Why the Spurs dealt Scola for virtually nothing

[urunobili]

What effective NBA player does Scola remind anyone of? Maybe a poor man's Shareef Abdur Rahim?

it seems you haven't seen this guy... and that you don't know ANYTHING about basketball...

[whottt]

it seems you haven't seen this guy... and that you don't know ANYTHING about basketball...

Um...if you think Scola is going to be able to hold Shareef's jock as an NBA player...it's you that don't know anything about basketball...


Let me guess? You are from Argentina?

[Chickendog]

jackie butler was sent to houston for one reason only. the houston ship channel needs dredging.

[Mr. Body]

at Whootttt wanting to waste a roster space for a Greek guy who is a terrible NBA player. It would also mean losing out on $1.9M. You make no sense, dude.

[timvp]

What effective NBA player does Scola remind anyone of? Maybe a poor man's Shareef Abdur Rahim?

Luis Scola = Antoine Carr

Not a great player but a guy who in his prime can get you 16 and 6. And not a guy you give to a divisional rival for nothing.

[exstatic]

Why are Barry and Beno still here?

What are the Spurs waiting on...that's the big salary dump.

The minute the trade is approved, the one year clock starts ticking on the trade exception(s). July 15th doesn't give them much chance next year to fill out the roster to the cap before using the trade exception. I'm thinking you'll see movement on this front sometime in August. That give them time to shop next summer, then use the T.E.

[stéphane]

Luis Scola = Antoine Carr

Not a great player but a guy who in his prime can get you 16 and 6. And not a guy you give to a divisional rival for nothing.

you seriously think scola would get that much with the spurs???
no way

[ArgSpursFan]

you seriously think scola would get that much with the spurs???
no way

it all comes down to the coach.Any roockie would average from 0 to 15 MPG with Pop,that´s just the way Pop is.+Remember that Houston don´t have that many other players at the PF spot right now.I keep saying that Luis can be a 15/7 player if He gets the minutes and his coach´s and teammate´s trust.

[whottt]

at Whootttt wanting to waste a roster space for a Greek guy who is a terrible NBA player.

#1. I don't have a preference one way or the other, in fact if anything I like Beno better...it's just that everyone assumes the Spurs aren't interested in him...

When in fact...what kept them from moving Beno and Barry last year was the lack of a PG, that's the only reason they are still here, that situation has not changed, and Vaginis is a PG you know.


#2. Pop doesn't play Beno and has long since given up on him. Exactly what would be the difference?

#3. Spurs hired a Rockets FO executive...you don't think it's possible he has insight on the Rockets and Vaginis situation?

#4. You're a .

It would also mean losing out on $1.9M. You make no sense, dude.

I make plenty of sense...I sat here last year and watched everyone do this same and get owned this year by the FO. Including you.

And after your Javtokas stance/FO bashing...I'd never offer an opinion on a foreign player, talent evaluation and what they shoul be paid, again, if I were you.

You need to stick an I miss Javtokas for 3 mil per year, and so will you in your le, and wear it proudly...so you can join ploto in the prominent ST self asskickers club.

[stéphane]

it all comes down to the coach.Any roockie would average from 0 to 15 MPG with Pop,that´s just the way Pop is.+Remember that Houston don´t have that many other players at the PF spot right now.I keep saying that Luis can be a 15/7 player if He gets the minutes and his coach´s and teammate´s trust.

man I really like watching Luis play with Tau (nearly as much as Papaloukas :p) but he has freaking Yao and T mac on his team. He will be ok I guess but his best asset is that he is a great low post threat with some nice moves. But physically it will be different from Spain/euroleague... w/o talking about the game pace.
His defense is so so. I just dont see him getting that much.

[whottt]

Luis Scola = Antoine Carr

Not a great player but a guy who in his prime can get you 16 and 6. And not a guy you give to a divisional rival for nothing.

When, where and how is Scola going to get this six of which you speak? That's his Euroleague Max.


And looking a the fact that the Rockets roster is going to have James, Banzi, Head, TMac, Yao and Battier...I wouldn't count on the 16 either.

[timvp]

whottt hurts his credibility when he's more scared of eastern conference teams who won less games than a western conference team like the Rockets. That's just lunacy. A healthy Rockets team >>>>>>>>>>>> the Bulls or Cavs.

