Antonio McDyess’ retirement decision: To be continued

“The only new big men the Spurs would be able to bring in would have to
sign for a minimum contract or be acquired through sign-and-trade.”

Or MLE right?

I for one would love to see Dice continue for one more year if the Spurs could land another quality big allowing Dice to play limited productive minutes and get a well deserved ring.

I think he can still play.

It’s not his fault that Randolph was a freaking fire. He couldn’t have played him any better.
Collison played him similar to Dice but Randolph really cooled down by then.

*on freaking fire.

It’s hard to know whether the kind of cap exceptions you used to have (MLE, minimum, or ever sign-and-trade) are going to be available under a new CBA, when and if it ever gets done. Â The Spurs did the best thing they could, which is to hold on to talent they have. Â If they let McDyess go, there’s no guarantee that the new cap rules would let them get any player at all to play for McDyess. Â And expecially in a shortened season, he still has a lot of value. Â And he gets a nice payday too, so it works out for both parties.

Fesenko would definitely be fun. Since Pop was a Russian studies major and aplate fly still speaks Russian, he might do really well here.

Stupid auto-correct. “Apparently”

Part of the reason Randolph was on fire was by getting easy buckets on Bonner particularly in the last game. His confidence was sky high by the time Dice tried to stop him. Duncan might have the better choice of defender for Randolph at the end of games.

I think Dice played well in his role of the bench. He was able to come in and stabilize the offense and defense. I felt the only reason Pop should have changed the starting lineup was to start Splitter. Starting Dice forced Bonner and Blair on the floor at the same time which was bad defensively.

Basically Pop possibly overreacted to the Lakers blowing them out at home before the rodeo trip. In that game Blair really looked small against the Lakers bigs. To have a chance against bigger bigs Blair really has to out quick and out hustle them. Maybe by then he had started gaining weight and was slower to the ball. He started Dice because he felt it improved the defense especially against bigger centers/forwards. If the Spurs had gone with Splitter it would have allowed Dice to retain his bench role and still provide a solid defensive center.

Splitter really could have helped the defense more playing with Duncan. Duncan stated that he was at time to preoccupied with Randolph while he was guarding Gasol. If he feels he has a solid defender next to him who doesn’t require so much help he probably plays better. Even when he accidentally injured Dice it was Duncan coming over to help. If Splitter starts you have Duncan on Gasol and Splitter on Randolph and then Dice on Arthur of the bench. Those are pretty solid defensive matchups that would have allowed them to use single coverage. Then the Spurs perimeter player could have just focused on outplaying the Grizzlies on the perimeter.

Good points. Hind sight 20/20. Splitter is the key if a new cba is agreed upon. Bonner and Blair are not starting players that were forced to play heavy minutes. McDyess is not a 28 minute per game night in and night out player. Thus Splitter…the only option at this point big…has to improve and be ready to take on a heavier load.

Bonner should retire too

With Dice and Bonner salary Spurs can get D.West or Varejao or G.Oden. This is a mistake…

WHO SHOULD WE GET?

Great offense, ave defense - D.West, Nene

or

Ave offense, great defense - Chandler, K.Martin, Dalembert

or even

Great offense and defense - Yao (gamble?)

OR

The 7’1 Fesenko???

OR we can pull of this trade! http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6hw43mt

You’re asking one of the teams in this league who are losing money to give away one of it’s players that could help it’s franchise develop attendance for three players that wouldn’t help the team win AND leave them without any post presence?

Hey take it easy. We’re having a boring lockout and I’m just trying to experiment some things.

Post presence? The red rocket can take care of that.

No problem…just a question not meant as an insult. If a number of players decide to sign overseas…Bonner just may be one of the better players in the league when the nba resumes.Â

It’s ok. I just really want to get rid of rj so bad so we can trade him for a pf. Hope there will be no games lost, so player’s won’t have to play overseas.

I really don’t know what to do with Bonner, some games he seems so important to our team with his spacing and 3pt shooting, and sometimes he’s just useless.

I think our team sees Jefferson and Bonner as that ex-girlfriend who you dumped for some reason that pissed you off the last time you were together, but then time passes and you’re like, “Hey, well there were good moments together so why don’t we give it another shot?”…and when you give it another whirl they piss you off again, and you wonder why you started another season with them in the first place.

Please, Pop, dump the ex-girlfriend.

i don’t see fesenko as any better than josh mcroberts. a ham heavier, sure.

if dice stays, i’m happy. if he doesn’t i’m ok with it, too. the man has earned it.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4xr9342

Here’s a way to get rid of Jefferson and Bonner in one fell swoop…and the results could fetch us a potential Robert Horry type player whose been to the Finals.

