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Benson, O'Bryant, Javtokas, or draft project is who I would look to.
I was hesitant to start this thread, but it might be nice to keep this conversation in one place. When necessary we can simply copy and paste material from other threads to bring newbies up to speed.
Most of us are of the persausion that the Spurs would benefit from another shot-blocking big. Some think this is a high priority, others not so much.
The Spurs will probably have Duncan, Oberto, Thomas, Mahinmi and Bonner as their contracted big rotation next season. The suggestions from various threads for the last big (LLE money) are: Rod Benson, Fransico Elson, Patrick O'Bryant, Alonzo Mourning (if healthy), Robertas Javtokas, Robert Horry, and drafting a big for Austin placement.
Trash or praise those choices, or add another name to the discussion in your response.
I'll add these two names to the list: Dikembe Mutumbo and Adonal Foyle.
And also the thought that perhaps the Spurs should sign Kurt Thomas to a one year deal and trade him for someone younger that is on a longer contract which his team would like to shed. I like Thomas, but that is an option.
Last edited by tav1; 06-07-2008 at 09:00 PM.
Benson, O'Bryant, Javtokas, or draft project is who I would look to.
Here is why I don't like those four options:
Benson is too thin, and doesn't have a capacity to put on the weight, it seems. Or so suggests ChumpDumper, and he knows more than the rest of us about Benson.
O'Bryant is maybe best option of the four you mention, but he can't be assigned to the D-League and will not see the floor. That being the case, I'd rather sign a vet or a youngster that is D-League eligible.
Javtokas probably couldn't get along with Pop if the history between him and the Spurs is already tense. If this weren't the case, Javtokas would deserve serious thought.
There will not be any available to late in the second and the Spurs need to draft at other positions with their first two picks.
To my mind, a vet on a 1 or 2 year LLE is the way to go. I'd prefer two years, unless the player was Horry, Mutumbo or Mourning. Then it is unquestionably 1 year. Having said all that, of the names provided so far, I like Elson and Foyle.
Last edited by tav1; 06-07-2008 at 09:04 PM.
Since Ian can block some shots and will probably get some burn this season, I'm putting a slightly smaller emphasis on shotblocking than I am on athleticism. Mutombo is great but damn slow these days. If we don't bring Thomas back, I certainly would consider Deke. I haven't seen too much of Foyle this season, I can only say his numbers suggest he's losing some of his athleticism. Still, if he's available he'd be worth a look.
Benson is definitely thin, but he was far and away the best rebounder in the D-League this season and is pretty fast in transition, another quality only Ian will bring if we don't get another athletic big man. He's about the same size as Elson, so I don't see why one could knock his thinness (I'm not against bringing Elson back either, if it comes to that).
O'Bryant's main problems are he's soft and he's gotten zero instruction on being an NBA big man. It is unfortunate that he can't be sent down anymore, but any potential could be determined in a training camp provided he doesn't receive guaranteed offers from other teams.
Javtokas? Who knows how much money he might want now.
In the draft. I'm not super impressed by the big men available to the Spurs in the first round, especially compared to Ian. I'm more inclined to spend the first two picks on guards/swingmen and see if one of the athletic PFs like Ot o Hunter, James Gist or James Mays are still around at 57 and possibly be developed in Austin.
Foyle didn't get playing time because he and Howard are not a good pairing. Foyle could play off Duncan. The things I like about him are he's highly professional, very intellingent and is typically good with his rotations. He's capable of being a sturdy rebounder and protecting the rim in short minutes. No one is going to give him more than the LLE and he'd probably want to play for the Spurs.
One thing that is becoming clear is the Spurs have no need to target a big in the first round. Every name in this thread is a legit option for the LLE. They'll have a rookie to work in, more or less, in Mahinmi. Their frontline rotation may have been better with Splitter, but it's not in dire straits.
I like you're thinking on Gist and Mays--or even Benson--in Austin.
Elson beats most of the other options. At least he can run and jump.
The thing to avoid is wasting a draft pick on a stiff like the lesser Lopez brother.
That's pretty much my the ability I'm looking for in the sixth big.
I like the three potential late PF picks because in addition to possessing those talents, they're all built kind of the same (6'8" or 6'9" with 7'+ wingspans) and each has demonstrated at least some semblance of an outside shot.
1) Please God don't let the Spurs bring back Elson.
