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Weird article.
Buck Harvey: For Spurs, a Monday for Maggette
Web Posted: 01/15/2007 09:27 PM CST
Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...k.2bd6c14.html
Here's what I know about a notoriously selfish Clipper named Corey Maggette:
He wouldn't have turned the Spurs' loss in Chicago into a win. If he were traded here, he would become the only Spur to worry about or even use the word "touches." His basketball IQ would place him in remedial classes. And the Spurs would be lucky to get him.
Here's what I know about the possibility of a trade for Maggette going through:
After Monday, the odds went up.
The Clippers have been trying to trade him for a year. A deal is still not likely with the Spurs, mostly because the Clippers might find more in return for Maggette elsewhere. They see better options with Golden State, for example, where Mike Dunleavy continues to disappoint.
Monday played into this trade scenario, too, after Dunleavy ended with 18 points and 13 rebounds in a Warriors victory over, coincidentally, the Clippers. Either Don Nelson likes how Dunleavy responded to a recent scolding and wants to keep him, or Nelson hopes such a performance will help increase Dunleavy's trade value.
The Clippers' coach is certainly open to a deal. He happens to be Dunleavy's father, and daddy Dunleavy is also the one who has had issues with Maggette. One issue was repeated Monday.
Maggette, in that same game, was Dunleavy's equal statistically. But the Clippers lost, and it's a pattern. The Clippers were at their best last season when Maggette was injured.
The Spurs' staff has weighed this aspect, as well as others. Maggette is not a great 3-point shooter — though he couldn't have done worse than the Spurs on Monday — and he's more reactionary than smart.
"He's a headless horseman as a player," said one in Los Angeles. "He will run into charges, he will shoot when someone else is open. And the Clippers don't trust him on defense."
Sound like a Gregg Popovich kind of player?
Stephen Jackson had a sounder foundation than Maggette, which is why the Spurs still debate among themselves whether they would do this deal if offered. Today, they have a peaceful locker room, with a group that knows how to play with each other, and losing Brent Barry and Beno Udrih would change that.
But it's also a group that, on various days, looks its age. Monday had that appearance, with the younger Bulls jumping for blocks.
Maggette wouldn't have altered the outcome unless he also has a secret ability to inspire Tony Parker. Still, Monday was another loss to another good team — another sign they don't have enough.
Whatever is missing on the Spurs might not be available with a trade. But even as the Spurs see the flaws in Maggette, they see more in him than in others who are available.
He can get to the foul line, and he did Monday to shoot nine free throws. He can rebound, and he did Monday with 11. And he has a freakish, athletic body that could keep up with Josh Howard.
This is also part of his profile: He's focused, determined, hardworking, ambitious and not a bad guy. That's why the Spurs also wonder if Maggette would respond to Popovich's demands on defense. Glenn Robinson did, after all.
"'Selfish' is a scary word," said one in the organization, "but you can also use this quality to your advantage. One thing that made Malik Rose so good, for example, is that he wanted to score. He cut harder, ducked in harder, because he was hungry to get something for himself."
Maggette is that. He averaged more than 22 points a game a few years ago, and he beat Minnesota last week with a jumper with seconds left.
But even as a Spurs official says, "For us, boy, he could be an injection," he stops and gives the other side in mid-sentence. "The risk is, we wouldn't be sure what we are getting. Potentially, he could be a boom. In reality, maybe he creates problems."
But that was said before Monday, and here's what I know now:
The Spurs are closer to the sixth seed than the first.
Weird article.
What point is he trying to get across?
Good question.
Buck goes off in more different directions than a Oliver Stone movie.
Buck Harvey tries to be cryptic far too often, but I think the point in this article is plain as day: The Spurs have reservations about making a deal but those reservations are getting smaller with every loss like this where it becomes apparent this is not a le team. That means that they're far more likely to do what it takes to make the Magette deal a reality instead of just a possibility.
Thats not at all what he's saying. In fact he's saying the opposite.
And this is news because?
I do agree with him on one thing.
Cory Maggette prob doesn't make the a championship team.
Because not all people who read his articles are as obsessed with the Spurs as us. But the reality is you can expect more articles like this till Magette is unavailable, the Spurs make a trade, or the trade deadline passes.
I didn't get that from the article.
He didn't say that.
To me it looked like he just tried to waffle on the Maggette trade to fill up his word count.
Whatever is missing on the Spurs might not be available with a trade
Id take that also as, get maggette you dont replace whats missing.
Key word is "might".
Yeah but Ludden already covered the "Maggette might or might not help" logic like five times already.
I've always disliked Harvey's writing style for this reason. He makes his articles seem way too damn deep. He tries to make each a 750 word riddle where the message is hidden right below the surface. It sucks. You're a sports columnist, write a damn straightforward sports column.
very simple. He is saying that Spurs should deviate from the usual peaceful locker room scenarios and acquire Magette for the energy spark or alternative solution they so desperately need now. This is desperate times which call for desperate measures.
I think its a Jay Cutler situation. Sure, maybe it blows up in our faces, but we're not going to win a le unless we do something or our team plays out of its mind (very unlikely) so just ing do it already.
He says that but also says that it might be a mistake.
He should either pick a side or let Ludden give the AP style perspective.
I think he's for it based on his last sentence in the piece.
Well, to his defense, he has to write an article, and theres nothing different to report on, so he has to put something.To me it looked like he just tried to waffle on the Maggette trade to fill up his word count.
I apolgize to Buck for not starting a thread today.
I think hes neither for nor against. he just wants a trade to happen so he can write one of those in depth player bios.
I apolgize to Buck for not starting a thread today.
Im sure he muttered " ing TIMVP" about a million times in the flight back from Chicago
Yeah, but he is implying that the mistake will have to be overlooked for now. Because Spurs is close being the sixth seed unless some desperate measure is being put in place.
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