Being "cheap" as you call it has been the Spurs FO mantra. You may not like it, but it's the reality of the situation. The Spurs just favor a cautious, conservative approach when it comes to contracts.
You right,that´s why they reather look at players like Scola tham other guys that would cost them a fortune.
But like I said,SOMETIMES when you go from cheap to real cheap+knowing that your roster is getting older and older,specially your bigs guys,you may end up loosing way more tham the money you ¨THINK¨you saved.
oh,BTW,I agree with the spurs being conservatives as far as money investments on their roster,I really think they´ve being very smart over the years,but i think there´s a diference between being conservatives tham being cheap.
In my personal opinion they got cheap with Scola.may be becase they always did and paid what they wanted to 2nd rounders,not known in the US kind of players.
But reality sais that the spurs bench(mostly on big guys)is the worse in the NBA right now(as far as 0.500+wins teams )
They didn't pay Scola because they thought they were good with what they had....and to be fair, they had a lot of "potential" suitors for the "other big" spot.
I think the struggle to cement someone at that position this season will have them looking closely in the off-season to finding a better solution....and IMO, Scola is that solution (at least for the short-term).
It's also important to note the thin line between being "smart" and being "cheap" when it comes to contract decisions. "Smart" was letting Nazr go, but maybe it was "cheap" not to pay Scola. The Spurs have done a good job at staying on the right side of that line for the most part.
They should´ve thought that Timmy wasn´t 25 no more in the offseason,don´t you think?
This is not becoming a Duncan hate thread,please don´t get me wrong,but we all know that Timmy would take care of the paint by him self (with guys like Oberto and Elson) if he was still 25 this year.
I don't really think Tim Duncan's status should have had anything to do with signing Scola in the off-season. If Timmy really was injured or "declining", adding Scola would be like putting a bandaid on a broken leg. While I think Scola is a better option than any "other big" the Spurs have currently and a potentially solid starter, I don't think the Spurs have any dilusions that he'll be Tim Duncan's statistical replacement. I think the Spurs FO has every confidence that Tim Duncan will be able to play at a high level for at least a few more years.
I do think it was a miscalculation on their part to consider Elson/Oberto as a suitable tandem to work alongside Duncan, and it's one that they will/should look to remedy in the off-season....IMO Scola is that remedy.
yes, we know that. the problem is, that things have changed a lot from 2002 till now.
two reasons:
1: Euro teams started handing out contracts, that are similar or even better, than thoses NBA minimum or LLE contracts are.
yes, to make the quan, you still have to go to the NBA, but if you are a star player in Europe, you can also make enough money for your whole life, if you sign one of thoses 5-10 million dollar contracts, the premium players are offered nowadays. (if I remember right, that is close to the quan, wasn't it 11 million that Rod finally got? ok, it's some years back)
if Spurs keep offering half of the money this players can get in Europe, arguing that they own their rights, they just won't persue them to sign any more. usually a player also wants to go to a team, that really wants him. the European team do want thoses players and show it in money and in love and not just by let the bookkeeper make a call.
2: scouting of NBA scouts in Europe has developed a lot during the last 5 years (also a result of the Spurs draft success with Euros 1999-2002). the Manus and Scolas of the future won't fall to the second round any more.
Spurs FO hasn't reacted to this by intensifying scouting at home AND by taking (and paying) what they already have. Scola will be last player of this calibre, who will fall to the Spurs hands in the 2nd round.
Sanikidze and Karaulov are the new reality. (add Beno, even a 1st rounder though)
Duhon could be a Spur, Ariza could be a Spurs (if they didn't let Atlanta pick Sanikidze) and with the totally wasted Karaulov pick they could have also drafted Butler, who they two years later decided to favour over Scola.
Spurs FO have to realize, that the golden days of overlooked Euro talent are over. they had their share in Manu, Giricek, Tony and Scola. they missed the opportunity to get more out of the Giricek rights, because then they also refused to sign him. he would have signed an even worse contract than Manu did back in 2002. some months later, they could have traded him for much more than the 2nd rounder they got from Grizzlies.
and back to the beginning.
yes, Spurs are cheap. but you have to be cheap and smart.
