Maggette or Young, which is the better fit?

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Hard to believe tbh

15 points at .370% shooting. Just what Pop needs and all that for 1/3rd of the season. Corey's done.

[Darkwaters]

Young is really concerning because of how inept his offense has been for a while. In this system will that change? Maybe. But he has to prove it in camp and pre-season. In a playoff series, if he doesn't prove that he can drill a shot when called upon, defenses will cheat off of him all day long. The end result will be destroyed spacing and offensive flow. It'll also mean his benching.

Maggette isn't ideal either though. Hes obviously the much more advanced offensive player, but not a exactly a shooter. Hes a scorer that can get to the line. While that's valuable, it also is slightly problematic for the offense that he can't shoot. And his defense is obviously nowhere on the level of Young's (although, I don't believe Maggette's defense is nearly as atrocious as Young's offensive numbers make him appear to be).

Our best hope is that Young comes in and proves that, when left wide open, he can shoot. Hes then our obvious choice. But Mags doesn't need to be discarded out of hand. If they both look good in preseason then find a way to dump De Colo and keep both Young and Maggette. De Colo is the clear weak-link on the team at present, and if we have two viable SF backups then let them take the compe ion into the regular season and see who truly fits the best.

[Austin_Toros]

Maggette. Because of his huge biceps.

[Ice009]

Also just a quick question. People keep bringing up trading Mills to Philly. I understand the idea the reuniting Mills and Brett Brown would theoretically make both of them happier. But is this just Spurstalk speculation or does anyone have sources that this has been discussed?

I'm not sure if the Spurs would trade Mills, but that is only because another poster said that Tim and Tony asked the front office to keep Mills around longer than this season. Not sure if that is true, but if both of those guys want Mills on the team, then I am not sure if the Spurs would trade him.

[Ice009]

yeah no fault of his own, pondexter is the far better player.

Why did the Thunder let Pondexter go? I thought he was very good against the Spurs in the playoffs last season.

[spurs10]

If both look decent in camp, getting both of them on the team and finding a team to take De Colo for a pick seems like the best option to me.

That's what I'm thinking as well.

[NickiRasgo]

Why did the Thunder let Pondexter go? I thought he was very good against the Spurs in the playoffs last season.

Pondexter never played for the Thunder though he was drafted by the Thunder and played in NO in his rookie season. But yeah he played good with the Grizzlies against us. He still with the Grizzlies too.

[xmas1997]

I'm going with Maggette. He was glued to the bench in Detroit, but that was purely because the Pistons were trying to develop players who were in the "future plans of the franchise". The previous season in Charlotte he averaged 15pts, 4 rebs, and 6 free throws a game in under 30 minutes. He is a highly efficient player on offense who respects what he can and can not do. That is exactly the at ude you want from a backup. And he is getting up there, but 34 is not ancient especially when you consider that he keeps himself in phenomenal shape and has never suffered a major injury. And he is not a standout defender, but he is not a liability either. I think his ability to slash and draw fouls can earn the Spurs a couple extra easy points each game.

And I certainly like Sam Young, but he is too much of a liability on offense. The Spurs rely on spacing and cohesion tremendously on offense. I am not sure Young is suited for the Spurs style of play. He is simply not going to be able to hide on offense as well as he could on another roster. Unless he develops a decent shot I don't see how you can expect him to maintain a place in the rotation.

Also just a quick question. People keep bringing up trading Mills to Philly. I understand the idea the reuniting Mills and Brett Brown would theoretically make both of them happier. But is this just Spurstalk speculation or does anyone have sources that this has been discussed?

Yes. The Mills thing is conjecture only, postulated here because of the Australian connection with ex Spur Coach Brown of the 76ers.
It isn't even a rumor. However, it could be better classified as an educated guess or opinion and nothing more.

[look_at_g_shred]

Damn! I want training camp to start already!! lol Does anyone know if updates are revealed throughout the camp or is it all hush-hush till its over? Thanks.

[Andthentherewas21]

If it comes down to an either/or situation I think the Spurs have to go with Young unless he has an exceptionally poor training camp and Maggette shows he has still has something left, particularly on the defensive end. In the NBA its a lot harder to improve your D than it is to improve your O; Young still has a chance to fix some of his mechanics on the offensive end whereas Maggette D has been decent at best and is likely starting to decline (hard to tell given the lack of motivation and playing time the last few seasons). Obviously Young has been somewhat of an offensive liability the past few seasons, but given how offensively anemic the teams he has been on have been in the past (Pacers this season, Grizzlies a couple seasons before), I don't think it can all be put on him. In a more structured system he could probably find a more suitable role.

I wouldn't be against having both, however I can't see the Spurs being able to open up a spot without waiving someone like Baynes. The 76ers are in a complete rebuild and having Mills doesn't do much for them, especially now that they have two PG projects in Wroten and Carter-Williams. I can't see anyone giving up even a 2nd rounder for De Colo unless he is salary-filler in a 3 team trade. Joseph is probably the only one that could fetch something on the market, but then the Spurs would be trading their best looking backup PG prospect.

[look_at_g_shred]

What gets me about Maggette, is he looks like he's in excellent shape. That's always a plus when Training camp comes around. I think a player's confidence and motivation raise when they come to the Spurs with the exception of RJ I think both will give it their all no doubt about it. Anxious to see what happens.

[xmas1997]

I wouldn't be heart broken if we kept both and ended up getting rid of one of our PGs, would you?

