Garrett Temple: 2010 coach’s pet

They did away with the active roster concept. A full roster is 15. You can dress a different 12 every game if you want. No more injured reserve list gamesmanship. Even if you send a young player to Austin, he’s still “active”. Someone (Farmar, I think) played a D-League game in the afternoon and dressed for the Lakers that night.

This whole RJ opting out thing seems to have many of us Spurs fans in a tizzy! As I look at other tracking sources & I haven’t seen any real intrest from other teams who are actively looking to tear RJ away from us. To me, that says a lot, but I really think that at the end of the day when the smoke clears, I believe that RJ will be wearing his #24 Spurs Jerzey. I would like for the Spurs to get ahold of Louis Amundson. He’s 6’8″, 221 lb., & can play small or power forward. He may not be a slasher or hit the long ball, but he plays great D, from what we witnessed during the second round with Pheonix. I think that he can definately help out under the basket with his D & his putbacks as well. Any who, I wouldn’t be surprised to see RJ back. I also think that the if we don’t sign anyone else after RJ, then I think that Neal, Gee, & even Gist or Wilkerson should have an invite to training camp & see if they can prove themselves to pound the rock with the real men. Now granted Spurs fans, we have been looking for youth to blend in with our vets, & these young bloods need to prove themselves, but we also know that Pop & Co. usually sticks with the old guys. This season will be VERY intresting, but we all know that the time table for Timmy is closing for a drive 4 five, but it’s gonna come down to how bad all of these guys want it. One or two players just can’t do it all alone, & of coarse, talent is needed, but it’s what’s in the heart that counts. But in the meantime, GO SPURS GO!!!!

In a summer league interview RC said they’d bring 17-18 into camp. Assuming RJ signs I figure:

Core (10) - Parker, Ginobili, Hill, Anderson, RJ, Duncan, Splitter, Blair, McDyess, Bonner

MLE/LLE (1) - Mr. X

Unguaranteed (4) - Hairston, Gee, Temple, Jerrells

Others (3) - Gist, Wilkerson, Neal

If RJ doesn’t sign it obviously leaves a huge hole at SF.

I’m expecting big things from Temple. I think he should be the 4th in our PG/SG guard rotation behind TP, Manu, and Hill. And based on what Pop’s said about him, I expect Temple to get the chance to showcase his skills - 10 -15 mpg maybe? Having a backup at both slots (and even at the SF in certain situations) is extremely valuable, and even moreso at his price.

I think you can pencil in Temple and Hairston to the active, 12 man roster. And if RJ doesn’t resign (and assuming we don’t sign another FA), I think it’s going to be a dogfight between Anderson, Gee, Neal and Jerrels for the last two spots.

Anderson, once healthy, should be able to make the roster with his shooting and scoring ability.

Gee has the highest upside - already has above average NBA athleticism, but not a great shooter or defender at this point.

Neal probably fills our biggest need, shooting, and he’s played well at the highest level in Europe. With more of what he did in the summer league, I could see him beating out Gee, and even Anderson.

Jerrels is probably stuck in a numbers game. With 4 guys who can play the PG spot (TP, Hill, Manu, Temple) likely ahead of him, I can’t see the Spurs carrying 5 PG’s.

Who knows what will happen. But with the youth and talent we have available, I don’t think letting RJ walk will hurt us much, if at all. I think we can make up for his production, while also slotting in a better defender in his place (Hairston and Temple are the first that come to mind).

thanks andrew

ESPN rumor that the sixers are open to trading Jason Kapono. That would solve the wing and 3 pt shooting issues. Any thoughts?

I’m not sure what we could really offer the Sixers for Kapono… He would be a nice backup but he’s too expensive for a backup.

Jim Henderson
July 19th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
“My guess as the starters:

Parker
Manu
RJ (holding a spot?!)
Duncan
Splitter

My guess of rotation in order of minutes (not necessarily my preference):

(6) Hill
(7) Blair
(8) McDyess
(9) Bonner
(10) Anderson
(11) Temple
(12) Hairston”

That looks about right to me. On paper, this team looks a hell of a lot better than last year especially considering many of them will have been in the system one more year.

All we hear about is Miami and LA in all the NBA news. However, I think we can really do some damage if our young guys can continue to grow over the course of the year. Six of the twelve players you mentioned are between 21 and 25 yrs old. Man, this team is much younger than what we’ve had in the past. It’s clear that rebuild mode (or whatever you want to call it) is here in full force.

doggydogworld
July 20th, 2010 at 5:32 am

Okay, but in practical terms, how many guys are usually on the Spurs bench, including “undressed”, before the start of a game? 12,13..?

“You can dress a different 12 every game if you want.”

That’s great, but obviously that’s not typical. Generally one’s going to have the same 12 dress every night. The first 9-10 probably can expect to see fairly regular minutes. The last 2-3, maybe more occasional spot minutes, particularly during times of injury to one of the first 9-10. We appear to have 12 guys (including RJ?) that I could see dressing just about every night. Can you think of any realistic alternative scenario?

Easy B
July 20th, 2010 at 5:18 am

“Tiago no doubt will get more confidence and minutes as he earns more time on the court…like all other rookies had to.”

