Gooden commits to signing with Spurs

[GooberNuts]

I cringe everytime Bonner drives it to the hoop with one of those half-floater hook shots.

I think some nights we'll see Bonner starting and some nights, Gooden. The addition of Gooden just gives us more ability to mix and match on the frontline. Bonner and Gooden each bring different skillsets which will be helpful depending on the situation.

[Spurologist]

elujah!!!!!!!!

I love Gooden's game. His only knock is he can be a bit lackadaisical on the court but pop can fine tune that. Bonner is a better shooter but Gooden is a far better rebounder. Gooden's D to fair is average at best but i'm encouraged by effort he made in his playoff stints with Cleveland. Automatic 8+ boards a night plus an outside jumper. nice.....

This is the type of spurs pickup i've been waiting......not official but it's quacking like a duck so it must be a duck

[angelbelow]

damn the sports hernia report is concerning.

[Spurs9]

Sadly the spurs probably will let go of pops who has a good future because they wont want to buy out JV or Udoka.

[whottt]

the post, can't even average double digit scoring

And are you really this ing stupid? They average almost an identical PPS...the difference between them is that Gooden takes more shots...he's not going to now, he's going to take a lot less.

Bonner shoots at a much higher PCT..if he took the same number of shots Gooden did...he'd score more points than Gooden does.

He is not going to put up 13 and 8 for the Spurs...fools.

[superbigtime]

ahhh its tear down Matt Bonner night I see.

What fantastic fans we have.

Don't worry man, I'll stick with Redman. I only wish it was jockstrap vaughn packing his bags. thanks for all that great back up PG play and invaluable professionalism, now get the out!

[Solid D]

every time matt bonner makes a hook shot in the paint, everyone gets excited and giddy. that's how bad bonner's offense in the paint is.

Bonner is supposed to stretch the opponent's defense and leave the post scoring to Timmy. However, Bonner actually has nice touch in and around the basket. His dribble drive and short-range shot when he's run off the arc is pretty good. He's got a .515 FG% and .487 3-PT%, so he must be doing something right inside the arc.

[traitoravery]

Does anyone know the extent of his injury? I bet he doesnt play until late March.

[coyotes_geek]

Which of those 5 will be back and why? Pop & RC know they have to get younger to help Tim, Tony & Manu get more rings. Course there could be certain cir stances that will force Pop & RC to keep one or two....at least until the Feb. trade deadline in 2010.

Younger doesn't automatically equal better. Sure, where there are opportunities to replace old guys with young guys who are just as good the Spurs will look to do that. But without a high draft pick or a bunch of cap space the notion that they'll be able to bring in 5 young guys who are better than the 5 old guys is unrealistic. Generally speaking teams don't trade good young players for old players, so the odds are slim that the Spurs would be able to trade any of those 5 for a younger, better player. I think Thomas is definitely back, guaranteed contract, playing well, great fit next to Tim. Finley is probably back, has a player option and there isn't really a better situation out there for him. I wouldn't be surprised if Vaughn is back. As a 3rd string PG who will play for the minimum he's more than adequate. Fab is on the bubble and I think Ime is definitely out.

[traitoravery]

I guess we wont be resigning Fabs

[Yorae]

This thread is more jam packed than a game thread eh.

[angelbelow]

I guess we wont be resigning Fabs

oberto is worth the minimum at this point. smart player but his b-ball iq surpasses his physical ability to get it done.

[coyotes_geek]

Fab has a contract for next season, but only 50% guaranteed.

[traitoravery]

I hope he signs for the min next year. I sure he will be wooed away.

[buttsR4rebounding]

One would think that with Pops still having some days left on his 10-day deal and Gooden nursing that hernia that the Spurs might not actually sign Gooden until this weekend. If Gooden isn't going to be able to play for another two weeks or so it might not even be a bad idea to give Pops a second 10-day deal and let Gooden sit on the couch at home with the playbook.

That would be one bonehead move. First, Pops is out. Why waste rotation minutes on a guy who won't be in the rotation. Second, sitting on the couch with no contract opens the opportunity for a change of heart. What happens if Kobe shows up with some Colorado teenagers, a bottle of Wild Turkey and a Laker's contract? By the end of the night he'll either have inked a deal on the back of some Laker groupie or reinjure his groin to the point that he's useless to the Spurs...