Then again, this is the same guy who predicted Cavs in 5. Perhaps he doesn't understand the gap between the conferences.

The trade was stupid but here is how whottt should be defending the trade:

The Spurs needed a roster spot and wanted that roster spot to be Jackie Butler's roster spot. Barry has too much value. The Spurs haven't given up on Beno Udrih yet because if you chart his career, he's following a similar career path of Steve Nash.

Butler, on the other hand, was a project player who just didn't fit in the system. He still has a chance to have a decent NBA career, but the Spurs didn't like the fit. They shopped him around and the only deals that they got back included a player coming back to the Spurs. Since the Spurs wanted that roster spot, that didn't make much sense. They needed and wanted a way to trade Butler away to a team that could just absorb both his salary and his roster spot.

Scola had decent value around the league. Some of the better teams in the league were probably offering first round picks but with these Spurs, they'd rather have a decent second round pick than a late first round pick due to the guaranteed money first rounders receive.

Instead of dealing Scola away for a pick that could easily be in the late 20's, the Spurs decided to trade Scola with Butler to help achieve the goal of opening up a roster spot. They tried to find a team in the Eastern Conference who would be receptive to such a deal. The Cavs and Bulls were high on Scola but they didn't have the resources to let the Spurs open up a roster spot. There was a three team trade in the works that would have sent Butler to the Kings and Scola to the Cavs which was very close to happening on Thursday, but it fell apart.

By the time that trade fell apart, the Spurs had to act fast. For a team to successfully buyout Scola's contract, they needed to trade him within the next 24 hours. If the Spurs waited longer than that, Scola's value would be zero and the Spurs would be stuck without being able to open up a roster spot.

The Rockets, who had this trade on the table the whole time, were the last team available who could meet all the criteria. They would absorb Butler's contract and would give the Spurs cash on top of it. While the Spurs didn't want to deal with a divisional rival, the deal was too good to pass up if you look at the money aspect.

With Scola's true value being a late first round pick, late first round picks are usually bought and sold for $3M. By including Scola in the trade to Houston, the Spurs were actually saving more than $6M -- which is the equivalent of two late first round picks. On top of that, the Spurs were receiving a second round pick.

So if you convert what the Spurs got into picks, the trade would end up looking like Butler and Scola for two late first rounders and a second rounder. Looking at it like that, the Spurs get nice value for their assets.

Bottomline is the Spurs opened up the roster spot they wanted to open up while using Scola as bait and in return got the equivalent of multiple picks and a roster spot. Now, the Spurs can use that roster spot for a wing who falls through the cracks of free agency (someone like Barnes), a tough defender who could eventually replace Bowen (someone like Udoka) or one of their other Euro prospects (someone like Mahinmi or Sanikidze).






See now, that makes sense. I didn't have to trash Scola as being some sort of Anti-Christ and Butler isn't some handicapped deaf mute with a beard. I absolutely understand what the Spurs were thinking, but it just wasn't the best option. There were many ways to skin this cat ... the Spurs just picked the wrong method.

[timvp]

The Spurs needed a roster spot and wanted that roster spot to be Jackie Butler's roster spot. Barry has too much value. The Spurs haven't given up on Beno Udrih yet because if you chart his career, he's following a similar career path of Steve Nash.

Butler, on the other hand, was a project player who just didn't fit in the system. He still has a chance to have a decent NBA career, but the Spurs didn't like the fit. They shopped him around and the only deals that they got back included a player coming back to the Spurs. Since the Spurs wanted that roster spot, that didn't make much sense. They needed and wanted a way to trade Butler away to a team that could just absorb both his salary and his roster spot.

Scola had decent value around the league. Some of the better teams in the league were probably offering first round picks but with these Spurs, they'd rather have a decent second round pick than a late first round pick due to the guaranteed money first rounders receive.

Instead of dealing Scola away for a pick that could easily be in the late 20's, the Spurs decided to trade Scola with Butler to help achieve the goal of opening up a roster spot. They tried to find a team in the Eastern Conference who would be receptive to such a deal. The Cavs and Bulls were high on Scola but they didn't have the resources to let the Spurs open up a roster spot. There was a three team trade in the works that would have sent Butler to the Kings and Scola to the Cavs which was very close to happening on Thursday, but it fell apart.

