RC Buford was interviewed during the Spurs summer league game against the Clippers. Usually, RC is tightlipped when discussing anything involving the team but I thought he shed a little bit of light on a few subjects.
-(On the Spurs summer league team) The summer league team hasn't exactly shaped up like we wanted it to. We had a lot of guys get injured who we were hoping to get a good look at this summer. But the guys who are here are playing hard and play well together.
-(On Garrett Temple) Garrett got hurt on the first night and is now on crutches. James Gist, who drafted a couple years ago, broke his hand. James Anderson, our draft pick this year, has had hamstring issues so we wanted to keep him out to get him healthy.
-(On what the Spurs need to add to the roster) We've added Tiago Splitter to our program this summer and he's a guy we've wanted for a while. And we're excited to have him. But we need to improve our shooting. Over the last four or five years we've lost Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Roger Mason didn't have as good of year this year as he did in the past. So we've really gotta improve on our shooting -- that was always one of our pluses and now it hasn't been in the last couple of years.
-(On Splitter) He's not our shooter, for sure. He's had a terrific career overseas and has been one of the better players in Spain and in Euroleague for the last five years. He's a 6'11 player who was the MVP of the Spanish league and MVP of the Spanish playoffs this year -- and that hadn't happened since Arvydas Sabonis did it 25 years ago.
-(On whether Richard Jefferson will be back in a Spurs uniform) We're working in that direction and we hope so but free agency has given Richard an opportunity to see what the market is. But our hope is that we can bring him back.
-(On Manu coming back) Manu has been a big part of our program for a long time and you never want to lose, not only a player like that, but also a person who is one of the cornerstones of our character and our values -- and the real fiber of our team. Our intention all along was to bring Manu back. Fortunately, he wanted to be a part of us, too.
-(On the window and injuries) Tony got hurt in national team play last summer and Manu the year before. Our luck with national team play has not been terrific lately. This summer, none of our guys, except for Tiago, are going to play in it. But we've gotta start rebuilding our team and with George Hill and DeJuan Blair and Tiago and hopefully James Anderson, we have some pieces to hopefully start building into the future with. And Tony is only 28 so, although he's played with us for a long, long time, it's not like he's near the end of his career.
-(On if there is a shift of power after the player movement this summer) Obviously, Phoenix losing Stoudemire is not going to be helpful. A lot of the players stayed East who were free agents. But they all did a good job of rebuilding their group. Houston has gotten better -- and they were outside the playoffs this year. The Clippers with a healthy Blake Griffin and the good, young pieces that they are going to add -- they are going to be better. Utah, even with Boozer going, picking up Al Jefferson -- there's no reason to think that a Jerry Sloan team is ever going to take a step backwards. Oklahoma City will be a lot better. Dallas has done a terrific job. Memphis has gotten better. Life is never easy in the West.
-(On getting George Hill late in the first round) We gotta get fortunate and try to rebuild with our draft pieces. Having DeJuan fall to 37, getting George where he got him, getting Manu and Tony where we did in the second round and late in the first round ten years ago -- those are the cornerstone pieces of our franchise through their own personal development and the character they bring. You've gotta get lucky but you also gotta get the right people to build going forward.
-(On what the Spurs saw in DeJuan Blair) I guess we didn't let our doctors get involved in the process. It was strictly a risk-reward play. I think the medical history and all that is very important as you evaluate talent, but there's also a time and place where you have to say he's played since he was a sop re in high school without ACLs. His body has adapted. He may not have a 20-year career even though he's coming into the league as a 20-year-old, but for what he can give us right now, that's a productive investment in a second round draft pick.
-(More on Blair) On a basketball perspective, there were no questions on what his talent level was. Once the injury issue came up, it was just a matter of how you were going to mitigate the risk. We were fortunate that people were looking at their risk platform a little differently.
-(What Blair brings to the team) He's a tough kid, he plays hard. He's got a great personality and a great spirit. At the age of our team, it was nice to bring in someone who had some freshness and who was a really good fit to bring some personality.
-(On needed moves before training camp) We'll continue to evaluate the market and see where we are as we go to camp. We have 11 spots right now so we have plenty of room to react to the market. But we like what we've done so far and we'll continue to look.
-(On how many players do the Spurs like to bring into training camp) Because of our development program in Austin, we are likely to bring 17 or 18 and use that as a chance to evaluate players for the Toros.
-(On the summer league in general) The summer league continues to get better every year. I think the whole development program the league has through the D-League is raising the level of talent -- not only the rosters in the NBA but also the summer league rosters. The support the community has given is terrific in addition to the crowds in the gym -- it's given a good environment for these guys to come out and perform.
