Thursday, February 18th, 2010...1:23 pm
Y! Sports: Spurs Trade Ratliff
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Via Woj’s Twitter:
The Spurs have traded Theo Ratliff to Charlotte, source tells Y! Sports.
As of now, the move seems to be nothing more than a salary dump, saving the team over $800,000 in luxury tax payments and the responsibility for the remainder of Ratliff’s contract.
Update: Looks like we got a second-round pick for Ratliff.
76 Comments
February 18th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
WTH? I actually thought Theo would be used in the Playoffs!!!
February 18th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
This is EXACTLY what I’d been hoping for all along!
February 18th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
This is a great move for us because now that we have rid ourselves of another big, we can finally try RJ at Center…. I understand wanting the shed payroll for the luxury tax but my goodness, with the lack of shot blocking on the team does it really make sense to dump one of our not used 7 footers sitting on the bench??? OK… I guess I just answered my own question. Pop must not have ever planned on playing the guy so I guess it’s a good move. But why not at least a few mintues of burn for shot blocking. Mahimi I assume doens’t get burn since he’s a foul machine (even though he’s got 5 of them to give up) and it would be a black eye on the FO if he actually played well… but I really thought Theo was being saved for the play-offs since he’s so injury prone. Never thought he was a 20-30 minute a night guy, just a spot game mathc-up guy and to be used against the lenghty teams in the playoffs. Dallas and Portland got bigger and the Spurs got smaller… awesome.
I read on a Spurs board that fans should start protesting Small Ball at games and bring signs in that say “No More Small Ball!” or “I’m 5′ 10″ Sign me as Center!!!!” I think that’s a helluvan idea. This fascination with small ball is sickening. Something must be done. We must revolt!
February 18th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I don’t get this move. Like all the others, I thought Pop was “saving” Theo for the playoffs.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I cant say that this was the smartest move, that is, unless we have big ideas for Ian Mahinmi.
Theo was our only remote insurance of help defense in the paint when playing the league’s elite.
That being said, I would love to get to see Ian get about 10 minutes of playing time to take some stress off Duncan’s knees. Could we not use him and Blair as the second unit off the bench? For some reason I believe that they would make a great pair. Ian isnt known for his rebounding ability, but can be a great shot blocker if given the minutes. I believe we all know what a rebounding beast Blair is. With all the silly line-ups, you would think that this would have been given a shot, if for nothing more than garbage minutes…
February 18th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Charlotte traded their washing machine. Even though they needed their washing machine, they decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on this one.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
…this was the big trade? I didn’t expect them to get Lebron, but couldn’t we have at least traded the likes of Mason, Bogans, Bonner, or Finley for a decent young player or even draft picks. Theo hasn’t been used all year long and he can’t know the Spurs system so why would Pop use him in the playoffs? This to me is a decent trade if we can get a pick. We really need to reload and I hoped we could take this opportunity to do so. I guess there weren’t any decent deals to be had…
February 18th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Theo has been worthless for years, he was STRICTLY injury insurance for the spurs. Every contender needs a back up center as insurance, but the spurs aren’t contenders. Vets fit the roll well, glad to pick up another paycheck, and unproven young cheap guys are the other way to go: Mahinimi is our end of the bench guy, and it doesn’t look like he’ll ever be anything else.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Nooooo! I’m going to miss Mr. Youngevity. =(
February 18th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Well then, seems we are going with the line-up we’ve got minus our only true shot blocker (even if he was old)
So what’s better? Missing the playoffs all together
getting a decent(?) OR getting pumped in the first round?
Any thoughts?
I’ve been trying to be patient as I believe if our guys can play hard and gritty every night we can hang with the best.
But I just don’t get this move.
GO SPURS GO!!!