[look_at_g_shred]

I wouldn't be heart broken if we kept both and ended up getting rid of one of our PGs, would you?

Nope. Especially if we can get a pick out of it.

[Brazil]

imho you go with the best defender of the two. we don't need attack from these guys, we need a guy capable to take care of the ball, to catch and shoot and play good defense. I'd go by this logic with Young

[mountainballer]

just a question:
do we know for sure that Young's contract isn't guaranteed? (we heard that Maggette's isn't, but Young?)
I would assume that he get's at least a partly guarrantee.
(he has always been a min player, made about 3 million till this day, at 28 you follow the money, if you didn't yet get enough. Maggette in comparison has a career salary of 90 million)

why I ask: it might not be either or. it could be just Young, he is the back up for Kawhi.

and then comes Corey and the Spurs do him a favour to test him. he has made his share, he likely wants to play for a winning team at the end of his career. (he made the PO just once in his whole 14 seasons)
depht doesn't hurt. other than Young Corey can (should) play the 2, his ball handling is decent, his passing is ok.
so the question might be: does Corey outplay one of the guards. (Nando, Mills). if he is good during the camp, Spurs might find a solution. (trade, buy out, release). especially Nando shouldn't have a problem to still get a contract in Europe, he did build a reputation as a quality player there. (and he is a Euro champion!)

[xmas1997]

Let's see if I can recap so far.
Maggette is older, more mileage on his body, much better offense, and average to poor defense.
Young is younger, less mileage, much tougher defensively, and terrible offensively.
Now that I think about it after reading the pros and cons so far, IMHO the Spurs should not pick either one!
Yeah, really!
Rather, my hope is they bring in another much younger SF who is decent from 3 point range and really good, lock down good, defensively, and a player who is dying to be in the league with an ethic of working hard.
Who, you might ask, might fill this roll?
My choice would be Nunnally, the self proclaimed new coming of Bruce Bowen, his idol.
Don't laugh (I already did).
But seriously, IMHO he would be the best cheapest most hard working option I see still out there.
I hope he comes to Spurs camp.
We shall see.

[Josepatches_]

Maggette used to be one of my favourite players so I'd like to watch him in the Spurs uniform but to play backup SF I'd pick a better shooter than both of them.

Maggette should be a better scorer from the bench so i'll give him the nod.

[FutureMan]

Both would be amazing! If it was up to me I'd trade off Bonner and De Colo to the bucks for Ridnour, Mills to Portland or the 76ers.
PG: Parker, Ridnour, Joseph
SG: Green, Belinelli, Ginobili
SF: Leonard, Young, Maggette
PF: Duncan, Ayers
C: Splitter, Diaw, Baynes

[xmas1997]

Maggette used to be one of my favourite players so I'd like to watch him in the Spurs uniform but to play backup SF I'd pick a better shooter than both of them.

Maggette should be a better scorer from the bench so i'll give him the nod.

I used to like Maggette too, but the problem now is he is older and a definite liability on defense, thus the defense will suffer with him in there.
Whereas, Young is only a few years younger, but a pretty good hard nosed defensive player. Yet the defense will sag off him when he is in there because his offense is atrocious, thus putting more pressure on the Spurs offense and allowing double teams.
Damned if you do, and damned if you don't, that is what I see from both players.

[look_at_g_shred]

I used to like Maggette too, but the problem now is he is older and a definite liability on defense, thus the defense will suffer with him in there.
Whereas, Young is only a few years younger, but a pretty good hard nosed defensive player. Yet the defense will sag off him when he is in there because his offense is atrocious, thus putting more pressure on the Spurs offense and allowing double teams.
Damned if you do, and damned if you don't, that is what I see from both players.

If we do stick with young, lets just hope he can knock down that 15-18 footer effectively a la McDyess

[xmas1997]

My hope is the Spurs offer Nunnally a camp invite and that he accepts it. He is a 6'6" SF/G, a sharp shooter, and a hard nosed lock down defender. So far only Memphis has given him a camp invite.

[Leetonidas]

Maggette strikes me as the type that has played under his potential because of being on teams with no motivation thus he was always forced to be an offensive focus and his teams were usually garbage so he was a black hole on offense. I think he is still in decent shape and playing for a legit shot at a le might renew his focus and spark his energy, I don't remember him having any big injury concerns like McGrady

[Chinook]

This is interesting. On a healthy team the backup small-forward doesn't stand to get many minutes. But what happens when Leonard is out? Either Pop starts Belinelli and moves Green over (similar to what happened with Neal last season) or he promotes the third-string directly into the starting lineup and keeps his rotation intact (which he usually does). If the former happens, then Young is a better choice, since he's the better defender and the team could better handle large small-forwards with him rather than relying on Ginobili or Belinelli to spell Green. If it's the latter, then it might be important to have an offensive player next to Green, since both Danny and Splitter are currently lesser cogs in the starting offense. So Maggette would seem to make sense.

Boiled down, Young's probably the better player for a fringe-rotation spot, but Maggette is probably better as a spot-starter. Whatever role Pop wants his 15th man to play is probably decide who gets the last spot.

[Big P]

I don't think all the FO is looking at is playing ability in Young or Maggette...I think that they are also looking for a mentor for KL and IMO Maggette would have the edge in that department....something tells me Maggette is gonna wear the black and silver.

[dbestpro]

Young will be caught up playing tenative trying to fit in, and will blow his chance. Maggette knows how to play the game and in particular the refs. That is a skill set of the mind and not the body. His play and his knowledge can make a much greater impact on and off the floor.