On the prospect of trading Antonio McDyess

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Antonio McDyess is the chillest chill bro in the Association.

He’s Serge Gainsbourg, stubbled, disheveled, and in love. McDyess is the serpentine rise of smoke from Tom Waits’ cigarette. He’s Chet Baker’s My Funny Valentine—the especially long version that forgets you’re listening. Antonio McDyess is all  these things and a Quitman smile.

Antonio McDyess is my favorite Spur. Â And he’s playing great basketball this season. For most of the season Dice has been San Antonio’s best interior defender.

Coming into the season, I gave Dice even odds to be gone by mid-February.

The Spurs have precious few trade assets. And, at the time, it didn’t seem like the Spurs were talented enough to compete with the Lakers. Antonio McDyess is a nice trade chip. With a salary of 4.8 million this season and only a partial guarantee next year, he comes cheap. There isn’t a team in the NBA that wouldn’t benefit from his presence, on and off the court. The Spurs, I thought, might upgrade their reserve forward with a younger model. They’d want to think about the future.

Now it’s impossible to think of the Spurs without Dice. He’s placed his germ in the Spurs’ collective blood stream. His presence in the locker room makes him indispensable. The Spurs will absolutely need him in April and May. He’s a game-changer.

But beyond all this, he’s just so damn likable.

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  • Titletown99030507

    @rob, interesting but a good point. Sacrificing Hill for Nene would lock up that defense in the paint. Moving forward to next season if there’s one, we could be seeing Nene with the core of bigs we got now and a seasoned Splitter for the near future all for Hill when we can easily insert James Anderson and Neal for that spot. Nice.

  • Titletown99030507

    I changed my mind. I’d keep Hill and take my chances in Splitter being what we thought he was supposed to be (with playing time) next season. Having two good lock down perimeter defenders in Hill (point) and Anderson (2 guard) on the court at the same time gives me goose bumps.

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