February 18th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Isn’t Theo a veteran’s minimum guy? I thought the cash and salary cap hit was less than half a mil for these guys.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
@DieHardSpur
I wish you were right. I don’t think Ian is the “chosen one” but it would be nice to see what he can actually do. We’ve all watched games and see how much we need an athletic big to keep people away form the paint and scoring at will. However… if they had big plans for Ian they would have picked up his option earlier this year. They didn’t… kinda tells you why he hasn’t played (they don’t think much of him). It would cost them more now to keep a good Ian. Would have been a major FO blunder if he turned out to be a decent big and we had to pony up more money for him in the offseason instead of wisely picking up his option. He was a late 1st round project. Coaches and staff must think he’s a bust. I guess we’ll never know until he suits up somehwere else next year. It’s small ball from here on out unless there were missing details to the trade.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
@doggydogworld, that’s what I thought too, in an attempt to make signing older players more attractive their contracts aren’t suppose to have the same negative impacts of other players.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Sorry guys, I was rushing and used Woj’s figure of $1.3 million. I’ve edited it to reflect the situation more accurately. I don’t know how much of Ratliff’s contract the Spurs still had to pay which, if you add it to the luxury tax, may have saved the Spurs $1.3 million. But I’m not positive, so I’ll stick with what I know.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Theo was not gonna be a shot-blocking savior for us or anybody at this point in his carreer, it’s not 1999! Ian must be a bust… Those guys don’t play anyway, but can we start getting 30 minutes a night from Blair, and let him mature! For crying out loud, what do we have to lose?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
@Dr. Who
I really hope that not playing Ian doesn’t come back to bite us in the @$$. Imagine if Houston picks him up, as they did Mensa-bonsu, and give him 10 quality minutes a game… I would almost hate for him to flourish.
I believe that we seriously need to work on cultivating our younger talent. Obvoiusly Chip Ellengland(?) is a mastermind behind shooting, why cant we get more coaches that have a niche in which they can help our individual player defense, dribbling, and passing. Ie - send Tony Parker to Chris Paul school, George Hill to Bowen school, and maybe have Robinson, or God forbid, Duncan spend some time with these big guys and show them the tricks of the trade (low post moves, footwork, paint defense). I for one believe we should hire Charles Barckley to come in and spend an entire summer with DeJuan Blair.
All hope is not lost. We have done a good job picking good/great talent out of the draft, we just need to work more on developing that picks niche.
Thoughts anyone?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Obvious salary dump and not a bad move considering they got a pick (probably future 2nd rounder) for him.
It seems clear that Peter Holt has no delusions of grandeur when it comes to the current incarnation of the Spurs, so in a small market with an uncertain future, he’s trying to cut his losses for the year (first Haislip, the failed attempt to dump Mason and now Ratliff).
The FO had their chance to go out and make a splash, unfortunately for the team and us fans, RJ has been a colossal disappointment. I fully expect a short playoff run and prompt exit, but at least Holt will get a little money back from the few home games the Spurs will have-I’m guessing no more than 4.
Considering the optimism over the summer, what a disappointing season. (Sigh)
February 18th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Whaaat?
I thought they were saving him for the playoffs??
You’d think they would have gone after at least Ty Thomas. If they knew they weren’t planning on using Ratliff.
Maybe it’s IAN’s shot???
Maybe they’ll make a push for Big Z???
Whatever.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much potential for this team to be great, I just don’t get it. Somebody help me understand!
February 18th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Playoffs? Playoffs?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
He was not playing, so you might as well let him go. He has not been seen on the court in weeks.
Maybe Ian will get a chance for a few more minutes. What could it hurt?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Front office loud and clear saying that they could care less about any playoff matchup where an extra vet big shot blocker is needed in the 1st round.
Spurs roster now has what 13 or is it 12 players?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
GUYS! Theo was never gonna be an asset in the playoffs, strictly an injury stop-gap (see my post above.)
@DieHardSpur
I agree with you regarding developing young guys. I think your approach of Chris Paul school/ Bowen school is a little niave, but I totally agree that we need some teachers in our organization! Definitely, and without a doubt. Especially on developing some defensive specialists, which is just a case of cultivating knowledge and desire to go with natural intelligence and athleticism.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
So Bobcats have Nazr Mohammed, Tyson Chandler, Desagna Diop, Tyrus Thomas, Boris Diaw and now Theo Ratliff as PF and C? What the heck are they doing?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
BayAreaSpursFan, how’d you do that? I’ll try:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 18th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
TD4Life -
I was trying to make a point, I know those guys are definitely one of a kind.
i sure hope we can “gel” with the current roster. I paid for the League Pass for the first time and so far i haven’t recieved a return on my investment.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
@Ivmainman
1) They are pushing for the playoffs, and have lots of injuries in their front court
2) Larry Brown is forever Defense First.
