Spurs acquire Thomas from Sonics for Barry, Elson

[ChumpDumper]

Agree. That's kind of stupid.

Pfft, like the Spurs would ever draft anyone you wanted.

[Que Gee]

You guys think he's really going to go to Seattle? Think Stackhouse....: )

[coachmac87]

great we get thomas and the nuggets get artest!!!!

[ducks]

Agree. That's kind of stupid.

except when gasol gets shut down with thomas on him

[DubMcDub]

Not really sure how good this trade is. Brent Barry was a friggin' dagger sometimes so the suffering offense might suffer some more. Udoka's grown up so maybe he can fill in (I'm guessing this is why Barry's so expendable).

KT brings good size, decent defense and a mid-range shot, although I think Scola would still have been better.

Lakers, Mavs, Nugz all breathing a sigh of relief that Spurs didn't get Artest.

Exactly. Spurs were bound to make a move. I thought they were getting Artest. I'm ing relieved.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Yeah I was totally against the idea of getting Thomas .... until the Lakers got Gasol and the Suns got Shaq. Now that the West has gotten bigger, Thomas makes more sense.

I do agree that this trade doesn't help against many teams. Who besides the Suns and the Lakers does Thomas play against? He'd get destroyed by Dirk. He can't guard David West. He can't guard Okur. He doesn't help against Houston, Denver, Portland or Golden State.

In the East, he doesn't help against the Celtics because Garnett would just take him away from the basket. Ditto with Rasheed and Detroit.

It appears as if the Spurs now see the Suns and Lakers as their two biggest threats. That's the only reason you make this trade. Against those two teams, Thomas will be useful. Against everyone else? I'd rather have Oberto out there.

Question: Who in that list can Oberto guard better than Thomas? The only reason I would maybe prefer Oberto out there more would be for his on court chemistry with duncan. Otherwise, Thomas, albeit slow, is still a big upgrade to Oberto defensive wise. I mean how many times has Oberto succesfully defended Dirk, or Sheed or even Okur.

[timvp]

It makes sense that the Sonics would waive Barry. Barry could then possibly re-sign with the Spurs without the Spurs going back over the luxury tax threshold. This trade would be a lot easier to swallow if Barry comes back.

Barry might be done but I still would like to have him at the end of the bench in case the outside shots stop falling ... a la Kerr in '03.

[Holt's Cat]

Solid trade. Good, not great. Addresses a need. Not thrilled that they dealt a first round pick. But they kept this year's.

[ploto]

Got to give credit to Sam-- he traded FOR Thomas and got 2 first round picks and a second round pick. Then, he traded Thomas AWAY and got another first round pick. I think it is pretty obvious who was figuring out the deals for the Spurs all those years.

Gonna' miss you tons Brent. Another one bites the dust.

[bigdog]

Well, our offense just got worse than it already was, shooting-wise, that is.

Udoka is going to have to really step it up now.

I don't see why the Spurs would make a trade like this. This gives us NO athleticism in the frontcourt, and none of our big guys can run with Amare now.

I really hope this means they will make another move before the deadline tomorrow to fix up the lack of athleticism up front, because I really don't see this as being a smart move for the future of the team, because clearly Kurt Thomas isn't going to be in the league after the next few years.

Unless the Spurs decide to bring in the young, unproven Mahinmi, they better make another move. I know Mahinmi has been doing very good in Austin, but he hasn't done anything against the big guys in the NBA yet.

Let's see what happens. Good luck Brent and Cisco

[Que Gee]

It makes sense that the Sonics would waive Barry. Barry could then possibly re-sign with the Spurs without the Spurs going back over the luxury tax threshold. This trade would be a lot easier to swallow if Barry comes back.

Barry might be done but I still would like to have him at the end of the bench in case the outside shots stop falling ... a la Kerr in '03.

Ehhh, someone is thinking.

[timvp]

Question: Who in that list can Oberto guard better than Thomas? The only reason I would maybe prefer Oberto out there more would be for his on court chemistry with duncan. Otherwise, Thomas, albeit slow, is still a big upgrade to Oberto defensive wise. I mean how many times has Oberto succesfully defended Dirk, or Sheed or even Okur.

