Reply With Quote
at replacing Big Ben w/Nazr
Does anyone else think it is ironic how this happened on Independence day?
Be a Spurs fan! Be a Spurs fan!
How did you get a pic of my cat? That looks exactly like him!
Maybe the Spurs can win the luxury tax ring in 2011.
Holt would be proud.
This is late but oh well.....
So far best posts of the thread.
hahahahaha
That has been my frustration as well. I thought things were just unclear to me because of my limited basketball knowledge.
It makes me feel better to know that is not completely the case.
My 2006 Summer strategy continues to be close my eyes, hope for the best, and read the roster coming training camp.
It is the perfect plan seeing as I have no alternative.
How did you get a pic of my cat? That looks exactly like him!
It's kind of unfair. Detroit got to replace Ben with Nazr and we didn't get to reciprocate.
it seems like everyone forgot how important Nazr was for the spurs 2005 championship. The man is a monster under the glass. The spurs had practically no offensive rebounding before they traded Malik for Naz. i seriously doubt the spurs would have made it past the Sonics in round 2 of last years playoffs if it hadnt been for Nazr. He gave the Spurs so many second chances with his offensive rebounds in so many games. it was clear to me he was the difference maker. and how many times did he block ben wallace in the finals? i can remember 3 occasions but im sure there were more. Nazr is a force in the paint and the pistons have done well by acquiring him. also, Nazr is an excellent free throw shooter, unlike ben wallace. im still puzzled as to why Mohammed did not play more against Dallas. Dallas killed San Antonio on the boards that whole series. Nazr absence was definitely felt. Pop was so convinced that the only way he could beat dallas was to play small ball which seemed like a total deviation form the Spurs philosophy, which is based on defense. I couldnt understand why the spurs were changing in order to match Dallas. They should have been the agressor and made the Mavs adjust to them. they set a franchise record for wins in the season after taking the le away from the defending champs the previous year, then along comes some tall goofy looking german dork who likes david hasselhoff and pop's feathers are suddenly ruffled. playing small is the reason the spurs lost. i guarantee that if Nazr had been waiting in the paint for Dirk's drive to the hole at the end of game 7 that ball would not have gone in, he may have been fouled, but he would not have made the shot and the Spurs would have won.
Now i know everyone gives Nazr crap because he has bad hands, but the mistakes he makes on the offensive end are usually made up for on the defensive end if he is given the chance, and is it really Nazr's fault if he isnt ready for a sudden pass? the coaches needed to get on him some more and make him be ready.
i know its easy to second guess now after the fact, but maybe what it comes down to is just that Nazr seemed to fill an important and much needed role for the Spurs at Center, especially since the departure of David Robinson. He was big, strong, aggressive, and could shoot free throws. and could also break out and have a 20 point game from time to time. thanks Nazr. you'll be missed in San Antonio
SMALL BALL!!! Get ready for it Spurs fans.
I'm calling it right now:
Spurs will miss Nazr when they play the Pheonix Suns in the WCF next season.
Not that I advocated keeping him for that amount of money, I'm just saying...
See ya Naz. Won't miss ya.
Good post ancestron
There does seem to be some irony in the fact that the Spurs won the championship with Nazr starting at center against the Pistons and lost out on the chance for another le when he didn't play against Dallas.
Nazr, 13/10 with Detroit.
it's amazing the disparity in his performance in the time frame between those two events. good luck getting nazr to be somewhere near consistent. maybe he'll do better without someone screaming at him to try and play something resembling defense.
Horry played worth a against Detroit.
Say goodbye to that top rated defense.
I'm trying to be guardedly optimistic about Nazr. I admit I'm better at being a fan than an analyst. (I know some here are good at both)
We still have 3 all-stars on the team and Tayshaun who wasn't an all-star probablly played the best for us during the playoffs. Plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
It's very not fair to compare Nazr with Ben.
Nazr is the one to fill DET's center position, not to replace a player called BEN WALLACE. NO ONE can do what big ben did for a team.