3)His league leading defense just got spanked (for the 3rd time out of the the Nets’ last 6 wins) by Lopez and the legue’s worst offense!
February 18th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
let ian play. maybe some consistent minutes could keep him from foul trouble. maybe he can get to a point where he can be on the floor to stay infront of aldrige, odom. i think it’s funny that the worst case scenario is that he blossoms. if he could only control his fouls….
February 18th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
what i find laughable about this is the spur traded a guy making 800k for SALARY CAP ROOM! i mean 800K! we are 10 million over so now we are ONLY 9.2 million over. good call. i mean damn that makes sense right? maybe we could trade the trainer for extra ball carts? maybe the towel boy for another gatoraid cooler?
February 18th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I think there are severly delusional Spurs fans if we thought Theo Ratliff was going to fortify our front line. If Peter Holt wanted to save a little dough, that’s his prerogative.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Ranger….Umm it saves his Salary plus the Luxry Tax hit. So totaling almost 2 Million. NOt bad savings if you ask me.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Well, I just learned we will be getting a second round pick for Ratliff which really doesn’t do anything for our current situation but maybe we will be luck enough like we’ve been in the past and get a good draft pick in the draft. Also in the 76ers, Bucks trade that sent Jodie Meeks and Franciso Elson to Philly for Royal Ivey, Primoz Brezec, and a 2010 2nd draft pick, it looks like Elson is headed for a buyout so maybe the spurs could look into bringing him back.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Not saying they should but hey, he was ight.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
It’s becoming harder and harder to be a Spurs fan. I know it would have been hard to dump RJ, but we could have at least tried to do something. Are we just giving the west to the Cakers vs Lebron or Boston/Orlando. Theo is old, but last time I checked we will need bigs come playoffs. If we drawl Dallas or Portland it is our A**es going home in the first round for two years in a row.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnjnuKvFRbXSJJjb2llLspG8vLYF?slug=ap-bulls-bobcatstrade&prov=ap&type=lgns
“The Bobcats made another minor trade, acquiring veteran big man Theo Ratliff(notes) from San Antonio for a second-round pick.”
February 18th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
So let me get this straight, last summer Holt gives the o.k. to go over luxury tax to get the players needed for a solid run. Now all of a sudden he’s worried about the luxury tax? Is this a sign the front office knows it can’t win this year and is simply trying to lessen the blow of it’s tax payment next year? Can someone let me know before I renew my season tix?
February 18th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
@grinch: The Spurs shopped RJ hard to multiple teams on multiple occasions. No buyers. None. That’s the way it goes. His contract will be like a gold brick next February, though.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
The Charlotte pick may be a pretty good pick though for us. But that’s of course in the dreaded “future”…
February 18th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
More power to Holt. Why pay Theo a million dollars to keep a seat warm at the end of the bench?
February 18th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
We have to assume that the Spurs have something else in the works which has yet to hit the wire. They now have a roster of 13. Maybe they are calling up a big from the Toros if we don’t hear word of a trade deadline move.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Charlotte needed a big man after their bigs all went down with injuries (and Chandler is forever injury-prone). Smart move on MJ’s part, but what the hell is the Spurs FO doing just throwing away a veteran big like that? Are they freeing up the roster spots to sign FAs (who’ll be bought out soon - big Z/Gooden may be?) or are they simply saving taxes here?
February 18th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Having said that, does SA have any mid-level exceptions left?
February 18th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I was amazed. I knew the Spurs weren’t making a huge splash but I expected something a little better. Realistically, we needed to get another SF just in case RJ turns into a pumpkin….come playoff time. I thought the 2 SFs from Milwaukee (Warrick and Alexander) were low risk gambles. Warrick is a 3/4…..can anyone say “small-ball”.
February 18th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
@Bryan
I guess you feel the same way about the blog that your posting since earlier in the season it was pointed out on this site that even though Ratliff is up there in age he still had effective per minute defensive #’s last year with the Sixers.
