Sunday, October 25th, 2009...11:44 am
Spurs Waive Williams
The Spurs have waived Marcus Williams. The roster now stands at 15 and I expect it to stay that way. Between Hairston’s solid summer league and preseason performances, and the money both Haislip and Bogans are guaranteed, I don’t believe we will see any other cuts.
Williams has developed nicely, and personally I would have been more than happy to see him in a Spurs uniform. In particular I liked the idea of having a confident point on the deep bench. But the truth of the matter is, we’re talking about the deep bench and nothing more.
In retrospect, I wish the front office had not pulled the trigger on either Bogans or Haislip and instead given the young guys a chance to prove themselves. But one could easily argue that, when you’re talking about players who are primarily there to plug holes in case of injury, you want the reliability of a veteran.
Either way, it’s been a tremendous offseason and I couldn’t be more excited to watch the squad Buford and Popovich have put together.
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18 Comments
October 25th, 2009 at 11:55 am
The Austin Toros experiment, to date, is entirely dependent on Malik Hairston at this point—more so than George Hill or DuJuan Blair, I looked forward to this preseason to see what fruits the Spurs developmental league team would bare….
…The good news is Hairston seems ready now but still D-league eligible. The best thing I can say about Hairston is that no situation seems too big for him. For a player who has had to transition out to a perimeter oriented game, that’s huge. He’s had a steady handle, excelled at finishing and been a surprising passer with a few multi-assist games. At this point I’ll declare the Austin success ratio as 1-for-3, which I’d say is a success for what the Spurs are looking for.
http://sabankshots.blogspot.com/2009/10/bank-shots-spurs-preseason.html
October 25th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
The potential is there for Bogans and to a lesser extent, Haislip to have a role and contribute in some way, at some point this season.
No disrespect to Williams, but that likely wasn’t going to happen for him. Even if the Spurs get injuries at the point, they’d likely turn to Mason and Ginobili before such an unproven player. This is a team that will have a tough time as is dispensing the minutes amongst their cadre of proven perimeter players.
Selfishly, I hope no other NBA team picks Williams up and he signs on for another year with the Toros. Then, next off season when the Spurs are likely to be looking for minimum salaries to fill out the end of their bench, he could take Finley’s (I’m assuming he’ll retire) role on the roster.
As for the opening night lineup, two articles from the Express News indicate that Ginobili will start at SG.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I wonder if Williams just heads to Europe at this point. He could probably make a lot more money than he can with the Toros, and most NBA teams aren’t willing to take on any more players right now. Then again, most Euro teams have already started their seasons.
Also, any idea where James Gist will be playing this season?
October 25th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I’m still interested to see what haislip does this season he has a lot to prove but seems hungry and physically talented enough to make something of this experiment, I hope he suprises people and can be the Robert Horry replacement we’ve always dreamed of
October 25th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
>The Austin Toros experiment, to date, is entirely >dependent on Malik Hairston at this point…
and Mahinmi. Had he not missed much of last season to injury and surgery, he might have been NBA-ready at the present time. He’s a heck of a shot blocker, and I expect by mid-season he will be the best center in the NBDL.
Moreover, last year, Hairston was cut from the 15-man roster to make room for Williams who was tearing up the D-league. Hairston seems to have responded with hard work and catching up. I think Williams will get a Toros slot. The question is whether the Spurs can keep him or will some other team sign him up.
The spurs depth this year is incredible, putting them in a position to weather injuries and consider trade options during the season. Let’s just hope that the rotation can keep up with that of the lakers, cavs, celtics, and magic.
October 25th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I thought we were having this whole debate (Williams vs. Bogans) based on Williams having used up his Toros eligibility. If he can be stashed away another year I don’t see how this is even a debate but don’t think that was an option this season.
Anyone have any insight on this important point?
October 25th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
He can’t be assigned there by the Spurs, but I think he can go back there on his own, if he doesn’t get any better offers. The Spurs, however, have no rights to him. Am I correct on this?
October 25th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Graydon,
You up to grab a pre-game beer or two before we massacre the Bulls this Thursday?
October 25th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
CDH,
You are correct, the Spurs loose rights on Williams by waiving him. I’m not so sure about his D-League eligibility.
My bet is he might play in Europe this season and then maybe comeback to the Spurs next year.
October 25th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Jason,
In my opinion, Haislip will surprise a lot of people this season. His ability to defend mobile bigs is one contribution he might give to the team.
Replacing Horry is entirely different. But Haislip’s athletic ability will give us something that we’re lacking in the past.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Even though he failed to make the roster, 2 years with the Spurs can only have helped him to be a better balla and a more rounded person. Good luck in Europe, Marcus.
Deepest and most flexible Spurs roster I’ve seen in 20 years of following the team. Can’t wait to see them play for real!
October 25th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I think Marcus goes to Europe. Unlike Hairston, he hasn’t impressed people in the NBA enough to get picked up here. At this point in his career Europe would be better money and experience. In fact, the Spurs front office might help set him up with an overseas deal.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
JBlock,
I’m (once again) not sure about Williams and D-league. What I’m sure is that even if he had made the roster, the Spurs couldn’t have sent him to the Toros. On the other hand I’m not sure the Toros can’t just sign him up like any other player on this planet — but if an NBA team comes with an offer at any point this season there’s nothing the Spurs can do about it.
So all in all Williams might very well still stay in the “Spurs zone” (be it D-league or Europe) but the Spurs don’t have special rights to him.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
For us to see Haislip this season, he’s got to break into a really tough 12-man lineup. 1-10 are locks, and Ratliff is a near lock. That 12th spot could very well go to Bogans or Hairston and become an establised role.
If we keep Ian for the season, Haislip is competing with him in everything he does.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
More guys will see time in the first half of the season as long as they can sustain a lead/momentum.
The longer Pop can rest the big guys, he happier he’ll be. I think Pop really wants to make use of these 15 roster spots.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Although Marcus Williams and the three or four other guys fighting for that last roster spot represented some intriguing, unmolded talent, I can’t remember a season in the past five or ten years where I’ve been so excited about those three young guys that made the roster coming up in the system and getting a chance to prove themselves. It seems like more often than not in this past decade our rookies and project players are only vague intimations of some amorphous future contribution, reminding us of their presence only when an errant pass or player bumps its way to the far end of the bench (and the camera follows. Mengke Bateer!). Or, like Mahinmi a few years ago, they come in to play help defense and occupy space, but generally stay out of the way. Beyond all that, we might be the only fans in the league who _expect_ our first-round picks not to show up in the NBA for a year or two. The Spurs take their time when it comes to developing personnel.
However, I think that the unexpected success of Roger Mason Jr. and George Hill in a constrained situation last year really opened Pop’s mind to developing young or unknown talent for its own sake. You’d think he would’ve figured this out Tony’s rookie season, but so it goes. I suspect that the team’s interest in solid oldsters like Ratliff and McDyess depends in part on their faith in minutewise contributions of untested talent. Maybe it’s all wrong, anyway. In any case, that’s why I’m particularly excited about Hairston, Mahinmi, and Blair this year.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
looks like after last april, then Hairston was waived off the 15-man roster so the spurs could sign Marcus williams, Malik was hungrier to prove himself:
http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=4105
October 29th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I work at CVS and earlier tonight Marcus Williams actually came in my store. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he already has an offer to play in Europe. He’s good enough to make it on an NBA squad, but with so many Spurs at his position having guaranteed money, there was little he could do this training camp. Entirely too good to be in the D-league another season. Perhaps some team in the central division (Indiana?) might have a place for him later this season or next.
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