Mahinmi may be better than you think

[taps]

^ (Cosmic Cowboy quote) Don't most Western European countries have highly socialized systems of taxation? (France, England, Scandinavia) If this immense commu/socialization does happen overnight if Obama is elected (see: not going to happen overnight, there will be temperance => my 2¢) then I think that would just put us on par with Euro tax systems IMO. That doesn't answer the Euro/dollar disparity, just a little contextualization for the GOP fear that Democrats will ruin professional sports.

[T Park]

^ (Cosmic Cowboy quote) Don't most Western European countries have highly socialized systems of taxation? (France, England, Scandinavia) If this immense commu/socialization does happen overnight if Obama is elected (see: not going to happen overnight, there will be temperance => my 2¢) then I think that would just put us on par with Euro tax systems IMO. That doesn't answer the Euro/dollar disparity, just a little contextualization for the GOP fear that Democrats will ruin professional sports.

Good lord.

[Spur-Addict]

[QUOTE=Tully365;2622805]

Let me give you a scenario.

Obama DOES get elected this fall and with a Democratic congress pushes through the taxes on the "rich" they have been salivating over for years...lets hypothetically say the kick them from 40% to 60%...by definition, basketball players are "rich"

Lets say that the dollar drops another 10% against the Euro...

It is VERY conceivable that a talent like Le Bron James could come through and his after tax net on a rookie contract would be a little over $700,000 a year.

Lets say Minnesota gets the top pick next year...

A Euro team could very easily come in and offer him the equivalent of a 10-15 million a year AFTER TAX contract for whatever term they want...

I can just imagine THAT conversation..."you can go play on a TY team for $700,000 a year in ing MINNESOTA and freeze your ass off in a ty town with a ty economy or you can move to a cosmopolitan European capital on an established championship caliber team and make 20 times what they are offering you..."

Oh Yeah, did I tell you about all the hot pussy we have over here?[/QUOTE

From espn.com:

"Brandon Jennings, who signed a letter of intent to play at Arizona, is looking at the unprecedented option of playing overseas next season to get ready for the 2009 NBA draft if he's not eligible to play for the Wildcats next season.

Jennings told ESPN.com that he is exploring the possibility of a professional basketball career. Jennings' mother, Alice Knox, has retained an attorney, Jeffrey Valle, to help look into the possibility that Jennings could play professionally in Europe while he waits to become eligible for the 2009 NBA draft."

I think it's inevitable that this will happen more in the upcoming years.

[Nbadan]

^ (Cosmic Cowboy quote) Don't most Western European countries have highly socialized systems of taxation? (France, England, Scandinavia) If this immense commu/socialization does happen overnight if Obama is elected (see: not going to happen overnight, there will be temperance => my 2¢) then I think that would just put us on par with Euro tax systems IMO. That doesn't answer the Euro/dollar disparity, just a little contextualization for the GOP fear that Democrats will ruin professional sports.

[T Park]

The fear is the democrats are gonna turn us into communist russia heads.

[Nbadan]

The U.S. has one of the lowest overall tax rates in the free world....chew on that!

[taps]

Rick Perry for president!

[timvp]

The Spurs skipping over a number of very solid bigman prospects is a good sign for Mahinmi. If they thought Mahinmi was a bust, going with someone like Jordan, Arthur or Hendrix would have made a lot of sense.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

the dollar isn't worth anything because we have added $4 trillion in debt over the last eight years and continually run up huge budget deficits. Getting out of Iraq and getting rid of the bush tax cuts (5% not 20% CosmicCowboy) for the wealthy would help the dollar regain strength. Currency fluctuation is based on perception now, getting the US house of cards in order would help that

[RobinsontoDuncan]

The Spurs skipping over a number of very solid bigman prospects is a good sign for Mahinmi. If they thought Mahinmi was a bust, going with someone like Jordan, Arthur or Hendrix would have made a lot of sense.

do you think that's why they passed on green? i think hill would have been available at 45, or they could have moved up fairly easily i think

[hater]

oh I have no doubt Ian is gonna be impact from the start.

[Russ]

The Spurs skipping over a number of very solid bigman prospects is a good sign for Mahinmi. If they thought Mahinmi was a bust, going with someone like Jordan, Arthur or Hendrix would have made a lot of sense.

The Spurs FO can shuck and jive about getting the man they really wanted and being shocked that so-and-so was available at wherever.

But the Spurs' management know that this is D Dday -- this year both Mahinmi and Hill need to contribute to some extent with the varisty or else the Spurs could be in trouble. If so, the reason will also be hard to mask -- both of those picks were considered big-time reaches at the time they were made. Pretty much no one had erither of those guys going in the first round in either of those drafts. That said, I think both will contribute enough to at least put the team in position to win if they make the right moves over the rest of the summer.

[lrrr]

Having never watched college ball or D-league, what is the quality of the two in comparison? How would Ian have performed against NCAA compe ion, and if he was drafted in this draft, where would he have gone?

I agree that the FO must be quite high on him since they didn't see "mobile big man" as a high priority in this years draft, even though it has been a gaping hole for a while, and the last two 1st round picks (before this draft) were used on athletic bigs.

