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Great. I'm happy for our locker room. WTF? Didn't he contribute on the floor?
Salary Cap Casualties Elson and Buckner Will Be Missed
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By Travis Heath
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Aug 2, 2006, 20:25
Superstars and big names make the NBA universe go round. However, it's the so-called role-players that often help make very good teams true championship contenders. That's not to say that superstars aren't important, but they can't get it done without the right help from role-players. There is a certain complimentarity at play, a dance of sorts, a give and take between stars and role players that very few teams ultimately get right. As such, role players are often journeyman and have trouble finding a permanent home.
Enter Francisco Elson and Greg Buckner. Both are former Nuggets' role players that the team decided not to retain this offseason. Elson moved on to San Antonio and Buckner returned to Dallas where he first made a name for himself as a Maverick from 1999-2002. Not retaining both guys has drawn little reaction from Nuggets fans either positive or negative. That's somewhat understandable, but if the Nuggets fail to make any more major move this offseason, the loss of both players will be felt dramatically.
The Cisco Kid
For Elson, his time with Denver was marked by his professional approach and willingness to contribute at a moment's notice. Nuggets head coach George Karl often referred to Elson as an "insurance policy" last season and although Elson never relished such a role, he always remained professional. Elson rarely if ever voiced any discontent to the media despite opportunities around every turn during last year's tumultuous campaign.
In a candid moment late last season during an exclusive interview with Basketball News Services, Elson discussed his lack of playing time.
"I mean, it's always like that though. What am I supposed to say about that? I'm just a guy that can only start when somebody goes down, and I can't get consistent minutes. That's my role. I'm a starter when somebody goes down, and I'm a nobody when everybody's healthy."
It was clear at that moment that Elson had seen the writing on the wall. Perhaps that is why he told Denver not to match the offer sheet he signed with San Antonio. The Nuggets ultimately decided not to match the Spurs offer due in large part because matching the offer with Denver's roster as it is currently cons uted would have pushed the franchise dangerously close to paying the luxury tax next season.
While this move made fiscal sense for the Nuggets, Elson's presence will be missed next season. You might not notice it on opening night, but when the dog days of the NBA season are upon us next February and March and Marcus Camby is on the injured list, Nene is still trying to regain his old form, and Kenyon Martin (if he is still on the club) is wearing street clothes more frequently than he's donning a Nuggets uniform, Elson will most certainly be missed. He was a guy that Karl could always count on being ready even if he hadn't seen any game action for the better part of 10 days. Those guys are hard to come by in today's NBA.
While the recently signed 23-year-old Jamal Sampson is much younger than the 30-year-old Elson -- not to mention substantially cheaper -- Sampson has done nothing in his career thus far to indicate that he can seamlessly transition into Elson's shoes next year.
Moreover, Elson will thrive in San Antonio playing next to future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. Heck, Duncan was able to make Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic look like decent players and Elson is more skilled than both. People in San Antonio will be surprised and quickly learn to love what they've got in Elson.
Happy trails, Cisco.
The "Buck" Stops Here
The Nuggets had to part with Elson because of what Karl likes to call "the business of basketball." Buckner's situation was no different. Make no mistake about it, Karl wanted Buckner back in the fold despite the fact he became the primary scapegoat for all of Denver's shooting woes in their playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Karl talked about losing Buckner and how Dallas understood and exploited Denver's cap situation.
"Everybody loves 'Buck,' but that's the system. Certain teams see you help a guy play well, and then they come in and buy him from you because they know that you don't have the space . . . we had the space to probably sign 'Buck,' but then we'd be done. And I don't think that's where we want to be right now."
So again, financial factors rule the day. That said, the Nuggets will miss Buckner next season just as they will miss Elson. As anyone who knows Buckner or has spent any extended amount of time with the guy will tell you, he's quite simply the definition of a professional. He's an individual that is a great veteran presence in the locker room as well. If you think the Nuggets had issues in their dressing room last season, I can whole-heartedly assure you that they would have been substantially worse if Buckner wasn't a Nugget.
That's not to say that all will break lose next season without Buckner, especially with Carmelo Anthony looking to assume more of a leadership role on the club, but Buckner's personality and work-ethic will be missed. As will his defensive intensity and willingness to truly embrace and understand his role, a very underrated quality in professional sports.
Dallas knew what they were getting in Buckner, and they exploited the Nuggets' cap situation to get him. Ultimately, the Mavericks will be better for it.
Best of luck, Buck.
What Now?
The Nuggets are hoping that the aforementioned Sampson can step into Elson's shoes, and the team is banking on the accelerated development of 23-year-old rookie forward Yakhouba Diawara as a replacement for Buckner. Not to mention the fact that the acquisition of J.R Smith likely would have cut into some of Buckner's minutes had he stayed in Denver.
The question that remains though, is whether or not Diawara is ready to absorb all of Buckner's minutes from last season right away?
Your thoughts Mr. Karl?
"No, I look at Yakhouba as a guy who is a great pickup but is still in the stage of earning minutes."
That doesn't mean that the coach doesn't think highly of Diawara, it's just that he's still a work in progress. However, the coach believes that he's got that rare "Buckner-like" work ethic and persona.
"He's a 6-foot-7 compe or," Karl continued. "He wins because he competes hard. He's made his improvement by playing on a European Championship team, and kind of being their tough guy, their defensive guy, for lack of a better term a Greg Buckner type guy, and he's gotten better offensively every month. A lot of people compare him to (Andres) Nocioni a little bit in Chicago. We had fun with him in summer league because we played him at different positions."