Add a dash of Kyrylo Fesenko to beef up the frontline and battle the Gasols, Bynums, Howards, etc., and you have yourself championship team.

At this point, I’d rather have Jefferson. Lewis has been good at times, but not in a while. He was terrible in that finals appearance and has declined since then. And his contract is poisonous. Nice guy, but wouldn’t help the team win a title.

I  say use that money and find a way to (if its there) to sign Troy Murphy. Then we trade Parker and Jefferson to the Lakers for Barnes and Gasol(although we would have to rework/extend his contract). Then we bring over De Colo, I know people think he needs one more year but i feel he would better develop over here. We could keep Richards and Bartans devoloping for 2 more years, but I think for Richards, one year in europe and one with the Toros.
New Depth Chart
Pg Neal, Joseph, De ColoÂ

Ugh…no thanks. Lewis stinks…just a spot-up three point shooter who can’t make shots.

There are better PF’s available…Atlanta’s Josh Smith is probably leaving…maybe RJ + McDice’s retiring contract could be enough. He’s more athletic and a better rebounder than Lewis. Â

The deck is way stacked against splitter right now, poor guy. It wasn’t bad enough that he had to sit out training camp and pre season last year now he won’t get it this year. I’m really hoping the best for him but its a hard road he’s been given.

That team wouldn’t make the playoffs

Why not Bruno? Only big problem at that point is too much youth at PG. But every other Position has great ball handlers so you don’t need a traditional distributer for a PG. Plus I read your other post and if you think we can get West for the like 8 mill we are paying Dice and Red Rocket then your Crazy, even with the new CBA up in the air, I will be shocked if west doesn’t get at least 12/year for 4-5 years. I’m a big fan of dice but sadly he’s a one year contributer at best, and i’m no Red Rocket fan. Something needs to be done at C, and I know its not a glaring stat but we need help on the boards. Leonard will help with that but playing Bonner, Blair or Dice at C isn’t working out. Splitter has potential but between missing camp last year and the possibility of missing it this year, we can’t count on his development. What do you sugest? well besides thinking that you can sign west for 8 mill and a tour of the alamo?

Free dinner 2X a week anywhere on the riverwalk?

Well, if Josh Smith can be had for Spurs’ low-quality players then I’m all gung-ho for that trade. The reason I brought up Rashard was to appease Pop since he can’t get enough of long range shooting PF’s. I don’t know if Smith will fulfill that role adequately since he’s such a poor 3-point shooter.

No trade this year (from now to God-knows-when the season starts) will ever happen, so I guess we seriously have to consider R.C.’s “Bargain Bin” — previously full of great non-entities like Nick Van Exel, Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson and Drew Gooden — and who now offer us the likes of Troy Murphy, Erik Dampier and anyone else by the name of Roster Player.

If we had only had Dyess in his prime, Tim and Dyess would have been unreal together. I really don’t think bringing him back next year will help the Spurs a great deal. Even if there’s no lockout, he will be 37yrs old by the start of the season. If you look, his minutes and production have steadily declined for the past 3 years. In all honesty, I just don’t think Antonio has much left in the tank. I would love for the Spurs to bring in a young stud at the PF or C spot, but barring a trade (probably including Parker) I don’t see that happening.Â

One guy that could help the Spurs IF he returns to form is Troy Murphy. He’s not a great defender, but he can space the floor and rebound like crazy. Since last year was a disasterous campaign for him (due to a back injury) we may be able to get him for real cheap. Plus, I could see him fitting nicely into the Spurs playbook since he’s essentially a bigger, better version of Bonner. It’s true Murphy isn’t a spring chicken, but he is almost 6 years younger than Dyess. He’s not a long term solution, but right now I’m not sure there is a long term solution for the Spurs to bolster their 4/5 positions.Â

CAN teams still make trades during this lockout?

Saw an interesting article of 5 on 5 on ESPN that has RJ for Travis Outlaw. I’m down with the trade because it gets out of RJ’s awful contract. What about Thaddeus Young for a FA pickup? Can play both positions and is extremely athletic.Â

To answer my own question after seeing some “reports” or “rumors”…

“Q: Can teams re-sign their free agents? Can players be traded?
A: There will be no free-agent signings or trades during the lockout.”
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/756280-nba-lockout-frequently-asked-questions-get-answered

So these so called “reports” or thoughts are a moot point until the lockout is over and/or a new cba is in place.