2) While I don't think it would be "wasting" a draft pick to snag Lopez, I think the Spurs would be better off trading out of the first round to pick up a couple second rounders (Minnesota's #31/34 or Portland's #33/35) if they aren't able to get the swingman they want in the first.
In the early 30's there are most likely going to be a ton of post players worth a look that won't require guaranteed money for multiple years and have the potential to contribute sooner rather than later. Guys like....
JJ Hickson
DJ White
Devon Hardin
Jason Thompson
Joey Dorsey
Richard Hendrix
, I wouldn't mind if the Spurs used one of those picks to snag a post player that wasn't ready to contribute right away. Someone like....
Serge Ibaka
Alexis Ajinca
Nathan Jawai
After all, we are talking about the 6th big man at this point....and how much burn do we expect that player to get?
Running mock drafts the Spurs are almost guaranteed to see one of those swingmen often mentioned fall to them. If it's Courtney Lee, would you still want to trade back?
I don't care who the 6th big is, but I'd like to upgrade one of the 2nd-4th bigs.
how do you propose to do that?
If the Spurs upgraded 2-4 it's probably going to require a trade, and probably a sign and trade of Kurt Thomas and/or Finley. Some ideas (none of which I like) of what might be possible:
Joel Pryzbilla for KT in a sign and trade. Oden and Aldridge will need some of the money Portland owes Pryzbilla, and so they'd probably listen if someone called asking for him. The problem is that his contract messes with the 2010 plan.
Darko Milicic in a KT sign and trade. A downgrade but Memphis is so eager to get him off the books we might land Javaris Crittenton as part of the deal. Darko's contract falls off just when the Spurs need it to.
Charlie Villaneuva is rumored to be on the market, but I don't see a scenario where we could land him.
Eddy Curry. Yes, him. And yeah, I know.
Rasheed Wallace is available, but the Spurs don't have any of the assets the Pistons would want or the contracts to make it happen.
Given those choices, the best bet is to sign a competent sixth big and go by committee.
Baring Spurs don't do some trades, I think they will go with a young player as the 6th bigman.
The plan could be to put this young big on the Mahinmi plan and let him one year in Austin. After Mahinmi's quite nice year, I guess Spurs FO see the D-League as a great way to develop players.
The best way to get a young player is the draft. I wouldn't be surprised to see Spurs drafting a big this year.
I'd really like to see the Spurs go after a swingman with their first pick...but if they do go after a bigman i hope it's Ibaka.
Is it just me or does Serge Ibaka seem like Ian Mahinmi #2?
I agree with that we need to upgrade the 2nd-4th bigs. Whether it be a power forward or a center. Duncan needs some help for once. He hasn't had a legit starting big man next to him since Robinson. The closest thing hes had as help was Nazr Mohammed which is sad. Not dogging Oberto. Oberto does some things well. The things that the typical 4th big men in the rotation should do. IE make open layups, set hard screens, tap balls out, box out.
Yes, it would be nice to see an upgrade at that position, but how does this happen? I don't see many answers. And at the expense of a scoring wing?
And some of the internationals might slide into the second round for contract reasons...what about the Georgian kid, Shermandidi at 57?
It just not happening. The Spurs can't afford to invest more than a single project next season. It was going to be Spitter; now most likely will be Mahinmi.
Why not?
Shermadini is a huge mystery. I doubt he will be available at #57. He will pull out if he doesn't receive positive feedback about him being picked sooner in the draft.
When I look at the history, most bigmen who have been successful while being picked late are undersized PF (Millsap, Landry, Powe, Boozer...). I don't enough NCAA prospects to give you some names but I guess that there will be, as almost every year, some intriguing undersized PF available in the second round.
Mahinmi is gonna be in the rotation next year.
And I doubt Splitter will ever sign with us, so might as well pick another project.
Most of the professional stat geeks are quick to point out that rebounding is a stat that has a predictable and high rate of transfer between levels and leagues--my guess is that this has much to do with how much "heart" factors into rebounding. I bring this up as one of the main reasons undersized 4s often workout.
In the last few days, I've been thinking about Benson in this regard. Maybe he is the 6th big--he's not an undersized 4--but he could pan out like one. If he has a heart to board and a decent enough frame, we could do worse.
Re: Shermandini. If he pulls out, will he play in a better league next season? He's not going to improve posting up a sea of midgits. And is his age legit?
Then that project will do the same thing that splitter did. forget the damn projects
That doesn't make any sense.
Why get a project like splitter when he will probably take more money in europe too? plus, we need someone who can play this year
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