Oberto is a much better perimeter defender than Thomas. I'd rather have Oberto on all three of those guys you mentioned. Once Thomas steps outside of the free throw line, he's a defensive liability. Oberto isn't a great perimeter defender but he can move his feet and funnel.

Against most teams, Thomas will be most useful in terms of rebounding and defending centers when Duncan isn't in the game. I honestly think it would be a mistake to put Thomas into the starting lineup alongside Duncan. Teams would just small ball the Spurs to death.

[Holt's Cat]

Also they can now re-up him in the summer and have their MLE to use on other needs.

[DubMcDub]

It makes sense that the Sonics would waive Barry. Barry could then possibly re-sign with the Spurs without the Spurs going back over the luxury tax threshold. This trade would be a lot easier to swallow if Barry comes back.

Barry might be done but I still would like to have him at the end of the bench in case the outside shots stop falling ... a la Kerr in '03.

I'm just not sure I agree at all that it makes sense for them to waive him. Unless you think the Sonics have another deal or two up their sleeves, why would they go with a roster short of the max for no reason? Doesn't make sense.

I think it's much more likely that they'll enjoy having Barry around for 2 months, then they'll be glad to have his contract expire so they can work on building up their team of the future.

[timvp]

Ehhh, someone is thinking.

Please tell me that's the plan.

[SpursFanFirst]

Has anyone seen Whottt?

[SA Gunslinger]

It makes sense that the Sonics would waive Barry. Barry could then possibly re-sign with the Spurs without the Spurs going back over the luxury tax threshold. This trade would be a lot easier to swallow if Barry comes back.

Barry might be done but I still would like to have him at the end of the bench in case the outside shots stop falling ... a la Kerr in '03.

Self fulfilling prophecy?

[SouthernFried]

Well, our offense just got worse than it already was, shooting-wise, that is.

Udoka is going to have to really step it up now.

I don't see why the Spurs would make a trade like this. This gives us NO athleticism in the frontcourt, and none of our big guys can run with Amare now.

Oh, you mean KT is worse offensively than Elson? How could our center position get "worse" with KT? We still have Oberto for small lineups and running...now we have KT for Half court, playoff type games. We now have "FLEXIBILITY" at the center pos ion.

This is a very good move.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm just not sure I agree at all that it makes sense for them to waive him. Unless you think the Sonics have another deal or two up their sleeves, why would they go with a roster short of the max for no reason? Doesn't make sense.

Anything to save a buck.

I think it's much more likely that they'll enjoy having Barry around for 2 months, then they'll be glad to have his contract expire so they can work on building up their team of the future.

Why wait?

[tav1]

Depends on his price and what Horry's plans are.

I'd rather have him than Horry next season. But that's beside the point. If this is more than a 1 year rental, then the loss of the draft pick will go down easy. Thomas is still a solid producer. His per minute rebounding numbers are just what the doctor ordered. I also think that if Parker returns with his typical speed, Thomas could kill teams with his spot up J.

[ThomasGranger]

This reminds me of the Nazr trade. Hopefully it will result in another ring as well.

[manufor3]

ok trade but now what about the heb commercials?

[loveforthegame]

I like the trade. Elson was giving the Spurs nothing and Thomas likes to rebound and defend.

We have 3 point shooters in Finley, Ginobli, Udoka, and Bowen. Even Parker and Stoudamire can hit a few from there. I don't mean to discount what Barry does for the team but he isn't our only 3 point shooter. Stoudamire is capable of running the team which was the other thing Barry did for us.

The 1st round pick kinda hurts but the Spurs are probably thinking that Mahimini and Splitter are our future 1st rounders.

[DazedAndConfused]

I wonder what the league would do if Barry was bought out and resigned with the Spurs.

[spursjustice]

I really hope Brent does a Jerry...
We shouldn't have given them a 1st rounder... but Kurt will be good!!!
I would have loved Artest though..