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to be fair to Neal he was playing injured for much of the season
The despeation chuck that went in 2 years ago was great. That said, he is probably the worst rotation defender the Spurs have had in at least the last 10 years. That is below names like Brent Barry and Mike Finley.
He was somewhat worth it when he could shoot. Well for now that ship has sailed and banking that it coming back when you know his defense will continue to be abysmal is poor asset management.
We need a replacement 2 big time
to be fair to Neal he was playing injured for much of the season
He is a huge defensive liability.
Neal, let go get Roger Mason instead.
I'm not anti neal he was playing injured much of the year and was still moderately effective. That said he isn't a good defender, and in my mind his effectiveness come alot from his jump shooting though his improved passing and ability to drive and his pull up shot are both useful. I think he will be given offers that put him out of what the spurs would consider a reasonable price to keep him but I would not mind having him at all for the right price. I also think he has some loyalty to the spurs and would give them a discount just not much more than 10 to 15% for which I can't blame him at all, considering he has a moderately questionable image and likely gets little in the way of outside money contracts.
no problem with him resigning, but if we do make changes, he is one of the first players (blair, t-mac) that come to mind.
IMHO the small player rotation looks good with:
TP/CoJo/Patty
Green/Manu/Nando
(actually with Manu as backup PG and Patty at the 2 for stretches like that)
...nothing against Neal and I loved moments like the CP3assisted-three or his shooting barriage in the one finals game, but he just cloaks up a roster spot for a young prospect (or Nando/Patty which I simply like more).
His defense was no worse than Manu's this year. I think he can play better and is a terrific scorer. There's no need to throw him out just yet.
his value is at an all time high after the finals. trade him for something good.
He can stay for Danny Green money at the most. I suspect he's gonna get offers the spurs won't match however.
The worst rotation defender of the last 10 years is definitely RJ.
He's a great instant offense guy who can create his own shot when the 2nd unit offense stagnates (although that means at least one ill-advised 3 a game). That being said his defense is subpar and clearly hasn't improved much in the 3 years hes been here.
His best value would probably be in a sign & trade given he is probably going to command somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 a year, maybe more if a team like the Timberwolves sees him as their 2-guard solution. I wouldn't mind him back if we can't find a suitable replacement, but don't want to pay over the MLE for a backup SG that may or may not get much playing time (which will be dependent on what Manu does and whether he stays healthy).
Dont forget we are not playing against Miami in the Finals during 82 games.
Neal won games during the RS.
I have Bonner, Blair and maybe Mills (I want to see him more before my final opinion) before Neal in the trading train.
Gary Neal is like Bonner in that he gets us to trust less in our defense.
If he commands more than $3 mil a year I wouldn't even consider it. Maybe we could use him as sign and trade bait for another player or to move up in the draft.
I would of preferred Neal to take up Manu's minutes in the NBA finals because Manu was pathetic. I think we would of actually won the tle if Manu would of been benched in Game 6 because he was wearing the Heat uniform.
We lose in 5 if you give the ball to Neal and expect him to face that trap... simple as that...
Thread should read..Neal will be re-signed.
Manu is coming back unless he wants to retire. I don't expect him to as for much. He needs no more than 20 minutes max a game though. He needs to spend all summer reviewing tape to find new passing angles because teams have zeroed in on him and working on that jumpshot that eluded him all last season.
We have Green for two more years which is a good thing. We need him to develop. He does well enough dribbling after the closeout although that could use quite a bit of work. He just cannot finish. If he can get a consistent midrange finish that would transform his offensive game. He looks very awkward.
Duncan looked great physically all the way to the bitter end. I expect he comes back. I wish Kawai would have gone left on his dribble penetration sooner than game 7. It was beautiful and its been obvious they have been overplaying his left hand for months.
We desperately need a wing guy that can legitimately play the 3 when called on. Green cannot do it especially against certain matchups.
We need DeColo or CoJo to develop. DeColo in theory should be able to run the 1 or 2 to find him playing time. CoJo needs to continue to get better.
Neal is just too mcuh of a defensive and ball handling liability to keep. If Green can get that floater down he'll be many times over the better player. I need to go to the think tank and consider our options.
Outside of one game Neal was just asch if not more of a liability. Manus bad passes were obvious. Apparently Neal's bad rotations, ole man defense and nonexistent transition presence led to all manner of layups and and ones. He seems incapable of sagging in on a driver without fouling or getting back to his man on the kickout.
I am hard pressed to think of a worse perimeter defender we have had in the Duncan era. I guess hes better than Mills. But Roger Mason and Michael Finley were much much better and that is just sad.
Terry Porter and Derek Anderson. Weren't those guys pathetic on defense and a big reason why Kobe went God mode against us from 2000-2002?
I love Neal, but we need to get rid of our defensive liabilities and Pop's lineup killers. Bonner and Neal. Let's just hope the Game 6 coaching choker doesn't replace them with more rotation killers.
I think the Spurs just need a back-up pg that can score and playmake a little bit and take some of that responsibility off of Manu. I actually think there are some great FAs out there that can do that.
Obviously, Jarett Jack would be great, but reading through the list, there are guys like Billups, Devin Harris, OJ Mayo etc that are out there as well. In a league that is over saturated with pgs, the Spurs are fortunate in that they should be able to sign someone.
Finley's issues were getting beat of the dribble. Neal has that issue and he can't guard a stationary target.
That would have been UGLY! He has no business running the point at all.
Next year we need a backup PG because Manu can not do that anymore just leave him at SG. I agree Neal defense is terrible but we need to get someone who doesn't mind taking charge and making the money shots...someone like Franklin in this years draft would be nice.
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