Just remember, Splitter is FAR from your average rookie. He’s 25 years old, with several years of high-level European professional experience. Also, I think the idea of “learning the system” is a little overblown, particularly in the case of veteran players. RJ’s problems were more frustration with adjusting from a more up-tempo/transition 1st/2nd option type situation to a more half court/spot-up 4th option type situation. We need Splitter more for defense, whether paired with Duncan, McDyess, Blair, or Bonner. At the start, on the offensive end, he just needs to learn the basic screen & pick & roll options, and crash the offensive glass. We could start McDyess or Blair, but I’d be just as open to throwing Splitter into the fire from the get-go. The more playing time he gets, the faster he’ll learn. We’ll need for him to be as sharp as possible by the time the playoffs roll around.

DNITCH
July 20th, 2010 at 10:30 am

“ESPN rumor that the sixers are open to trading Jason Kapono. That would solve the wing and 3 pt shooting issues. Any thoughts?”

Since Kapono is the #1 active career 3-point shooter (44%), 54% in two playoff appearances, and is deadly in spot-ups, I’d love to do that trade. I’d offer McDyess (or Bonner, if they’d want to assume his 4-year contract!) & Gee for Kapono, and then sign Amundson with our 2.4 mil. MLE.

Parker, Hill
Manu, Anderson
RJ, Kapono, Hairston
Duncan, Blair, Bonner
Splitter, Amundson

Temple

Here’s a guess:

RJ signs a 4-year deal worth 28 million.

Is RJ going to hold an hour long special on ESPN announcing this decision?????????

By the way, it sure looks like Riley is trying to take a page out of Jackson’s book, building from scratch a team pretty similar to the team that began their first three-peat in 1990-1991: the Chicago Bulls.

Wade >>>>Jordan
James>>>>Pippen
Bosh>>>>>Grant
Ilgauskas >>>Cartwright
Chalmers>>>Armstrong
Miller>>>>>Paxson
Haslem>>>>Perdue
Anthony>>>King
Jones>>>>>Hodges
Magloire>>>Williams

The problem is, the Heat don’t have Michael Jordan. Also, the Jordan/Pippen fit was more like a glove than the Wade/James pairing will likely ever be. For all their offensive talents, it was often the relentless “D” by Pippen & Jordan that stirred the Bull’s drink. Can Wade & James duplicate that effort? Well, that’s a tall task. And what made MJ & Scotty such a great pair was the way they complimented each other on the court, not that they were the greatest buddies off the court. There were NO passes/excuses on the court because they were good friends off the court. Winning was the most important thing in their relationship, and accountability ALWAYS had an edge to it.

Most of the above mentioned roster possibilities stress a need for a backup for Jefferson at the small forward spot. I think, Gee, Ginobli, and maybe even Anderson can fill that need. Last year the Spurs were in need of a quick taller player, who can play the 3 or 4 spot. Jefferson was often called upon to be the four and he is too short. I was very impressed with Wilkerson in the summer league action. At 6’8″ he is fairly quick, showed surprising ball handling skills and good athleticism. He played decent defense around the rim and has respectable hops. I think he might be a better prospect the Gist, who I thought looked lethargic before he injured himself. I don’t think he will make the team, but Wilkerson might be a different story. He also might be able to back up at the small forward spot. The Spurs could still use another strong rebounding defensive center.

Hobson13
July 20th, 2010 at 9:14 pm

“No doubt. We could still use an extra 3pt shooter and definitely need to pick up the team D.”

Rumor has it that Philly is open to trading Kapono (http://www.prosportsdaily.com/comments/sixers-open-to-moving-kapono-389686.html). They’re too top-heavy at the wing, and Kapono’s got one year left at 6.6 mil. per. Plus, I think Philly, under Doug Collin’s, is looking to be a running team that has the versatile athletes necessary to create turnovers & burn opponents in the open-court/transition game. Kapono does not fit that style, and the fast pace would merely accentuate his weaknesses defensively.

Earlier on this thread, I suggested that we make Philly the following offer:

McDyess (or Bonner, if they’d want to assume his 4-year contract!) & Gee for Kapono, and then sign Amundson with our 2.4 mil. MLE.

Parker, Hill
Manu, Anderson
RJ, Kapono, Hairston
Duncan, Blair, Bonner
Splitter, Amundson

Temple

Amundson would help us defensively, and Kapono is about the best shooter we could possible get to back-up RJ (#1 active career 3-point shooter (44%), 54% in two playoff appearances, and is deadly in spot-ups), and could give us some firepower & floor-spacing off the bench for about 15-17 mpg. What do you think about that?

Does Duncan’s contract expire at the end of this season? I think it expires after teh 2011-2012 season, but I’m not sure. Anyways, I think te Spurs FO should try to sign Amundson, or Shaq with the rest of the MLE. No one seems to be interested in Shaq, Atlanta is, but they can’t afford him because of there stupid decision to sigh Johnson to theat 124 mil. maz contract.

“Amundson would help us defensively, and Kapono is about the best shooter we could possible get to back-up RJ”

That would definitely be a worthwhile trade. Kapono, as you said, is not a great defender. However, he would only play 15-18 min/game and perhaps the rim defending duo of Duncan and Splitter can make up some of his defensive slack. Kapono is definitely one of the elite (if not THE elite) 3pt shooters in the league.

From a Philly point of view, it might be tempting to take on a veteran like McDyess if they could get a promising young guy like Gee. This would definitely be an interesting trade, if you ask me. The loss of Bonner or Dyess would be largely offset if we could get our hands on Amundson. I haven’t heard anything about the FO pursuing him, but it would make sense if they did.