Bowen to San Antonio Unlikely

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The Boston Globe’s Peter May has written a solid article about the Spurs offseason.

May covers a lot of the same ground as Johnny Ludden’s August 8 article, but it’s still a fresh read.

It’s humorous that when the Spurs make a major roster move, Gregg Popovich is careful to note Tim Duncan’s approval. May reminds us that Richard Jefferson and Tim Duncan were Olympic teammates before quoting Pop: “Timmy enjoys him.”

Elsewhere, Popovich reaffirms San Antonio’s commitment to play DeJuan Blair “right off the bat.”

But the golden takeaway from May’s article might disappoint the Spurs’ faithful. Addressing the potential of Bruce Bowen rejoining the Spurs, Popovich is straight to the point.

“I’ve given him no such indication,’’ Popovich said. “He might come back with the right team in the right situation, but it’s probably not going to be San Antonio.’’

The article is steeped in good quotes, including a concluding vote of enthusiasm from Pop. Go check it out.

  • Robby

    Tim,

    Cory and I are just talking about the possibility of Bowen rejoining the Spurs and now here’s the news… Oh well… but with the Spurs’ we’ll never know right… Just hoping for the Best! for Bowen and Spurs… Cheers!

  • SA_Ray

    Bowen has been my favorite Spur of this generation. I am sad to see the likely hood of his return so slim.

    I know it’s almost completely sentiment and not a rational look at his current skills, but I would gladly take him back as the bench player. Even if it was only 3rd SG off the bench.

    I always pictured him playing his last season as a Spur and then transitioning into a defensive coach.

  • Robby

    If Bowen can’t return for us as player, i hope he’d come back in some form like a defensive coach or trainer… Bowen knows he is a spur by heart he might end up retiring and joining the Spurs’ coaching/training staff… Hopefuly the Spurs are open to this idea…

  • BB

    The Theo Ratliff quote is delightful. Just think - Kurt Thomas was our major addition in the 2008 arms race in response to Gasol and Shaq. I have all the respect in the world for Theo Ratliff, but his signing this offseason filled a narrowly-defined (though important) role. Kurt Thomas was _the_ big man after Tim and Oberto; Theo’s job, in my understanding, is to counterbalance the many young, athletic, but green center/forwards coming off the bench with his experience. And even so, by Pop’s estimation, he’s Thomas’ equivalent, but a ‘better scorer.’

    In the meantime, we’ve upgraded at the wings. I like George Hill, but he’s not as reliable a backup PG as Brent Barry just yet. Still, at every other position (with some depth, too) this roster improves significantly on the last Spurs team to contend.

  • Cory Clay

    My thoughts on Mays article:

    -Obviously the time spent with Jefferson during the 04 Olympics played a part in us the Spurs bringing him in to be a 3rd or 4th option, making it easier to assume he wouldnt have a problem conforming to a role.

    -I am very glad to hear Pop continuing to mention that Blair is going to get playing time right from the jump. Without a doubt, Steal of The Draft.
    Hopefully those minutes will come from Mr Bonner.

    -I had kinda thought Bruce wouldn’t be back but was a little surprised to hear Pop put him out on front street like that. Maybe that was a message to S.A. fans so we’d understand Bruce will not be walking through that door.

  • Robby

    BB,

    “Theo’s job, in my understanding, is to counterbalance the many young, athletic, but green center/forwards coming off the bench with his experience. And even so, by Pop’s estimation, he’s Thomas’ equivalent, but a ‘better scorer.’”

    I think you meant McDyess instead of Theo… It’s great to hear that Pop has alot of confidence in Blair….

    It also seems that TD is also doing well and is eager to win title # 5 ( Hopefully ahead of Kobe/Shaq)…

    Coach Pop, seems to be pleased at our current lineup as it is… and his thinking of the Lakers as the team to beat out west is well calculated and again shows how a class act he truly is…

  • BB

    Yep, my mistake. I suppose I read what I wanted to read, and my point doesn’t quite stand… With all due respect to Kurt Thomas, I hope that McDyess is more than Kurt + points. I know that he’s getting on in years, but I expect him to be a viable starting center. Accordingly, his role should be much bigger than Kurt’s.

