Introduction to Marcus Haislip

[picnroll]

If he just maintians his focus on defense and rebounding, it looks like the rest of his game will be just fine. He certainly doesn't look raw offensively anymore.

[wildbill2u]

Man likes to dunk the ball and can sky, I'll give him that.

[loveforthegame]

It's weird. He's not considered a shot blocker but most of these videos posted show him blocking quite a few shots. I know it's just samples here and there but still.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

can we spurs fans be a little classy.
When ron artest gets in a fight it is disgracefully. But when it involves our players we are encouraging it?

Do you know how to take a joke?

[Tully365]

After toying with the idea of super high fliers like James White and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, maybe the Spurs have finally found the guy that has those above-the-rim qualities along with maturity and discipline. The possible range of success is very large for bigs next year, but if Blair, Mahinmi, and Haislip play well, it could be a very strong rotation beside Duncan...

[spurspokesman]

hopefully his play can introduce matt bonner to the end of the bench.

+1 mugen

[mogrovejo]

I don't think that's totally fair. I don't dispute most of what you said, but I don't think that makes him a "weird character". He never wanted to play in Europe, and never felt at home in Turkey or Spain. The comment about being happiest when talking on the telephone to his family was an example of that. I could give you a few examples of foreign players who came to the NBA and behaved very much the same way.

I also mentioned that he is frugal with his money. There is a story that he still has jeans that he wore in high school. Does that make him a "weird character" too? Or just a guy who grew up without a lot of money, and doesn't throw it around? It makes him unusual, for a professional basketball player, I suppose. But I don't know about weird.

I think he'll make more friends here, and I hope the Spurs fans make him feel welcome. The night he got drafted, his comment was this: "I'm not expecting myself to come in and be a scorer ... I just want to do the little things." Instead the team's and the fans' expectations were much higher. It didn't help that he was on a team with Ray Allen, Gary Payton, and Michael Redd, and coached by George Karl. He wasn't ready, and there was no one for him to learn from. They started calling him a "bust" soon after he got there, and things just sort of went to for him.

As for whether he would be playing for a discount, if he signs for the LLE (it's not a done deal until the contract is signed) - most definitely. Unicaja just signed Prentizis today, to replace him. They will be paying him 1.1M-1.2M Euros per season, and they had indicated that they would pay Haislip more than that to stay. He made it clear that he wanted nothing but to come back home. His agent didn't seem too happy about it, probably because he gets paid on a percentage basis. Anyway, there were a couple of other Euro teams that were interested enough to pay him at least 1.3M Euros per season, which means he will net at least $1M per season less by playing for the LLE. I think he could have gotten more like $1.5M Euro per season. I honestly don't know how he will work out, but both sides are taking a chance.

Oh, I didn't mean that he's "weird" in a pejorative way. I don't have nothing against misanthropic people, I wish I could be one myself. I'm a conservative, religious, rural person and I'd prefer to live in an isolated ranch in the country side reading books and visiting a few friends instead of spending my life in airports and talking to people.

Still, it's highly uncommon for a basketball player - or any person - to behave as Haislip did/does. Even guys who are home sick eventually try to engage in a couple of social activities.

And yes, it's absolutely true Haislip will be playing for a discount; Barcelona would be willing to break the bank to sign him with Ily/Andersen leaving.

[mogrovejo]

Well how do you know he didnt try to engage in any social activities?

Well, because people talk about this kind of issues... eccentric behaviours are commented, be it right or wrong.

[Evil Angel]

I'm looking forward to his arrival. RC and Pop seem to think he's grown as a player. I'll give him a shot.

[GSH]

Still, it's highly uncommon for a basketball player - or any person - to behave as Haislip did/does. Even guys who are home sick eventually try to engage in a couple of social activities.

Well, because people talk about this kind of issues... eccentric behaviours are commented, be it right or wrong.

People say a lot of things, and rumors take on a life of their own. I don't want to make a long post, but I would reserve judgement until he gets here.

I would issue one caution to a lot of Spur fans about expectations. If you're looking for any player to come in an "wow" you, you're going to be disappointed. Pop makes it clear that he has a Big 3, and doesn't need a Big 4. And historically, any player who thinks he is going to carve a bigger niche for himself is likely to get slapped down. If people are expecting to see him be the same player here that he was in Spain, it will only take a few weeks before they start complaining about him. Taking the LLE was a big financial sacrifice for him, but I can hear people groaning about how he's overpaid.

If he does what Pop usually expects, and takes what the system gives, don't start ing that his numbers are down from Spain. And if he has nights when he gets more shots, and other nights when the offense doesn't go his way, don't start talking about him being inconsistent. It's the nature of this system.

I'm looking forward to his arrival. RC and Pop seem to think he's grown as a player. I'll give him a shot.

Zappa avatar. Very cool.