Yahoo: Spurs to use amnesty on RJ!

[Drewlius]

Praying for smokescreen - > Tayshaun

[Brazil]

Bonner gets torched at every front line position. Do you want him defending guys who are bigger than he is two feet from the rim, or do you want him defending guys smaller than he is 20 feet from the rim with two shot blockers behind him? That matchup also works in his favor as a guy three inches shorter is going to have a harder time blocking his threes.

If we're playing pick your poison, and Bonner's only getting the six to nine minutes a game he should be getting, I want him at small forward.

I have nothing against Bonner playing 6 to 9 minutes a game even at PF. For that amount of time with the second unit, he can also play SG.

Now for 30 mn a night you don't play Bonner SF. What would be the plan ? TP / Manu / Bonner / Splitter / Tim ? we better never miss a shot or turn the ball over because opposing team will just kill us on the break in 100% of the time.

[Obstructed_View]

but wouldnt it be great to see bonner standing still in front of Durant on the perimeter with his T-rex arms up in the air?

If you were going to start him against OKC at small forward then you were re ed to begin with. Durant only plays 38-40 minutes a game.

[chazley]

RJ, in his third year in this system, is a better fit for the Spurs even at his salary, than Caron will be in his first year. Caron's game is a terrible fit for the Spurs, and I'm not really sure what the they see in his game that would translate well to our team. On top of that, he's coming off major knee surgery.

I'd much rather have Josh Howard if he comes cheap, or make a trade. Let's pray to God that Caron doesn't want to come here.

[Brazil]

Smith and Chandler are in China and Afflalo is a free agent.

They have Danilo who is young and full of potential and I think they will try to keep Affalo anyway. Therefore I don't see Denver running at Butler for that amount of money to play off the bench.

[ElNono]

Praying for smokescreen - > Tayshaun

Do not want...

[Obstructed_View]

I have nothing against Bonner playing 6 to 9 minutes a game even at PF. For that amount of time with the second unit, he can also play SG.

Now for 30 mn a night you don't play Bonner SF. What would be the plan ? TP / Manu / Bonner / Splitter / Tim ? we better never miss a shot or turn the ball over because opposing team will just kill us on the break in 100% of the time.

First sentence, I agree completely.

Again, if you're a coach and you plan to play Bonner 30 minutes a night then you need your head examined. I've been saying for about five years now that Bonner shouldn't be playing starter's minutes under any cir stances. It would be equally stupid to play him at small forward without shot blockers behind him. But having guys dribble around him and go to the basket doesn't make him any bigger liabilty than Michael Finley was, so if you use the minutes wisely, what's the problem?

[Mel_13]

They have Danilo who is young and full of potential and I think they will try to keep Affalo anyway. Therefore I don't see Denver running at Butler for that amount of money to play off the bench.

You asked why they would want RJ.

[Brazil]

Superior offer? It's two million more and no one knows how many years any team is asking for.

The Clippers are a franchise that will pretty much always be a team always fighting for a playoff birth and the Nets are a Williams departure from being a bottom of the eastern conference team.

Bingo. Both teams can also offer a starting gig. Clipps also have Minny's unprotected pick next year in a very strong draft.

The only thing the Spurs got going for them is Pop. And that might not even last long when Caron realizes hes gonna be the backup 4 to Matty Bon Bon.

This

and as I said if report is correct (Nets and Clipps are interested) and if their offer is superior, I don't see Butler choosing the spurs.

[ElNono]

Now for 30 mn a night you don't play Bonner SF. What would be the plan ? TP / Manu / Bonner / Splitter / Tim ?

No, the plan would be Leonard 15m, Matty 20m (because you know he ain't getting any less than that), 13m small ball (3 guard setup Manu/Tony/Neal, you know this is happening too and 13m is very conservative). If there's an injury/long legs, Danny Green fills in.

And that idea would include using the money they want to give a starting SF on a trade for another big inside, so Tim doesn't have to play 30mpg or back2back2back...

The biggest problem with a Butler/Howard is that Leonard almost automatically will be relegated to 10mpg, if that.

[JR3]

Am I the only one who doesn't understand how Caron Butler would fit on this team? He's most effective on isolations -- sets the Spurs don't run and shouldn't run when any of the Big 3 is also on the court.

Amnesty-ing RJ to give Butler a full MLE deal is like hoping maybe your other hand won't get burned by touching the same hot stove.

As excited I am at the possibility of Butler, I totally see this too. Same type of player, however, butler has balls and RJ does not. Maybe that makes the difference.

[Brazil]

First sentence, I agree completely.

Again, if you're a coach and you plan to play Bonner 30 minutes a night then you need your head examined. I've been saying for about five years now that Bonner shouldn't be playing starter's minutes under any cir stances. It would be equally stupid to play him at small forward without shot blockers behind him. But having guys dribble around him and go to the basket doesn't make him any bigger liabilty than Michael Finley was, so if you use the minutes wisely, what's the problem?

I agree with you, for 6 to 10 mn, Bonner doesn't hurt PF or SF or even PG. But if you have to choose your poison between SF / PF for 30 mn I'd prefer seeing him PF. Now the ideal situation would be Bonner playing C for Toronto.