February 18th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I am sure the Spurs tired to move Jefferson, but I doubt there was much interest. As for this move, I can’t really blame Holt. Yeah, Ratliff is another big for the playoffs, but I think fans are delusional if they think this team is going past the first round of the playoffs. I feel like we should give Holt a break, he allowed Spurs to make a trade and go well over the cap. Holt is going to be paying big dollars with the luxury tax, and has little to nothing to show for it, might as well save a little bit of cash.
The hope is that next year Jefferson’s expiring contract can net us a player to help. Of course by that time we might be minus Ginobili.
February 18th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I don’t see why they didn’t go after Kurt Thomas or Oberto. They could’ve have brought both of them back.
Anyway,
Mcdeezy has been coming along. But POP sits him because they blow by him a couple of times. So what. They can’t do it all night. Besides he can get rebounds and can hit the open shot.
I still think they can make a push. And Im not saying that because Im a fan.
I hate to say it but its all up to RJ.
Even if Manu is back to his old self (he’s been looking good lately) and Mcdeezy crashes the Boards, TD is TD and TP slashes through the lane, they can’t win if RJ is only gonna put up 5 points.
Instead of cursing him lets support the dude.
He’s been looking better especially on Defense. Let’s just hope he’s in a slump and will eventually come around. Hey, it’s all we have left.
Let’s do this.
February 18th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Something for nothing. I guess the front office is forgetting about a playoff push this season. Do they plan on making a splash with free agency at the end of the season?
February 18th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
@DieHardSpur The Pops move didnt’ really bite us at all. I’m not even sure if Pops is still in the league, he’s definitely not playing for the Rockets or contributing there in any way. I think he was waived and ended up in Tornoto for a while. I do get your point though. Ian could end up being a decent player, but we’ll never know because he only plays against NJ I guess? The youth movement and cultivating young players is something this organization really doesn’t do and I wish it would. It took an act of congress for Pop to play George Hill last playoffs. What was his quote, “This isn’t his playoffs” or something of the like as he benched him and we got killed. I thought even stubborn Pop would have learned from that. Problem is we’re not in rebuilding mode nor are we in youth development mode??? I sure wish we would start to cultivate some young talent to go along with our aging vets.
@therealkman You really think if Pop called anyone up for the Toros, they’d get PT???? In this organization two things will keep you off the court. If you’re young you ain’t playing, if you’re 7 foot or over (and not named Tim Duncan) you got no shot. It’s the Small Ball Spurs over here baby! Ugh…. No Spurs No! I’ll still watch BTW, I’ll just break at least 15 remotes before the season’s end from throwing them across the room when we put RJ or Finley in at the 4.
February 18th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Here I thought pop was saving him(theo) for the playoffs, to go all out! To really bump heads on the likes of bynum, shaq, howard! hopefully pop will start playing Ian Mahnimi more(getting his feet a little more wet)! I dont know why pop dont play him more often, Mahnimi is quick for a big and can help Tim on rebounds (off. & def.) and block shots! I still think we needed a solid wing defender to make this squad complete! will see!
February 18th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Everyone wanted a trade, and you all got one! Hahahaha!
But seriously, this is a nice under-the-radar move to save $1.6 million. The FO must believe that Ratliff and Ian are fairly equal as injury insurance, so they kept the expiring contract (Ian).
On another note, it frees up another roster spot. There may be some enticing buy-outs in the near future we now have space for. Who knows?
February 18th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Pops M-B bounced around between the Spurs, Rockets, and the Raptors, but ultimately went back to Europe. He’s currently playing for CSKA Moscow.
February 18th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Mayb they are making space to try and make a run at LEBRON.
LOL, JK JK.
What a season huh folks?????
February 18th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
So what does this mean for the open roster spot now? Are we going to bring up Malk Hairston?
February 18th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
I like the idea of signing a free agent, like gooden again.
February 18th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
I mean soon to be free agent drew gooden
February 18th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
I wish 48MoH had polls that also showed comments from voters for and against… like, in this case, those for dumping Theo, versus those crazies who think he was gonna bang with the Lakers elite come playoff time. LOL!… OF COURSE Holt and company are dumping payroll to get a future draft pick and save almost 1.9 million dollars… OF COURSE this is an admission that we are not contenders this year, and that our reality has changed since the optimistic spending last summer! Duh.
