10/10 for this thread.
Blair is the worst "big" we've had since I began watching the Spurs (very late '90s).
He's not the Malik Rose close that Spurs fans once perceived him to be. Malik was actually nimble and nifty on offense, especially in the paint, because he actually worked year round to keep himself in shape instead of acquiescing to weighing a billion pounds.
Malik actually worked on his jump shot in the offseasons and in practice which got progressively better and better; his form was very good and he shot a high percentage (while actually getting off the ground!)
Malik, like Blair, frequently committed loose ball fouls trying to get offensive rebounds against taller players. But his rate of success was much higher since he actually used the correct boxing out technique instead of sticking his arm out and trying to bulldoze the tree. And Malik had a better sense of situation -- how many team fouls the Spurs had, etc.
Malik, through the championship runs and beyond, was known for the fact that he played within himself offensively. He wouldn't force anything, try to dance or get cute, he would pass out of double teams and when the shot wasn't there he wouldn't try to spin and manufacture something horrible. Basically, he was an efficient offensive player who didn't work out for us against every team but was a matchup nightmare for teams with slow bigs who were mediocre defenders.
Blair makes me cringe whenever he has the ball with a man guarding him; it seems like nine out of ten times, we end up with a turnover, offensive foul, ugly-ass brick, or at best we lose ten seconds before Blair's extended brain fart finally passes by and he passes it out and someone else has to throw up a prayer. Get a damn grip -- you're 6'6". You're not going to be an effective post player in the NBA against bigs, even if you weigh 700 pounds. There's no way. I've had it with the idiot Spurs fanbase that blames Bonner for everything (granted, Bonner is terrible sometimes but decent others) but gives Blair a pass because he's shorter and "trying". No, you assholes, you don't get it. Trying to teach a pig to sing is stupid; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Malik was actually physical on defense and never gave up in the low block -- he did fail to get back after a turnover at home against Sacramento in the '05 season, and he wasn't tall enough to guard many of the twin-tree lineups in the NBA such as Seattle and Detroit; thus he got traded for Muhammad. Blair, on the other hand, plays porous defense, then gives up when his man gets past him, won't take a hard foul even on the worst foul shooters. He is the definition of a defensive pussy.
We must make a similar trade, this year, before we fall out of contention and Blair's stock is reduced to zero by injury or otherwise. Blair, RJ & 2nd round pick for Kaman and filler. Do it Mitch (Holt/Stern).
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