[Brazil]

You asked why they would want RJ.

I was responding to ducks who he is seeing RJ going for Denver which doesn't make any sense.

[ElNono]

Obviously, if we can get Butler or Howard AND shore up the middle, I'll take that too.

Right now, defensively speaking, we have Duncan with tired legs, a semi-retired Dice, and Splitter is really an unknown. We're going to be playing back to back galore, so Tim won't be there all the time and Dice might not be there at all.

Something HAS to be done if we don't want to leak like a sieve.

[NASpurs]

The biggest problem with a Butler/Howard is that Leonard almost automatically will be relegated to 10mpg, if that.

Probably not this year with all the b2bs/b2b2bs. I'm sure Pop will be very liberal with the rookies/youngsters than in the past due to the compact nature of the schedule but in a regular NBA season, then yeah, I think Leonard would have been very limited (in minutes).

[stephen jackson]

smh people ing about caron... did yall even watch rj at all or just stop watching after December?
caron not only can defend better but score better than rj

[Brazil]

Obviously, if we can get Butler or Howard AND shore up the middle, I'll take that too.

Right now, defensively speaking, we have Duncan with tired legs, a semi-retired Dice, and Splitter is really an unknown. We're going to be playing back to back galore, so Tim won't be there all the time and Dice might not be there at all.

Something HAS to be done if we don't want to leak like a sieve.

as always bigs are the big priority and we are after butler and tj ford

[Mugen]

Splitter is going to have a damn good season as long as he gets the minutes and opportunity.

But yes, a big that can defend the Z-Bos and Dirks of the West is the biggest need right now.

[NRHector]

Splitter is going to have a damn good season as long as he gets the minutes and opportunity.

But yes, a big that can defend the Z-Bos and Dirks of the West is the biggest need right now.

Splitter won't get the minutes or the opportunity if Bonner is not gone

[Manu20]

Bye Bye RJ!!!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

RJ is gone! Let's dance on his Spurs Basketball grave!

Actually, this comes as a bit of a surprise as I thought he'd play this season then be amnestied.

Yippee!

[Mugen]

Splitter won't get the minutes or the opportunity if Bonner is not gone

Bonner is going to be here next year. It sucks, I know. But I've accepted it.

But i don't think Blair has a fair chance of getting shipped out esp if theres a solid bigman to be had.

I think Pop realized how ing re ed he was the whole year midway through the Grizz series when he finally inserted tiago in the lineup. It was too late, per the usual, but I think Splitter will get a fair shake this year and have a good season.

[Ice009]

RJ is gone! Let's dance on his Spurs Basketball grave!

Actually, this comes as a bit of a surprise as I thought he'd play this season then be amnestied.

Yippee!

What a colossal screw up it was resigning him though Ruff. The amount of money we've paid him and what Bruce Bowen got for his whole time here is horrible to think about.

Looks like I was correct during his first season here as I wanted him gone in November (after only playing for the team for 3 weeks), but then stupidly thought maybe resigning him was the best move last off season as we had no other options, combined with his off season work with Pop I was flat out wrong when I thought we should give him a second chance. I was right at first, then wrong the second time.

[MaNu4Tres]

What a colossal screw up it was resigning him though Ruff. The amount of money we've paid him and what Bruce Bowen got for his whole time here is horrible to think about.

Looks like I was correct during his first season here as I wanted him gone in November (after only playing for the team for 3 weeks), but then stupidly thought maybe resigning him was the best move last off season as we had no other options, combined with his off season work with Pop I was flat out wrong when I thought we should give him a second chance. I was right at first, then wrong the second time.

Meh give kudos to the F.O for going all in the past 2 seasons-- trying to realistically use their assets to field the best team possible. They were willing to spend the money and considering all the realistic possibilities, Jefferson was one of the few realistic ways they could enhance their talent level.

That being said, Jefferson never was and didn't effect their rebuilding process like many moaned about ( their cap was going to be all used up the majority of R.J's new contract because of Manu, Tim and Tony being locked up), so I didn't and don't understand all the fuss there.

Spurs tried to go all in and it didn't work out, it happens in sports-- ask the Yankees about it.

Fortunately enough, the Spurs are able to get rid of the bad fit earlier than anticipated. This will allow them to shake things up again this year and use all their assets to shove all-in perhaps one last time.

[objective]

Spurs finally did the right thing.

This is great news, and stop worrying about Matt Bonner playing SF.

Leonard plays SF. James Anderson can play SF. Manu can play SF when they go small with Parker and Neal in the backcourt. Danny Green showed more heart and hustle in limited time last year than RJ showed his entire tenure. And D.Butler is still an option.

They are FINE at SF if Pop and RC realize that they need to gamble on youth like they did in 03.

But, I do feel bad for people who actually get their news from sites like 48 Minutes of , who did their RJ amnesty rumor talk 3-on-3 and none of them could even piece together the very simple breakdown I did beforehand on this forum as to why it made sense fo the Spurs to cut him. Those guys spend too much time worshipping Matt Bonner to actually use logic and reason so that they aren't blindsided.