Spurs were smart till 2002. they still live from the smart moves of that days.
unluckyly they lost the smart part and not the cheap.
to be just cheap and not smart will rather make you the Clippers of 2000.
I put "cheap" in quotations because I feel that the Spurs have been more "fiscally responsible" and "smart" than "cheap" on the whole. I'm not going to say their haven't been missteps, but I personally still put trust in the FO to make the "smart" decision. That may change, but for now it's the way I feel...
I completely agree with you on point #2 about the changing international scouting environment. The Spurs were just better at scouting international talent in 2002, which is why Scola slipped all the way to the second round. If Scola were to come out now, I could make the argument that he goes mid-late first round (a drastic improvement over his 2002 selection) simply based on other teams ramping up their international scouting.
I disagree with you on your first point though. Though there are some players content to spend most of their careers overseas, I think Luis is one of those that wants to prove himself on the NBA stage. He was pissed two years ago that the Spurs didn't end up bringing him over and I think that's because he REALLY wanted to come over. I doubt that has changed, even with the increased salary that he could be offered overseas.
QUOTE OF JOHN THOMPSON IN 2001, ABOUT SCOLA'S HEIGHT
"As far as Luis goes. I watched him work out and get measured at 6-9 and liked what I saw, but many scouts weren't nearly as impressed as I was. AS far as his height. He is a legit 6-9, but no taller. Even the pictures you sent actually prove that. Kornegay is actually closer to 6-7 1/2 without shoes, BUT if you look OBVIOUSLY his legs are spread out and only an inch shorter. If his legs were straight, he'd be just a half an inch shorter or less than Scola. In other picture Dion, who is actually around 6-8 even, had his head bent. Trust me on heights, every scout I have ever met says I have a unique ability to judge accurate height of a player, even by looking at a picture. It probably comes from a few medical classes when I was getting my psychology degree. I don't know. IF I was listing Luis, I would easily say
6-9 1/3 with shoes, but around 6-8 1/2 without shoes."
6-9 1/3 (that would be 2.07, what is listed in Euroleague's site) with shoes (as NBA players are listed)....do you still think he would be 'undersized'?
Not really, specially in small ball NBA. He could compensate with his mobility and technical skills anyway.
A legit point that I brought up not to far back. It's not like every team (especially in today's small-ball era) trots out the "twin towers". I think he could survive despite great height or length.
The point is we don't know what level Scola can play at in the NBA until he actually does it.
Resolved: Scola is the best player on the face of the earth.
Resolved: Scola will never be a Spur.
1 item=not true
2 item=either
Pau Orthez looks like a collection of Spurs' Summer League alumni. By my count, they have no fewer than 5 players who have toiled for the Spurs in Boston or Salt Lake City over the past few summers.
Michael Wright, Pau's leading scorer, played in the frontcourt for the Spurs in Boston one summer alongside Udonis Haslem. Wright was a bit undersized, height-wise and struggled in the post against taller Bigs back then. He has taken the bulk of the minutes in the post for Pau Orthez - minutes Ian Mahinmi would have played, had Ian shown a more mature game.
Britton Johnsen, a summer league stand-out at the RMR is Pau's second leading scorer at 11.5 ppg. Thin but tall, this SF actually plays the 4 for Pau alongside Wright.
Melvin Sanders, joined the team late but statistically is now Pau's third leading scorer. We all know Melvin and what he can do.
Ricardo Greer, is Pau's leading rebounder at 5.9 rpg, which isn't saying much for Pau, but says something for Ricardo considering he's a 6'5" (196 cm) guard/wing. Ricardo played with Devin Brown in Boston at the Reebock Summer League Series for the Spurs but didn't see major minutes there.
Ian Mahinmi is beginning to see more PT for Pau but that remains to be seen as Euroleague compe ion heats up in Top-16 play starting on Valentine's Day. Ian seems to contribute defensively but his offensive progress has been slow. Ian was a fouling machine for the Spurs last summer.