I think that the top 4 free agent targets for the spurs should be Murphy, Grey, Fesenko, and Elson. All add the needed depth at the 5 spot and should be reasonably priced.

That would be an interesting trade, but would only work if Outlaw really improved in a Spurs uniform. There really isn’t much difference between the two with regards to the financials. RJ is owed $30 mil over the next 3 years and Outlaw is owed $28mil over the next 4 years. As bad as RJ was last year, Outlaw was even worse.Outlaw’s only saving grace is that he is 4 years younger than RJ. With Leonard, Butler, and Anderson I think we are set at the SF spot so do we really want another young SF for the next 4 years? IMO, this is only trading one junker for another. No team clearly gets better in the process. (If Outlaw could show big improvement in a Spurs uniform I would ammend my stance.)Â

What about free agent targets like James Jones, Marcus Cousins or even James Gist?

But we already have a Bonner for that. Space and no Defense. And Blair a rebounder is the complement to him but doesn’.t space.. So then you would have three not fulling the full package at that spot.

Troy Murphy is not going to do any better than what we had last go round.

Throw in a years worth of Mamacita’s dinners and a pass to the wax museum. All kidding aside do you think he can command that kind of money after the CBA and a bad knee and old age at that. Bad knee + not young for the NBA is not a good combination. Â Teams needing his services for 1 or two years might benefit but he would want a long contract and no one is giving this guy a long contract. Not anymore. I’m right there in thinking he’s good at around 8 mil per for 1 or two years to see if he pans out by not re-inuring that knee.. Who would take a chance on him? The spurs are one of the teams that would give an old man a look. That’s almost protocol for them. Many teams will not take the risk I feel. Honestly I think his better years are behind him but could help this team anyway at this point.Â

We’ll see about his $$$

Maybe it the new uniform/team motivates him. Also like Young-he’s not a big part of the rotation in Philidelphia from what I read.

Only thing that will take place is negotiation.
I wonder if teams will try to send offers to FAs without the league finding out, so that when the new CBA is agreed upon, they can fill out their rosters quickly.

That team wouldn’t make the playoffs because has lots of changes, they can’t adapt to the “system” and a 31 year Gasol is worse than a 35 Timmy.

Yes D.West is a better deal, Spurs can give RJ+Dice or RJ+Bonner, to complete 12 million as u suggested, and looks pretty good, because now Spurs has many players who can play at SF…

On one hand I agree. Murphy does nothing for us on the defensive end. However, who else can we bring in this offseason that has the ability to make an immediate impact? The top tier free agent big men (West, Chandler, Nene, Gasol, etc) are WAY out of our price range. This leaves us with other Bigs who have no realistic chance at being impact players. Even though Murphy isn’t a good defender, Bonner has never and will never average 14/10 per game.Â

Splitter to be insured by Brazilian national team.

http://www.projectspurs.com/2011-articles/july/report-brazilian-basketball-confederation-to-pay-splitters-insurance.html

The Nets were supposed to be the new uniform/team to motivate Outlaw. It didn’t work. Avery apparently bullied him into near-catatonia. Admittedly getting him away from Avery might be good, but if he’s that thin-skinned how would he handle Pop? Outlaw is also a classic tweener in the bad sense of the term and doesn’t give us even as much as we’ve already got with RJ and Mitts. His contract is a little less per year than RJ’s but it lasts forever, so if he doesn’t work out he’ll be a salary cap anchor until 2015.

Thaddeus Young’s interesting, that’s for sure. He’s a bit of a tweener, too, but in his case it’s the good kind. In other words, where Outlaw is too small to handle PFs and too unskilled to handle SFs, Young isn’t and he in turn is too quick for other PFs and too big & strong for other SFs. Still, he’s a bit of a risk and again doesn’t give us something we don’t already have with Leonard. Hmm… The interesting thing would be to combine Young and Leonard as an old-fashioned pair of forwards, where both combine interior and perimeter play. That could be effective.

