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That's unfortunate for NBA fans, because this kid can really play
Ian Mahinmi Could Be Summer's Secret Prize
By Tom Ziller
This summer's NBA free agent extravaganza revolves around basketball deities like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. But as we've do ented at FanHouse, this is also a mighty deep class of players, with perhaps 40 free agents who can expect contracts in excess of $2 million. My list of the NBA's top 50 free agents has an ever-growing addendum, and it (for the most part) ignores potential acquisitions currently playing overseas.
Well-known veterans will indeed get the bulk of attention come July 1. But there's a corps of young, relatively anonymous players up for grabs as well. One of the most mysterious in this set is 6'11 Spurs forward Ian Mahinmi. The Frenchman, 23, saw only spotty action in San Antonio this season, appearing in 26 games and logging more than 15 minutes in a game only twice. In that limited action, Mahinmi performed, shooting 63 percent from the floor and collecting more than 18 percent of all available rebounds while on the court.
That production syncs with his more extensive NBA D-League experience. Mahinmi played more than 1,300 minutes with the Spurs-owned Austin Toros in 2007-08, finishing the season third in the league in PER, top-10 in rebounds and blocks per game, fourth in effective field goal percentage, second in True Shooting percentage, second in Win Shares, and a first-team All D-League honoree. Basically, Mahinmi is what almost every team is looking for in the draft this June: an active, productive young big man.
But why, then, is Mahinmi such an afterthought heading into free agency? Why did the Spurs decline his cheap option for 2010-11? Why are the Spurs considered unlikely to make a strong effort to keep Mahinmi?
On the surface, Mahinmi simply hasn't played much lately, which could explain the lack of buzz. Mahinmi suffered a season-ending injury at the start of the 2008-09 season, limiting the Frenchman to just one game with the Toros and not a single minute with the Spurs. Mahinmi came back healthy for the '09-10 season and remained on S.A.'s roster for the entirety of the year. But the free agent addition of Antonio McDyess and the drafting of DeJuan Blair pushed Mahinmi down the pecking order. McDyess, the 13-year veteran, started 50 games for the Spurs, and Blair -- who many observers felt was underused -- averaged 18 minutes a night in playing all 82 games. With Tim Duncan continuing to anchor the frontcourt and Matt Bonner at the ready for "stretch-4" situations, Mahinmi struggled to get off the bench. While Bonner is a free agent and McDyess and Duncan continue to get closer to retirement, the potential signing of 2007 Spurs draft pick Tiago Splitter may keep the rotation too tight for Mahinmi to break through in San Antonio.
As so many prospects before Mahinmi have learned, building a reputation without opportunity is difficult. But at just 23 years old, Mahinmi has to worry just as much about his next contract as the one in play this summer. As such, Mahinmi and his agent have made noise about going to a team who promises to get the forward plenty of playing time. NBA teams rarely agree to such demands (especially for unproven players), which has me thinking Mahinmi is on his way back to Europe. That's unfortunate for NBA fans, because this kid can really play. But unless an NBA team can see through the fog and find a deal that works for Mahinmi (by providing a reasonable opportunity for playing time), joining an upper echelon European club makes the most sense for the Frenchman.
As a fan of Mahinmi, I'll continue to hold out hope some young team will convince him to stay in the States. While signing Mahinmi won't be as impactful as prying LeBron from Cleveland or Chris Bosh from Toronto, grabbing the Frenchman could wind up looking like the summer's most prescient move.
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MORE MAHINMI
FanHouse's Tom Ziller joined Timothy Varner and Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of on the 4-Down Podcast to discuss Ian Mahinmi's future.
Hear the Podcast
That's unfortunate for NBA fans, because this kid can really play
I demand that objective be banned from this thread for fear of his own safety!
That is all. Carry on.
To be able to turn the page on these last 3 years of failure, the following players must GO:
Ian
Bonner
Mason
Bonner failed the Spurs.
Pop screwed Mason, who then failed the Spurs.
The Spurs failed Ian.
Ian could come back but the article failed to mention any of Ian's main weaknesses like his boneheaded fouling and turnover tendencies (and lack of improvement on this end). The latter of which (turnovers) was a problem for the team all year. Also not enough attention for Blair's superior display of talent. Hard to take such an article seriously.
Thus, the fact that any of those 3 staying here is guaranteed failure
Tom Ziller... any relation to John Ziller of Scene Media (publisher of the Scene in SA mag)?
Those are all Pop's fault.
Nope especially considering the part about taking the article seriously.
It appears you are not familiar with Dr. Gonzo's body of work on the subject of Ian Mahinmi.
Like Beno, he'll probably get time and decent stats on a losing team, posters here will point to the stats and say it was a mistake to let him go, but the real story will be in the win column.
Some perspective: Ian finished third in PER in his best d league season... behind Alando Tucker and Nick Fazekas. Other players that have had higher PERs in a D League season include Alexander Johnson, Courtney Sims, and Cezary Trybanski.
I clicked the link. Ian is #33, Mason is #41, and Bonner is #43.
McGrady missed the cut.
Ian could be a decent back-up big if he learned to stop fouling so much. In any case, I'd much rather see him back then Bonner.
I think it is lame as to bash Ian. The guy by all accounts has had a rough go of it, and has been a good citizen. He is still by all accounts a good prospect based on his age and abilities.
He has not been given a fair opportunity based on the work he has put in to thrive or fail. Some of that was due to injury and some was due to Pop's tactics. Say what you will about Ian, but I don't think it is fair to bash the kid.
I think Ian could do well in a running system like Golden State, Phoenix, or Toronto. His fundamentals here were always lacking, and I don't ever see him becoming a post up banger, or a superstar.
Mason is what he is: a spot up shooter. There are a variety of teams that will be looking for these, and he'll find a spot somewhere, but it's up to him to find his shot and see if he'll manage to stick in the league.
If Bonner doesn't get resigned with the Spurs, I really don't know where he'll land up. You have to seriously wonder who wants Brian Scalabrine 2.0 but with less cajones. But the three point percentage through the season and the fact that he's over 6'6 will have somebody dialing the numbers, I'm sure. I just hope it isn't the Spurs.
I don't think most people are bashing Mahinmi. It's just that he has attained a strange cultish legendary status on spurstalk, and in reality he had one pretty good year in the D League... which is not all that noteworthy. I imagine most people would have the same reaction to exaggerated expectations for Nick Fazekas or DJ White or Dwayne Jones. It's not a matter of bashing, it's just being realistic.
well someone did say he was going to be the saviour of teh spurs, wheres the picture....
cant even beat out the scrubs in practice
After all the Spurs did to make sure they'll draft him... I wish him good luck elsewhere and I'm sure he'll put up good stats on another team.
He's no Pops Mensu-Bonsu.
The hype for guys like Pops and James White! may have been over the top, but I don't feel like the support for Ian can be regarded as excessive or 'cultish'. Ian may be a project, but he is one that could provide elements the Spurs are absolutely starved for in their bigman rotation (youth, speed, athleticism, shot blocking, etc.). Given the rarety of such guys, if he develops he is extremely valuable. Also, his ceiling is far far higher than any other project player the spurs have worked with in the past few years.
I disagree with how the FO has handled the situation, but I understand their reasoning. Regardless of if Ian stays a spur or heads elsewhere, I wish him luck and hope he succeeds.
Who was that kid a couple of years ago that the Spurs signed that was supposed to be the big "under-the-radar" free agent acquisition of the summer, but he never panned out and we traded him to Houston as part of the Scola deal or something? Am I getting that right? That's what this article reminded me of.
Jackie Butler
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