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I'm on the fence with this guy. His foot work and athleticism is great. His low, low, low basketball IQ is not.
Drew Gooden | PF/C
Born: Sep 24, 1981
Height: 6-10 / 2,08
Weight: 250 lbs. / 113,4 kg.
College: Kansas
Years Pro: 6
info
One wonders how he would have done with the Spurs had he been with the team all season. There's the definite possibility that it would have ended the same as it did in the final game of the season: DNP - Coach's Decision. Still, it's not like the Spurs can afford to waive goodbye to a 27 year old rebounding bigman with a career double digit scoring average, especially one who might be available for the MLE.
I'm on the fence with this guy. His foot work and athleticism is great. His low, low, low basketball IQ is not.
No thanks.
His Elson like BBall IQ was maddening and his ball hogging and no defense was ing horrible.
I'd say, but Pop giving 10 minutes last night to Bonner after he chocked 9 billion times more than Gooden in the 4 games prior is too obvious a sign. Looks like he'll be packing up his suitcase again.
Wrong forum.
id take him over matt bonner anyday but if he asks for anything about 4 million then let him walk.
I do not think this should happen unless it is a last resort. Too many reasons why not as opposed to why they should.
Unfortunately I think the rift between Gooden and the Spurs is a big one, I don't blame Pop for not playing him. Once he fell on his back he just couldn't explode like he was doing prior to that fall. We could've used him but he just wasn't the same and that probably hurt his ego + he's looking to get paid in pretty much the last big contract that he's going to get so the Spurs can't afford him.
He's too much of a random factor. If he can be had on the cheap...the suuuuuuper cheap....then it would be kinda okay. We're never going to change this guy. He is what he is.
The thing with Gooden is, even though he's young (relatively speaking) he's not an "impressionable youngster"....his game is his game. When he's got the ball, he's not really looking to pass or score, passing is the very last option; even to the extent he'll force up shots in traffic. On top of that, he's not really defensive minded which was an area in which we struggled this season.
However, he's got good range on his jumper, has a decent post-game, and is pretty fierce on the glass.
Man, if you could just combine him and KT somehow.....
After the way he was treated by Pop I doubt he even considers any offer that we might throw at him.
I can't wait for an explanation of that. Gooden doesn't get played cuz of bad D, well then why the was Fin in to end the game????
That DNP was a message. He won't be back.
I have to think about this one.
I don't know..it's too risky..
we need defense first in the front court..
Gooden is a goner. The Spurs will go hard after Rasheed "Both Teams Played Hard" Wallace for the full MLE.
Too bad there were not about 8 of them DNP's.
Gooden wouldn't sign with the Spurs now unless it is TOP $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The Lakers or Mavs will sign him. Our loss.
If we don't get Sheed, or any other good bigmen, yes. I'd rather sign him than Rasho.
After that poor defensive showing and low IQ I think Pop was justified.
This is a tough call for me. I thought he showed some amazing energy and it was fun to watch him work around the basket. I didn't expect anything defensively, so whatever they got out of him was fine in that regard. When they signed him, I figured it was a 1/2 season rental situation since his BBall IQ and blackhole tendencies of the past don't exactly fit the Spurs mantra.
But, I can't stop and think that maybe his (lack of) playing time in these final games had more to do with an injury rather than a coaching decision. He didn't really get much playing time since the coughing up blood game.
I like what he had on the offensive side. And he nice chemistry with Ginobli in the 2nd unit. That would be hard to turn down.
I'd like to think his defense would improve after having more time with team.
But Pop giving him a DNP doesn't bode well for him. I'm not sure he'd want to come back even if the Spurs wanted him.
I highly doubt Gooden will have many teams that will go after him hard though, so we'll see..he doesn't have a good reputation around the L..
Someone will throw 4 years at the MLE at him, so doubtful we have a shot to keep him unless the FO has scrapped 2010 for a big splash this offseason.
Gooden definitely had his moments. He was putting up Tim Duncan stats per minute until that fall. But who knows if it was that fall that hurt him or that the pressure increased when the team went on the road.
He has the potential to be a 15 and 9 type player. But he also has the potential to be a player Pop tires of quickly and looks to salary dump using valuable assets.
In the games Gooden played with the Spurs, he was very good at getting into the game and getting right to the FT line. (And making the FT's.) That is a great asset, especially at the end of games when you need to score with the clock stopped. That's sometimes how you grind out playoff wins. So if Pop dislikes him so much that he won't put him in the game in a situation like that, why even talk about keeping him?
At the end of Game 4, the Spurs were down by just 5 with a little over 3 minutes left. Their shot selections went:
Finley 3
Bonner 3
Hill 3 (made)
Parker 3
Finley 3
Bonner 3
Finley 3
Bonner 3
I would have let Hill take another shot at it. But failing that, I sure as would have taken my chances with Gooden drawing a few whistles. Obviously Pop doesn't think that way. Whatever Gooden might bring to the table for another team, he has no place on this one.
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