You Can’t give ANYONE for a free agent with out a sign and trade. So then Nawlins has to be involved. A team with a lot of changes can’t make the playoffs, how bout the heat?(I am in no way condoneing, supporting, or otherwise shedding any good light on the heat)

So after watching video of Hanga, de Colo, Leonard, Richards, and Bertans I am way excited for the future of the spurs. Can you imagine those 5 on the floor at the same time 4-5 years from now. Imagine what the spurs will look like in 5 years.
PG: De Colo, Joseph
SG: Neal, Hanga, Anderson
SF: Leonard, Bertans
PF: Blair, Also Whoever they draft in the next 2 years
C: Splitter, Richards
I’ve thought about all kinds of trades to make the team better but then i have to remember “In RC I Trust” I’m excited to see Joseph and watch him turn into the next parker. Its hard sometimes to not look at our current hole at the 5 spot, or Jeffersons terrible production(I think the contract is reasonable but his production is a HUGE disappointment) or the fact that Duncan and Ginobilli won’t be around for a whole lot longer, and not get upset about the current state of the spurs. Also, I’ve heard multiple people doing nothing but talking crap about Hangas defence, looked pretty good in that video. I know i’ve posted about trade possibilities and whatnot but let me restate “IN RC I TRUST” Its lookin good for the spurs.

Also Check out ProjectSpurs.com, It rocks!

Not sure how I feel about Tiago playing for Brazil. I’d really rather he hung out with Timmy and the crew and worked themselves out during this situation.

Everything about the Heat makes me sick. Even their blogger. Ugh.

Let’s hope so. I would assume every team’s big guns are handling the recruiting during the lockout. I’m sure coaches and GMs gave some instructions to these players before the lockout came down on whom to target. And as far as that goes, it’ll still come down to cash most likely. Which won’t be good since the salary cap is possibly gonna reduce… Timmy and Manu can’t draw FAs like they once could, and I’m not sure if TP has the power to do so given all the trade rumors of late. Fingers crossed, knees bent, and praying long and hard for some quality assistance.

Not sure how I feel about Tiago playing for Brazil. I’d really rather he hung out with Timmy and the crew and worked themselves out during this situation.

Everything about the Heat makes me sick. Even their blogger. Ugh.

Let’s hope so. I would assume every team’s big guns are handling the recruiting during the lockout. I’m sure coaches and GMs gave some instructions to these players before the lockout came down on whom to target. And as far as that goes, it’ll still come down to cash most likely. Which won’t be good since the salary cap is possibly gonna reduce… Timmy and Manu can’t draw FAs like they once could, and I’m not sure if TP has the power to do so given all the trade rumors of late. Fingers crossed, knees bent, and praying long and hard for some quality assistance.

Not sure how I feel about Tiago playing for Brazil. I’d really rather he hung out with Timmy and the crew and worked themselves out during this situation.

Everything about the Heat makes me sick. Even their blogger. Ugh.

Let’s hope so. I would assume every team’s big guns are handling the recruiting during the lockout. I’m sure coaches and GMs gave some instructions to these players before the lockout came down on whom to target. And as far as that goes, it’ll still come down to cash most likely. Which won’t be good since the salary cap is possibly gonna reduce… Timmy and Manu can’t draw FAs like they once could, and I’m not sure if TP has the power to do so given all the trade rumors of late. Fingers crossed, knees bent, and praying long and hard for some quality assistance.

Not sure how I feel about Tiago playing for Brazil. I’d really rather he hung out with Timmy and the crew and worked themselves out during this situation.

Everything about the Heat makes me sick. Even their blogger. Ugh.

Let’s hope so. I would assume every team’s big guns are handling the recruiting during the lockout. I’m sure coaches and GMs gave some instructions to these players before the lockout came down on whom to target. And as far as that goes, it’ll still come down to cash most likely. Which won’t be good since the salary cap is possibly gonna reduce… Timmy and Manu can’t draw FAs like they once could, and I’m not sure if TP has the power to do so given all the trade rumors of late. Fingers crossed, knees bent, and praying long and hard for some quality assistance.

No. No. Tiago needs to be playing right now even if its the Brazilian team. He needs as many minutes as he can get in organized professional play as possible. He’ll do well over there besides it will keep him in shape and ready for a shortened season if there’s one. I would take the risk just to get him more prepared than the players on the other teams.

Why so much hate for the Heat? In regards to Lebron can”t a human being exercise his right to move on especially if he’s fulfilled his contract obligation? I think so . It goes for anyone even if Timmy or Dave wanted to go it would have been their right to do so. By the way It’s not the Heat bloggers that get on my nerves its the frikin Laker reporters, bloggers, and sports columnists that are insisting they make a trade for DHoward. Arrogant s.o.b’s they think they can just snap their fingers and get what they want. That’s why I enjoy their agony when they get bumped out of the playoffs. Also the Mavs are right there with them. I’d rather root for the Rockets than those Mavericks. If cuban could he would give the moon and the stars just to get Lebron in baby puke blue, green, and white.

