Spurs' plan calls for staying put, while Garnett rumors abound
Mike Monroe
Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...t.35bbd05.html
With two potential franchise-changing players available, what seemed impossible just a few days ago now has possibilities: Tonight's 2007 NBA draft will be a sidebar to the real news of the day in the league.
The draft will still be front and center tonight, and Ohio State center Greg Oden and Texas forward Kevin Durant will be picks No. 1 and No. 2, and the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics penciled in as the NBA's Teams of the Future.
But the draft could be overshadowed if a trade rumored to have taken shape Wednesday involving a former Most Valuable Player and a current All-NBA first-teamer comes to fruition.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, the 2004 MVP, could end up in Phoenix, with All-NBA first team forward Amare Stoudemire re-joining his former Suns teammate, Joe Johnson, in Atlanta. The Timberwolves would start rebuilding a franchise that never truly got off the ground around draft picks it would receive from the deal.
Meanwhile, the 2007 NBA champion Spurs will wait to see how the intrigue plays out and react with one goal in mind.
"I just hope Phoenix doesn't have five Hall of Famers on their team next year," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, tongue in cheek, "but if they do, we'll go out and figure out a way to see if we can beat them."
With the 28th selection in the first round, plus the third pick (33rd overall) in the second, the Spurs haven't gotten a lot of calls from teams inquiring about potential trades.
"Where we've been in the draft, nobody pays attention to us," Buford said, "and we don't waste a lot of time concerning ourselves with (rumored blockbuster trades)."
Indeed, Buford said the Spurs don't approach tonight's draft as an opportunity to make one of the NBA's oldest rosters younger.
"There's a lot of very young teams out there that everybody likes to take pictures of," Buford said. "Those guys haven't made the playoffs in a while. Your championship rosters have oftentimes been some of the older teams in the league. So if we can keep our core group together and keep adding role players who fit the way we want to play and enhance the strengths of our core players, and vice versa, I'll be the oldest team in the league every year, if we can do that.
"Now, there's going to be a time and a day when they roll the wheelchairs out and take Tim (Duncan) and Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili) out of here. But I'm sure at that point, it will be somebody else's problem."
One of the reasons Buford a few days ago was named the NBA's best general manager in a 1-through-30 ranking by Sports Illustrated is the fact the Spurs have been able to optimize the draft from a disadvantaged position. Parker was the 28th, and final, pick in the 2001 first round. Ginobili came out of the second round — the penultimate pick — in the 1999 draft. Both have been All-Stars, and Parker was MVP of this month's NBA Finals.
But the Spurs also have jettisoned their No. 1 picks in two of the last four drafts. Ian Mahinmi, their first-round selection (28th overall) in 2005, has yet to play in the NBA. He is developing his game in the French professional league, and he recently tore a muscle that will keep him off the Spurs' summer-league team.
With a draft considered deeper than most in recent memory, are there players potentially available at No. 28 who might actually make the Spurs' roster next season?
"Our roster is pretty full right now," Buford said. "A lot of it will have to do with the opportunities that are there. We've got quite a few players in place and a couple of guys overseas that at some point we'd like to get over here."
Argentine forward Luis Scola, selected in the second round of the 2002 draft, is considered one of the top players in Europe. Buying out the remainder of his contract with his Spanish team, Tau Ceramica, has been the impediment to his joining the Spurs.
Among those known to have auditioned for the Spurs are point guards Zabian Dowdell, of Virginia Tech and Petteri Koponen, of Honka Espoo (Finland); forwards David Teague, of Virginia Tech, Jared Dudley, of Boston College, Kyrylo Fesenko, a 7-footer from Ukraine, and Morris Almond, of Rice.
"Our roster is pretty full right now," Buford said. "A lot of it will have to do with the opportunities that are there. We've got quite a few players in place and a couple of guys overseas that at some point we'd like to get over here."
Translation: We'll pick a foreigner if a good one drops or else we'll trade away the first rounder. We might draft a point guard in the second round, but don't count on it.
or more cia before the draft
spurs are not like suns and do not leak anything they want to do
New players are always intriguing because they're new but in some ways the next group of role players could already be "on" the team. I'm thinking of Butler, White, and Scola (obviously assuming we can get him on contract.) Butler and White have already spent a year learning the confusing system and so I think it would be insane not to bring those two guys back and see what they can do. Oberto didn't do his first year, yet last year he did show much improvement, even if his raw stats don't fly off the charts.
The only real weakness that the draft could help us is getting a second string point guard. Butler and Scola could give us strength down low. White could get a chance to fill in for Bowen to help save him for the playoffs.
If we use our first round pick, then who are we going to let go?
Our #33 pick is more likely to be of use to R.C.
Just my 2 cents.
Nothing new. Full roster and they want to keep it together for another run, but will tweak a little, preferably with established talent. #33 is what makes this draft interesting for the Spurs. #28 is traded or used on an international talent. #58 is international all the way.
I just might putmy season tickets up for sale if these ers bring back Beno for another year.
Beno's gone if they can find a taker. They gave him two chances to stick, which is one more than usual.
If they don't draft a point guard. That tells me they plan on rolling out the same backups.
Absolute bull if this happens.
They don't need to abandon their search for a 3rd point guard if the draft doesn't work out.
Pgs in the draft > pgs not in the draft available for the money the spurs want to spend.
if jacque vaughn or beno come back, I ain't watching anymore.
If the guys are available the draft should go
Dudley
Dowdell
foreigner
If not Dowdell then taurean green.
There should be no excuse not getting someone in this draft that can contribute next year.
Better quit watching cause Vaughn IS coming back.if jacque vaughn or beno come back, I ain't watching anymore
I don't mind Vaughn coming back as a third backup.
But the draft needs to bring in that PG.
I completely forgot that KG won the MVP. HAHAHAHAHA, what a freaking LOSER!!
Don't believe the draft hype.
Dowdell >>>>>> Anything the Spurs will have in summer league, vaughn, udrih
I suspect we'll trade the picks again. I guess the idiots running the show in SA think Bowen can check Lebron, Kobe, etc. at age 40?
3 in 5 idiocy is tough to top.
Major trade up and coming...
I don't for one second believe the Spurs are stupid enough to stay put.
did you copy this post from 03 and 05?I don't for one second believe the Spurs are stupid enough to stay put.
Jeez TPark...go eat another bacon wrapped twinkie. Your blood sugar is getting low and you are getting cranky.
Spurs have won 3 championships in 5 years. Last year they were one foul away from making it 4 of 5.
I think Spurs management know what they are doing.
a personal attack, how predictable.Jeez TPark...go eat another bacon wrapped twinkie. Your blood sugar is getting low and you are getting cranky
LOL
You are just damned lucky your parents set you up in the carny business.
Your fantasy GM aspirations vs. actual managerial insight wouldn't pay the feed bill.
Expect them to trade out of the 1st round - as has been the case in previous years.
if we don't add some young players to this team it will be a huge mistake, this year everything fell perfect for us....... it's ing re ed to stay the same while everyone retools, us staying the same never ing works, i don't get why they wait till we get ed up in the playoffs to change the team, we need to add young players cause horry is gonna keep on declining, brent barry is about as useless as a pecker on a pope, beno is hot garbage........ we have a lot of holes in this team, sure the championship is covering them up, but if we don't try to get better they will be exposed next may
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