[xtremesteven33]

Let Gooden walk next year and FEED THE SHEED!!!

[024]

Bonner is supposed to stretch the opponent's defense and leave the post scoring to Timmy. However, Bonner actually has nice touch in and around the basket. His dribble drive and short-range shot when he's run off the arc is pretty good. He's got a .515 FG% and .487 3-PT%, so he must be doing something right inside the arc.

bonner has improved. his 3 pt and jump shooting is great. but without duncan down low to attract defenders, his effectiveness is limited. when was the last time you saw bonner back down a defender in the paint and score?

gooden adds a low post presence that can create his own shots in the paint. when duncan is on the bench, offensive droughts happen because the staple of the spurs' offense is strong low post scoring to distract defenders. that's why almost everyone on the spurs seems to be very good at shooting threes or at least jump shots. without an interior presence, spurs just become a slow version of run and gun, chucking jump shots and doing the occasional drive. gooden might change some of that and mix up the offense enough to confuse defenders.

[ss1986v2]

Younger doesn't automatically equal better. Sure, where there are opportunities to replace old guys with young guys who are just as good the Spurs will look to do that. But without a high draft pick or a bunch of cap space the notion that they'll be able to bring in 5 young guys who are better than the 5 old guys is unrealistic. Generally speaking teams don't trade good young players for old players, so the odds are slim that the Spurs would be able to trade any of those 5 for a younger, better player. I think Thomas is definitely back, guaranteed contract, playing well, great fit next to Tim. Finley is probably back, has a player option and there isn't really a better situation out there for him. I wouldn't be surprised if Vaughn is back. As a 3rd string PG who will play for the minimum he's more than adequate. Fab is on the bubble and I think Ime is definitely out.

agreed, with everyone except vaughn. i think the spurs would probably rather have the roster spot than vaughn back. with players like hairston, maybe gist, possibly pops, and a slew of 2nd round picks in this next draft, they may want to take some time to evaluate the end of the bench over the course of the season. add the fact that pop has stated that he has been surprised with masons ability to handle the point and the fact that manu is still probably our crunch time ball handler, i think the need for the 3rd pg is at an all time low.

[EricB]

Sadly the spurs probably will let go of pops who has a good future because they wont want to buy out JV or Udoka.

Yeah sadly they will let go of a guy who couldn't stick in euroleagues.

[TheSpursFNRule]

I get the feeling he won't be backing up Mat Bonner for long...anyone else agree?

[xtremesteven33]

I still think the starting spot should go to Oberto.

I just feel comfortable with him in there. His chemistry with Duncan and Parker is great and hes a solid defender.

Bring Gooden off the bench to sub for Duncan.

[whottt]

I get the feeling he won't be backing up Mat Bonner for long...anyone else agree?

And I get the feeling he won't even be playing for a while. And a good feeling it is too.

[m33p0]

it ain't a done deal yet. that hernia thing is worrisome.

[coyotes_geek]

That would be one bonehead move. First, Pops is out. Why waste rotation minutes on a guy who won't be in the rotation. Second, sitting on the couch with no contract opens the opportunity for a change of heart. What happens if Kobe shows up with some Colorado teenagers, a bottle of Wild Turkey and a Laker's contract? By the end of the night he'll either have inked a deal on the back of some Laker groupie or reinjure his groin to the point that he's useless to the Spurs...

For the record I'm not with the crowd who believes Pops Mensah-Bonsu is the second coming of David Robinson and someone the Spurs need to plan their future around. I doubt the guy ever makes it as an NBA player. Still, he's only got 3 days left on his current deal and that's 3 days the Spurs could use to get a better picture of what Gooden's injury situation really is.

[coyotes_geek]

agreed, with everyone except vaughn. i think the spurs would probably rather have the roster spot than vaughn back. with players like hairston, maybe gist, possibly pops, and a slew of 2nd round picks in this next draft, they may want to take some time to evaluate the end of the bench over the course of the season. add the fact that pop has stated that he has been surprised with masons ability to handle the point and the fact that manu is still probably our crunch time ball handler, i think the need for the 3rd pg is at an all time low.

I certainly wouldn't be surprised if that's how things played out. You're right that the need for a 3rd PG is at an all-time low, but on the flip side is Pop's history of always having one around. It's a coin flip IMO as to whether or not he's back.