ESPN: "Spurs Fans:Nervous"

[z0sa]

These are all the same argument everyone made after the Spurs delivered no big time moves in 2007.

[Tully365]

Tim e-mails:

The entire summer has been perplexing, and disappointing on many levels. Really, don't get me started. Okay, since you asked ...

-The Tiago Splitter miscalculation
-George Hill rather than Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur or Chris Douglas-Roberts
-Malik Hairston rather than Bill Walker or Richard Hendrix
-James Gist, possible late draft steal, goes to Italy
-Ian Mahinmi is not looking ready
-Brent Barry goes to Houston
-They didn't get in on the Renaldo Balkman giveaway even though they have a hole at the wing.
-Anthony Tolliver?!? Nothing against him, but unless the Spurs move Matt Bonner I don't see the logic.
-Jannero Pargo -- again he's a fine bench guy and all, but the Spurs just drafted a point.

-Splitter was not a miscalculation by the Spurs. His staying in Europe was the result of economic changes in the US and in Europe that are beyond the control of any NBA team. Blaming the Spurs for Splitter is sort of like blaming the mayor of a small obscure town somewhere in middle America for the price of gas being $4 a gallon.

-Hill may still turn out to be better than those guys. Way too early to judge. If the Spurs worked out Hill and Chalmers together and Hill clearly outplayed him, what would expect them to do? Pick Chalmers just because he came from a bigger program? Vaughn came from that same big school and he gets crucified daily on this site.

-Mahinmi is looking ready to put up numbers better than Horry or Elson did last year. That's all they need.

-Why is it that a few months ago Barry was an old guy that the Spurs needed to get rid of and now he's a clutch performer that they will sorely miss? Mason plays better D and is younger and more athletic, the two magic things everyone said the Spurs needed.

-Balkman couldn't start for The New York Knicks. Let me rewrite that: The New York Knicks. Udoka had better numbers on a good Spurs team last year than Balkman did on a terrible Knicks team.

[Flux451]

-Splitter was not a miscalculation by the Spurs. His staying in Europe was the result of economic changes in the US and in Europe that are beyond the control of any NBA team. Blaming the Spurs for Splitter is sort of like blaming the mayor of a small obscure town somewhere in middle America for the price of gas being $4 a gallon.

-Hill may still turn out to be better than those guys. Way too early to judge. If the Spurs worked out Hill and Chalmers together and Hill clearly outplayed him, what would expect them to do? Pick Chalmers just because he came from a bigger program? Vaughn came from that same big school and he gets crucified daily on this site.

-Mahinmi is looking ready to put up numbers better than Horry or Elson did last year. That's all they need.

-Why is it that a few months ago Barry was an old guy that the Spurs needed to get rid of and now he's a clutch performer that they will sorely miss? Mason plays better D and is younger and more athletic, the two magic things everyone said the Spurs needed.

-Balkman couldn't start for The New York Knicks. Let me rewrite that: The New York Knicks. Udoka had better numbers on a good Spurs team last year than Balkman did on a terrible Knicks team.

Well put!

[pad300]

-Why is it that a few months ago Barry was an old guy that the Spurs needed to get rid of and now he's a clutch performer that they will sorely miss? Mason plays better D and is younger and more athletic, the two magic things everyone said the Spurs needed.

23 pts against the Lakers in the playoffs...
I think you are significantly overestimating the people who actually wanted to get rid of Barry. Barry has always been acceptably productive & efficient on the court, it's just that some people thought he was overpaid for the MLE... Finley on the other hand was an old guy that the Spurs needed to get rid of. When Finley's not hitting his shots consistently, he brings very little else to the table...

-Balkman couldn't start for The New York Knicks. Let me rewrite that: The New York Knicks. Udoka had better numbers on a good Spurs team last year than Balkman did on a terrible Knicks team.

Just because Isaih is an idiot is not a problem with Balkman.

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/04/...-isiah-thomas/

According to some statistical measures, Balkman was the 2nd most productive player on the team on a per minute basis... Isiah is a lousy GM, a lousy coach, and a pretty good scout. Balkman is a useful player on the floor who doesn't need plays called for him - he gets his scoring off fast breaks, broken plays and rebounds.... This is a useful player to have. Getting him for twice the price Denver paid would be a steal.

[Tully365]

Don't get me wrong--I liked Barry. I just think that if the Spurs are serious about getting younger, than it makes sense to start with older reserve players like Horry and Barry. If Finley resigns he will not be much more than a cheap insurance plan, and will have dropped on the depth chart from #1 to #3. But I honestly think Mason & Hill will represent a very significant defensive upgrade over both Barry and Finley.