Heat doesn’t have Pop as Coach…

It’s ESPN’s overcoverage of the Heat in every conceivable way. They will run their game score and stats 2 or 3 times before posting other games score even once. They show show every video of James in a gym no matter how grainy or inconsequencial the moment is.(It looks like this is an annual thing they do after the playoffs, too.)

 You keep referring back his choosing to excercise his FA rights—that is not why the guy generates animosity towards him. (Cavaliers fans are the exception.) It was the dog & pony interview/show last July, the intro to the Heat fanbase spectacle, the interview with his new teammates (“not 1, not 2, not 3…..”). The constant comparisions (every week) to Jordan-on line and on the air.
Yeah, Cuban is a piece of work, but he zips his lips, then the Mavs cease to be in the constant NBA chatter. But that changes now that they are the champs.
It’s Lakers, Heat, (no titles) Celtics (1 title in the last 25 years) Knicks (no titles in 39 years and counting) that get the ink /airtime as far as teams go. And when the talk turns to players-the usual dozen are spoken about ad nauseum.

De Colo, from what I’ve heard, is not someone to get excited about as far as future “star” player on the team. If anything…Joseph would probably be ahead as far as rank and file regarding position. Once Anderson gets his equilibrium regarding the NBA, he’ll probably be better than Neal. Hanga has a LONG way to go developing. Leonard I would tend to agree. Bertans is a one trick pony in the since he’s only good at one thing and defense isn’t one of them. (Another Bonner?). As far as Blair…we’ll have to see if the Whataburger Poster Child can curtail his weights habits and ever become a bonefide role/team player in the nba or more importantly…for THIS team. Splitter looked to have the most promise last season with the short amount of time he actually got to play. Richards has not played a single game in the NBA…verdict is still out but he could be a dark horse.
Anyway…I’m optimistic as well about the future IF the Spurs could somehow manage to land an allstar (or two) type of player for the future after Duncan/Ginobili have retired or past their prime. Seems like a good core of “role” players the Spurs have been collecting the past several years.Â

Wow—Blair will be the “old man” (de facto captain if he bust his butt and improve from this point forward) with 5 years NBA experience at the start of the 2014-15 season.

Good point. I amend my stance on Tiago.
My hate for the Heat is just the whole arrogance and attitude of it all. I mean they threw a party for Winning Free Agency for freak’s sake! Ugh. LA and Miami are on the same level for me - and you know what they have in common - RILEY. That man makes me wanna hurl every time I see him.

Dallas is a step under them usually, but I rooted for Dirk this year when it came down to Mavs v. Heat. I couldn’t stand the sense of entitlement that team has/had. Ugh.

I have nothing personal against the Decision, other than the stuff afterwards, or the players themselves, until their little “I’m sick” grabage/mocking of Dirk during the Finals. That was unprofessional and uncool.

No they couldn’t.Â

No chance. The league would make a point by coming down hard on any team found communicating with players.

I’ll take RJ and the one less year of guaranteed salary.

You should seriously check out Projectspurs.com, they have all kinds of video on De Colo, Hanga, Richards, and Bertans. Good point with anderson, I will have to disagree about De Colo, and Hanga though. From the Tape i’ve seen on them neither one of them have a european type game. Heck Hangas video looks like an AND1 video, plus if you watch that video watch his Defence, he looks amazing. Remember where Parker and Ginobilli where drafted? like 28 and 58 or something, just like Joseph and Hanga. I’m still on the fence with Blair, but then I remember that he’s only in his third year this year.  Richards is a very interesting project. He’s been tearing it up in the U-19 tourny in Europe and he’s like 20. I feel like he’s a quick learner and he’s got NBA size AND speed. If anyone one of them is a darkhorse i would say its Joseph who left college after one year with dissapointing numbers, but it all goes back to “IN RC I TRUST”

All we can do is wait and see. If nothing is done with a new cba…the chances of losing these players to Euroleague or somewhere else becomes more and more likely. And how long does a team (not only the Spurs) have to wait to get these players on the court in that event?

This lockout could spell more disastrous than some realize for both owners and players. More so for new players entering the league or lower end salary players. The James’, Bryant’s, Wade’s, Garnett’s, Duncan’s, etc. of this league…they’ve made a lot of money already…this ( a year long lockout) won’t affect them as much as those I just mentioned.

De Colo isn’t NBA level…Hanga and Richards can be very good..Â
Spurs should try get Dario Saric…He is playing the European tornament, the guy in the worse case will be Hedo Turkoglu, in the best case Lebrom James…

I think Hanga has a real chance to be something special……….Or at least a decent rotation player…….. He as well as Richards are our 2 best foreign prospects……. The number one thing about coming to the NBA is the size/speed or the NBA Game…….. Hanga has the Speed and Size to play the SG position in the NBA and has the Hops to really excel on a fast breaking type of team…… Think of a 6-7 LeAndro Barbosa……….

