Friday, July 17th, 2009...5:23 pm
Coach George Hill
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I was just talking to a friend who attended Spurs practice today. He passed along this fun aside.
It was amazing to me to watch Hill run that thing. Telling Beck what he’s supposed to be doing on a particular defensive rotation, or explaining an offensive set to James Gist.
The kid has come a long way in 12 months. Don Newman kept calling him “Coach George,” which I thought was funny.
David Thorpe, if you’re reading this, you really ought to tweet something about Hill. We’re all curious what you think of the kid.
19 Comments
July 17th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Great to see him mature this quickly.
David b. thorpe: “Hill and Blair with a sweet pick and roll dunk. We’ll see that again.” and “Take this however you want: George Hill has improved dramatically in one year.”
July 17th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
As soon as I posted the last comment I saw this:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Hill_enjoying_summer_with_a_swagger.html
July 17th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Seems like Blair signed a 4 year 3.8M contract:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Contract_in_hand_Blair_dominates_Vegas_again.html
I haven’t been here since the end of the season, and wow, this blog has really taken off. Congratulations.
July 18th, 2009 at 4:04 am
I couldn’t be happier for George. He is fitting the ideal path for success in the NBA: dedication and hard work. Considering he was drafted by the model orginization in the NBA and had to deal with the spotlight, well, it’s nice to see him turning the corner.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:02 am
While many of us have been predicting/guessing/fantasizing what the 2009-10 starting line-up will be, I’ve also been thinking about what lineup Pop will have on the floor in the final six to eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
Tony, Manu and Tim are a given. But who will be the other two? RJ, Fin, Dice, Mason, Bonner, Blair or Hill? I believe Jefferson and Dice will be those two.
Yet, after the gutsy way George Hill played in the five-game series against the Mavs, and the way he’s shown confidence in Vegas, I can easily see Pop having him on the floor in crunch time.
Will Hill be on the floor instead of Jefferson? Maybe. Pop has the option of “going small” and leaving Tim out there as the only big; with RJ, Hill, Parker and Manu surrounding him. There could be matchups against particular teams where that particular lineup might be ideal.
Obviously, Pop has his work cut out for him this year. I’d like to believe he’s looking forward to the challenge, as much as I’m looking forward to seeing this team take shape.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:42 am
And he’s so long and such a good defender. I’m really excited to see this kid mature. Not to totally switch subjects, but if Odom doesn’t sign with the Lakers, I’ll take Arest over Odom and Ariza any day. Odom killed us in the playoffs two seasons ago.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Who knows - maybe we see Jack McClinton make the same kind of one year turnaround that George Hill has made.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Is there a place (apart from here) where to find good coverage of the Summer League? Thorpe’s twitter style stuff is really the death of analysis, it feels more like gonzo journalism to me: oh there’s a cute girl over there - what a dunk by XYZ - that hotdog was delicious - player XXX really stuffed player YYY on that one - …
Hard to get anything of value from those.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Will,
check out Pounding the Rock’s coverage. It’s not just spurs exclusively (well, sorta), but there is some analysis on other players from different teams as well. Theres about 2-3 posts a day on the site. Its good, try it.
July 18th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
The thing with McClinton is even if he’s not good enough to be an NBA player right now (and it appears he isn’t), if the Spurs like him enough as a prospect (and from what I’ve heard, they do), they could either stash him overseas for a year or two, like Gist, or sign him to the Toros, but risk another NBA team picking him up. The final option would be to sign him to a pro contract, but keep him on the Toros throughout most of the season. Even if Hairston and Williams make the roster they’ll still be one spot left. If they’re genuinely worried about losing his right’s, then that would be the way to go.
July 18th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
It would be nice to have a post (maybe it’s in there somewhere in the history) about players rights and D-League. I thought that by drafting McClinton this year the Spurs would hold the rights to him for a couple of years, but maybe it applies only to 1st round picks? And I’m a bit surprised that as soon as a player is signed to the D-League his rights are up for grabs? Is it really so? I have to admit I’m a bit confused about all this.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Will,
The Spurs can assign as many as two of their *contracted* players to their D-League affiliate. If the player is contracted with the Spurs-i.e. Malik Hairston right now-no other team can scoop him up. The Spurs have his rights. However, if the player is contracted with the Toros, as are all of the Toros’ players except Spurs assignees, then the Spurs do not hold their rights. That player can be picked up by any team in the NBA. If the Spurs draft a player-let’s say McClinton-but cut him sometime during training camp, they lose his rights. If he makes it through training camp, then the Spurs must contract him. And here’s the important loop hole. Let’s call it the James Gist clause.If the Spurs do not invite someone like McClinton to camp, but instead arrange a kind of handshake deal with an international team to take him on loadnfor a year or two-as the Spurs did with Gist and Biella-then the Spurs retain his rights. So long as they never cut the player, they have his rights.
