals. He has great footwork, spins in both directions, he can use both hands, and he has very soft touch on his hook and jumper. He's also extremely court-savvy and knows where to be to grab the rebound or upset the other team when defending. He would've been a great Spur. C'est la vie.

Good post here.

[rascal]

Another monster stat game from Scola, another loss from Rockets...
They are now 0-3...

And you don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand why Scola is a loser that hurt his team success.
On the defensive end, he is atrocious. The only thing he has for him is his hustle and the most he plays and scores, the less energy he has to defend.
On the offensive, he scores some points but he didn't make his teammates better and hurt the offensive flow of his team.

Maybe Rockets staff will be smart enough to realize that he is just empty stats like Zach Randolph. They could trade him for something good to a dumb GM and start winning like Caja Laboral did when they lost him.

I don't know who voted you as 1'st team poster, it sure wasn't me.

[dunkman]

The Scola debacle was the beginning of the end of the Spurs. I called it at the time. Unfortunately, I was right.

RC and Pop couldn't see the changes the NBA was taking after the 2007 le. They were too confident in the level in talent they had and their coaching stuff. Scola gave them some problems or they saw what

The Celtics added Allen and KG, it resulted that their not so high picks Rondo and Perkins were excellent players, and that Doc Rivers with Tibodeau were as good coaches as it gets. The Lakers controversially added Ariza for a scrub, Fisher was magically released and signed for nothing, and they got Gasol for two scrubs, second round 4-5 years project and a very low first round pick.

On the other hand, the Spurs wasted 2 first rounders to dump Rose's last 4 years of contract who wasn't really a bad player for the Spurs, they wasted another first round pick in Mahinmi, finally they wasted Scola to unload Butler's two last years of bad contract. Curiously, the Spurs could have signed Scola instead of Butler.

When the Spurs reacted and started picking good players like Splitter, Hill, Blair and Anderson, it was too late and the power shifted to the Lakers and Celtics, also should be noted that the Heat may have assembled a terrific team.

Besides the big 3 that became older, it took too much time to add a solid big after Horry's wheels fell and there is still no wing defender similar to Bowen.

[rascal]

RC and Pop couldn't see the changes the NBA was taking after the 2007 le. They were too confident in the level in talent they had and their coaching stuff. Scola gave them some problems or they saw what

The Celtics added Allen and KG, it resulted that their not so high picks Rondo and Perkins were excellent players, and that Doc Rivers with Tibodeau were as good coaches as it gets. The Lakers controversially added Ariza for a scrub, Fisher was magically released and signed for nothing, and they got Gasol for two scrubs, second round 4-5 years project and a very low first round pick.

On the other hand, the Spurs wasted 2 first rounders to dump Rose's last 4 years of contract who wasn't really a bad player for the Spurs, they wasted another first round pick in Mahinmi, finally they wasted Scola to unload Butler's two last years of bad contract. Curiously, the Spurs could have signed Scola instead of Butler.

When the Spurs reacted and started picking good players like Splitter, Hill, Blair and Anderson, it was too late and the power shifted to the Lakers and Celtics, also should be noted that the Heat may have assembled a terrific team.

Besides the big 3 that became older, it took too much time to add a solid big after Horry's wheels fell and there is still no wing defender similar to Bowen.

Good post. The front office has not done enough to keep the spurs a legitimate contender after their last le.

Keeping the core as is and not adding the right role players has lead to a decline that will see Duncan finish up with the 4 les and the spurs rebuilding from the bottom hoping to get lucky to land the next franchise player through the draft when he leaves.

This years team is not much different than last years team. They brought back basically the same team with the exception of adding Splitter and losing Mason for Anderson(who won't play a big role this year). Parker is healthier but Manu and Duncan are a year older. Is Splitter alone enough to turn the team into a contender?

[ElNono]

Meanwhile, Bogans is still starting for Chicago. He is shooting a whooping 1-6 from downtown and averages 2.5 PPG in 30 mins.

But since Chicago is 1-1, clearly Bogans > Scola...

[dunkman]

Good post. The front office has not done enough to keep the spurs a legitimate contender after their last le.

Keeping the core as is and not adding the right role players has lead to a decline that will see Duncan finish up with the 4 les and the spurs rebuilding from the bottom hoping to get lucky to land the next franchise player through the draft when he leaves.