[Thomas82]

The Spurs FO can shuck and jive about getting the man they really wanted and being shocked that so-and-so was available at wherever.

But the Spurs' management know that this is D Dday -- this year both Mahinmi and Hill need to contribute to some extent with the varisty or else the Spurs could be in trouble. If so, the reason will also be hard to mask -- both of those picks were considered big-time reaches at the time they were made. Pretty much no one had erither of those guys going in the first round in either of those drafts. That said, I think both will contribute enough to at least put the team in position to win if they make the right moves over the rest of the summer.

Well said.

[Mr. Body]

The Spurs FO can shuck and jive about getting the man they really wanted and being shocked that so-and-so was available at wherever.

But the Spurs' management know that this is D Dday -- this year both Mahinmi and Hill need to contribute to some extent with the varisty or else the Spurs could be in trouble. If so, the reason will also be hard to mask -- both of those picks were considered big-time reaches at the time they were made. Pretty much no one had erither of those guys going in the first round in either of those drafts. That said, I think both will contribute enough to at least put the team in position to win if they make the right moves over the rest of the summer.

The draft, IMO, didn't help nearly as much as it could. I felt they needed more than simply a dedicated bench player, which is all they essentially got (whatever H. or G. get to be is gravy), and Mahinmi is still perhaps a year away. The FA period has gotten more vital due to a middling draft and there doesn't seem to be much on the market. Trades will be hard to do with few assets, if any.

You're right. They need Mahinmi and Hill to be rotation guys pretty much by the mid-point of the season and maybe even Gist or Hairston to start getting minutes, too.

[angelbelow]

The Spurs skipping over a number of very solid bigman prospects is a good sign for Mahinmi. If they thought Mahinmi was a bust, going with someone like Jordan, Arthur or Hendrix would have made a lot of sense.

didnt think about it that way, that does make more sense.

[Tbam327]

I Was hoping he would have played this year with spurs...but of course POP once again doesnt know how to coach rookies and pawend him off to someone else. I think he would have made a big difference for us it would have been like a young dave and vet Tim oppiste of when tim came into the league. Mahinmi probably wont play for spurs hes to young and willing to take chances.

[wildbill2u]

Time to bring him up and let him get his 6 fouls a game. Let's see if he's got game.

[DMX7]

I think he can contribute 8, 5, and 1 a night next season.

I think he could too but I don't think he will. He could get in the doghouse Matt Bonner style real quick and end up not even playing for 10-15 games stretches.

As good as he can become, he still is very raw. I watched play for the Toros on the internet during the playoffs and he is super talented but almost lacks cordination (a clear sign of someone who still needs work on his game).

[rj215]

Is it definite that Ian will join the regular rotation next year or at least get a legit shot at joining? Did Pop or RC mention that. I hope that 3 years of grooming is enough to get this guy at least 10-15 minutes per game. I think he could give us more than Ellison did in his first year alone.

[mrspurs]

Yeah, Mahinmi definitely has a higher ceiling than Splitter. The nice thing about Splitter is he was a plug-n-play option. In fact, Splitter is probably more ready for the NBA than Oberto was when Oberto first came over. However, like Oberto, Splitter doesn't have huge potential. Splitter basically could top out as an average to a slightly above average center.

Mahinmi, on the other hand, is much more of a wild card. He's not ready right now but I think the Spurs have to force him to be ready. As Duncan ages, there will come a time where he can't be counted on to clean up every mistake as the other bigman on the court for the Spurs watches. That's where Mahinmi's athleticism could really come into play.

Mahinmi could either bust out of the league and be back in Europe in two years or he could be the missing piece in the middle that has been empty since Robinson retired. I think it's 50/50 either way right now.

Summer league will be an important time. Pop believing in him early on and giving him playing time will also be vital. I don't care if he sucks for the first three months next year, he has to get his 15-20 minutes per game. At worst, the Spurs need to figure out ASAP what they have. Burying him at the end of the bench for another year would be a mistake, IMO. Splitter would have been nice because he would have been able to come in and start and give Mahinmi time to grow. It looks like the Spurs don't have that luxury so it'll be time to let Mahnimi sink or swim to begin next season.

agreed with the 50/50...and might i add, if he is as good as some eastern conf. somebody said.......then my question is this... While in uniform this past season, why didnt he get some meaningful minutes?

[tav1]

Is it definite that Ian will join the regular rotation next year or at least get a legit shot at joining? Did Pop or RC mention that. I hope that 3 years of grooming is enough to get this guy at least 10-15 minutes per game. I think he could give us more than Ellison did in his first year alone.

two years of grooming and it was *Elson*

[bobbybob0]

agreed with the 50/50...and might i add, if he is as good as some eastern conf. somebody said.......then my question is this... While in uniform this past season, why didnt he get some meaningful minutes?

It was too easy for Pop to rely on old dogs like Horry and Thomas rather than develop Ian and accept the mistakes he would have made along the way.

That's why Horry has to go this year or Pop will still play him in front of Ian even if he's shooting at 20%.

[Indazone]

Mahnimi should be eased into the rotation taking away minutes from Oberto. Imagine Mahinmi and Duncan on the court together. The athleticism of Mahinmi completely dwarfs Oberto.

[Anti.Hero]