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If the Spurs get rid of Elson and give Scola his minutes, I have no problem with this.
If the Spurs get rid of Butler and sit Scola on the bench, I have a problem...
For the record, I'd advocate giving up any non-starting big to make room for Scola - Butler, Elson, Bonner, etc. - with the exception of Horry. If the Bonner signing ed this up, I'd have to laugh. More likely it shows they don't intend on bringing him over.
If the Spurs get rid of Elson and give Scola his minutes, I have no problem with this.
If the Spurs get rid of Butler and sit Scola on the bench, I have a problem...
Knowing the Spurs, they'd dump Butler even with a willing trade partner for Elson.
At this point it kind of sucks that the Spurs are basically holding Scola hostage. If they don't want him trade him for a second round if that's all they can get.
To me, the probability of Scola ever being a Spur has been chipped away at slowly....
First, they draft his teammate Splitter with the intention of bringing him over to be a F/C in the system in '08.
Then, they sign Oberto to a multi-year extension, further clogging the "big" rotation.
Finally, they sign Bonner to a multi-year deal, making it almost impossible for Scola to make the roster, let alone compete for minutes.
Oh..and somewhere in there they fully guaranteed the contract of Robert Horry.
Only way I see this going down is if some other big gets shipped out the door...but it seems that the Spurs had ample opportunity to create space for Scola this off-season and instead, they've gone in the opposite direction.
Obviously another option if they brought Scola in could be to further limit Tim Duncans regular season minutes...less chance of injury, fewer miles on the odometer, possibly add a year to TD's career, and build real trade value with Scola if it's a card they choose to play in the future....
That's correct, but it only accounts for this offseason. That's also been the case for the past two seasons as well, when they chose Oberto over Scola, and then Elson and Butler. At some point, one's got to consider the possibility it's not just a series of random cosmic coincidences.
I agree, but it's to bad they couldn't find a way to put him on the roster or get some value for him. It seems the Scola saga comes to an end very shortly and the Spurs couldn't manage to turn him into value.
For me the key was resigning Bonner. Drafting Splitter was just BPA. Resigning Oberto and Horry were no-brainers - they got us through the Finals. But Bonner meant we had another PF and no roster spot for Scola. Maybe they're hoping that they can bring Scola over next year, maybe with Elson and Horry off the books. But I doubt it.
What happens next summer? Horry's gone. Elson and Butler can be gone.
Spurs could have...
4 Duncan/Scola/Bonner
5 Oberto/Splitter
That's a damn good 4/5 rotation and likely the four other than Duncan would be on cheap contracts (by NBA bigman contract standards).
If you're implying that they open up the rotation to include an 11th or 12th player, I just don't see it happening.
Oberto would be in the 9-10 man rotation the season after.
And this year you carry seven bigs for the entire season, with roster regular Elson joining Butler on the IL for basically every game?
I understand what sense it makes for the long-term, and again, I am for the Spurs bringing in Scola if the situation is right (Elson shipped out, etc.), but based on the recent pattern of behavior for this Spurs FO, it just doesn't seem like a likely occurence.
Conventional wisdom has Scola signing a long-term contract with Tau if he doesn't come over this year. Perhaps that is a bluff, perhaps the Spurs have told him he's 'definitely over' next year, but I don't know why he'd believe them.
Keeps TD's minutes down and gives you another low post scoring option. Makes too much sense to happen.
The question remains whether Bonner was worth passing on Scola.
Bonner does give you the 4 with 3 point range. Elson is the one who is truly superfluous.
If Spurs thinks that Scola can't play well with Duncan, they are right not to give him a contract.
No, you move Elson or Butler (preferably Elson).
That's a concern for perhaps 5 minutes a night. If Oberto can play with TD I think Scola can.
1. Parker
2. Finley
3. Bowen
4. Duncan
5. Oberto
6. Ginobili
7. Horry
8. Elson
9. Barry
10. Vaughn
There's your 10 from last year. That list doesn't include Bonner already, and now you want to add Scola?
Again, I don't see it unless Elson gets completely taken out of the rotation...and then you still have to justify not playing Bonner, to whom you just gave a new contract.
The Spurs are paying Bonner under $3 mil next season. No biggie.
Moving Elson makes great sense.
But what makes you think it'll happen?
And unless the Spurs send him, or Butler for that matter, to a team over the cap, they'll have to receive a player in return....
Is that player waived? Because, if not, the Spurs will have to make a decision regarding a lost roster spot...do they keep White or Williams?
I honestly never though I would see Pop going 10 deep. Spurs have clearly proven that they aren't gonna give 100% on short rotations trying to win the most regular season games. With 20+ back to backs in the regular season I could really see Elson in a suit most of the time and Scola getting some burn, while Tim and Horry get nights off. The new IR rules really give a team more flexibility.
The reason the Spurs pass on Scola is if they have truly bought into the 'league is moving towards superior athleticism at all spots' view. That could be why Butler was viewed as expendable by the Spurs earlier this year. Elson's athletic as , but that hasn't prevented him from sucking and watching the Spurs win a le from the bench as the somewhat less athletic Oberto was playing alongside TD.
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