Spurs Sign Roger Mason Jr.

[AFBlue]

Unless we sign another swing, then I would say so.

If the Spurs don't sign another swing...it'll be Manu that starts.

[DPG21920]

It's a bargain compared to $30 mil for Pietrus.

agreed. Marginal pick up with regards to in game stats, nice pick up for the value.

[Tully365]

http://www.spursreport.com/forums/sp...ree-agent.html


Pradamaster: Clearly, Roger Mason was the biggest surprise of the 2007/2008 Wizards season. With Gilbert Arenas sidelined for most of the year, Mason, who nearly didn't even make the roster, took advantage of his opportunity and emerged as one of the better third guards in basketball. He gave the team the deadly three-point shooter that Jarvis Hayes was supposed to be and even impressed me with his ball-handling. The biggest worry with Mason was that he would struggle handling the ball, but while he didn't pass well, he was excellent at holding onto the basketball, turning in over on just 9.9 percent of his possessions, a mark good for second on the team behind Antawn Jamison and ahead of Antonio Daniels. In short, Mason was a godsend this year.

It's often said that it takes a while to learn the Princeton offense, and Mason is proof of that. The jump in his shooting percentages was astronomical. In 2006/07, he hit only 33 percent of his threes, with a 42.2% effective field goal percentage and a 44.3% true shooting percentage. Those numbers jumped to 40 percent, 55.2% and 57.3%, respectively this season. My theory is that he was overanxious with his three-point attempts in 06/07, firing whenever he had any sort of daylight, no matter the situation. He still shot a lot of threes this year in bad spots (6.9/36), but he displayed an ability to drive and was far smarter in his attempts. More importantly, instead of just hanging out in the corner waiting for someone to pass the ball, he finally embraced the importance of constantly moving in the Princeton. The end result was a banner year shooting the ball.

Mason didn't really contribute much in the other areas of the game, but really, who expected him to do so? His job was to hit open shots and provide instant offense from the bench, and he did an outstanding job filling that role. If one has quibbles with his season, as I did on many occassions, it's over things that will never really be fixed. Mason is going to shoot some bad shots, and he's never going to be a great passer or a great driver. It would be nice if he developed those parts of his game, but I don't see it happening at this stage.

Truthabou : Roger Mason Junior.....DC's own ....the Potomac Rainmaker. Mason Junior was the recipient of this year's Pleasant Surprise Award. Ok, I made that up.....but the fact is that Roger Mason had a career year, averaging 9.1 ppg and almost 40% (39.8) from 3-point land. Oh yea, his PER and Usage-Rate bested that of both DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels. Mase-ON was truly an invaluable offensive spark off the bench as the Wizards dealt with an array of injuries in 07-08. Not only that, but in the nine games he was asked to start (five of which came in late December), Mason averaged 17.4 ppg, 3.4 ast, 52.6% fg, and 43.1% 3p.

Wow, a post about the topic-- so rare. Thanks.

[Kori Ellis]

If the Spurs don't sign another swing...it'll be Manu that starts.

I think they will avoid Manu starting. It's easier to manage his minutes and get him enough touches if he comes off the bench.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Are you saying you expect Mason to put up 17ppg?

I don't think that's a realistic expectation for next year for him. I do expect double figures and not being a turnstile defensively like Finley.

I was just saying I don't agree with saying Udoka and him are the same. I don't think Ime could ever average 17.1 over a stretch of games even if you gave him 35 minutes a night.

[Marcus Bryant]

Nice under the radar kind of signing. Spurs are quietly revamping their supporting cast. Hill, Mason, and Mahinmi will definitely change the look and athleticism of that cast. Maybe with what's left of their exceptions and/or a minor trade they can tweak that cast further.

Spurs front office went after Mason last summer with a 3 year deal when he hadn't really done much in the league, but he opted to stay with the Wizards so they would have Early Bird Rights for him this summer. His performance last season justified their interest.

This isn't an exciting move, but it's the kind of move that's helped the team win 4 NBA les. I definitely prefer this over signing Pietrus for 10 years.