By the time that trade fell apart, the Spurs had to act fast. For a team to successfully buyout Scola's contract, they needed to trade him within the next 24 hours. If the Spurs waited longer than that, Scola's value would be zero and the Spurs would be stuck without being able to open up a roster spot.

The Rockets, who had this trade on the table the whole time, were the last team available who could meet all the criteria. They would absorb Butler's contract and would give the Spurs cash on top of it. While the Spurs didn't want to deal with a divisional rival, the deal was too good to pass up if you look at the money aspect.

With Scola's true value being a late first round pick, late first round picks are usually bought and sold for $3M. By including Scola in the trade to Houston, the Spurs were actually saving more than $6M -- which is the equivalent of two late first round picks. On top of that, the Spurs were receiving a second round pick.

So if you convert what the Spurs got into picks, the trade would end up looking like Butler and Scola for two late first rounders and a second rounder. Looking at it like that, the Spurs get nice value for their assets.

Bottomline is the Spurs opened up the roster spot they wanted to open up while using Scola as bait and in return got the equivalent of multiple picks and a roster spot. Now, the Spurs can use that roster spot for a wing who falls through the cracks of free agency (someone like Barnes), a tough defender who could eventually replace Bowen (someone like Udoka) or one of their other Euro prospects (someone like Mahinmi or Sanikidze).

Damn, I'm better at being whottt than whottt is.

[whottt]

whottt hurts his credibility when he's more scared of eastern conference teams who won less games than a western conference team like the Rockets. That's just lunacy. A healthy Rockets team >>>>>>>>>>>> the Bulls or Cavs.

Then again, this is the same guy who predicted Cavs in 5. Perhaps he doesn't understand the gap between the conferences.

The trade was stupid but here is how whottt should be defending the trade:

The Spurs needed a roster spot and wanted that roster spot to be Jackie Butler's roster spot. Barry has too much value. The Spurs haven't given up on Beno Udrih yet because if you chart his career, he's following a similar career path of Steve Nash.

Butler, on the other hand, was a project player who just didn't fit in the system. He still has a chance to have a decent NBA career, but the Spurs didn't like the fit. They shopped him around and the only deals that they got back included a player coming back to the Spurs. Since the Spurs wanted that roster spot, that didn't make much sense. They needed and wanted a way to trade Butler away to a team that could just absorb both his salary and his roster spot.

Scola had decent value around the league. Some of the better teams in the league were probably offering first round picks but with these Spurs, they'd rather have a decent second round pick than a late first round pick due to the guaranteed money first rounders receive.

Instead of dealing Scola away for a pick that could easily be in the late 20's, the Spurs decided to trade Scola with Butler to help achieve the goal of opening up a roster spot. They tried to find a team in the Eastern Conference who would be receptive to such a deal. The Cavs and Bulls were high on Scola but they didn't have the resources to let the Spurs open up a roster spot. There was a three team trade in the works that would have sent Butler to the Kings and Scola to the Cavs which was very close to happening on Thursday, but it fell apart.

By the time that trade fell apart, the Spurs had to act fast. For a team to successfully buyout Scola's contract, they needed to trade him within the next 24 hours. If the Spurs waited longer than that, Scola's value would be zero and the Spurs would be stuck without being able to open up a roster spot.

The Rockets, who had this trade on the table the whole time, were the last team available who could meet all the criteria. They would absorb Butler's contract and would give the Spurs cash on top of it. While the Spurs didn't want to deal with a divisional rival, the deal was too good to pass up if you look at the money aspect.

With Scola's true value being a late first round pick, late first round picks are usually bought and sold for $3M. By including Scola in the trade to Houston, the Spurs were actually saving more than $6M -- which is the equivalent of two late first round picks. On top of that, the Spurs were receiving a second round pick.

So if you convert what the Spurs got into picks, the trade would end up looking like Butler and Scola for two late first rounders and a second rounder. Looking at it like that, the Spurs get nice value for their assets.

Bottomline is the Spurs opened up the roster spot they wanted to open up while using Scola as bait and in return got the equivalent of multiple picks and a roster spot. Now, the Spurs can use that roster spot for a wing who falls through the cracks of free agency (someone like Barnes), a tough defender who could eventually replace Bowen (someone like Udoka) or one of their other Euro prospects (someone like Mahinmi or Sanikidze).