  • Chris K.

    The blend of youth and experience on this Spurs roster, of so many different kinds of players, with few skill sets overlapping, is pretty unique and hopefully very fun to watch this year.

    It reminds me a bit of the 2003 Spurs team…the young guys, the old guys, Dejuan Blair = Malik Rose…

  • Rye

    Different type of players obviously, but I think ideally McDyess fills the Robinson ’03 role, Blair fills the Rose ’03 role, Bonner fills the Ferry ’03 role, and Ratliff fills the Willis ’03 role.

    I expect Blair and Bonner, at least in the regular season, to be the primary big man subs (my guess is Ratliff becomes more of a regular fixture in the playoffs, particularly should the Spurs go deep), but because they’re undersized as a duo and would have trouble defending the post/rim, I suspect we’ll rarely see the two of them on the court together.

    This is where Mahinmi and Ratliff come in. Mahinmi will probably see time against the lesser teams as the backup center, and Ratliff against the quality teams as the backup center, both to add some length and rim protection when Duncan is resting/possibly sitting out the odd game on a back-to-back. Of course, we’ll also see some of Duncan and McDyess paired with the likes of Blair, Bonner, and Mahinmi.

  • Kaveh

    Wow, you guys really dislike Bonner

    Cory wrote regarding Blair: “Without a doubt, Steal of The Draft. Hopefully those minutes will come from Mr Bonner.”

    I think you guys are underestimating Bonner. Although it is beyond obvious that you guys watch more Spurs games than I do, I still don’t know why. Bonner seems like a very capable role player. Bliar is definitely the steal of the draft, I agree with you there, but his skill set is completely different than Bonner’s. Bonner’s role is incredibly important to the team, not soley do to his production, but rather his affect on the defense. With Blair the D will simply cheat towards clogging the middle, while with Bonner, the D must respect his outside shooting which will spread the floor. A decently spread floor is necessary for the likes of Tony Parker, Manu and Tim Duncan. If the D can simply collapse into the middle, then those players don’t have the spacing needed to be effective.

    Basically, I think that you guys are selling Bonner short. He is very effective as a floor spacer and efficient scorer. Bonner’s true shooting percentage was a ridiculous 61% last year. He is very efficient and serves a purpose.

    Also, I would not expect to see Ratliff get much time on the floor. He is very old. Even in his prime, Ratliff was a liability on offense. A player like Mcdysse is much more suited for playoff playing time. He has a great offensive game, even though he is old too, and plays solid D. The question with Dice is how many minutes can he give at his advanced age?

  • Bentley

    Bonner’s ability to space the floor was a valuable asset to the Spurs last year, and he has proven to be a great role player. But he has a lot of defensive shortcomings and isn’t a great rebounder. So its the question of whether you want floor-spacing from Bonner, or rebounding and insdie presence from Blair.

    I’d rather take what Blair can do, although I would love to give Bonner some minutes, due to his ability to space the floor and make a 3-ball.

    But he may have to fight for minutes in that role with Marcus Haislip, who does look like he has range too and looks like a much more athletic version of Bonner.

    Mcdyess will be the starting center. And Rye I like that 03 comparison you made with the players we have now. I never thought about it like that…

  • Bill

    I am thinking that Bowen is still a possibility for a trade deadline signing if he is available and if there is an injury or if one of the players that needs to develop doesn’t.

    Same is possible for Vaughn.

    Historically the Spurs have signed veterans for the playoffs for insurance.

  • Robby

    Bill,

    We can only sign a free agent before the tradeline if are able to free up atleast one roster spot… right now we have 13 players under guaranteed contract and 2 with partial guarantee…

    I like the Bowen idea (although it will depend on what we really need when the time comes)….

    As for Vaughn? i don’t think it will happen….

  • montie spaulding

    Bowen is the best pr person around. Please let him come back as a pr person.