Bertans is a waste if you ask me…………He can shoot…..but so can EVERYBODY else in Europe these days……. getting a 6-10 player that can shoot 3′s used to be Special….not every teams has one…… SO I don’t see why we need Bertans……….

you’re making contradictory arguments now, bruno. first, it’d be too many changes, then implying that pop is a coach that could deal with personnel changes?

tyler, i think that roster would make the playoffs, but not compete for a championship. too few playmakers. you basically only have ginobili creating shots while everyone else relies on the havoc he generates, and again, he can’t do that full bore anymore. i think gasol would do well with us, but can’t see us getting him without giving up parker, which isn’t prudent

What i was saying is : Heat doesn’t have a “system” like Pop’s team, they adapt their system to the players, Pop adapt his players to  the system… Just remember 2010, when RJ sign…Spurs make the #7 seed, imagine change SF/PG/Center, would be a disaster… And Lebrom+Bosh >>>>> Gasol+Troy Murphy

i have to agree that there is a glimmer from the future spurs, but whether that glimmer turns into even a flash in the pan rather than a beacon remains to be seen.

in keeping tabs on the u-19s, i really wonder whether the spurs should’ve promised nogueira the 29th spot to keep him in the draft. i still feel like we could’ve gotten cory joseph later. i respect the front office and they must’ve scouted joseph more than anyone in the league, but it’s a question of value and slotting. with noguiera, we’d have a future shotblocker and center with some unreal length, not to mention another brazilian. just a thought.

Destination Canada?

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Sports/1251938.html

Hanga has a Tony Parker look about him in frame wise but taller. He seems quick and I like the hops he has. He’s 5 inches taller than GHill at that position. Wow if he transitions well when its his time to come he could very well be special as well as a steal at that pick. Â How long will it be before he makes the move?

Have you seen the U20′s PG on Ryan Richard’s team? This Devon Van Oostrum is bad little dude. Some RR also.

http://www.hoopsfix.com/2011/07/video-devon-van-oostrum-posterizes-danish-big/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Dm5bIocsw

http://gameongb.com/news/2411.php

RR is improving.

http://gameongb.com/news/2411.php

Sorry, Rob, but I have to completely disagree about Bertans. He’s a one-trick pony RIGHT NOW, but that’s because he’s just 18 and currently thinner than George Gervin. He’s long, has a lot of skills, and is actually quite agile. I think he’ll be a very effective player once his body matures and he gains some strength. I’m not sure how he’ll pan out because getting stronger may cost him some of that agility and smoothness. But it typically doesn’t, as long as the player doesn’t become too heavy, and while he may lose a little agility he’ll gain explosiveness and leverage. Plus I like his spirit. Personally I think he’ll be a very effective player, it’s just a question of when.

I was thinking the same about Noguiera, but it turns out he had pulled his name out of the draft about a week or so before draft night, so I think he was posturing himself to be a lottery pick next year. With next year’s draft class being so over-hyped, I’d say Noguiera would be around in the late 1st round again in 2012.

I think he has more “Ginobilisms” about his game than looking like Parker.

http://projectspurs.com/2011-articles/july/video-hanga-highlight-reel.html

Thanks for the links. Might be on to something with the kid Van Oostrum. Looks very polished at the basics for his age against the talent level he’s going against. Can’t say I read anything positive into Richards play and noticed the Brits get out rebounded. Perhaps Richards is the only one doing the rebounding for the team thus explaining the disparity in team rebounds against their opponents.

I think he needs to come over in the next 2 years or he won’t come at all…… He isn’t going to get much better over there………. he Needs to gain a little weight or learn to dribble a little better…….. He does handle the ball and run plays for his Euro Team so he might be able to play back up PG in the NBA which would be a HUGE asset on offense and Defense ……..

Maybe he resembles him and has the slim look about him what I meant but even better if he has the Ginobilism about him. Hope he’s tough as nails like Manu.

Smaller clip

http://www.hoopsfix.com/2011/06/video-devon-van-oostrum-drops-25-in-25-minutes/

According to this article…http://dimemag.com/tag/devon-van-oostrum/…“He’s currently the third-ranked international prospect for his age group (1993).”

