Buck Harvey: A Spurs mistake from the other side

**anakha** · 09-23-2008

Originally Posted by SpurSupremacist

Oh, he did, did he? He developed Tony Parker so well, that he was sitting on the bench for the majority of the NBA finals.

**my2sons** · 09-23-2008

Originally Posted by SpurSupremacist

Oh, he did, did he? He developed Tony Parker so well, that he was sitting on the bench for the majority of the NBA finals. It wasn't until a shooting coach was brought in that he made any significant improvement to his game.

I regret to inform you that Gregg Popovich did not teach him how to be fast or quick.

you are talking about the year that the spurs got the trophy right. hmm strong argument against pop

**ambchang** · 09-23-2008

We can see clearly that Beno has put in the necessary work to understand the Spurs plays and defensive schemes such that he can immediately start on the Kings once he got traded.

Oh wait, the two teams run totally different plays and have different philosophies, my bad.

**SenorSpur** · 09-23-2008

Originally Posted by Allanon

I had forgotten about that.
Josh Howard could certainly have had a totally different career if he had been with the Spurs instead. Spurs don't take much crap at all. Having outspoken guys like JeT & Stackhouse on your team ain't the greatest influence on a young dude. Add to that, you have Cuban adoring him so really Josh had a really long leash.

I think playing with fellow Wake dude and respected superstar Duncan and a no-bull coach like Pop would have been great for him.

For the Spurs perspective, Josh would have been great for them too. But on the other side of the coin, the Spurs had selected Leandro Barbosa instead of Josh Howard. The Spurs then traded Barbosa to the Suns in return for a 2005 pick.

But if the Spurs had kept Barbosa instead, he would have been a great help but without the possible risk of Josh Howard.

So really, the ones that got away would be: Scola, Gist, Splitter, Beno, Barbosa/Howard

I agree and I don't give the Spurs a pass on this. Considering the fact that SJAX rebuffed the Spurs initial contract offer during that same summer, there was a glaring, gaping, hole at the swing spot that needed to be filled immediately. Since that summer of '03, the Spurs have ushered several swingman wannabes and "has-beens" through here with very little success. Still they've not been able to adequately replace the void created when Jack left town. If they had, many of us wouldn't still be clamoring for the mythical "long-three" that PopoClaus has yet to acquire.

I've roundly criticized the Spurs for their short-sighted decision to pass on Howard, while focusing unwarranted attention and dollars in pursuit of JKidd. It simply made no sense - especially when there was an obvious void to fill. The fact that the Mavs chose him with the next pick only compounded the mistake.

I have no doubt that Howard surely would've worked well in a Spurs uniform. As good as Howard is now, I personally believe he would've been a better, all-around player under Pop and surrounding by the Spurs veterans. As has already been stated, there's no way to measure the effects of the Spurs culture and environment would have had on Howard's behavior, but it's a dilemma they surely could've lived with.

Furthermore, if you're Spurs management, what dilemma would you rather have today? Josh Howard, his talent and his petulent behavior at a reasonable contract or JKidd and his declining skills @ $20mil per season and no Parker or Ginobili? Don't forget, had Kidd elected to come play with Duncan, either TP or Ginobili surely would've been gone.

**Dramon** · 09-23-2008

The thing that everyone keeps forgetting about his breakout season is that Beno Udrih also turned into a turnover machine. He averaged 2.3 turnovers a game for only 4.3 assists. But that doesn't even tell the full story because it also averages in the games where he didnt get as minutes when Bibby came back.

Beno needs big minutes and lots of shots to be effective on offense. Look at his gamelog for the past season and all his big games he played 35+ minutes. When Bibby came back and Beno went back to a backup role his numbers dropped dramatically.

If the Spurs could take Udrih back right now I don't think he'd as big of an improvement from Vaughn as everyone thinks he would. He'd be an upgrade but not as much with only around 15 minutes a game.

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