This years team is not much different than last years team. They brought back basically the same team with the exception of adding Splitter and losing Mason for Anderson(who won't play a big role this year). Parker is healthier but Manu and Duncan are a year older. Is Splitter alone enough to turn the team into a contender?

I think that the FO probably have some problems to explain why after paying so much luxury tax last season, the team went 0:4 against the Suns in the second round. The ambitions must have been at least WCF or the finals.

Many people now think the Spurs are not a real contender (which affects ticket sales), along with the apparent negative to pay luxury tax, it would explain why the team hasn't signed the wing defender yet, when it was specified as a need by RC in an interview, and it's obvious by the first games that the perimeter defense isn't good.

Hopefully Hill, RJ, Anderson and Neal will be able to defend as they gain more experience. Splitter should help too with his length and good speed.

[ALVAREZ6]

Manu has been physically gifted as much as Lebron in his prime and has been as humble as he could be since he was 23. I think these argies just play strong and with no care for opponents but when you talk them they're very humble and centered.

When I saw this thread had +5 pages I thought it was a bump from last year. Man..if scola somehow keep this up (being the guy the players he has around) the guy pretty much has to be a top 5 PF

Manu, Scola, Nocioni...all of these guys always give 100%, no ego, simply want to win, as a team. Any coach should want an Argentine on their roster

[TJastal]

RC and Pop couldn't see the changes the NBA was taking after the 2007 le. They were too confident in the level in talent they had and their coaching stuff. Scola gave them some problems or they saw what

The Celtics added Allen and KG, it resulted that their not so high picks Rondo and Perkins were excellent players, and that Doc Rivers with Tibodeau were as good coaches as it gets. The Lakers controversially added Ariza for a scrub, Fisher was magically released and signed for nothing, and they got Gasol for two scrubs, second round 4-5 years project and a very low first round pick.

On the other hand, the Spurs wasted 2 first rounders to dump Rose's last 4 years of contract who wasn't really a bad player for the Spurs, they wasted another first round pick in Mahinmi, finally they wasted Scola to unload Butler's two last years of bad contract. Curiously, the Spurs could have signed Scola instead of Butler.

When the Spurs reacted and started picking good players like Splitter, Hill, Blair and Anderson, it was too late and the power shifted to the Lakers and Celtics, also should be noted that the Heat may have assembled a terrific team.

Besides the big 3 that became older, it took too much time to add a solid big after Horry's wheels fell and there is still no wing defender similar to Bowen.

Good concise analysis. The bolded part pretty much sums up why the spurs off a cliff since the 2007 le. I'd say another of the death blows occured back in 2006 when a mysterious mental ailment started causing Popovich to start obsessing with playing small ball which ultimately cost the spurs a great center (Nazr Mohammed), who would have been a great 7 foot presence /shot blocker/interior defender to have paired with Tim for his twilight years.

[ChumpDumper]

How could the Spurs have signed Scola instead of Butler that season?

Are you his agent?

[dunkman]

How could the Spurs have signed Scola instead of Butler that season?

Are you his agent?

Scola got $9.3M in 2007 over 3 years from the Rockets, Butler was signed in 2006 for $7.1M for the same period. Per year it wasn't a huge difference.

The Nuggets didn't match Elson, because they were over the luxury threshold. Instead of paying him $3M x 2, the Spurs could have arranged something like $2.5M + $3M + third year team option with $500K guaranteed, to have enough of the MLE for Scola.

[TJastal]

How could the Spurs have signed Scola instead of Butler that season?

Are you his agent?

Scola got $9.3M in 2007 over 3 years from the Rockets, Butler was signed in 2006 for $7.1M for the same period. Per year it wasn't a huge difference.

The Nuggets didn't match Elson, because they were over the luxury threshold. Instead of paying him $3M x 2, the Spurs could have arranged something like $2.5M + $3M + third year team option with $500K guaranteed, to have enough of the MLE for Scola.

[noob cake]

Scola Approves

[TDMVPDPOY]

meaningless stats on a lottery team

[ChumpDumper]

Scola got $9.3M in 2007 over 3 years from the Rockets, Butler was signed in 2006 for $7.1M for the same period. Per year it wasn't a huge difference.

The Nuggets didn't match Elson, because they were over the luxury threshold. Instead of paying him $3M x 2, the Spurs could have arranged something like $2.5M + $3M + third year team option with $500K guaranteed, to have enough of the MLE for Scola.