If he improves upon his already great skills…he’s going to make a name for himself in the NBA. His court vision is the best I’ve seen from any recently drafted nba player or current college player. His instincts are crazy good. This kid would definitely be worth draft and stash.

I’ll have to take your word and this article to heart…http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/view/22748484?mcctag=San%20Antonio%20Spurs

Perhaps he becomes a steal of the draft. It just seems from what I’ve managed to look up…he’s got a long way to go (other than hitting the three) to being NBA ready.

Stephen Curry can’t rehab his ankle injury with the team doctors/trainers; Michael Beasley cannot be penalized for his marijuana possession-and players cannot be tested during the lockout. There are going to be more interesting circumstances while this lockout is ongoing.

Players might go up north to play if there not financially set to endure a short/non season. Plus just wanting to stay in competitive shape and play while getting paid-especially rookies, guys on the end of the bench, players near the end of their careers-they might not be able to latch onto a team in 2012-13.

You know NBA teams would frown upon this, but if they can’t keep them from playing on their countries’ national teams, what prevents them from joining the NBL?

Attention is drawn towards LBJ because Kobe’s team sucked this past season in the playoffs (Good). Next guy in line to get the royal treatment is LBJ because he’s that good. After him Derrick Rose and on and on. So the media turned it into a dog and pony affair. If they didn’t like it they wouldn’t air it. And if they didn’t air it the fans would have been better off your saying? So the media in essence doesn’t care about those Cavs fans. It’s all about the $.  We need to blame the media they are the ones that inflamed the animosity as a whole. Nobody cares about us.

“You know NBA teams would frown upon this, but if they can’t keep them
from playing on their countries’ national teams, what prevents them from
joining the NBL?” Nothing! It’s an interesting and landscape changing venue that’s going on now (including Europe, China, etc.). It very well could be (dare I say) a ploy. Reducing the number of “so called talent” in the NBA to get “less caliber talent” in the NBA to go somewhere else? Think about it. What better way to be able to afford top talent per team if 2nd and 3rd tier players are playing somewhere else and not be allocated to wasted salary of NBA teams? Owners could afford top bench line talent for an entire team just because they wouldn’t have to be paying slot talent. I know..it sounds crazy…but as basketball continues to grow in popularity across the globe and people can find a way to make a profit…what better way to disperse the talent world wide so others can make their profit too without having to be affiliated to just the NBA?

Well, maybe not the steal of the draft-anymore than Tiago was in 2007. But if you can afford to wait a couple of years, he’s a much better prospect than anyone else available in the second round.

Interesting that Cleveland is already looking like they made a BIG mistake in drafting Tristan Thompson over Jonas Valanciunas-and Minnesota and Utah might end up that way as well. He has absolutely been tearing it up in the World U-19 Championships. He had 30 pts, 15 reb, 4 blk, 55 fg%, and 80 ft% against the US a couple of days ago. But those teams passed on him because they didn’t want to wait a year. Not smart. I’m especially surprised at Cleveland because they already had Varejao at PF. Wouldn’t they have been better off trading with Utah and getting Valanciunas, Knight or Walker at PG, AND Leonard at SF. I’d take that three over Irving and Thompson any day of the week.

If the rumour is true that the Spurs were trying to trade up to get Valanciunas, it makes them look that much smarter, doesn’t it? Man, it would’ve been great to pair him with Tiago as the frontcourt of the future… (Although, of course, I’m ecstatic about getting Leonard, especially while still getting Bertans, Hanga, and Joseph.)

The attention was on James and the Heat from July 8 last year on. ESPN created the webpage “The Heat Index” which featured stories about James far more than the other teammates.
The whole league in a sense got caught up in it. Low and behold, our own Spurs/AT&T ticket office increased the prices of the PRESEASON GAME vs. Miami last October, I’m sure they were not alone.

I’ve got no axe to grind with James, although I frowned upon his pregame antics with his Cavs teammates. The Spurs last championship was a sweep against him when some basketball pundits were picking the upset and many league fans were rooting for CLE. Still,for the next 3 seasons they were the leagues darlings and showcase team because of his play, and many assumed they would be in the finals again repeatedly. (Remember the Nike puppets commercials during the latter part of the 2008-09 season?)

It just gets a little old when the national televisions schedules overload on 2 or 3 teams throughout the season - every season.. As an NBA fan in general, I like to view other teams play also.

