Whataburger wouldn't mind.
Looking back on the 2010, it's amazing how bad it was. It's difficult to say the Spurs made a mistake at #20 even after knowing what we know about Anderson.
Landry Fields played well as a rookie but has been pretty bad this year. Jordan Crawford scores but he's a chucker who makes a horrible team even worse. Greivis Vasquez hasn't been anything special in his NBA career (outside of the Spurs series, of course). Trevor Booker has been decent but the Spurs don't need another 6-foot-7 power forward.
I guess in hindsight you take Fields ... but Green is a much better player than Fields so far this season so it wouldn't really change anything.
Heck, the Spurs might take Anderson again if they had it to do over again
Whataburger wouldn't mind.
It's so funny that after i knew about Anderson's situation, i got back to look at the 2010 draft, to see we could have taken a better player than Anderson. It's freaking unbelievable the lack of talent after the lottery.
There isn't a single player after the 20th pick i would say for sure that i would take over James Anderson. As you said, maybe Fields would have a better lucky here. Other than him, the players are really pathetic.
It's entirely possible that Leonard has made the decision more than Green. KL can guard at least four positions so far and allows you to have shooters in the game at odd times because of his ability to match up. Seems a bit premature just simply because the Spurs almost automatically pick up the option even on players Pop seems to hate. There's got to be a financial angle to this that helps them going forward.
I'd love nothing more than to see JA blow up and earn himself a big contract this summer. That's good for the Spurs and for him.
No doubt. All he needs to do is find his damn three point shot.
I haven't seen anything from Anderson that leads me to believe he is an NBA quality player. He lacks creativity, has average handles, doesn't defend and plays like a 35 year old. His jumpshot looks ok but doesn't go in.
All in all, this decision doesn't bother me. I'm sure the Spurs could pick up a similar type swingman somewhere along the line off of the scrapheap.
Uh, James would have to sign, and I'm thinking that if two teams (and there will be suitors this summer) both offer me the minimum, and one of them was the team that told me I wasn't in their plans, I'd have to sign with the other one to get a fresh start. Not only that, but when Manu and TJ come back, I'd ask for my release, and then place myself in the d-league pool, and draw a second, admittedly small salary, AND almost sure playing time. The Spurs owe him the money for this year, guaranteed.
I really hoped that he could thrive in a pick and roll offense. It was pretty exciting having Parker and Duncan on one side of the floor setting up pick and rolls and I-don't-remember-who and Splitter on the other doing the same thing all at the same time. I think JA could find a place in that kind of offense and maybe get his shot back. A 20 foot jumper's as good as anything else in that kind of offense.
The problem with Mahinmi is that he's still more inconsistent than Blair or Bonner and he fouls a lot. I'm not sure the Spurs could give him the playtime he needs to develop. He plays a lot for the Mavs only because Chandler's gone and Odom has some problems. Should have he stayed with the Spurs he wouldn't play a lot. And Ian is still a project.
With Green and Neal, the Spurs don't really need another SG, the Spurs are set there. It seems that JA isn't completely recovered from injuries.
It would be better to add an bigman for the next season, Blair isnt that good.
Malik Rose and Stephen Jackson were two players who were complete nobodies before coming here and playing under Pop. Parker would have been a star without Pop, but I'm not sure about the other two guys. Jack was basically playing himself out of the league and Malik was just an end of the bench scrub in Charlotte. I think Pop deserves enormous credit for seeing really good players there and for bringing Jack along slowly to make him hungry for that spot he began to excel in once Smith got hurt.
Sure they're trying to develop talent now because they have no other choice - and it's about time. However, I still don't agree with the JA decision and, because of their short-sighted decision on Mahinmi, which I hope they're regretting right about now, I'm not going to give them a pass on this one.
Now I will reserve the right to change my mind, once I see what they're going to do this offseason.
On the one hand, JA's been absolute crap since his injury. On the other, he hasn't earned or been handed that many opportunities since his injury either.
But if the Spurs let him go or keep him, I don't really care. College scorers like JA who didn't really look like NBA specimens generally struggle in the NBA, and with a foot injury its just not looking good. His handles are also pretty weak.
Spurs have enough perimeter players. Package JA and his potential for a legit big that is capable of contributing something in the playoffs
You won't get a legit big man in a package for just "potential". The Spurs best bet is using his disposed salary in to next years cap space.
This sucks if one was on the belief he was going to be the next draft miracle the Spurs found. But that's life. Sometimes you win. Sometimes things happen.
As an unrestricted FA this summer, his trade value is zero, other than a team like Indy that is below the minimum salary amount right now. If he sucks, you've paid for that. If he blows up, he's gone.
Definitely a notable point. If we assume we Amnesty RJ, bringing over de Colo gives us
Leonard
Manu/Neal/De Colo(Draft Rights)
Parker/Joseph
as perimeter players, with Green a RFA. Include a draft pick in there, aswell as whatever you can get in FA and it's hard to see a role for Anderson. While he might develop with minutes, so might the other Young perimeter players in that group, and an extra million in cap space might make the difference for some players who are looking at ~10 million a year.
If he gets to be a rotation level player, we'll be annoyed, and he has the talent to do it somewhere. But he might never get there, in which case it's money wasted on him. If we weren't going to be able to get under the cap, We should hold on to him, but the fact that we are is significant, and opinions on holding onto him have to be viewed in light of the chance to upgrade our team with a superior free agent.
JA looked ok in the first few games. He showed an ability to create his shot and take his man of the dribble.
I don't know about that. Look at all JA fanboys still in utter denial in here. So who knows, there could be a GM still out there who has still rates him high on their list and is dumb enough to part with something of value.
I don't know who said that. Coming out of OSU, he was one of the most skilled players in the draft, the whole reason that he fell to the Spurs was questions reagarding his athleticism.
I don't like this move. JA hasn't shown much this year but that can be attributed to playing time.
The decision to let JA go only increases the chances we'll see RJ in a Spurs uniform next season.
I think the athleticism is definitely a concern- Buck Harveyarticle mentions the Spurs concern that the NBA game is too fast for him.
I am OK with the decision.
The Spurs have released players before so they could have other opportunities- I wonder if they saw little chance for JA to develop here and that played into it?
The only problem that i have with Anderson leaving is that we couldn't get anything for him. I feel we should have kept him at least his 3rd year and than try to grab something in return.
OKC got a 2nd round pick for Mullens. Minny got 2 2nd round picks for Lazar Hayward. And their situation were even worse than Anderson's situation.
Anyway. It's done and i just wish Anderson lucky in another team, if he can make it.
Last edited by elemento; 01-27-2012 at 02:16 PM.
I cannot believe that we're sitting here talking about Anderson in the past tense and he's still on the roster. Are the Spurs going to allow this kid to walk away scot-free, become a Dallas Maverick and develop on their dime too?
If Anderson does indeed leave, this looks really bad for an organization that has built a reputation for repeatedly getting "steals" in the NBA draft.
In all likelihood if JA ever "develops" it's GOING to be on another team. Spurs know that; however, for his current level of play, there are too many worthy players ahead of him.
The best thing for JA in terms of staying here, would be if Neal turns out to be a one-hit wonder and Spurs re-sign JA this summer as a FA. I actually think the Spurs are doing the right thing by JA.
He could be a good mix player on a lot of teams. Seeing them not keep him versus having trash like Bonner on the team is garbage to me. It's good news for Kawhi and a few others though. Means that Green has officially overtaken him in the rotation.
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