I wouldn't blame Joe for not offering Ben that much money. Ben doesn't deserve that much, and it's not fair for the other four starters too. If I must blame someone, that would be Ben Wallace. I was shock that he chose to leave. But what else we could do?
DET needs a centre. Do you think there are better centre out there beside Nazr? We don't have much choice. Goodbye big ben. Welcome Nazr. For those pistons fans who are blaming Joe and who will blame Nazr in the future, please move on.
New center: Mohammed to fill Big Ben's big shoes
Life after Ben Wallace began to take shape Tuesday as the Pistons got oral commitments from San Antonio center Nazr Mohammed and one of its own free agents, point guard Lindsey Hunter.
One day after Wallace picked a richer deal from the Chicago Bulls over another four years at a lower price in Detroit, a person with the team confirmed that the Pistons had replaced their longtime center with Mohammed, a 6-foot-10 NBA nomad. Mohammed agreed to a five-year deal that starts at the mid-level exception of $5.3 million. With an 8.5% pay increase each season, Mohammed, 28, will earn $30 million through the life of the deal, although the final year is expected to be a player option.
The person also confirmed that Hunter agreed to return to the Pistons for two more seasons, taking a contract worth $4.5 million, and at the end of those two seasons, the defensive specialist wants to join the front-office staff in some capacity.
Both moves will become official July 12, the first day free agents can sign new contracts. They leave the Pistons little means left to sign other free agents.
Detroit still has a bi-annual exception worth $1.75 million, and the team is still in the market for a backup point guard despite Hunter's return.
That means they'll have to find someone on the cheap -- or construct a trade. Without giving up a key player, the Pistons have few chips besides veteran forward Dale Davis and their two first-round draft picks (one from Orlando) for next season.
Davis has one season worth $3.5 million left, and he rarely played last season. Now with Mohammed penciled in the starting role and with second-year forward Jason Maxiell perhaps ready to play more minutes, Davis might be ripe to unload.
The Pistons placed calls late Monday to unrestricted free agent center Joel Przybilla to gauge his interest, but with only the mid-level to offer, they never got into serious negotiations. The 7-foot-1 shot blocker later signed a five-year deal worth $32 million to stay in Portland.
Instead, Detroit will be the fifth NBA stop for Mohammed, who averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds last season. His agent, Michael Higgins, did not return a call for comment.
The Kentucky product rarely played during his first three seasons in Philadelphia before he was dealt to Atlanta after playing 30 games for the Sixers in the 2000-01 season. In 2003-04, his fourth season in Atlanta, the Hawks sent Mohammed to the Knicks at the trade deadline.
New York marketed Mohammed as the young, athletic center of the future. But his play didn't wow president Isiah Thomas, who tried to bring in Erick Dampier. The trade didn't happen, and a year later, Thomas shipped Mohammed to the Spurs at midseason.
Once in San Antonio, Mohammed started five games and started in all 23 of the Spurs' postseason contests, including the Finals against the Pistons.
But his role fluctuated last season. After losing his starting role to Rasho Nesterovic early on, he returned to start the final 30 games of the season. But he then played only 15 minutes throughout the second-round playoff series against Dallas as the Spurs went small.
Mohammed can be turnover-prone and get lost on defensive rotations. But at the free-throw line, Mohammed (78.5% last season) is a big upgrade from Wallace. And just last season, he tied his career-high with a 30-point performance against Phoenix.
As a devout Muslim, Mohammed sometimes struggles at the beginning of seasons as he observes Ramadan, a month-long period of sacrifice during which followers fast during the day and eat small meals at night. The exact dates of the holy month change each year, but they usually fall during training camp.
As for point guard candidates on the market, the choices are slim. Former Piston Mike James likely costs too much, as does former Piston Chucky Atkins and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marcus Banks.
Pistons guard Tony Delk opted out of his second season to get something more than the veteran's minimum of $1.1 million.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...=2006607050389
Mohammed can be turnover-prone and get lost on defensive rotations.
THEY GOT THAT RIGHT
Yes I am so pumped up he sounds like just what we needed.
So are we...
Want him back?
I think the 'Mohammed key to Spurs' 2005 championship' line is the greatest forum myth.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