[exstatic]

So we've signed Roger Mason to be our new Finley? Nice ... 37% shooting for 1/2 of the MLE

Try .443, .398 from downtown.

[Spurtacus]

"Scouting report: A 6-5 combo guard, Mason certainly has the size to play either spot in an NBA backcourt and has shown he can defend them fairly well ... at least by the Wizards' standards. He's a decent ball handler and can create his shot OK; he just needs to start knocking them down."

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playe...?playerId=1721

Before the 07/08 season, but still. This guy will be 28 going into next season.

[Kori Ellis]

Wow, a post about the topic-- so rare. Thanks.

Just FYI, the proper source for that is a Bullets/Wizards blog:
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2008/6...ation-roger-ma

[marcflynn2009]

If the Spurs don't sign another swing...it'll be Manu that starts.

we wont start manu... i read an article one time and the reason manu is on the bench is because when we are ready to put him in, the other team already has their second string in and nobody can pick apart s second strung defense like manu

[DPG21920]

I'd rather have a guy that will possibly improve for 2-3 years (hey, that happens to coincide with his Spurs contract...) than someone in Finley who has obviously declined and we all saw (those of us who watched, anyway) him turn into a ing gaping hole defensively the last 3 months of the season.

You act like we're locked into Roger until he's 38 or something stupid like that.

Finley is done, I'm sorry you're either too dense, too stupid, or just really ing annoying and keeping this argument going because you're a twit, to understand.

You seem enamored with what Finley did back in the day. Like I said, fine. Bring Finley back. Bring Jaren Jackson, Will Perdue, AJ, Mario Elie, and Sean Elliott back too. This team would clearly repeat if we just did all that and hung on to memories of years past.

I am keeping the argument going....the kettle calling the pot black.
I am not enamored with Finley, the whole time I said he would be just as good as Mason. I did not say Finley is the savior or will lead us to victory. I said since we are not getting a real change agent, Finley would have sufficed. You are to big of a head to realize what I have been saying. You are arguing for the sake of arguing without shutting your MAN PLEASER long enough to realize what I have been trying to say.

[vy65]

It sure could. Barry and Fin were head cases their first seasons because of expectations. Since none of us know enough about this guy to have any expectations, who knows? Certainly not you.

Oh you. You can't go back now after talking about ting your own pants.

1. I still don't see how "I don't wanna harp on this" + stat's = a meltdown, but if you think so, then more power to you.

2. Barry and Fin, while possibly carrying expectations (which I don't think is necessarily the case, but if you say so) were also better 3P% shooters (both at around 42.5%) whereas the same cannot be said about RM (around 38.5%). My point is simply those percentages went down with Tim Duncan, who 2-3 years ago was consistently double teamed. Their numbers dropped when they had Timmy sucking up the paint. And while they may have been headcases for there respective first years (which I still don't know how that would last for a year), their numbers still dropped in the following year as well. Were they headcases then?

3. I seriously don't know what the your problem is. You obviously have nothing better to do than to make any post that you might disagree with personal/not take the time to understand what people are saying. You're a ing for no apparent reason other than being a ing . Congrats ... you're obviously a badass on the internets.

[AFBlue]

I think they will avoid Manu starting. It's easier to manage his minutes and get him enough touches if he comes off the bench.

All the stacked teams in the West and the Spurs come with Roger Mason Jr. as the starting 2-guard?

I'd have to get used to that one...doesn't sound like much of an improvement to me.

[spurman20]

Nice under the radar kind of signing. Spurs are quietly revamping their supporting cast. Hill, Mason, and Mahinmi will definitely change the look and athleticism of that cast. Maybe with what's left of their exceptions and/or a minor trade they can tweak that cast further.

Spurs front office went after Mason last summer with a 3 year deal when he hadn't really done much in the league, but he opted to stay with the Wizards so they would have Early Bird Rights for him this summer. His performance last season justified their interest.

This isn't an exciting move, but it's the kind of move that's helped the team win 4 NBA les. I definitely prefer this over signing Pietrus for 10 years.