I can find another quote on the internet somewhere that says he's close to 6'7. *shrug* But either way, he's not a 6'10 PF. And since he doesn't compensate for that lack of height with amazing hops, that's why people call him undersized. I think that's all people are saying.
Add Aaron Miles to the list. He was close to signing with the Spurs before the season started. And too bad he didn't, because Miles would be the backup point guard right now.
I wonder if the NBA will close this loophole that lets the Spurs operate a foreign minor league program. Not only do they have all these connections, but the head coach of Pau-Orthez also helped coach the Spurs team in summer league a couple years back.
wasn't it reported a couple of years ago that the Spurs had entered into some kind of formal relationship with an Italian team?
I can't find a link right now, but I do remember it. Wonder whatever happened, if there was any there there.
I think the Italian team leaked to the media it when the Spurs wanted to keep it private. Then the Spurs came out and said that it was a bogus report.
Reading between the lines, the Spurs ended the relationship once it hit the media and then moved on to a new team that could keep a secret.
Hmmm...what makes the Spurs better today? It's great that the team works so hard at finding diamonds in the rough and turning them into role players but this team's window is this year and next.
I remembered that the Spurs had worked him out but I didn't think he ever played for the Spurs' summer league squads. Aaron is good but he doesn't have the experience that fellow KU alumn Jacque Vaughn has. I do wonder how well Aaron would have done in the Spurs system.Add Aaron Miles to the list. He was close to signing with the Spurs before the season started. And too bad he didn't, because Miles would be the backup point guard right now.
I wonder if the NBA will close this loophole that lets the Spurs operate a foreign minor league program. Not only do they have all these connections, but the head coach of Pau-Orthez also helped coach the Spurs team in summer league a couple years back.
My point is, how many of those 'internet quotes' were about real basketball people who WERE IN THE TRAINING CAMPS? If you read the whole quote, it's a person who WAS in the camp and saw him in person, and the info is coincident with whtat was gotten in the Spanish training camp. Until now, I've yet to see one of the 'undersized' claims come from people who had really had acces to real training camp measurements.
What I have clear is that he's a LEGIT 6'9" (6'9 1/3 " with shoes, according to John Thompson). That alone, without considering his athleticism or vertical, is what I'm talking about. Is a 6'9" 240 PF, undersized? have you compared with most NBA PF? how many of them are LEGIT (not just listed in nba.com website) 6'9" or bigger ?
About his 'lack of athleticism? have you watched the HUGE block on Jermaine? how much 'lack of athleticism' was needed for that block?
Could it be possible that his STYLE (not dunking so often, because of relying more his GREAT post moves and fundamentals) make some people think that he can't jump?
My point is that players that can be even starters in NBA (like Oberto and Garbajosa to keep the same examples used before) are just his same Height, and Scola is stronger, faster and more athletic than them...so, why Garbajosa and Oberto are not 'undersized' and Scola is? that's what I truly don't get why it's so easy to put the 'undersized' label, ¿does anyone know?
Here's an old report on Scola that probably began his reputation of being undersized.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/t...playerId=18336
Scouts think Scola may be a lot closer to 6-foot-7. He doesn't have the speed the most NBA post players have, nor does he have a long-range jumper that would allow him to play small forward in the pros.
while Scola doesn't leap or run like Stromile Swift . . .
He is clearly above Oberto in athleticism, no doubt..
They are all three considered undersized. While Scola might be 6-foot-9 with shoes, his wingspan (which is oftentimes more important for NBA bigmen) isn't overly impressive. And while he's considered a good athlete in Europe, he'd be only an average athlete in the NBA.
I'm not saying he couldn't be a very good NBA player one day ... but compared to NBA power forwards, he has a below average wingspan, a below average standing reach, average height and average athleticism.
There's a pretty good chance that right now he's better than anyone on the Spurs outside of the big three. But then again, there's a chance that he won't be able to rebound, defend or score on the low block on the NBA level.
If money was no issue, I'd absolutely want him on the Spurs right now. But I understand what has prevented that from happening to this point.
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