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Winning the hearts of the basketball-mad Mission City, though, has been easy so far.
"People say 'hey, you're the new Spur,' " Bonner said. "They don't know my name yet, but they say that like you're part of the family."
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By Donovan Burba
Monitor staff
October 15. 2006 10:00AM
Matt Bonner and teammate Tony Parker field questions.
nickname may still be the "Red Rocket," but Matt Bonner finally has a car. The Concord native, who earned the nickname as a Toronto Raptor for his habit of riding that city's crimson streetcars, bought a Pontiac Grand Prix this offseason, just another adjustment for the 6-foot-10 .
The biggest change, of course, came on June 21, when Bonner was traded from the Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs along with Eric Williams and a draft pick in exchange for Rasho Nesterovic. In Bonner's two years with the team, the Raptors were 60-104, and never so much as sniffed the postseason. The Spurs, on the other hand, were 122-42 during that time, won a championship in 2004-05 and were an overtime away from the Finals again last season.
"They expect success here," Bonner said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. "The whole organization, from top to bottom, tries to work together toward helping the team win.
"It's different, because they're used to winning and they expect to win. It's a different at ude, just kind of an air about the place."
Bonner, who averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last year, got to don the silver and black for the first time earlier this month when the Spurs played a two-game exhibition tour in France. In the opener, a 115-90 victory over Adecco ASVEL, Bonner had five points and two rebounds in 11 minutes. Three days later against Maccabi Elite, he had 10 points - including 2-of-2 from 3-point range - in 10 minutes as the Spurs won, 97-84.
While Bonner did spend time across the pond playing tourist - including trips to the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe, among other places - he also took the opportunity to bond with his new teammates.
"I got lucky because we went to France, and any time you take an overseas trip like that you're going to bond with them and get close to them," he said, "so I think I'm pretty comfortable around everyone on the team at this point."
So far, Bonner said that Brent Barry, a 12-year veteran, has become his closest friend on the team, and he's also gotten to know two-time league MVP Tim Duncan.
"He's just a normal, down-to-earth guy; you would never know he's won the MVP and world championships and all that," Bonner said of the famously taciturn Duncan. "He gets excited about the same things everyone else gets excited about, who's playing on Monday Night Football, you know, he's normal."
Unlike the Raptors, which had a relatively young and inexperienced roster during Bonner's stay, the Spurs have a solid nucleus of players who have been with the team for years, including Duncan, Tony Parker, Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili. Add to that well-heeled vets like Robert Horry and Michael Finley, and Bonner has no shortage of teammates to turn to for guidance on the court.
So far it's been Horry - a 15-year vet with six NBA championships under his belt - whom Bonner has looked to the most on the court. Both players are 6-10, and both are threats from beyond the 3-point arc.
"He plays a lot like myself, and he's a great player and a vet in the league, so he helps me out a lot," Bonner said. "I'm just trying to watch him, see how he is successful within the system so that I can do the same thing when I get in the game."
So far, the said he's focused on learning San Antonio's system, from where he's supposed to be on offense to mastering the defensive rotations.
Winning the hearts of the basketball-mad Mission City, though, has been easy so far.
"People say 'hey, you're the new Spur,' " Bonner said. "They don't know my name yet, but they say that like you're part of the family."
Winning the hearts of the basketball-mad Mission City, though, has been easy so far.
"People say 'hey, you're the new Spur,' " Bonner said. "They don't know my name yet, but they say that like you're part of the family."
Matt is going to be a fan favorite.
Benchwarmer forum.
Matt Boner = Fan Favorite= Jack Haley
He will contribute and earn minutes.
I think Bonner will definitely contribute.
He'll have to contribute. As sketchy as our big man corps are, he'll get plenty of chances.
Bonner, like Butler, has proven that he can be a contributor in limited minutes. It takes a special player to be the bench "spark", just ask Michael Finley who struggled in the reserve role, so I'm just glad we have the two of them. Bonner needs to continue learning in the system, and I think in the end he'll be a late-game guy or at least save Big Shot's legs for the fourth.
As long as he can hit the open shot and block out he can stay out of the dog house.
I think Bonner could do so good if he learns from Horry anything really. Horry's shots are big things, I know -- but he does alot of the other intagible things like charges and defense that do so much for the team. its good hes gone to Horry and is mentoring under him because it will go along way for us years down the road long after Horry has retired.
The Horry comparison is problematic - in his prime, Horry was a good rebounder and a nice shot-blocker. Bonner is neither.
You can improve both your shotblocking and rebounding substantially playing next to vets like Tim Duncan and mentoring under Horry. If he gets that killer instinct from either one, it will do him good.
I tend to disagree. I'd love for Bonner to become a shotblocker. Perhaps rebounding is different, but people don't become good shotblockers because they play next to good shotblockers.
As it stands, we only have one good shotblocker on the roster (Horry hardly counts anymore). Timing is inherent, not learned.
I'd love a ponny too or maybe a pink elephantI'd love for Bonner to become a shotblocker.
And an NBA championship banner hanging from the rafters?I'd love a ponny too or maybe a pink elephant
Bonner is not going to be a shotblocker or a strong rebounder. I have seen him play many times, and I love him as a player because he is smart, he hustles, and he plays the game with passion and fire, but he is extremely limited physically. WHen you can't jump, you can't jump, you can't teach or learn that.
So this is how you diss the Suns?The Spurs, on the other hand, were 122-42 during that time, won a championship in 2004-05 and were an overtime away from the Finals again last season.
dude it takes a few game for him to learn the spurs system
he is lucky he has trainging camp nazr never even got that
If Bonner blocks a shot every other game I'd be amazed.
And Horry can jump and play defense, too. I think people are building Bonner up just to watch him fall fast. His defense is bad- really bad. He can hit some shots- that is all you should expect.
You don't read, do you? No amount of training camp will make Bonner a great rebounder or shotblocker. It'll make him better positionally, that's it.
Funny, that's what was said about Rasho when he joined the Spurs.
But yeah, Bonner is never going to be a shotblocker. No way. If he can get his rebounding level up to a respectable rate for a smallish PF (think Horry or Rasho rebounding numbers), that's all that can be hoped for.
I think Bonner is going to be an instant energy type guy who can spread the floor. He'll never be more than a role player but if the chips fall right, he could be a very nice piece for years.
I'd expect more from these guys if they were being paid $40 million and/or were Lithuanian, but they aren't.
Shot blocking is ALL about timing. Brent Barry blocked almost as many shots as Booner last year and we all know how liitle he played.
For all of people's griping about Rasho, he and Tim had the identical blocks per 48 minutes this past season.
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