I agree still think we need to sign another wing besides barry, Let Fin walk....reup Thomas.....see if Orlando will take vaughn after they said they are desperate for a cheep vet PG to add to the roster....

[vy65]

Try .443, .398 from downtown.

This probably wasn't clear - 37% was a figure for Fin

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Spurs drafted two guards and now signed another, and who knows what they will do with the LLE and remainder of the MLE.

I suspect we will see one more guard added - someone along the lines of Delfino, Hayes, Diawara, or Barry.

And then a big with what's left, perhaps Najera, O'Bryant, or Horry.

[DPG21920]

You also have to look at all the moves combined, you can not just be myopic and look at each individual move.

[Tully365]

Nice under the radar kind of signing. Spurs are quietly revamping their supporting cast. Hill, Mason, and Mahinmi will definitely change the look and athleticism of that cast. Maybe with what's left of their exceptions and/or a minor trade they can tweak that cast further.

Spurs front office went after Mason last summer with a 3 year deal when he hadn't really done much in the league, but he opted to stay with the Wizards so they would have Early Bird Rights for him this summer. His performance last season justified their interest.

This isn't an exciting move, but it's the kind of move that's helped the team win 4 NBA les. I definitely prefer this over signing Pietrus for 10 years.

Yeah-- the fact that the Spurs were interested last year, and he followed that up with a breakout season is a very good sign. Chances are the potential they saw is real and not imagined...

[spurman20]

Spurs drafted two guards and now signed another, and who knows what they will do with the LLE and remainder of the MLE.

I suspect we will see one more guard added - someone along the lines of Delfino, Hayes, Diawara, or Barry.

And then a big with what's left, perhaps Najera, O'Bryant, or Horry.

What do you think about the C harrison from Indy.....he said he would sign cheep and has some skills....still only 24-25

[DPG21920]

All the stacked teams in the West and the Spurs come with Roger Mason Jr. as the starting 2-guard?

I'd have to get used to that one...doesn't sound like much of an improvement to me.

Thank you... that is the only point I have been trying to make and these guys have been killing me. Mason in place of Finley is not an upgrade, but the move was made to allow for us to MAINTAIN our level with a low cost/risk player. He could be an improvement, but not much...

[SequSpur]

what a waste of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[The Truth #6]

Yes, would love to see us get Barnes as well.

However, signing Mason could mean we're trying to save money to resign KT and/or Barry.

[mardigan]

what a waste of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

What a waste of text

[timvp]

I think this is a decent signing. First of all, it looks like the Spurs were only wanting to offer two-year contracts. If that is the case, you can't steal any RFA with a two-year contract. So you have to eliminate all the RFA's from discussion.

Out of the UFA's, Mason was one of the few decent options. The Spurs offered him a three-year contract last summer before they signed Udoka. San Antonio was impressed by his defense and the fact that he can play multiple positions enough to give him some sort of three-year offer, which says a lot to me. Now a year later after Mason added a very capable offensive game ... then it's not too much of a surprise that the Spurs like him even more.

Defensively, I've seen him guard 1's, 2's and 3's. He's best defensively against shooting guards, which is good because that's the position the Spurs will likely want him to defend.

This is one of those unspectacular yet safe and solid signings. Now the question that will be seen is whether the Spurs needed more. Did the Spurs need a top of the line scorer to take the pressure off of the Big Three? Or will adding a capable wing to the mix be enough?

I'm pretty underwhelmed by this development but hopefully this is followed up by something else. If the Spurs are heading into next year with Mason and three rookies as their offseason additions, that'll be scary.

The good news regarding his contract is it is possible that the Spurs will have slightly more than the LLE ... which could be helpful to outbid others for Barry's services. If that's what it takes to get Barry back and let Finley walk, Mason + Barry probably would be an a better outcome than Player X + Finley.

[exstatic]

What do you think about the C harrison from Indy.....he said he would sign cheep and has some skills....still only 24-25

Not so high on players who threaten to kill members of the Spurs while leaving the court when they have an off night.