See now, that makes sense. I didn't have to trash Scola as being some sort of Anti-Christ and Butler isn't some handicapped deaf mute with a beard. I absolutely understand what the Spurs were thinking, but it just wasn't the best option. There were many ways to skin this cat ... the Spurs just picked the wrong method.

Wouldn't it have just been easier to type...let me backpedal here maybe whottt is on to something?


And I think the Spurs have absolutely given up on Beno and Barry and want to move them. In fact I think they will.

[timvp]

Wouldn't it have just been easier to type...let me backpedal here maybe Whottt is on to something.

Did you read where I said I didn't agree with myself?

And I think the Spurs have absolutely given up on Beno and Barry and want to move them. In fact I think they will.

Yeah, we'll see.

timvp acting as whottt > whottt

[whottt]

And I have been trashing Scola...his at ude, and his game...forever....why am I going to stop now?

It's got nothing to do with defending this trade...I'd be attacking Scola the same way if he was on the roster...

I'm just glad the Spurs went with my instincts...

[timvp]

Thinking about it more, I've concluded two things:

1) The Spurs could have gotten a first round pick for Scola straight up. Danny Ferry REALLY wanted him. You don't think he'd give up a future first rounder? Of course he would. But $6M > late first rounder ... according to Holt's pocket books.

2) Butler had trade value. In that three-team trade with the Cavs and Kings, Butler was going to the Kings. To make that work, the Spurs had to be getting something back in the deal. The Spurs had to have interest on a player on either the Cavs or Kings. And it's not an accident that after the Kings didn't get Butler, they went out and signed a center.

[timvp]

I liked Butler when the Spurs signed him. I liked him earlier this summer. The Spurs traded him and he became a Special Ed sloth who couldn't form a sentence to save his life.

True.

[whottt]

True.

I defended Butler's offensive game and his intent...

I still do.

I did not defend his taking plays off, OFFENSIVE PLAYS OFF...offensive plays off? The dude takes offensive plays off...


Jackie Butler takes offensive plays offs...offensive plays...

Am I the only one that saw this?

The team featuring him, and he is taking offensive plays off.


You know why Watson was making like AI? Because he was trying to score 4 on 5 while Butler was getting CPR.


...in fact, the more I saw him do it, the less I liked him, the more I realiazed he could never be a Spur. It's apparent in the game threads...

I defended Butler when everyone said he had no talent...but I also was in flat out shock at the fact that he took offensive plays off.

Offensive plays...

I've never seen an NBA player take offensive plays off before...

Dennis Rodman didn't take offensive plays off.

[whottt]

I've never seen anyone take offensive plays off in a pick up game before...except me...when I have put down a six pack of beer and smoking a cig in the middle of a game...at the age of 39.


This dude wouldn't get picked in a street game...

[timvp]

This dude wouldn't get picked in a street game...

Exaggeration taken to whole new levels.

Impressive.

And you don't think that Udonis Haslem took off plays when he weighed 300 pounds? You really think Butler took off plays because he wanted to? It's called being out of shape.

[Mr. Body]

I've never seen an NBA player take offensive plays off before...

Dennis Rodman didn't take offensive plays off.

Wow. Just wow. All kinds of stuff pulled out of your ass. Stop before you find a battleship or a herd of camels or something.

[SAGambler]

whottt i think its not even worth trying to "defend" this trade...
most people in here just dreamt about scola and think he's boozer.
guess what he's good in europe sure but interior defenses have nothing to do with nba's D. he's 27 and we just drafted splitter. We have Oberto who is moving/passing/rotating better than scola will ever do... keep complaining if you want people.

Pretty much the way it is. And as I have pointed out before, both Manu and Fabs have actually been teammates with this guy, and if he is as great as perceived, surely they would have lobbied for him to come join the Spurs.

[whottt]

If we dug Wilt up and put him on the court, he'd miss fewer plays than Butler was...

Offensive plays off...

Unreal.

[whottt]

Exaggeration taken to whole new levels.

Impressive.

And you don't think that Udonis Haslem took off plays when he weighed 300 pounds? You really think Butler took off plays because he wanted to? It's called being out of shape.

Oh well... when you put it like that...sign him up and put him on the court.[/pop]