-(On players who have stood out in summer league) The speed of both Wall and Bledsoe from that Kentucky backcourt has just been unbelievable. I'm not sure if you could have found an NBA backcourt with that type of speed between two players. Cousins and that whole group from Kentucky is staggering. Patterson is gonna be a monster for Houston.
-(On why he hasn't talked about the Mavs) I'm not allowed to talk about the Mavericks because we just get angry and scared when we talk about the Mavericks. You know a Mark Cuban team is going to be aggressive in trying to improve his team. It's fun to go in and compete because you know you are going in there every night having to play your best basketball.
-(On Mark Cuban and the Riverwalk) It's one of his favorite spots -- he goes swimming in there a lot. It's exciting in Golden State with the new ownership group. Portland is going to be really, really good -- I love their rookie Luke Babbitt. No easy nights.
Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
To me, the most interesting thing he mentioned about the Spurs was the lack of shooting. Pop said the same thing in days after the Suns series. This pretty much verifies to me that they're going after James Jones instead of Butler or Barnes.
However, I was hoping he would have said something about a lack of a true perimeter stopper. The fact that he didn't tells me it wasn't high on their priority list this summer.
Oh yeah, also interesting is he said they have 11 guys on the roster when they actually have 12 under contract right now. Hmmmmmm.......
Thanks Timvp,
...xlnt write-up
RC can be funny...-(On Mark Cuban and the Riverwalk) "It's one of his favorite spots -- he goes swimming in there a lot."
Excellent, thank you very much for the recap.
The FO sees just as easily as we do that this roster needs 3-point shooters. Among the variety of reasons why they probably brought Bonner back, this was probably reason #1. Hopefully they can bring in James Jones, and Anderson can contribute. Whether that's enough remains to be seen. I think it COULD be enough, especially if at least two of the following happen:
1. Manu keeps his 3PT% near his career average and last season average of 37-38%.
2. Richard Jefferson returns his 3PT% to near 36%, which he shot the 3 consecutive years prior to last year.
3. George Hill continues to hit corner 3s at or above 40%, as he did last year (42.9% from the left corner, 46.5% from the right corner).
-(On what the Spurs need to add to the roster) We've added Tiago Splitter to our program this summer and he's a guy we've wanted for a while. And we're excited to have him. But we need to improve our shooting. Over the last four or five years we've lost Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Roger Mason didn't have as good of year this year as he did in the past. So we've really gotta improve on our shooting -- that was always one of our pluses and now it hasn't been in the last couple of years.
Thanks Timvp,
...xlnt write-up
RC can be funny...-(On Mark Cuban and the Riverwalk) "It's one of his favorite spots -- he goes swimming in there a lot."
Wasn't sure if I'd be able to see the interview again, so thanks for taking the time, LJ.
The only things I heard that I hadn't heard or heard lately about were RJ and Tony.
In the case of RJ, seems only a matter of time that he'll be back. Unless the Clippers decide to go after him, I just can't see a team that RJ will leave to without a sign-and-trade.
As it pertains to Parker, I was pretty surprised at how matter of fact RC was about Tony being part of their future. Not because of what type of player Parker is, but because there just seemed to be no trepidation or thought to dance around it at all. It really seemed from RC that Tony's going to be here as long as Tony wants to be here. Could be just reading into things but it sure as sounded like that.
And Tony is only 28 so, although he's played with us for a long, long time, it's not like he's near the end of his career.
sounds like rc wants to extend tp
I see we're still looking to replace Horry and Finley, but not Bowen...
At least he did confirm something that has been talked about here in that they're actively started to rebuild in the background while they try to have a last shot with the three amigos.
I think it's more a question of whether TP wants to sign to remain in San Antonio after Tim retires. Mixed signals from Tony this summer.
Nice write up, thanks for taking the time. Just watched the replay. What struck me was his discussion of RJ. The more RC talks of market value, the more I think this is going to end badly, very badly for RJ. With each passing day RJs value declines as team after team seem to take a pass. Realistically whats his market value now - 3yrs 17 mil.
Ultimately I think he'll end up back with the Spurs, and hopefully he'll fit in a little better with a year under his belt. But if we do sign him for such a Spurs friendly contract, the guy's going to be the official goat of the 2010 Free Agencypolloza. I can just see it now, every possession he gets this upcoming season some announcer will reimind us about RJ - the guy who gave up 15mil/1yr for 17mil/3yrs. Probably not the best thing for the guys confidence.
Thanks timvp.
BTW, El Nono, I really appreciate your sig, It defines Manu, and the Spurs' ethos, perfectly.
