Matt Bonner Sucks

[leemajors]

quick, someone photoshop bonner's head onto that pic of ferry diving for a loose ball.

[SPARKY]

Spurs move a bad contract and get a bench big who can knock down 3s, hustles and isn't afraid to play physical. They also got rid of a serious long term commitment which should free them up to make some moves this summer. Considering that last summer they were willing to take back the rotting corpse of Tariq Abdul-Wahad's career for Nesterovic they did well. Add to that a sizable expiring contract they have now which should be a nice tradeable asset and they've had a good start to the offseason.

[kalikot_boy_kr]

i like matt bonner! go matt!!!!

[waly.mg]

6´10", 3 Points Shooter and some rebounds from the Bench

Probably Hedo Turkoglu is Back

[Texas_Ranger]

Rasho>>>>>Matt

[dmac]

Bonner has red hair. That means he's Irish. Get him drunk and he'll deck the opposing center.

nice. Jerk!

[FromWayDowntown]

All of you who are complaining -- what the did you want the Spurs to get for Rasho? Did you honestly think they'd be able to go out and get some hard-as-nails Rodman-like rebounder or an uber-athlete like Wade or James? Was trading Rasho somehow supposed to allow the Spurs to address all of their needs in one fell swoop? Seriously -- WTF did you guys expect to get in passing off Rasho?

Matt Bonner isn't ever going to be anything more than a role player, but I figured most would be pleased that he's a role player who's not named Rasho. If Bonner hits 1 three pointer every night and can play 10 minutes a night in the playoffs, he'll be more effective offensively than the dude he's replacing.

[Quadzilla99]

If you look at this ESPN Insider report Bonner sucks defensively and is terrible on the boards. Considering that those are the exact things Pop stresses with his bigs I find it hard to see how he is going to get much run if any. This is from before 2005-06:

Bonner was one of the NBA's biggest surprises in 2004-05. A second-round draft pick in 2003 who played in Italy for a year, he came back to North America and immediately proved he belonged. Bonner is a very unusual player because he's a big,
wide-bodied guy who likes to hang out on the perimeter. Probably the most comparable player from recent history would be Matt Bullard, but Bullard wasn't getting minutes when he was Bonner's age so his name didn't come up in the Similarity Scores.

Bonner shot most of his jumpers from two-point range, which usually doesn't work out great numbers-wise, but his stroke was so consistent that he ended up with an outstanding 59.6 TS%. Because he rarely dribbled the ball, his Turnover Ratio also was excellent. Bonner's wide body and deadly jump shot made him a perfect pick-and-roll partner with Alston, and Toronto should take advantage of that more than they did last season.

Bonner's weaknesses start when the other team has the ball. He got absolutely destroyed on the boards and had trouble with almost every variety of defensive match-up. The Raptors often went to zone defenses to try to hide his shortcomings, especially when they used a frontcourt of Bonner, Marshall, and Bosh. That trio was deadly on offense, but the defensive cost was more than Toronto could bear on most nights.

Bonner is a restricted free agent, so it shouldn't be a problem for the Raptors to retain his rights. It might cost them a bit more than last season's minimum contract, but with Marshall gone, Bonner's role stands to increase significantly.

[texlawman]

Love the Bonner move. Now just go sign Loren Woods and you will have an excellent marshmellow offseason.

[Mr. Body]

Bonner will barely get any time off the bench. This was to dump Nesterovic salary first, second, and third.

[mabber]

They took any player at all that would get rid of Rasho.

Last season they tried trading Rasho for a guy who didn't even play in the league.

So it doesn't matter if Bonner is short, fat, tall, skinny, or whatever. He got rid of Rasho's contract, which was management goal.

Bonner is not the athletic rebounding forward that the Spurs need. He's a perimeter guy who will space the floor with his shooting, and play scrappy.

Exactly!

[SPARKY]

The deal motivation first and foremost was to dump Rasho's contract. That being said, the Spurs picked up two nice pieces, a perimeter shooting, hustling big who should be a nice 4th big and a small forward with an expiring contract who at worst reduces your payroll by $4 mil next summer.

[rascal]

They took any player at all that would get rid of Rasho.

Last season they tried trading Rasho for a guy who didn't even play in the league.

So it doesn't matter if Bonner is short, fat, tall, skinny, or whatever. He got rid of Rasho's contract, which was management goal.

Bonner is not the athletic rebounding forward that the Spurs need. He's a perimeter guy who will space the floor with his shooting, and play scrappy.

Agree with this. The main point of the trade was getting rid of Rasho who wasn't in the spurs plans anymore. Bonner won't be much more than a limited role player.

[rascal]

The problem is Pop signed Rasho. He screwed up on that fa signing. What a bust he was.

[Mr. Body]

The problem is Pop signed Rasho. He screwed up on that fa signing. What a bust he was.

We may not win 2003 without him. Pop paid fair market value, maybe even less, when the alternative was Michael Olowokandi. Big men are simply overpaid in this league and they did well by getting him for what they did - and then moving him when he lost his effectiveness.

[jman3000]

It's like people expect him to be a savior or something... first of all we don't need a savior... second of all he is what he is, a cog in the wheel that should add an extra dimension to the team.

[blaze89]

They took any player at all that would get rid of Rasho.

Last season they tried trading Rasho for a guy who didn't even play in the league.

So it doesn't matter if Bonner is short, fat, tall, skinny, or whatever. He got rid of Rasho's contract, which was management goal.

Bonner is not the athletic rebounding forward that the Spurs need. He's a perimeter guy who will space the floor with his shooting, and play scrappy.

So, basically, his job is done.

[Slinkyman]

We may not win 2003 without him. Pop paid fair market value, maybe even less, when the alternative was Michael Olowokandi. Big men are simply overpaid in this league and they did well by getting him for what they did - and then moving him when he lost his effectiveness.

Rasho wasn't on that team

[Mr. Body]

Rasho wasn't on that team

You're right. What was I thinking? Never mind - he was a scrub.

[MannyIsGod]

@ confusing David Robinson with Rasho. What the ?

[Nesterofish]

@ confusing David Robinson with Rasho. What the ?

If 5-0 were deprived of oxygen for six minutes, his lips might turn blue.

[horrorshow]

All of you who are complaining -- what the did you want the Spurs to get for Rasho? Did you honestly think they'd be able to go out and get some hard-as-nails Rodman-like rebounder or an uber-athlete like Wade or James? Was trading Rasho somehow supposed to allow the Spurs to address all of their needs in one fell swoop? Seriously -- WTF did you guys expect to get in passing off Rasho?

Matt Bonner isn't ever going to be anything more than a role player, but I figured most would be pleased that he's a role player who's not named Rasho. If Bonner hits 1 three pointer every night and can play 10 minutes a night in the playoffs, he'll be more effective offensively than the dude he's replacing.

No ! This trade was only to get rid of Rasho's wasted contract. If Bonner develops great! If he doesn't, that's fine too.

[dbestpro]

Did anybody notice that Rasho is now the highest paid player in Toronto?

[exstatic]

My head is exploding with Sequ complaining about ANY cir stances that rids us of Rasho...WTF?

[ATX Spur]

True, but the Raptors are still wayyy under the cap.