what are doing with matt bonner?

[jag]

yeah, Bonner should have a spot in the rotation...not sure if Pop even thinks he is behind Blair at this point...for sure he is ahead of Ian (but Ian sould be more of a Duncan replacement, than a complement)

Bonner ust gives you that spacing PF, which teams need today, especially if they have a good inside presence or a quick guard to drive and kick (don't have to tell you, that we own both).

ask yourself a question: with Timmy beeing gefen the ball or Tony driving, who would you rather have: Blair cloaking the lane or Bonner at the 3Pt line?

dont get me wrong: Blair is great and everything. he will give us plenty to cheer for and should be a nice fit too. I just think that Bonners skillset is absolutely undervalued, even though I have to admit, that he would be a better player if playing less than last year.

Here is how I think the frontcourtrotation will look like:

C: Timmy 30 / Dyess 26 / Bonner 16 / Blair 14 / Ian 6 / Haislip 4

(a lot will depend on matchups...sometimes Bonner will see a lot of time, sometimes it will be Blair)...not 100% sure Ian and Haislip will make the roster full time at this point

as much as everyone likes to joke about Bonner...He had a nice year in 08/09...Its just, that you rather bring someone like him from the bench...at least if you are a contender

ditto

[mudyez]

I just don't see how Bonner could get minutes behind McDyess and Blair(if he pans out). If he's 3rd string back up, yeah keep him but we all know Pop's going to start is sorry ass.

no he wont...not over Dyess

btw.: do you remember how Bonner did great in terms of rebounding for the first few games he started? Pop called him a "natural rebounder"..."something you cant teach"...that was when Bonner obvisiously thought: "hey, the rebounds will find me, and I dont have to get them!"

[Spurs_210]

Bonner gets a lot of flak but in very limited minutes he is valuable as a big who can stretch the defense.

+1

Only way I say to trade him is if the deal is a real good one. Off the bench he could provide some value. Bonner is a good role player and not a starter.

[slick'81]

yeah bonner and natural rebounder dont mix HA

[ohmwrecker]

no he wont...not over Dyess

btw.: do you remember how Bonner did great in terms of rebounding for the first few games he started? Pop called him a "natural rebounder"..."something you cant teach"...that was when Bonner obvisiously thought: "hey, the rebounds will find me, and I dont have to get them!"

Pop was obviously hitting the vino pretty hard when he said that.

[mudyez]

Bonner averaged 20mpg last season and you want it reduced to 16? It needs to be reduced to 5... seriously.

I think Timmys and Dyess' minutes should be cut a little...leaving basically Blair to take theirs and Kurts+Fabs minutes.

And as I said: he gives us something the others cant: OK, Dyess has a nice midrangegame, but if you want real spacing, you have to go with the "Bo"! He is great at what he is doing...Give him about 1 1/2 quarters to do just that and he will be a nice asset!

pull the shotblocking PF's out of the lane!
give Tony some more room to operate!

of Tony is hot, we dont need the offensive rebounds, coz there wont be any...give him the space!

I like how the rotation complements each other:

Duncan: the star
Dyess: kind of the Robin to Duncans batman: doing something of everything: some spacing, some rebounding, some defense
Blair: the worker...if things dont go well, he is the guy who will simply overpower the other team and do it the ugly way
Bonner: the oposite of Blair..he gives you the shhoting power and room for teammates
Haislip: kind of the speedy guy (maybe playing even some SF)...good for run and gun style, which we should play more with Tony and Jefferson at the helm
Ian: the simply atheltic dude, which is jumping around, giving energy, blocking a shot nobody expected to be blocked

=perfect...I wouldnt trade anyone of them for a player on a similar level but with a different skill set

[mudyez]

Pop was obviously hitting the vino pretty hard when he said that.

at that point it seemed to be true (I remember him having some nice rebounding games in limited minutes)...just as I said: it went downhill after he said that!

[coyotes_geek]

Here is how I think the frontcourtrotation will look like:

C: Timmy 30 / Dyess 26 / Bonner 16 / Blair 14 / Ian 6 / Haislip 4

Let's keep in mind that the Spurs aren't going to totally abandon small ball next year. A Parker-Mason-Manu-RJ-Duncan lineup can cause some serious havoc on teams. So I don't think there's actually 96 minutes per game to spread around those 6 guys. Jefferson will be getting some of them.

I also don't see Pop committing to regular playing time 6 deep at the bigs. It's probably going to be Duncan & McDyess starting, with Blair & Bonner as the 1st guys off the bench and Ian & Haslip having to beat out someone if they want anything more than garbage minutes.

[mudyez]

btw.: I think some of our wings look more redundant...I could imagine a Finley or Mason trade, which are basically giving us the same skillset (if you dont count on Mason playing PG)...a defensive stopper or kind of a hard nosed rough neck would be great...if we could just swap Finley for Bowen (heck I would do a Mason for Bowen swap)

[mudyez]

Let's keep in mind that the Spurs aren't going to totally abandon small ball next year. A Parker-Mason-Manu-RJ-Duncan lineup can cause some serious havoc on teams. So I don't think there's actually 96 minutes per game to spread around those 6 guys. Jefferson will be getting some of them.

