Fin-less yet familiar: Why Spurs will lose another

[hussker]

My take, for what it is worth (not much since I am neither GM nor Coach), Keep us as is...get Devin back for next season and press on. No chemistry issues, no other BS to put up with. We need no egos on this roster. The last time we did that, look what happenned...RODMAN in 94-95. Do you remember that fiasco?

GSG
TRIX in 06!

[bigzak25]

If something like that bothers you....

You need to get some priorities straight if thats the case.

thanks for setting me straight brother, you're right. ever thought of being a preacher. you really know how to show people the light. must be from your experience in the brownie mines of old st louis.

may Godbless Tpark and all his wisdom, please anyone who reads this, just drop to your knees right now and praise him like your name is osama and he's allah with 70something in virgins...

don't play with me , i'll give you jumprope and make you quit like mike jax at a kid ing anonymous meeting. but thumbs up, for the take. like i said, i agreed with yo ass. take a compliment when you can get it, it will be far and few between. recognize playa.

[DesiSpur_21]

Mark Cuban could add to the pot, too. He owes Finley about $50 million, albeit in an exaggerated stretch payment plan. According to reports, Finley will receive his money over about a 20-year period.

Is it between the team and the player to workout how the rest of the contract will be paid out? I was thinking they'll be paid just like if they were on the team for the length of the contract. Finley would've got 50+ mil in next 3 yrs imo.

Am I missing something?

[Mark in Austin]

Somebody should show this article to Ludden as proof that you can indeed write a summer basketball article on the Spurs without mentioning Manu's rockstar-like status in Argentina.

[Kip Fanatic]

If I were Finley I would go to Miami too. You get to play with Wade and Shaq. You'll live in South Beach. You have a chance at winning the NBA Championship. Oh yeah. You get more money too. Nothing against San Antonio, but Miami offers more. I haven't seen the national TV schedule, but I'm sure Miami will play more on national TV than the Spurs will. To some players, that matters more. The wise chocie as far as your career goes would be to play in SA because they have what it takes to get back to the Finals. The other choice as far as materialistic goes would be to play for Miami, get more money, live in awesome city, and still have the chance to play for a le.

[GrandeDavid]

Man some of you have a utopian view of business. "I don't get why he's considering Miami, it's only twice the salary he could make here."

Really, how many of you would turn away a job offer with a 100% payraise? I sure as wouldn't, and you can't blame Finley for doing it either.

Exactly. I mean, its not as if Miami is not a fun-filled city for NBA millionaires to roam at night. Plus, let`s be honest about Miami`s chances in 2006- they are a legitimate championship contender without Finley, so adding him, theoretically, should only bolster their chances. And he makes twice the jack there. I think its a no brainer for Finley to go to Miami. Plus you`ve got the allure of playing with Shaq.

Yeah, I think Finley will be a Heat.

[Kori Ellis]

Heavy sales pitch planned for Finley

BY BARRY JACKSON
[email protected]

The Heat will make a full-court press to sign free agent swingman Michael Finley during an expected visit to South Florida early this week.

Eager to impress him, the Heat has placed 20 posters of Finley wearing a Heat uniform on light poles on streets next to AmericanAirlines Arena. One associate said Sunday he expected Finley to visit with Heat officials today.

The Heat is believed to be offering Finley the full $5 million mid-level exception. Finley, who averaged 15.7 points for Dallas last season, has strong interest in the Heat, sources said, but associates said he also in recent days has been considering San Antonio, Detroit and Phoenix.

The Pistons and Heat could each offer $5 million. The Spurs could offer slightly more than $2.5 million, but the Suns could offer only the $1.1 million veteran's minimum. Finley is believed to have already spoken with Heat president Pat Riley.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...l/12444520.htm

[Streakyshooter08]

No quick decision expected from FinleyBy Marc Stein
ESPN.com


Face-to-face negotiations are under way in the Michael Finley sweepstakes, but no signing commitment is expected from the in-demand former All-Star before next week at the earliest.


Sources close to the process have told ESPN.com that Finley and agent Henry Thomas have invited the leading suitors to Chicago for sitdowns in Finley's hometown as opposed to launching into a series of recruiting trips.


The Miami Heat's Pat Riley was the first to visit Finley on Monday, with delegations from the Phoenix Suns (Tuesday), San Antonio Spurs (Thursday) and Detroit Pistons (TBD) also scheduled for visits this week.