February 18th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I suppose the only thing we can really hope for in terms of an upgrade is somehow getting Big Z if/when he’s bought out.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
I’ll make a variety of general points:
1) On the trade front, I am perplexed why the FO didn’t think they could make a move as we approached this years trade deadline. I’m sure they have their reasons, which may be entirely legitimate (I’m sure it’s much more complex than I think we sometimes make it out to be). For example, I’m not sure why they weren’t able to make a deal with the Wiz, before the Mavs. I was pushing for that before the Mavs/Wiz trade. Perhaps we’ll never know. That said, I’m not convinced that the failure to accomplish a deal for Ty Thomas was a mistake (there are some negatives with him), although it does look like he turned out not to be very expensive to acquire, and he certainly has the skills that could have helped us in the front court in some capacity. The Ratliff trade is really not very important. Apparently Pop & Co. must have felt (through observation in practice, etc.) his skills have waned too much at this stage in his career (37 in April) to warrant displacing minutes from any of our other front court players. I trust their judgment on this, and the draft pick and salary savings makes some sense. Finally, I think failing to conclude a deal for this guy was a BIG mistake:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AttYrY.yIxzoB0Upu87q2eo5nYcB?slug=ys-jazztrade021810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Picking up a guy like Brewer for a draft pick is a no-brainer in my view. This guy is an excellent YOUNG talent, with exceptional size and defensive prowess at the two-spot. Granted, he has one distinct weakness; he’s not a shooter, and may never be a very good shooter. As such, he MAY not ever be good enough to be a STARTER on a championship contender. That said, his size and defensive skills a the two-spot are undervalued in my estimation. He would be great to have in the guard rotation, and have the luxury to play him more against the bigger, more talented two-guards around the league.
2) It looks to me that the Spurs front office is gun-shy to make another major deal right now. They’ve been disappointed with the performance of their major acquisitions from last summer, and probably don’t want to risk compounding the problem. This is understandable. That said, I also think they may not have completely given up on their current roster being competitive in the playoffs this year, and depending on how they finish, they will simply regroup accordingly in the off-season. And make no mistake, for all the Spurs problems and apparent weaknesses, they’re not out of it quite yet. WE always knew getting past the Lakers was a stretch, even if everything went swimmingly with the new acquisitions. And of course, the Spurs do have significant talent (although, in my view, they must still sign somebody, SOON, for a decent price, from buyout/waivers that can help on the front line defensively; former Spur, Elson, may become available, and obviously knows the system; does he have the legs left to contribute 10-20 minutes a game at age 33?). Without such a signing, or something similar, our REMOTE chance of a birth in the Western Conference Finals will be almost entirely extinguished. Other than that, the key is, can the starters and main rotation players step it up the rest of the year and play aggressively as a team, with pride & confidence? It is possible… so don’t lose hope yet for a respectable finish. And remember, as I write this, we’re only a half game behind the Mav’s for the Southwest Division title.
Main things MUST improve over the last 30 games:
- execute and close out all quarters, preferably with a scoring advantage in the last five minutes, particularly in the fourth quarter, and of course, WINNING close games (a blow-out now & then wouldn’t hurt!).
- establishing a winning record (over .500) against .500 + teams over the remainder of the season.
- maintaining at least a .550 to .600 winning percentage on the road the rest of the way (MUST win three consecutive road games coming out of the break, and winning the first six road/home games would show we mean business, and would probably put us in the lead in the Southwest Division).
- GET IT IN ANOTHER GEAR DEFENSIVELY, in all areas; transition, perimeter, in the paint.
Without meeting these basic benchmarks, I’m afraid it could be a frustrating finish to the season for us fans. If this occurs, let’s still try to be grateful (at least sometimes!) for all our prior success, and the team we have. It’s a lot better than most cities.