You're acting like Scola could have been bought out that year that Butler was signed.

Again, what do you know that we don't?

Thanks in advance.

Asking both of you now.

[TJastal]

You're acting like Scola could have been bought out that year that Butler was signed.

Again, what do you know that we don't?

Thanks in advance.

Asking both of you now.

http://www.insidehoops.com/blogs/?p=62

For the past twenty four hours, Scola’s agents and the Rockets have been negotiating a deal which would help bring Scola to the states, and most importantly buy out his contract from Tau Ceramica. NBA rules state the Rockets can only contribute 500,000 dollars towards a buy out, therefore the negotiations involve front loading the contract in order to allow Scola to give the money for his buy out. According to chron.com, the deal in place seems to be a reasonable $10 million over the course of three years. An awesome deal for a proven winner.

So why the couldn't the spurs have negotiated something along these lines?

[ChumpDumper]

So you have no evidence Tau was willing to do that the year Butler was signed or that the terms of the buyout would be exactly the same.

Thanks.

[TJastal]

So you have no evidence Tau was willing to do that the year Butler was signed or that the terms of the buyout would be exactly the same.

Thanks.

Just like you have no evidence the spurs really tried that hard to pry Scola out of Europe. Thanks.

[ChumpDumper]

Just like you have no evidence the spurs really tried to pry Scola out of Europe. Thanks.

This forum is replete with threads and links to articles about the negotiations to bring Scola over to the Spurs.

If you are being willfully ignorant because your celebration was premature and now you are scrambling after being called out, I understand -- but anyone who knows anything about the Spurs would know about this.

Are you truly ignorant of the negotiations or just lying about being ignorant about them?

I'll believe either.

[TJastal]

This forum is replete with threads and links to articles about the negotiations to bring Scola over to the Spurs.

If you are being willfully ignorant because your celebration was premature and now you are scrambling after being called out, I understand -- but anyone who knows anything about the Spurs would know about this.

Are you truly ignorant of the negotiations or just lying about being ignorant about them?

I'll believe either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Scola

Most of the news articles I've looked at say the same thing, that Tau eventually settled on a 2.5m-3m buyout, which the spurs could have gotten done with a front-loaded contract much like the one the rockets offered. The spurs just weren't that interested in getting it done it seems. They were more concerned with penny pinching than bringing in the best players possible to augment the big 3.

[ChumpDumper]

"seems."

All you are giving is conjecture based on your biases.

Again, were you totally ignorant of the negotiations between the Spurs and Baskonia or were you simply lying about it?

[TJastal]

"seems."

All you are giving is conjecture based on your biases.

Again, were you totally ignorant of the negotiations between the Spurs and Baskonia or were you simply lying about it?

Maybe I got a bad link/article, but the proof is all right in the link I provided from Wiki.. says Tau wanted 3m for buyout. Is Wiki wrong? (somehow I doubt it).

In the summer of 2005, the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA (who drafted Scola in 2002) attempted to negotiate with Baskonia to buy out his contract. After initially throwing around numbers as large as $1.5 million, Baskonia eventually settled on a still higher number of over $3 million for the contract. This made it difficult for Scola to join fellow Argentina national team member Manu Ginóbili in San Antonio because of the NBA's rule which limits teams to paying no more than $500,000 of a player's buyout.[2] Scola would have been responsible for paying Baskonia the remaining $2.5 million. When the deal to buy out Scola's contract fell through, the Spurs instead signed an Argentine national team teammate and friend of Scola's Fabricio Oberto.

Scola wanted desperately to come to the nba. Enough so he was willing to pay the 2.5m himself (along with the 500K from nba team). So all that was needed was a little help from the spurs with a front loaded contract. Could the spurs manage this? Apparently not. Almost as soon as he is dealt to the rockets, a deal magically happens and Scola is on a plane to Houston.

[ChumpDumper]

Is Wiki wrong?

In this case, there is no attribution at all.

Wikipedia is often wrong for just this reason.

[TJastal]

In this case, there is no attribution at all.

Wikipedia is often wrong for just this reason.

Sure about that, Chumper?

http://www.spursreport.com/forums/sp...ure-spurs.html

There is a rumor in San Antonio that your buyout is around 14.5 millions dollars. Is that correct?

No. That buyout is only for teams of Europe. The buyout for the NBA is different.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and "guess" it was the same buyout amount as was tendered to the rockets.