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He's not in the doghouse,he just sucks,simple.
I think Bonner would have been a decent match against Bass last night, especially with Horry having a bad game.
But Bonner is absolutely in the doghouse. The last time I remember him going in at a meaningful part of the game was in Boston when Pop pulled him after 2 plays, most likely to his huge embarassment after having bought tickets for all his friends to see him play.
Bonner now reminds me of late era Beno when he's in the game. He jacks up shots as quickly as he can to prove he can play. I think for the moment his confidence is shot. He was never the clutch Horry replacement they wanted him to be. If he was making like 1.7 or so a year it wouldn't be as big a deal. Perhaps it will turn around for him next year but at this point I think he's in Malik/Nazr territory.
He's not in the doghouse,he just sucks,simple.
Bonner's biggest enemy right now is his own basketball IQ. His read and react skills both offensively and defensively are dismal. It's like there is a time delay between when he sees something and when his body reacts. As long as he has that flaw, Pop won't play him.
Hopefully his 2007-08 season is over because if it's not that means a bigman got hurt. 2008-09 could be his year. I'm just hoping that the Spurs don't do something stupid like use Mahinmi or Splitter to dump Bonner's contract.
I'm not sure they'll dump Bonner...he's proven to have solid value as an emergency starter for Duncan if nothing else. I think he's here as much for chemistry as on court contributions as well.
Keep in mind...if Horry retrires, Pop wants a big who can shoot the three...
It does make you wonder though...why do they sign these guys to thse deals and then turn around and doghouse or try and trade them...is my scouting talent that much better than the Spurs that I saw this guy was not going to be a replacement for Horry instantaneously?
If they realize they want to move him then why not play him and up his trade value...
There appears to be no reason to dump salaries these next two seasons. The trick will be finding people who are willing to play on one or two year deals.
Agree. Spurs have no real reason to dump Bonner unlike with Malik, Rasho and Butler.
I can see Spurs offering a 2 years contract to Kurt Thomas in the $3M/$4M per year range. They can ever do that before July with a contract extension.
Duncan, Oberto, Thomas, Bonner, Splitter and Mahinmi as bigmen looks good for the next two years.
That looks almost too deep. In that scenario, Mahinmi wouldn't see the court until like 2011. Splitter would get Bonner minutes next year.
I think the Spurs will trim their bigman surplus one way or another. Now if Horry returns, things will really get interesting
Don't forget we'll probably draft someone like Serge Ibaka or Ante Tomic this year, too.
If the only thing the big man (Booner) can do is shoot, Pop will not play him. He needs to be able to defend and rebound also (Horry). So Pop will continue to use Oberto and/or Thomas before Bonner. He's useless.
Keep the stooge off the court please.
IMHO the Spurs have too many young bigs going into 2009. How could they possibly find playing time for all of them, especially since Duncan, Oberto and maybe Thomas will be getting a lot of minutes. I think they will trade either Bonner, Mahinmi or Splitter's rights.
Oberto 2010 years isn't fully guaranteed. Spurs could offer to Thomas a $8M/2 years contract with only $2M guaranteed on the second year. If Mahinmi and/or Splitter are good enough, Oberto and/or Thomas are gone in the 2009 summer.
I think Spurs will sign a solid vet bigman this summer. Having a PF/C bench with one player in the doghouse this year (Bonner) and 2 "rookies" is a quite big risk.
Maybe you are right and Spurs will trust their youngster enough and take the risk to sign only a "Kevin Willis like" bigman for the min.
Oh man that sig is just awesome! Dirk and Damp playing the parts of Moe and Curly!
Look, how much do you have to read into his money and minutes? The guy was given enough money to stay and the reason they wanted him to stay is because Horry is old and Timmy gets injured. Plain and simple. He is a comfortable and semi-expensive patch to keep the team going while one of the big fellas is down or tired. That's all; nothing more. Horry is a playoff player; we all know that. He needs to get into the rotation now just to get warmed up.
Barring injury, don't expect to see too much more of Bonner.
Erase that . RC might see it.
I see it as 6 bigs - 4 core rotation, 1 emergency, 1 developing in Austin.That looks almost too deep. In that scenario, Mahinmi wouldn't see the court until like 2011. Splitter would get Bonner minutes next year.
I think the Spurs will trim their bigman surplus one way or another. Now if Horry returns, things will really get interesting
In Current terms that is
Duncan, Oberto, Horry, Thoma
Bonner
Mahinmi
I think the Spurs are assuming that only one of Mahinmi and Splitter will be ready enough for NBA play; the other one will get to season in the D-league...
You can't really expect two rookies to both start contributing at once. Heck, maybe neither of them is immediately NBA ready. At that point, I think then Bonner will start seeing minutes. However, if one of Splitter/Mahinmi is ready immediately, that would make next year look like this (assuming Thomas resigned using Bird Rights money)
Duncan Oberto, Thomas, Mahinmi/Splitter
Bonner
Mahinmi/Splitter.
96 minutes over 4 bigs. Duncan 32 MPG, 20MPG for Oberto, Thomas, and Mahinmi/Splitter. With 4 MPG for Bonner. That's not so bad. I expect that the team will explore options for moving a big man if both Mahinmi and Splitter work out rapidly. As for which one, I suspect it might be dependent on what they get back...
Looks like someone will not be making the playoff roster
Good minutes and points by the Red Rocket.
The only Spurs big men Pop never ed with are Tim and Dave. Every other big man since has got the !
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