There is likewise a chance that the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the fifth team to get an up-close chance to woo Finley, with the most prominent casualty of the NBA's new amnesty clause apparently intent on a deliberate evaluation of his options. The 10-year veteran was waived by the Dallas Mavericks late last Monday and became an unrestricted free agent after clearing waivers Thursday.


Riley, Minnesota star Kevin Garnett, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and ex-Dallas teammate Steve Nash are among the luminaries who have personally reached out to Finley by phone since he was released.


Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, meanwhile, enjoyed an unexpected head start in the lobbying process late last week when he and Finley were guests at the Phoenix wedding of Mavericks athletic trainer Casey Smith, a former Suns employee.


Various league executives have maintained for weeks that Miami is the heavy favorite to land Finley, with the Heat able to offer a full mid-level exception of $5 million next season and the lure of playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, who's also represented by Thomas. Finley, furthermore, is quite familiar with Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, having played for him at Wisconsin.


Yet, sources insist that Finley has not yet established a favorite. Intensely private throughout his eight-plus seasons in Dallas, Finley has been typically tight-lipped about his future, telling reporters at Nash's July 29 charity game that he wasn't ready to discuss the prospect of free agency and declining interview requests since being waived by the Mavericks.


Thomas, though, did confirm last week that Finley is "most interested" in joining a team with championship potential.


Of the four teams that best fit that description, Miami and Detroit can both offer a starting salary of $5 million. The Pistons, however, are poised to cut into their mid-level exception to sign power forward Dale Davis this week -- and potentially take themselves out of the running -- if they sense that Finley's interest is waning.


San Antonio and Phoenix are the other two teams, but going to either of the Mavericks' Western Conference rivals will require Finley to make a financial sacrifice. The Spurs are limited to offering a starting salary of just over $2.5 million, and Phoenix can't pitch anything more than the veteran minimum of $1.1 million for the 2005-06 campaign.


Thomas, though, did confirm last week that Finley is "most interested" in joining a team with championship potential. Of the four teams that best fit that description, Miami and Detroit can both offer a starting salary of $5 million. Going to either of the Mavericks' Western Conference rivals in that category will require Finley to make a financial sacrifice, since San Antonio is limited to offering a starting salary of just over $2.5 million, and Phoenix can't offer more than the veteran minimum of $1.1 million for the 2005-06 campaign.


The Mavericks tried for weeks to trade Finley to an Eastern Conference team before waiving him in hopes of keeping the swingman away from the Spurs or Suns. Reports persist that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was prepared to offer Finley a restructured payment schedule on the nearly $52 million left on Finley's contract to help persuade him to go East, but NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that no such deal was struck.


The presence of San Antonio and Phoenix on Finley's list of finalists indeed suggests no such arrangement exists. A "spread provision" in Finley's Dallas contract stipulates that, upon being waived, his remaining salary will be paid in annual installments of less than $5 million.

[SenorSpur]

Heavy sales pitch planned for Finley

BY BARRY JACKSON
[email protected]

The Heat will make a full-court press to sign free agent swingman Michael Finley during an expected visit to South Florida early this week.

Eager to impress him, the Heat has placed 20 posters of Finley wearing a Heat uniform on light poles on streets next to AmericanAirlines Arena. One associate said Sunday he expected Finley to visit with Heat officials today.

The Heat is believed to be offering Finley the full $5 million mid-level exception. Finley, who averaged 15.7 points for Dallas last season, has strong interest in the Heat, sources said, but associates said he also in recent days has been considering San Antonio, Detroit and Phoenix.

The Pistons and Heat could each offer $5 million. The Spurs could offer slightly more than $2.5 million, but the Suns could offer only the $1.1 million veteran's minimum. Finley is believed to have already spoken with Heat president Pat Riley.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...l/12444520.htm

Let him go. I hope he'll be very happy at Dallas Mavericks East. He still doesn't shoot consistently enough from the perimeter and is too one-dimensional to fit in here. However, he should be a nice addition to their team where he can hide behind Shaq, Wade, Toine and JWill and won't be asked to do much else but launch jumpers.

On a side note, Miami will have no more success trying to buy themselves a championship by "hoarding" all the free-agent talent than Dallas did.

It's one thing the win the off-season free agent sweepstakes, but before everyone awards them the O'Brien trophy, let's see how all these pieces take shape on the floor. Let's see if chemistry is developed gradually or whether they start bickering over minutes and shots before the All-Star break.