Report: TJ Ford leaning toward signing with Spurs

[angelbelow]

I dont like this at all. TJ Ford was a player i followed closely why he was in his prime (played for the raptors then) and hes a ballhog. His defense isnt above average but its not far below.

Problem is that hes likely a Nick Van Exel #2 but he can't shoot 3s. We should pass unless its for the minimum.

[TD 21]

I get the signing. If Parker were to go down for any length of time, they'd have been in trouble. And even if he stays upright the entire season, even he will probably need the odd game off and more games than usual where his minutes are managed. To have another true PG, with quickness and the ability to score (albeit inefficiently), makes sense.

On the other hand, Ford is a perpetual malcontent, has an extremely inflated sense of self worth, is at best an erratic shooter, a sub par defender and isn't exactly known for being pass first. I wouldn't quite say he's the anti-Spur, but he's within striking difference.

Since it's almost certainly one year for the veteran's minimum, they probably view it as low risk/(reasonably) high reward. If he's not playing much and is pouting, they could easily cut him at any point. But like Butler/Howard, I don't see this as a great fit.

[Russ]

I was making a list of 20 best veteran backup point guards the Spurs could sign and deleted TJ Ford's name off the list because I didn't believe any reasonable team would think he's still an NBA quality player.

Hopefully it's not true and the Spurs are just trying to coax a couple Longhorn homers into buying season tickets.

Check his career stats -- not bad for someone to bring in as a backup point guard.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tj_ford/career_stats.html

[DeadlyDynasty]

[DesignatedT]

jason kapono

[Russ]

He's better than any PG on the Lakers.

[DarkGinobili]

He's better than any PG on the Lakers.

LOL

[dallasmaverickslose]

He's better than any PG on the Lakers.

Derek Fisher

[DeadlyDynasty]

He's better than any PG on the Lakers.

We won 5 championships with Fisher....pg is the most overrated position in the game

[lefty]

yes !!!!!



I've always liked TJ Ford


And he can't be worse than TP

[DeadlyDynasty]

jason kapono

Lakerfans arent nutting themselves over this signing

Otoh, spurfan clearly is over their scrub (read thread)

[Obstructed_View]

Maybe people are getting him confused with DJ Augustin.

[Russ]

We won 5 championships with Fisher....pg is the most overrated position in the game

Easy to say until now -- when you're no longer running the triple post offense.

(Also, I didn't say TJ was better than Fisher when he won those les -- he's just better today than Fish is.)

[objective]

TJ Ford is living off the rep he had before he fell on his neck one too many times.

I doubt he could even be a useful 12 minute a night guy on a vet minimum deal.

But on the plus side, he might be so bad that Pop would consider playing Joseph.

[angelbelow]

I get the signing. If Parker were to go down for any length of time, they'd have been in trouble. And even if he stays upright the entire season, even he will probably need the odd game off and more games than usual where his minutes are managed. To have another true PG, with quickness and the ability to score (albeit inefficiently), makes sense.

On the other hand, Ford is a perpetual malcontent, has an extremely inflated sense of self worth, is at best an erratic shooter, a sub par defender and isn't exactly known for being pass first. I wouldn't quite say he's the anti-Spur, but he's within striking difference.

Since it's almost certainly one year for the veteran's minimum, they probably view it as low risk/(reasonably) high reward. If he's not playing much and is pouting, they could easily cut him at any point. But like Butler/Howard, I don't see this as a great fit.

True, but there must be better options out there right? Admittingly I haven't really followed the NBA since like game 4 of the first round vs. the Grizzles so I don't really know/remember who else is a FA right now. I guess I'll wait for Timvp's list of top FA for the spurs.

[lefty]

We won 5 championships with Fisher....pg is the most overrated position in the game

Magic Johnson


Just a thought

[stephen jackson]

if he works out or not who cares. hes not makin or breaking the team.
at least the spot is filled for now

[portnoy1]

yes !!!!!



I've always liked TJ Ford


And he can't be worse than TP

Yeah there about same, TP just doesn't complain as much and is allowed alot of freedom to play his game. I dont know if Pop will do that with Ford.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Esay to say until now -- when you're no longer playing the triple post offense.

(Also, I didn't say TJ was better than Fisher when he won those les -- he's just better today than Fish is.)

Anybody's better than Fish now. The point is that pg's are vastly overrated in the NBA. If this was March Madness where guards are the focal points, then it'd be a different story.

[timvp]

Check his career stats -- not bad for someone to bring in as a backup point guard.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tj_ford/career_stats.html

It's the last two seasons in which he fell off a cliff. He plays like he thinks he's still a star point guard even though his body is worn down and he's lost about two steps from his prime. You could literally hear Pacers fans grown whenever he got on the court because all he ever does anymore is dribble until someone sets a screen and then shoots a mid-range jumper while floating to his right. It has almost been comical watching him recently.

The only hope is that now that he's out from under that huge contract he'll stop trying to prove he's the second coming of Allen Iverson. He has decent enough vision but it's been hard to tell recently when he's spent every minute on the court pounding the air out of the ball.

For a guy who was supposedly one of the fastest players in the league not too long ago, he has looked pretty damn slow and generally out of shape. Again, maybe now that he's no longer depositing those huge checks he'll rededicate himself. But I think it's more likely that his neck injury just brought upon a quicker decline than expected.

I hope I'm wrong but it's difficult to imagine Ford being even a decent backup at this point in his career.

[lefty]

oops my sarcasm detector is off

[Russ]

It's the last two seasons in which he fell off a cliff. He plays like he thinks he's still a star point guard even though his body is worn down and he's lost about two steps from his prime. You could literally hear Pacers fans grown whenever he got on the court because all he ever does anymore is dribble until someone sets a screen and then shoots a mid-range jumper while floating to his right. It has almost been comical watching him recently.

The only hope is that now that he's out from under that huge contract he'll stop trying to prove he's the second coming of Allen Iverson. He has decent enough vision but it's been hard to tell recently when he's spent every minute on the court pounding the air out of the ball.

For a guy who was supposedly one of the fastest players in the league not too long ago, he has looked pretty damn slow and generally out of shape. Again, maybe now that he's no longer depositing those huge checks he'll rededicate himself. But I think it's more likely that his neck injury just brought upon a quicker decline than expected.

I hope I'm wrong but it's difficult to imagine Ford being even a decent backup at this point in his career.

That would be my only caveat -- maybe he can't regain his past form.

[timvp]

Warning to CoM: Tony Parker is John Stockton compared to TJ Ford. Prepare to demand his head on a platter three games into the regular season.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Magic Johnson


Just a thought

That was 20+ years ago, just a thought. The game has changed drastically since then, and the majority of nba champions since have had meh pg's:

Bj armstrong
Fisher
Maxwell
White chocolate
Old kidd
Young rondo

[Russ]

That was 20+ years ago, just a thought. The game has changed drastically since then, and the majority of nba champions since have had meh pg's:

Bj armstrong
Fisher
Maxwell
White chocolate
Old kidd
Young rondo

TP got Finals MVP in '07.