I also don't see Pop committing to regular playing time 6 deep at the bigs. It's probably going to be Duncan & McDyess starting, with Blair & Bonner as the 1st guys off the bench and Ian & Haslip having to beat out someone if they want anything more than garbage minutes.

agree, but i think those minutes will come from Ian and Hasislip, which I'm not totaly sold as regulars...you also have to figure in, that there will be injuries and so on (hopefully nothing serious), which will give you actually more minutes as game averages

[buttsR4rebounding]

I see him being the 5th big behind Duncan, Dice, Blair, Ian. It seems that Haislip has much of the same positives with more atheticism so I could see Bonner being the 6th big by the end of the season. This would be ideal IMHO.

[ohmwrecker]

In all fairness, Blair and Mahinmi will have to earn their spots ahead of Bonner. However, that should not be too difficult.

[Ginnoobbllee]

I think you need more frontline depth this year.

You want to save Timmy's knees by limiting his minutes, and with Dice's age, you want to limit his minutes, too. I would not be surprised if on Back - 2 - Back's, they pretty much sit Timmy. Then, you have to fill up 80 - 85 minutes of play time for the 4 & 5 between Dice, Ian, Blair, and Bonner.

Bonner you need to fill-in minutes when you rest Timmy and Dice.

[Marcus Bryant]

[scottspurs]

If we trade him, thats Great. If we use him as a shooter, thats Great. I'm not going to be mad if he is or isn't on the team.

[spurs_till_I_di]

Also, we have so many new faces already--RJ, Blair, McDyess, Haislip, Ian (in a sense) plus maybe Williams or Hairston. You can't be trading Bonner and Finley like so many are pushing for without risking the loss of too much "ins utional knowedge" as Pop puts it. As starters they both were below average. As back ups they can both be very good. Finley as the primary back up to RJ and Bonner as maybe the 5th big used in the righ situations can be very effective.

I agree with this completely because you don't know exactly what you're going to get out of Haislip or Hairston. Haislip looks like he can hit three's and Hairston has always shown he could play in summer league and D-League but it's time to prove it in the clutch on the pro level that why Finley and Bonner should stay, I even heard Haislip had some kinda record for 3's made in summer league after he was drafted but I doubt it, the proof is in the performance.

[TDMVPDPOY]

If we trade him, thats Great. If we use him as a shooter, thats Great. I'm not going to be mad if he is or isn't on the team.

finley + bonner + mason = nearly 10m in contracts....

all 3 dont offer anything on the table, they have alot of weaknesses and pop ask them to take on duties they never had b4 and when they did like last season, fail.

[superbigtime]

You just don't start Matt Bonner but, hes incredibly capable in the right role. I'm all for keeping him around. Hes proven in the past that he can ride the bench for months and then be ready at a moments notice to contribute. And his shooting was sensational last season.

You just don't start Matt Bonner. Hes not that kind of player. Hes the kind of guy you sign to round out a roster and you toss into a salary dump trade to make the salaries match (like all those Finley+Bonner for _____ trades or even Eric Williams+Matt Bonner for Rasho Nesterovic).

You just don't start Matt Bonner.

Unless you're the belligerent stubborn head coach.

[coyotes_geek]

finley + bonner + mason = nearly 10m in contracts....

all 3 dont offer anything on the table, they have alot of weaknesses and pop ask them to take on duties they never had b4 and when they did like last season, fail.

So what do you propose we do? Thin out the bench by trading the three of them for one high salary guy who hasn't proven that he can succeed in Pop's system? Then fill out the rest of the bench with a bunch of guys who haven't even proven that they're NBA players? What player with proven playoff credentials do you want to go get with those 3 guys?

[TDMVPDPOY]

So what do you propose we do? Thin out the bench by trading the three of them for one high salary guy who hasn't proven that he can succeed in Pop's system? Then fill out the rest of the bench with a bunch of guys who haven't even proven that they're NBA players? What player with proven playoff credentials do you want to go get with those 3 guys?

3 of those guys you can at least trade for 1 guy who can do all those things they bring....

stephen jackson can do all of that...can play/defend multiple positions...even DIAW is a nice compliment player....

[4RINGS]

Pop likes the RED ROCKET, he will be our starting center, with Dice and Manu coming off the bench to add some spark from the bench.

[EricB]

A couple of boards? It takes him 20 minutes of game play to get 3 boards. He has no inner thug, he's a red haired white guy that likes Canada. I can't believe this love for Bonner. I bet it's the same people that liked Rasho's 2 1/2'' vertical and missed putbacks.

No inner thug?

Kill yourself.

[4RINGS]

MATT BONNER, STARTING CENTER, SPURS

[EricB]

Unless you're the belligerent stubborn head coach.

Who the should he have started?

Kurt Thomas?

Oberto?

and........?!?

[coyotes_geek]

3 of those guys you can at least trade for 1 guy who can do all those things they bring....

stephen jackson can do all of that...can play/defend multiple positions...even DIAW is a nice compliment player....

So you want a bench of Stephen Jackson, George Hill, and seven guys who collectively have less than 50 games of NBA experience between them? No thanks.