Diawara just might be the long-term answer to fill the void left by Buckner, but whether that happens next season or not remains to be seen.
As for Sampson, well the verdict is very much still out on him. The truth is that Sampson will be an insurance policy next season the Nuggets hope they don't have to cash-in. Think of Sampson as liability insurance where as Elson was much closer to full-coverage. As long as the Nuggets are able to introduce Evans or another serviceable big-man back into the fold by training camp, the team should be fine.
That is unless the injuries begin to mount, as they seem to every season in the Nuggets' frontcourt. If that happens, expect to hear the Denver faithful wondering aloud, "Oh where have you gone Francisco."
Remember the old cliché "you don't know what you've got until it's gone?" The Nuggets are hoping it remains just that next season-- a cliché -- and not a yearning for the return of salary cap casualties now contributing for the elite in the Western Conference.
Great. I'm happy for our locker room. WTF? Didn't he contribute on the floor?
Sure would be nice if this turned out to be true. Shut up those hatas like timvp.Duncan was able to make Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic look like decent players and Elson is more skilled than both. People in San Antonio will be surprised and quickly learn to love what they've got in Elson.
Elson:
"insurance policy"
"willingness to contribute"
"I'm a nobody when everybody's healthy."
equals "Elson isn't a basketball player". He's expected to start for the Spurs?
"Duncan was able to make Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic look like decent players"
So "decent', the Spurs dumped them both.
Meet the new starting center:
I'm just a guy that can only start when somebody goes down, and I can't get consistent minutes. That's my role. I'm a starter when somebody goes down, and I'm a nobody when everybody's healthy."
Maybe he's just humble.
I like this signing. He seems to understand his role. We have enough stars with Tim, Tony, and Manu. If all three are healthy, the Spurs will be fine. Elson will be just as good as Nazr and Rasho at a cheaper price.
Once again, missing the forest for the trees. The Elson+ Butler tandem won't be significantly worse than Rasho+Nazr, but WILL cost significantly LESS. That means the Spurs will be in a better position to either take on additional players (trade, free agency) in the coming years. Everyone knows the keys to the franchise are Duncan/Ginobili/Parker. If you want to keep building around them---not just for next year, but for the future----you have to give yourself the financial flexibility to do so. If you haven't figured that out, feel free to jump ship and root for an ownership group with deeper pockets (Cuban, the Blazers, etc.)...and fewer championships.
I love how people read only what they want to read:
"Heck, Duncan was able to make Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic look like decent players and Elson is more skilled than both. " (Emphasis mine)
Sounds pretty clear to me. This writer's opinion is, Elson is BETTER than Rasho and Nazr. Pop and RC clearly agree. Why can't people trust this process? We've gotten 3 championships so far with these two at the helm, haven't they earned some trust? It's not like we're waiting, oh I don't know, 86 years till our next championship.
Those comments by Elson were clearly not his personal opinion of himself. He was expressing his dissatisfaction with his role on the team.
Interesting article. I'd love to see Elson prove some of us wrong.
Side note: Hoopsworld needs an editor's touch, (ex. complimentarity should be spelled complementarity...journeymen, not journeyman...plural moves, etc.)
That's the way I read it also. Whether he liked it or not, he knew his place in Denver.
Replacing a lackluster Nazr with a motivated Francisco Elson alone is net plus.
You guys need to work on your sarcasm detection skills during the offseason.
With Elson listed as 7 ft, 235 lbs, why isn't anybody saying Elson needs to bulk up like Mahinmi is supposed to do?
His 3 years in the NBA have him with invisible stats.
As Rasho was negative surprise, doing worse than he did @MIN, I ready for positive surprise from Elson, doing better than he did at Den.
I'm torn. They say good things about Elson which I would like to believe. However they are saying it on Hoopsworld, which I just can't bring myself to trust.
IMO because at 30 a player is less able to put on productive weight. He may also not have the kind of frame considered able to pile any good weight on.
No, they don't. They only agree that he is cheaper.
As for more skilled, he is a good jump shooter, but that is it. He is not a great rebounder, shot blocker or defender-- which is what the Spurs need most. There is a reason he is 30 years old and has only started in 80 or so NBA games, as compared to Rasho's 500.
Humble or not what to put yourself down.
Maybe say, "If someone goes down I can contribute the same starting. I am a good starter." And so on. Whatever else he said was lame.
That is NOT what this writer said. Again, the direct quote: ""Heck, Duncan was able to make Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic look like decent players and Elson is more skilled than both. "
"More skilled" is not "cheaper."
You can disagree with him, and Steve Kerr, and all the other commentators who are saying Butler and Elson were great pick ups for the Spurs, but you can't deny what they are actually saying.
Show me where Pop and RC said Elson is BETTER than Rasho and Nazr. That is YOUR claim.
From Johnny Ludden:
Spurs officials acknowledge Elson and Butler might not provide the same level of production as Mohammed and Rasho NesterovicFrom Buck Harvey:He [Elson] doesn't have good hands and can be slow to react, also problems with Mohammed.
The Spurs upgraded their payroll far better than they did their talent.But as prudent as they have been, they also didn't get better the past month, especially compared with what the Mavericks did.The former Nugget, Francisco Elson, will help Duncan. Mohammed and Nesterovic are better, but not for two or three times the money.
Last edited by furry_spurry; 08-03-2006 at 01:08 PM.
Wow-- what does that say about KG?
Everything being equal, no team in the NBA would pick Elson over Nazr and Rasho.
What a dumb article ... which is a given since it's Hoopsworld.
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