Spurs Acquire Matt Bonner And Eric Williams From Toronto For Rasho

[boutons_]

"42.1% fro 3pt"

WAY WAY BETTER than SJax and Nick.

[Mr. Body]

Glad Rasho got a ring. He can sit with his very tall wife on a bench by a Slovenian lake while in his dotage and look at its shininess.

[T Park]

Rasho should be happy.

Aren't Toronto and Slovenia winters pretty similar?

[picnroll]

vid didnt work

Neither do Rasho's dunks.

[Mr. Body]

Are you sure we are going to keep these guys? When could we officially trade them?

Pretty sure Bonner is a guy the Spurs don't mind having. Williams could get moved again.

[Please_dont_ban_me]

When Rasho left Minnesota, the following article was written by Britt Robson. He speaks the words that I can not form right now.


Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Losing Rasho

Rasho Nesterovic, who announced on Tuesday that he is rejecting the Timberwolves' contract offer to go and play in San Antonio, is one of kindest, gentliest people I have ever encountered inside or outside the world of sports. Even after he became fluent in English, the seven-foot Slovenian has answered reporters' questions with terse, humble pla udes, always steering his answers toward team performance and results, while magnifying his faults and downplaying his strengths on the court. When I did a Hang Time column about him back in January of 2002, Timberwolves' assistant coach Randy Wittman told me that at the age of 15, Rasho had lost close family members during the brief civil war that occurred after Yugoslavia fell apart. Rasho confirmed the news without getting into details, and seemed grateful both that I raised the issue and didn't pry further. After that, whenever our eyes would meet in the locker room, he'd acknowledge me with a slight lift of the chin, and maybe even a small smile. Charles Hallman, the sportswriter for the Minneapolis Spokesmen-Recorder, told me he developed a similarly subtle mini-rapport after doing a personal story on Rasho.

The point here is that Rasho is a shy, sensitive soul not given to many outward displays of emotion, a person and player whose emotions and compe ive fire are often turned inward. In many respects this has hindered the quality and consistency of his play; he has never really learned how to handle the rough-and-tumble jousting that occurs under the basket, and when he makes a mistake or two, he is prone to lose confidence. All this made him an uncomfortable match with his superstar teammate, Kevin Garnett, who is nearly his polar opposite emotionally. When a teammate isn't going well, KG gets in his face, not necessarily in a negative way, but with encouragement that's laced with fire and an overt challenge to improve. And when Rasho or another Wolves' teammate does something spectacular, the exuberant Garnett is likely to acknowledge it by whacking him in the head or bumping him in the chest, a display of macho warrior brotherhood. Most of the time, Rasho crawled further into his s when KG challenged him, and received his whacks and bumps with a forced camaraderie that looked as if he were tolerating an unpleasantry.

Of all the Wolves players, the person who probably liked and understood him best, and defended him against criticism most consistently, was Wally Szczerbiak, whose locker is just two stalls away from Rasho's at the Target Center. That's not a great ally, given that Szczerbiak is not well-liked by most members of the team, and has had an uneasy at best relationship with Garnett ever since he arrived. Rasho is a loyal guy, and in his own quiet way probably resented the way Wally was treated and perceived. Finally, it has been reported on ESPN.com that Rasho and coach Flip Saunders didn't get along. There weren't many overt signs that this was so, but it is true that Saunders was loath to play Rasho at crunch time, especially in the fourth quarter of close games. The coach explained that this was because of Rasho's poor foul shooting, but there were certainly times when Rasho's other contributions would, and should, have outweighed that potential pitfall.

Put it all together--KG, Szczerbiak, Saunders--and it is not hard to see why Rasho opted for San Antonio. Like Rasho, Tim Duncan is a quietly fiery compe or who rarely gets in the face of his teammates. The team has just won its second championship and had sufficient salary cap room to offer Rasho roughly the same amount of money he'd be receiving in Minnesota. One of the determining factors in Rasho's decisions seems to have been a meeting he had with coach Gregg Popovich, who no doubt sussed up Rasho's personality and realized lots of positive strokes would be most effective.

In any event, the loss of Rasho is a huge blow to the Wolves' franchise, especially on the heels of Sunday's news that free agent forward Juwan Howard would sign with Orlando instead of Minnesota. Kevin McHale and the rest of the team's front office will have to act fast and boldly if they are to convince Kevin Garnett to re-sign with the team. But that's another column for the near future. This one is to say goodbye to Rasho, a class act who probably made the right choice for his future happiness and ongoing improvement in the years ahead.

It's really sad to see people pile on him.

I liked his game, he was a nice guy too. Hope he does well in Toronto.

[Kori Ellis]

Good move for a salary dump.

Matt Bonner wouldn't be my first choice in getting an athletic forward, but he's a solid pickup. I'd imagine the Spurs will see if Eric Williams can provide anything and if not negotiate a buyout because it looks like this season is a player option.

Spurs still have gaps to fill but this also indicates that Scola is probably not coming.

[boutons_]

Rasho is obviously a nice, serious, humble guy.
But his basketball contributions to the Spurs just weren't there.
Frustrating as somebody on the Spurs couldn't get Rasho to step up his game.

[FromWayDowntown]

When Rasho left Minnesota, the following article was written by Britt Robson. He speaks the words that I can not form right now.


Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Losing Rasho

Rasho Nesterovic, who announced on Tuesday that he is rejecting the Timberwolves' contract offer to go and play in San Antonio, is one of kindest, gentliest people I have ever encountered inside or outside the world of sports. Even after he became fluent in English, the seven-foot Slovenian has answered reporters' questions with terse, humble pla udes, always steering his answers toward team performance and results, while magnifying his faults and downplaying his strengths on the court. When I did a Hang Time column about him back in January of 2002, Timberwolves' assistant coach Randy Wittman told me that at the age of 15, Rasho had lost close family members during the brief civil war that occurred after Yugoslavia fell apart. Rasho confirmed the news without getting into details, and seemed grateful both that I raised the issue and didn't pry further. After that, whenever our eyes would meet in the locker room, he'd acknowledge me with a slight lift of the chin, and maybe even a small smile. Charles Hallman, the sportswriter for the Minneapolis Spokesmen-Recorder, told me he developed a similarly subtle mini-rapport after doing a personal story on Rasho.

The point here is that Rasho is a shy, sensitive soul not given to many outward displays of emotion, a person and player whose emotions and compe ive fire are often turned inward. In many respects this has hindered the quality and consistency of his play; he has never really learned how to handle the rough-and-tumble jousting that occurs under the basket, and when he makes a mistake or two, he is prone to lose confidence. All this made him an uncomfortable match with his superstar teammate, Kevin Garnett, who is nearly his polar opposite emotionally. When a teammate isn't going well, KG gets in his face, not necessarily in a negative way, but with encouragement that's laced with fire and an overt challenge to improve. And when Rasho or another Wolves' teammate does something spectacular, the exuberant Garnett is likely to acknowledge it by whacking him in the head or bumping him in the chest, a display of macho warrior brotherhood. Most of the time, Rasho crawled further into his s when KG challenged him, and received his whacks and bumps with a forced camaraderie that looked as if he were tolerating an unpleasantry.

Of all the Wolves players, the person who probably liked and understood him best, and defended him against criticism most consistently, was Wally Szczerbiak, whose locker is just two stalls away from Rasho's at the Target Center. That's not a great ally, given that Szczerbiak is not well-liked by most members of the team, and has had an uneasy at best relationship with Garnett ever since he arrived. Rasho is a loyal guy, and in his own quiet way probably resented the way Wally was treated and perceived. Finally, it has been reported on ESPN.com that Rasho and coach Flip Saunders didn't get along. There weren't many overt signs that this was so, but it is true that Saunders was loath to play Rasho at crunch time, especially in the fourth quarter of close games. The coach explained that this was because of Rasho's poor foul shooting, but there were certainly times when Rasho's other contributions would, and should, have outweighed that potential pitfall.

Put it all together--KG, Szczerbiak, Saunders--and it is not hard to see why Rasho opted for San Antonio. Like Rasho, Tim Duncan is a quietly fiery compe or who rarely gets in the face of his teammates. The team has just won its second championship and had sufficient salary cap room to offer Rasho roughly the same amount of money he'd be receiving in Minnesota. One of the determining factors in Rasho's decisions seems to have been a meeting he had with coach Gregg Popovich, who no doubt sussed up Rasho's personality and realized lots of positive strokes would be most effective.

In any event, the loss of Rasho is a huge blow to the Wolves' franchise, especially on the heels of Sunday's news that free agent forward Juwan Howard would sign with Orlando instead of Minnesota. Kevin McHale and the rest of the team's front office will have to act fast and boldly if they are to convince Kevin Garnett to re-sign with the team. But that's another column for the near future. This one is to say goodbye to Rasho, a class act who probably made the right choice for his future happiness and ongoing improvement in the years ahead.

I don't think there are too many here who question whether Rasho is a great guy and a dignified man. But great guys and dignified men who don't aggressively rebound or score the basketball aren't terribly helpful to teams trying to win les, particularly at a price of almost $8 million per season.

I'll root for Rasho the man, but as a basketball fan, I'm glad that the Spurs made this deal.

[yavozerb]

These 2 expiring contracts are a hot commodity in the nba...I dont think these guys will remain long with the spurs

[~Sweetmelody~]

Wow! This makes me sad, I like Rasho.

(((hugs))) Angel

[Matt Bonner's Gone]

[link removed]

Matt boner highlights fast forward throught the sam mitc parts

[MannyIsGod]

Rasho is obviously a nice, serious, humble guy.
But his basketball contributions to the Spurs just weren't there.
Frustrating as somebody on the Spurs couldn't get Rasho to step up his game.

[Streakyshooter08]

The only real downside is Yao is going to ing own us if we don't get another dreadnaught C.

Yeah... that was what I was wondering about! Javtokas seems to be strong and is not that much shorter but I am not sure him alone is enough. Another big body would be nice. Yao and the Rockets won't be that bad next year... except T-Mac isn't going to be healthy ever again...

[Buddy Holly]

UNLESS Pop thinks Javtokus can come in and defend like Rasho right away. -- which I doubt he does.

A two legged dog could defend better than Rasho.

[Mr. Body]

Spurs still have gaps to fill but this also indicates that Scola is probably not coming.

Huh? Why?

[George Gervin's Afro]

Buford just said WIlliams is in the last yr of his deal. no player option

[T Park]

Frustrating as somebody on the Spurs couldn't get Rasho to step up his game

If no one on the Spurs could, then it aint happening.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm sure Williams picked up his option as soon as he could.

[T Park]

A two legged dog could defend better than Rasho.

Wanna rewatch Houston and Miami game tape again Fast and the furious?

[Kori Ellis]

Huh? Why?

I would assume they don't need another PF with Bonner here. They have other gaps and not many more roster spots.

[NorCal510]

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 191 (93 members and 98 guests)

[strangeweather]

A two legged dog could defend better than Rasho.

Rasho can't defend mobile forwards, but he's quite capable of defending big centers and providing help defense inside. Either Javtokas is going to need to be that guy, or we'll need to sign someone who can, for when we play Yao and Shaq.

[gameFACE]

Buford also just said the Spurs intention is to try and sign Nazr through free agency.

[T Park]

WAY WAY BETTER than SJax

Good god.....