I hope that helps.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Rye,
In general, we seem to think the same thoughts. Right now, however, I’d say James Gist is miles ahead of McClinton and worthy of that final roster spot. I think Hairston and Williams will not only make the team, but play minutes next season. That little project in Austin is about to be a big deal.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
hi guys i know this is off topic…. just heard a news that OKC waived Earl Watson, as McClinton and Gist continues to struggle… maybe having Watson as another PG would be nice if we can get him at the minimum… at the moment we only have 2 PGs TP and George Hill… what do you think Tim?
July 18th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Tony Parker is the “NOW” of PG’s. George Hill is the Future of PG’s. Hill has extraordinary skills and body length, quickness of mind and a blazing speed getting to the rim. Hill could NOT have a better PG to tutor him than TParks. With Tony’s soft hands and untouchable ability to finish around the rim, teaching and tutoring Hill to finish the same way will make the Spurs deeper than any PG rotation in the NBA. George Hill has a prosperous future in the NBA, and who better to surround him than TParks, Popovich, and Chip Engelland? George Hill is embracing this opportunity and should never let go. There are guards in the NBA that would sacrifice both money and body parts to be in his position.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Ryan,
I’m not saying the spurs should let go of Hill i love the guy all i’m saying is that maybe we need to add more depth at the PG position but as Tim Varner pointed out Marcus Williams/Roger Mason are our third stringers…. he also said that he’d take Williams over Watson. so i think thats good to know…
July 19th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Tim, the reason I would put McClinton ahead of Gist in the event the Spurs carry 15 players is in terms of roster balance. Gist would add a 7th big, which is completely uneccessary, and in general add nothing the team doesn’t already posses in Mahinmi and Haislip, in particular. Gist has not proven he can play or guard’s 3′s and therefore he’d be redundant as another unproven, athletic forward. Essentially, I think the Spurs want Gist to be a mix of Blair and Haislip, but if you have those qualities in two players already, you don’t need a third.
Whereas in the case of McClinton, even if he proves he’s not capable of playing the point, at the very least he should be able to defend the point, something the Spurs currently only have two other players to do. Even though he wouldn’t play if the Spurs were healthy, he’d add something they don’t have in excess.
July 20th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Tim, thanks for the clarifications. Is it possible to cut a 1st round pick, or do they have a guaranteed salary/contract imposed by the league for having been drafted in the 1st round?
July 21st, 2009 at 1:45 am
NL -Odom not signing with the lakers
Please don’t even talk such non-sense! (PS: I’m a lakers fan). Odom will be a laker, i absolutely guarantee it! Of course my guarantees are worth nothing since i’m just a fan, lol.
The truth of the matter is that without Lamar, the Lakers will not be able to repeat. In fact, I may even put the Spurs as the favorites in the west (as long as Manu is back). LO is so critical to the lakers success that it is an absolute must. The ownership needs to give him his 10m per year.
LO’s +- points is like +16. That’s the lakers outscore their opponents by 16 minutes per 48 when Lamar is on the court. This even beats out Kobe who is +12.6. Obviously i’m not saying that Lamar is more important than Kobe. I’m just saying that the guy is very important.
If Lamar comes back I would have to say that the Lakers are the favorites in the West, Spurs second and Nuggets third. In the East it’s all about the Celtics and then the Magic/Cavs. Not because of Grandpa Sheed, but rather because of Marquise Daniels. This kid is a gem and the Celtics made a huge improvement when they signed him. Moon is also a great find for the Cavs, but the Celts still have the advantage.
The truth of the matter is that a lot of next season depends on health. With KG be his former self? After serious knee injury, will this guy return to form? Also, Grandpa Pierce and Grandpa Ray —Pierce looks to be over the hill and declining rapidly. How will the Grandpa’s from the Celts do next year?
On the Spurs I wish someone could tell me what they expect from Manu? Is this guy going to be able to compete on the level he was at a couple of years ago? Are his injuries nagging and thus assumed to come back? Even if he returns to health, will he be the same Manu? And how much will Duncan decline? I just can’t call him Grandpa because I have too much respect for Duncan, but he is getting old. Will he be the same as this year (declined some from his peak) or will he decline further?
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