Ludden: Spurs wait on Knicks' reply

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I believe they do not consider Elson as better than Butler or Javtokas, but see him as the more experienced player who can start right away, and possibly through the season.

When have the Spurs ever cared about finding someone to be a hoss on day 1 of the season relative to what said player can give them in the playoffs? Pretty much never, at least in the Tim Duncan era.

ing get over it already, we know you think Javtokas is the , fine. Just say so instead of all the veiled shots at the front office and what not.

[Solid D]

So far, we know option A was Ben Wallace, option B was Joel Przybilla, option C was Alonzo Mourning, option D and E were Francisco Elson and Jackie Butler. We assume option F is Javtokas, but we don't know.

After Butler is matched (), if they have someone else lined up then we'll never know who real option F was.

You may be right in assuming Butler is matched, but I really don't see the Knicks matching. Isiah has been saying he wants to see Eddie Curry flourish and signing Butler locks the Knicks into 15 contracts with no options other than trading or cutting. They want to run more uptempo and they've already got 3 guys who can play Center (Curry, James, and Frye). If they sign Butler, the "No Vacancy" sign goes up in Qyntel Woods' face.

BTW, Malik Rose's $6.5M this year and $7.1M next year must be a real choker about now...and Mo Taylor losing time to all these other Bigs would seem a pity, seeing as how the Knicks will pay him $9.75M in his final year in 2006-07.

[wildbill2u]

Wasn't OBERTO supposed to be the best center in Europe by most analysts? How did he fare here?

Was Javtokas ever given that accolade after his comeback from the accident? Wasn't he playing in a lesser league?

Personally, I think Javtokas' agent thought he had the Spurs over a barrel with the departure of Rasho and Nazr. As it turned out, the Spurs declined to bend over the barrel.

[Solid D]

I wouldnt' say Oberto was classified as the best center in Europe. Javtokas hasn't been given that unofficial le by anyone outside of Lithuania, either for that matter.

They are both top tier pivotmen, but not necessarily the best.

Scola, however, IS considered by most people as the best PF playing in Europe.

[Solid D]

Getting back to the Knicks situation with Butler. If the Knicks did decide to match on Butler and pay the $14M ($7 + $7 Lux), they would almost have to consider jettisoning Mo Taylor and his $9.75M commitment in this, his final year. The only other short termer Big is Curry himself, with his $8.1M final contract year commitment.

[strangeweather]

Getting back to the Knicks situation with Butler. If the Knicks did decide to match on Butler and pay the $14M ($7 + $7 Lux), they would almost have to consider jettisoning Mo Taylor and his $9.75M commitment in this, his final year. The only other short termer Big is Curry himself, with his $8.1M final contract year commitment.

Hoopshype shows blank values for future years, but Curry signed a multiyear contract.

Patricia's has this listing:

Eddy Curry ............ 10/4/05 6 $60 million p-opt '09

[Solid D]

Okay, thanks for the clarification Strangeweather.

To provide detail to support my previous contention regarding Butler:

Knicks Depth Chart

Curry ($8.1M).........Frye ($2.3M)........James ($5.4M)
Lee ($926K)...........Taylor ($9.8M)......M. Rose ($6.6M)
Q-Rich ($6.9M).......J. Rose ($16.9M)....Balkman ($990K)
Crawford ($7.2M)....Francis ($15.1M)....
Marbury ($17.2M).....Robinson ($1.2M)...Collins (<$750K)

Qyntel Woods is still unsigned and they could use another wing besides Udoka to fill the 15th spot.

[strangeweather]

Your larger point about why they wouldn't match Butler is a good one.

I expect the plan for Taylor is to try to dump his expiring contract off for someone with a longer deal and a better chance to contribute. Which means they still don't free up a roster spot. Really, the only obvious way to open a slot is a two-for-one trade. Realistically, that means shipping off one of their kids in a bundle with someone with a larger deal. But the kids are exactly the players they don't want to ship off.