3) Finally, for those of you that continuously complain about Pop’s rotations and use or disuse of his players; PLEASE get a grip. It’s becoming very nauseating, and is entirely counter-productive. I could see if the Spurs coach was young and not very experienced, and also produced a mediocre to shoddy record over the past 4-5 years. There’s FIVE coaches ALL-TIME that have FOUR or more titles under their belt; and as you know, Pop is one of them. And please, don’t try to tell me the “players” were why we won, but now that we’re not winning as much the coach is the reason. And of course, NONE of us could hold a candle to Pop as a coach of the Spurs ourselves. Obviously, it’s fine to question some decisions, if you must, but can we do it with a bit more respect and less “know it all” attitude, even in some cases calling for Pop to go. Also, please realize, YOU don’t know how to use the Spurs players better than Pop …… OR otherwise, feel free to tell us all you’ve got a coaching contract in the works with R.C. Absent such development, it’s silly to scapegoat Pop for our own frustrations with the team. The Spurs problem this year is almost entirely results from our VETERAN players not playing up to their capability in terms of production, consistent work ethic on the court, and overall mental focus and desire in carrying out their jobs, particularly against good teams and at the end of quarters. Perhaps at some point we could chill a bit on the “Pop Critique” in the comments section, and focus our attention on how the “players our performing on the court” during our wins and losses? It would focus attention where attention is due: WHAT ARE THE PLAYERS doing that may ruin our hopes for a successful season.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
@Jaceman
Big Z will return to Cleveland.
The only thing we can hope for in terms of an upgrade is RJ finding his game, it took Barry, Finley, and Horry a while… but more controllable than that is for Pop to give up the Don Nelson impersonation, and to improve by developing our youth through playing time and teaching them the game… next year we can look at improving our roster, once the dust settles on where all the big stars land, there will be bottom feeders with great players, and maybe the occasional defensive ace, but no chance of winning.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
@Jim Henderson, re: your 3 points…
1) Ty Thomas was obviously gettable (although they may have just bit on the best draft pick offered), but it will be interesting to see if TT blossoms under Larry Brown. Though TT may never make us regret it, I thought his expiring contract was a worthy gamble, given that the best chance for him to become an All-NBA defender would be playing for Pop, next to TD — can he be one-half of a younger Kevin Garnett (the defensive half)? There are only a few places where he can go to maximize his growth during the second phase of his young career as Varejao, Ben Wallace, and even Kendrick Perkins have/did at that same point, and Charlotte is on that short list.
2) I am also looking for some basic signs of life which will allow me to be more optimistic going into the next/off season.
3) Fact is Houston, Sacramento, and especially Portland are looking like they have far savvier GMs than the Spurs these days. I, for one, back Greg Popovich, I want him as our coach at least until we can put together a new group around TD (and Manu, ideally) and maximize their defensive potential, but I think he needs to lighten up a little and try to cultivate a culture this year (since we’re not contenders) where guys can have much more joy playing for this team, give up the small-ball, and give the young guys big minutes (especially Blair) to grow and learn.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Pop is a great coach who has made miracles out of this team and should always have a job with the Spurs as long as he wants. That said, this team needs to strap in and find out how to win games, especially against potential playoff opponents. However, the Spurs struggled against Phoenix during the season only to upset them come playoffs. Because of this fact is why I have faith in Pop to get the job done. But all players that step on the court must find their way to contribute. Duncan couldn’t make a shot against Indiana, so he brought in 100 rebounds (give or take). Parker is playing hurt and we can’t do anything about him resting, but if he can manage 20+ points, let him play.
For the other members of the team, if you can’t fill all necessary responsibilities, then do what you can and let the rest of the team step in. Don’t shoot if it’s not going in. Don’t foul out in 10 minutes.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
This has to be the most amount of comments for such a short article.
Poor Theo, he didn’t even get a chance to play. For the first time as a Spur’s fan I am really questioning the front office moves.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
How can saving $800,000 for a guy who has scored 34 pts TOTAL in 21 games (1.6 ave) be anything but good - esp. when you get a draft pick out of it? Ratliff had 18 blocks but he also had 16 turnovers. I think the Spurs would be better served w/ finding someone else on the roster to play his 8.7 mins per game and save the $$$.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Spurs.com reporting its a “protected 2nd round” pick in the year 2016. No that is not a typo… 2016!