I should have mentioned that I am originally from NY and watching the Knicks play is pretty much torture at this point. But I really think Udoka and the Spurs' FO get very little credit for what was a very good move. Udoka isn't a star, but he's a guy who plays 20 mpg and makes less than Vaughn, which is something most teams would love to have.

[pad300]

Don't get me wrong--I liked Barry. I just think that if the Spurs are serious about getting younger, than it makes sense to start with older reserve players like Horry and Barry. If Finley resigns he will not be much more than a cheap insurance plan, and will have dropped on the depth chart from #1 to #3. But I honestly think Mason & Hill will represent a very significant defensive upgrade over both Barry and Finley.

I disagree with your theory. In my opinion, it makes sense to start with the old players who are playing badly (as opposed to being signficantly productive, Finley Wins/48 = 0.087 Barry Wins/48 = 0.196. Yes, statistics and in particular David Berri's Wins Produced stuff is not the be all and end all, but it's still somewhat relevant. ) At least they haven't brought back Horry (Wins/48 0.082) or Mighty Mouse (Wins/48 -0.05811),and are looking to move Vaughn (wins/48 0.067) down the depth chart. Also, I don't think Hill can play SG effectively in the NBA - he's 6'2"...

I should have mentioned that I am originally from NY and watching the Knicks play is pretty much torture at this point. But I really think Udoka and the Spurs' FO get very little credit for what was a very good move. Udoka isn't a star, but he's a guy who plays 20 mpg and makes less than Vaughn, which is something most teams would love to have.

Udoka was a good move at his price. However, he's not a reason to not find a non-undersized wing player...

[Admiral]

I don't feel like we need to make many changes. We weren't far off last year. We have our nucleus of Tim, Tony, and Manu returning. That is a GREAT core to build around! So why the talk about bringing in a "big name?" We have three already.

I am not buying into the media's doom and gloom/"the Spurs are too old" talk. They have said that prior to seasons we've won les, so take it with a grain of salt. We've been contenders for much of the last 15 years. Our front office knows what they are doing. Don't they deserve the benefit of the doubt this offseason?

I like Finley and could think of many worse players to fill his role. Why is everyone so down on him?

By the way, Balkman stinks. He has a bad at ude and couldn't even start on the Knicks. Next.

[The Truth #6]

Guys, it was me. Henry Abbott and I have emailed in the past I sent it to him a couple nights ago. I just now saw the post (and this thread) because I was offline while attending to business late this week. I posted nearly the same thing as he posted from my email in a couple thread(s) on this board. So I'm the idiot fan.

I thought most of the points were valid for the moment. Obviously, much is to be determined. The letter wasn't all negative so I don't see why people would get their panties in a bunch. Many posters here are just looking for something to freak out about.

[K-State Spur]

According to some statistical measures, Balkman was the 2nd most productive player on the team on a per minute basis... Isiah is a lousy GM, a lousy coach, and a pretty good scout. Balkman is a useful player on the floor who doesn't need plays called for him - he gets his scoring off fast breaks, broken plays and rebounds.... This is a useful player to have. Getting him for twice the price Denver paid would be a steal.

Sounds like the scouting report for Jackie Butler...

[Tully365]

I disagree with your theory. In my opinion, it makes sense to start with the old players who are playing badly (as opposed to being signficantly productive, Finley Wins/48 = 0.087 Barry Wins/48 = 0.196. Yes, statistics and in particular David Berri's Wins Produced stuff is not the be all and end all, but it's still somewhat relevant. ) At least they haven't brought back Horry (Wins/48 0.082) or Mighty Mouse (Wins/48 -0.05811),and are looking to move Vaughn (wins/48 0.067) down the depth chart. Also, I don't think Hill can play SG effectively in the NBA - he's 6'2"...




Udoka was a good move at his price. However, he's not a reason to not find a non-undersized wing player...

If you look at something like the Roland Ratings from 82games.com, Barry was +0.3 for the year and Finley was -0.6, which equates to basically breaking even for both of them. Balkman finished the season -3.3 on a terrible team.

I didn't mean to imply that Hill would play SG, but rather that his presence represented an upgrade in the overall defensive abilities of the team. If he develops he might spend some time alongside Parker in a three guard smallball set, because he probably would be able to guard smaller SGs with his 6'9" wingspan.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

We are going to be entering a dark age of the Duncan era.

*cracks open a beer*