Thanks for the recap!! I'm sooooo glad RC recognizes we need shooters...now get us some shooters
I think these "signals" are purely related to money, i.e. Tony wanting an extension for max money. But Tony himself has said he wanted to stay in SA and that's probably the best career move for him anyway.
Bonner has been emphatic that he's going to play with the Canadian team.-(On the window and injuries) Tony got hurt in national team play last summer and Manu the year before. Our luck with national team play has not been terrific lately. This summer, none of our guys, except for Tiago, are going to play in it.
He said guys . . . .
I still think they might add another shooter. The obvious choice would be James Jones, but I wouldn't mind them also checking out Eddie House as well. They would definitely both benefit Splitter and Duncan in the middle.Excellent, thank you very much for the recap.
The FO sees just as easily as we do that this roster needs 3-point shooters. Among the variety of reasons why they probably brought Bonner back, this was probably reason #1. Hopefully they can bring in James Jones, and Anderson can contribute. Whether that's enough remains to be seen. I think it COULD be enough, especially if at least two of the following happen:
1. Manu keeps his 3PT% near his career average and last season average of 37-38%.
2. Richard Jefferson returns his 3PT% to near 36%, which he shot the 3 consecutive years prior to last year.
3. George Hill continues to hit corner 3s at or above 40%, as he did last year (42.9% from the left corner, 46.5% from the right corner).
Yup sounds they want to keep him, but " within reason" . If Manu's extension is anything to go by, $ 13 M/yr. I see this is as $ FO is willing to give to keep TP. Judging from this years FA (although next yr could be a different environment) TP might be looking for the max or a boozer like contract $ 75M for 5 yrs.
Good. If you bring back RJ and add some decent shooters, we will be fine.
Both Boozer and Parker deserve that kind of contract, at least more than Gay, Lewis and Johnson.
The parts that interested me:
This was obvious to most of us but it's good to hear it from RC. That should mean the Spurs are looking for a shooter or two. The interest in James Jones makes more and more sense.But we need to improve our shooting. Over the last four or five years we've lost Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Roger Mason didn't have as good of year this year as he did in the past. So we've really gotta improve on our shooting -- that was always one of our pluses and now it hasn't been in the last couple of years.
I was surprised RC didn't say his usual line about how he doesn't comment on negotiations or whatever. It sounds like the Spurs still want RJ back but they aren't going to overpay. It also doesn't sound like there is any pending contract on the table. That is good news. If the Spurs let the market shape RJ's next contract, they could get a bargain.-(On whether Richard Jefferson will be back in a Spurs uniform) We're working in that direction and we hope so but free agency has given Richard an opportunity to see what the market is. But our hope is that we can bring him back.
This is the most interesting line to me. It drives a stake through the heart of the TP trade rumors. RC didn't have to go out of his way to mention TP as part of the team's nucleus going forward.And Tony is only 28 so, although he's played with us for a long, long time, it's not like he's near the end of his career.
DuncanWe have 11 spots right now so we have plenty of room to react to the market.
Ginobili
Parker
Hill
Blair
Splitter
McDyess
Bonner
Anderson
Gee
Temple
I'm assuming those are the 11 players he's counting. The first 8 are obvious. Anderson will eventually sign a rookie deal. Gee and Temple have already gotten portions of the 2010-11 contract guaranteed.
That leaves Hairston and Jerrells as not being part of the 11. Both have unguaranteed deals for 2010-11, so in that sense I can see why RC said 11. However, I would think that Hairston at least would be counted as part of the roster given how he has supposedly made a positive impression on the team.
I like how RC transitioned from talking about Cuban and the Mavs to talking about Golden State-(On Mark Cuban and the Riverwalk) It's one of his favorite spots -- he goes swimming in there a lot. It's exciting in Golden State with the new ownership group. Portland is going to be really, really good -- I love their rookie Luke Babbitt. No easy nights.
And he should be encouraged to.
After all, an injury to Bonner won't exactly spell disaster for the Spurs.
Bonner's paperwork to play for the Canadian NT isn't finished. It's not sure that he will play this summer with them.
It's nice when you've grown up and can see through the hype to the way the world really works, isn't it?
I enjoy ST a lot more now that I ignore the chaff and concentrate on the wheat. There is so much bull flying around the internet in general (and ST is no exception) that it is far better to do your own research and trust your own analysis/instincts, and the analysis/instincts of those you respect (like some of the good posters here) than to believe what the masses trot out in their often unfounded hopefulness and 'faith' that things will happen they way they want them to.
The moment RJ opted out the entire Spurs franchise high-fived each other. He was worth a shot last year, but it didn't work out, and he clearly doesn't fit the team or the system, so the opt-out was an easy solution to the Spurs' problem of what to do with him.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