So in addition to a salary cap, you have a ‘roster cap’-10 or 11 active players on the roster for the season- period. If injuries, illness, or personal affairs make a player unavailable for one or more games-call up someone from the teams’ DLeague squad.
(How about adding this stipulation to the rules: suspended players cannot be replaced on a squad.)
You view games on tv or attend them in person; there’s always 3 or 4 guys on each NBA team during the course of a season play miniscule minutes, unless a game gets out of hand early, and by a very large margin (blowout win/loss). No matter what their salaries are, it seems a waste of money.

Breaking news—-Yao MIng retires from the Houston Rockets.

Yes. So true. Player rotations are always set at 9 to 10 during the regular season that actually log time in a game with the 8th to 10th player logging on average 6 to 10 minutes per game. Come playoffs…that rotation is even less. And when has a player at the end of a bench from a 12 player roster ever been significant at helping their team win a game? It’s always the top 7 players in a rotation that make a significant difference for a team. And if any of those players ever receive injury…when does that team ever have a real chance of winning a playoff series?

But I would go one further. Depending on the severity of a suspension (whether it’s a team suspension or league violation) that player’s salary is not guaranteed and not counted against a team for the duration of suspension and if suspension is for a period of more than 10 games…that team reserves the right to replace player during suspension with another player and have the right to keep replaced player over suspended player after suspension is served.

If the lockout continues into October- training camp time- the players could convene as their collective squads and doa training camp, then stage preseason exhibitions at 6 sites (5 sqauds per site).

Ya I think some of these other leagues are gonna help NBA teams by giving 2nd and 3rd tier players a chance to run a team and be the man……. It should allow them to grow up faster and develop into what the NBA needs them to be……. So instead of 2009 SA Keith Bogans…….. you get 2011 Mavs DeShaun Stevenson…… very similar players…..but one was ready when needed and the other was not…….. And I think that all the time Stevenson spent as a go to guy in Washington helped him when he had to sit the bench for 2 years but was still ready when called upon……………

Sad to see him go so early……..was hoping he could join us…..LOL

I have to say the Besiktas-Williams deal does look attractive. If September comes and no lockout progress, I could see a lot of European and Asian clubs clamoring for NBA players with similar offers. Even players with contracts.

“The whole league in a sense got caught up in it. Low and behold, our own Spurs/AT&T ticket office increased the prices of the PRESEASON GAME vs. Miami last October, I’m sure they were not alone.”That’s my point the media drove this animosity to the NBA’s advantage thus the rise of the ticket prices. It’s over now we all should move on and let him be. People treat him like he was OJ. And I still want him to win a title. Just wish it was the season that just passed since we got knocked out.

In regards to Young I saw one of their games on TV last season and the color analysts mentioned he was going to be a big part of their future along with the talent they have. Wonder if its true. Don’t see him leaving.

I’m bored. Hey, guys let’s head over to Project Spurs right now. They keep it fresh!

Well…what is there to write about? Keep what fresh?…the fact there is nothing going on except speculation? I think the regulars here do a good job of posting pertinent information and if anything SHOULD develop…the writers of this site would share that with it’s fervent followers.

It’s a great site just like this one. However this site relies much more on fan comments and intelligent arguments rather than new news. Seriously, stop spamming though.Â

There is no spam here amongst the legion of Spurs followers. All sites should be given the same attention, especially during this time of immense boredom caused by the lockout situ. But my duty has been done, which is to cause discussion on this blog; however, I was hoping for talk related to potential trades and next season’s predictions rather than my annoying attempt to getting attention to non-existent Spurs news. Forgive me if I have offended the powers that be on this site.

Sad face. .

I find it helpful during offseason when Spurs fans comment on players in the league or playing internationally that they feel can help the team. Some guys/gals are basketball week in-week out (playing, watching, reading) so they are more in tune to what’s happening-looking at video, running down reports/rumors, etc. I appreciate the links to different sites & stories.

Despite the lockout, we Spurs fans know the franchise is embarking on a new era over the next 2-3 seasons. Everyone is just thinking ahead, wondering about the recent picks and possible future additions that can keep the team on top in the NBA.

http://projectspurs.com/2011-articles/july/spurs-lorbek-coming-to-the-nba.html
We could use him.

As long as he doesn’t disappear in the playoffs I’m all for it.

It’s starting to get ugly. The players are calling the ownership bluff right about now with all the hype of the Euro and Asian teams waiting in line to pass out money. This could very well be the year the rest of the world steal our players. The ownership are sweating bullets and playing hard ball and that is only going to escalate the stance. What we’ll see is NBA players in droves flocking to Europe and Asia. Hope they broadcast. Yeah pay per view what a concept. They will make out like a bandit.

How big of a chance that Ryan Richards will play for the Spurs this season ? ..