14 Comments

• DanielB
  July 18th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

  I like Hairston. He really seems like a Spurs type of guy.

• ThatBigGuy
  July 18th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

  Does Hairston sound like a Spur, or do the Spurs sound like Hairston? The Spurs’ image has been blue collar role guys and humble superstars who say and do the right thing. Did this image come about by changing the players into the “Spurs’” mold, or did the players’ attitudes just happen to mesh properly together to form the “Spurs’” image? Is this a chicken or the egg scenario? Am I thinking too much?

  Hairston said the right things, now he’s gotta prove he’s worth a contract. Gimme somethin’, big guy.

• Rye
  July 18th, 2009 at 4:29 pm

  It’s because the Spurs put a premium on player’s personalities, temperaments, etc. and do thorough background checks on players to make sure they fit into their culture. They’re known to target intelligent, hardworking players, who don’t have a sense of entitlement, and who feel they have something to prove.

  Hairston fits the mold, and already looks like a cheaper, younger, more athletic, slightly bigger, and better version of Udoka. If he keeps up his level of play throughout Summer League and into training camp/preseason, he will push Finley for backup SF minutes behind Jefferson throughout the year.

• Robby
  July 18th, 2009 at 9:23 pm

  hi guys i know this is off topic…. just heard a news that OKC waived Earl Watson, as McClinton and Gist continues to struggle… maybe having Watson as another PG would be nice if we can get him at the minimum… at the moment we only have 2 PGs TP and George Hill… what do you think guys?

• Timothy Varner
  July 18th, 2009 at 9:23 pm

  Rye,

  Yeah, I think Ime Udoka 2.0 (younger with an improved bag of tricks) is exactly the way we should view Hairston. Even though Marcus Williams has always played small forward and, for some stints in college, small ball big forward, he will play point guard for San Antonio. He’s 6′7”, a tremendous rebounder, and really functions well within the system. His pick and roll recognition was great the final 45 days of the Toros season. He played for the Toros for two season, so that means he’s played two years within the Spurs’ system. Because of this, he’s probably 5 times as valuable to the Spurs as he would be to any other team. His knowledge of the system gives him a leg up.

• Timothy Varner
  July 18th, 2009 at 9:26 pm

  Robby,

  Watson already signed with Pacers. Marcus Williams and Roger Mason Jr are the Spurs’ third points. Besides, I’d rather have Williams over Watson. Watson’s once reliable strong play has waned in recent years.

• Robby
  July 18th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

  Thanks Tim, haven’t seen Williams play much but as you said ” I’d rather have Williams over Watson. Watson’s once reliable strong play has waned in recent years.” that means something so maybe the final roster spots goes to Gist… McClinton has been struggling….

• GMT
  July 18th, 2009 at 11:27 pm

  I’ve been wondering how likely it is for us to add Austin Nichols to the roster?Is he still available?

• Timothy Varner
  July 19th, 2009 at 4:52 am

  GMT,

  I’ve thought a lot about Austin too. I was disappointed to see he didn’t make anyone’s summer league roster. He’s a great guy, and working very hard to make the switch from French League to the NBA. I think the Spurs basically have their training camp in place. But it would be nice to see him pop on someone’s team. We’ll see.

  When they drafted Jack McClinton, also a sharpshooter, maybe they decided to move in that direction. They’re different players, obviously. But both of them excel at hitting deep shots. In that regard, they’re the same.

  But beyond any broad McClinton/Nichols comparisons we might draw. He’s generally up against it in terms of roster space. Put simply, the Spurs do not have any room apart from trading Finley or Bonner. And their incentive to do that is low, no doubt.

  Still, after seeing some of the lackluster talent on display at summer league, one wonders why the NBA doesn’t have a place for a high character, veteran sharpshooter like Nichols.

• Josh
  July 19th, 2009 at 10:45 am

  I was at the game last night and came away impressed with Malik. I was the opposite of impressed with McClinton and Gist. Not only was McClinton struggling on the offensive end (shooting and running the offense from the point) but I sure didn’t see anything that resembled a “lock down defender.” He was defending Bayless, so that may be a little unfair, but Bayless was blowing by him pretty easily.

  I’m not sure if it is what the coaches wanted him to do, but Gist took a lot of outside jumpers and misssed a lot of outside jumpers. He looked better in the post, but the Blazers were flopping…errr…taking a lot of charges so it was tough to gauge.

• GMT
  July 19th, 2009 at 11:08 am

  As much as I would like to see McClinton on our roster, I think Nichols is more NBA ready and would provide more than what Jack could offer. His size is definitely a big factor in his value over Jack. Coupled with our offensive improvements, adding him would more than make up for losing Bruce. We could still offer him the BAE if we wanted, but I guess he could still be an option next year. We’ll see where he ends up.

• Rye
  July 19th, 2009 at 1:37 pm

  The problem with Watson is that he’s always been a perpetual malcontent if he’s not playing the amount of minutes he deems acceptable. On the Spurs, assuming they’re healthy, he’d play virtually no minutes, and would push younger players like Hairston and Williams off the active roster, further blocking them and stunting their development.

  I’m skeptical about Williams playing the point at this level. Offensively, he seems to have a nice skill set, so it’s doable. Defensively, I doubt it. He’s not a great athlete, and lacks the lateral quickness to defend fleet footed guard’s.

  It’s one of the three main issues remaining on this team (albeit, the smallest of the three), but the Spurs don’t have a third player to guard point guard’s, assuming McClinton doesn’t make the roster. Mason, Ginobili, and Williams, may be able to play the position offensively, but not defensively.

• JIA
  July 21st, 2009 at 11:19 pm

  Malik Hairston has some NBA experience, Jeff McClinton doesn’t so not a fair comparison.

  Malik was part of U of Oregon’s successful squad in college. He was the player who quietly did all of the little things- tenacious defense, chasing down loose balls, etc. He is absolutely the type of player the Spurs’ braintrust loves. Here’s my prediction for the 15-man roster this year:

  12-man Spurs roster:

  Duncan, Parker, Jefferson, Ginobili, Mason, Hill,
  McDyess, Bonner, Blair, Williams, Hairston, Haislip.

  Extended roster:

  Mahinmi, McClinton, Gist (all with the Toros)

  J

• JIA
  July 21st, 2009 at 11:23 pm

  Correction, I left out Finley. Revised prediction:

  12-man Spurs roster:

  Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, Bonner, McDyess, Finley, Mason, Hill, Blair, Williams, Haislip.

  Extended roster: Mahinmi, Hairston, McClinton

  J

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