What is a protected 2nd round pick? I’ve heard of a lottery protected first round pick but never a 2nd round pick.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Ratliff=whatever. I don’t think they brought him on to be much of a contributor anyhow. We all know Poppovich’s track record. I trust any decision he makes regarding lineups, trades, etc because he IS A PROVEN WINNER. Anyone else who thinks they know better DOESN’T. We don’t know what goes on in practice nor do we understand the nuances of the game as he does. This team obviously hasn’t performed to its expectations for a multitude of reasons that doesn’t involve the coaching! It is piss-poor execution at critical moments of the game. If we were to subtract a few crucial turnovers, defensive lapses and missed 3 pointers, this team would have 5 more wins than their record shows (think about their losses to the Jazz and the Blazers especially which was a pure, horrible display of execution BY THE PLAYERS ON THE COURT).
Granted, I will be the first to admit that it will take a perfect alignment of the universe for the Spurs to win three playoff series en-route to a finals berth, we should quit wishing for other players (via trades, etc) to come to our rescue. Tyrus Thomas is a pure underachiever who has no place on a Spurs roster (he is a pure athletic talent, but like Drew Gooden, has a basketball IQ comparable to Forrest Gump). Marcus Camby or Antawn Jamison would have been a more feasible acquisition to fit into the system but again, I don’t know shit about contracts and how they fall into trades, etc. I’m just going to root for my boys to execute and defend like motherfuckers because that is how Spurs basketball won its championships.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Amen.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I wanted Darko….
February 18th, 2010 at 11:02 pm
@Jaceman
And I wanted Camby for the next 2.5 - 3.5 seasons. I feel your pain.
Oddly, Darko MIGHT have been a reasonable fit as a role-playing big man, the likes of which we had from ‘04-’08, and his youth is a plus. Would be a project/ wouldn’t transform the Spurs this season, but given the lack of gettable young bigs that can play, such a project should be a priority.
Darko has a maximum of 2 remaining opportunities to have a satisfying career in America. The first of these starts now, in Minny, although the Triangle may cripple his chance of figuring it out, working with K Love could help him. If he fails there that may be the end of the road. Odds are high that he’s just another 7 foot major bust. If Detroit wanted a big man, and was destined to pass on all the Hall-of-Famers in the ‘03 class, K Perkins would have been a laughable and too much like Big Ben, but Chris Kaman would have been totally respectable.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Well they did try to trade Mason as well. So it’s not like Theo was the only move they were actively working on.
Hopefully this gives Ian a chance to play though or Hairston, but at least one of the youngins getting some time.
February 19th, 2010 at 12:58 am
grego-
Theo didn’t play, so moving him in no way implies more PT for any of the young guys.
February 19th, 2010 at 1:30 am
Excellent deal. Picking up a draft pick in a round we’re accustomed with finding talent at, for a player (with much respect) who warms bench.
February 19th, 2010 at 6:13 am
You can’t forget the coaching staff works with these players day in and day out and have more knowledge about these players when we ever will. If Theo was showing something in practice, he would be on the floor. If they had a design to save him for later in the season and the playoffs, he still would have been on the floor more than he played. No disrespect to Ratliff, but he just didn’t pan out.
February 19th, 2010 at 7:06 am
the spurs are going to call up matt bonners little brother luke bonner from the toros hes 7′1 LOL
February 19th, 2010 at 7:07 am
I’m sorry, I didn’t make it very far down the comments before I got totally frustrated. Why don’t you fair weather fans go start your own blog where all you do is call for TP to be traded, Pop to be fired, and fans to protest. Total Crap!
I am so very happy to be a Spurs fan. I love this team and everything they have given us. I was a fan before we won championships, and I’ll be a fan forever. If you want to like a team that has a good shot at winning it all this year, please go buy a Kobe jersey and leave this message board to those who are looking for good positive insight on the team we love.
I can’t wait until the Playoffs when these same posters jump all over a Spurs loss like they’re smarter than people who do this for a living or totally retreat when we kick the crap out of the Mavs/Suns/etc.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Ilgauskas may be released by Wizzards. Any chance of getting him? I assume he is too expensive, but would be good beside Timmy. Rumors also have him going back to Cleavland.
February 19th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Kevin:
I understand your frustration & totally concur. See my post, point # 3, February 18th, 2010 at 6:28 pm.
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