Postscript: James Gist

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In this morning’s (much longer) post about Drew Gooden and the Spurs frontcourt, I mention James Gist in passing as a long shot combo forward. Why would I use that term? And is he any good?

Several weeks back I had the opportunity to speak with Antonello Varallo, who covers the Italian League for Eurobasket. He’s as close to the situation as you can get. He was exceedingly helpful in painting a picture of Gist’s time in Europe. Quoting from part of that conversation:

Regarding James Gist’s Team, Angelico Biella

Angelico Biella has a good general manager, Marco Atripaldi, who is a great talent scout. In Italy his reputation is very important: he was chosen by Benetton Treviso to replace Gherardini when he joined Toronto Raptors. Moreover, in recent years Biella used many Italian unknown players who later joined national team, players like Matteo Soragna, Pietro Aradori, Fabio Di Bella, or players with a good reputation, as Troy Bell (former Boston College player) and Reece Gaines, a former Houston player.

Regarding James Gist’s Position

Everybody in Italy knows that Gist is a player for the Spurs, and sometimes
newspapers talk about the San Antonio scouts who follow Gist. In Italy Gist is playing power forward, and sometimes he defends against bigger players. His size and his quickness are his strengths when he attacks, and his weaknesses when he defends. He is the greatest dunker in Italy, and he is a good 3 pointer too…

I think Gist could play in the NBA as a 3. He is fast enough. He reminds me of James Singleton, who played in Italy as a 4.

  • GMT

    I really hope that we sign him and give him honest minutes. I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t. Pop would probably have a problem with him dunking, though, since he doesn’t like the dunk.

    As for the 3, is it the same distance from the basket in the Euro League as it is in the NBA? If he’s able to knock them down here, I think Pop might excuse a dunk every now and then, like he does with Hill.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    GMT,

    Second thing first. The 3 point line is closer. By nearly 2 ft. But he hit at a high rate and knocked down NBA 3s last summer.

    Beyond this, I’d caution you to lower your expectations. I’m hoping we see Gist in summer league and training camp. If he makes it that far, he’ll either be cut and allocated to Austin or signed and assigned to Austin.

    Finally, if he is in fact able to play the 3, that should really help his chances of making the team.

  • SpurredOn

    Stuff like this continues to give me hope. That’s a very good thing today.

  • Steven

    I have been following Gist since last year, I hope we get him, the guy could be Bruce’s padiwan star wars style .

  • John Carr

    I don’t think Pop dislikes the dunk as much as he dislikes players who rely too much on athleticism, as opposed to intellectual offensive/defensive execution. The Spurs system is difficult to execute on both ends of the floor, and the league is flush with players who can jump out of the gym… I don’t think Pop would have a problem with a guy who can finish, regardless of how he finishes, on either end of the court.

  • Hollywood

    We shouldn’t get our hopes too high, but at the same time I don’t have very high hopes for the players we already have.

    I thought the Spurs were fools not to sign and play Gist this year, but instead they pursued the now forgotten Anthony Tolliver to be insurance in case Bonner didn’t turn out to be Horry v 2.0, which of course is/was a ludicrous goal to try and achieve.

    True, Bonner improved over the course of the year, but the team could have used a hyper-athletic ball-hawking, rebounding, defending hustle player like Gist who could be molded to try and defend the David West/Dirk Nowitzki type players that always bedevil us. I’m not talking about trying to find a taller version of Bowen. I want to get rid of whatever archetypes Pop has created in his mind for what type of players we need to win a championship. We need to start seeing the positives in what our players bring to the table instead of trying to mold them into something they’re not.

    The FO’s rigidity and lack of creativity is stunning. I understand we had a good model for how to win, but that time is past and we need to adapt. Isn’t that what they teach in the military academies?

    Given our options

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Hollywood,

    Let me address your point about Anthony Tolliver. You’re correct. That entire episode was a head scratcher. This is especially true because Gist showed proficiency from 3 point range as well.

    Here’s what it comes down to: money and roster spots. The Spurs knew they would not have space on their roster to keep both Gist and Tolliver, and didn’t want to lose Gist. Since they drafted Gist, they’d lose his rights with a camp invitation and subsequent cut. By organizing the deal with Biella, they were able to keep Gist’s rights. Biella, if you were not aware, has a strong reputation for player development. Thabo Sefolosha was there before he was drafted, national team success, etc… They’re just known for it. So the Spurs worked out a 1 year deal for Gist with Biella (between friends, nothing that would rise to an official agreement), with some understanding of playing time expectations and skills development wishes. Gist has started over there, playing with high level players, and, at the conclusion of the season, is free to return to the Spurs. The money end comes in this way. The Spurs are trying to preserve 2010 cap. Now they can sign Gist to a low dollar rookie contract that isn’t up for renewal until 2011, at the earliest. Gist, by the way, probably cashed bigger paychecks in Italy than he would have in Austin. All things considered, the Spurs helped create a very healthy situation for him.

    Gist would not have played for San Antonio last season, and he will still have to fight to make the team this year. If he does make it, he’ll play in Austin. Or so I guess. He should sell a lot of tickets, though. He’s an exciting player with a future. But he has a way to go. The time in Austin would be good for him. My guess is that the Spurs will move him to small forward and force him to learn to play that position in the D-League.

    The other thing the Spurs could do is cut him at the end of training camp and then allocate him to Austin. If they do this, look for them to keep the 15th roster spot open just in case other teams come calling. This is how they approached Malik Hairston.

  • Big50

    So if he can play the 3 could he possibly take over the for Finley? What happens if he’s more of a 3/4 hybrid? I have not heard much on this guy, but it sounds like he could be a really good fit, assuming he can learn the D. I’m interested to see if any of these young (Gist, Hairston, Mihnimi, ect.) guys will pan for the Spurs. The last thing I want to see is the Spurs spend all this time developing these guys and then letting them go be studs for other teams.

  • Greg

    I just read a column by Buck Harvey that talks about the Spurs making a run at Antonio McDyess instead of Rasheed Wallace. He makes valid points, but it seems to focus more around the potential emotional instability that Sheed might bring, not his lack of skills. McDyess is a little tougher and would bring more inside presence, as well as that mid range jumper the Spurs can’t defend. But Sheed would bring length inside and Pop’s beloved 3 point range.

    Tim, I don’t want to step on any of your future offseason columns, but any thoughts? Is McDyess just a smaller updgrade over Kurt Thomas? Would Thomas and McDyess basically be playing the same role? Would Duncan and Pop be able to control Sheed? And would his 3 point shooting make up for his defensive liabilities?

    Love the blog and look forward to updates as you help get us through a longer than usual offseason.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Greg,

    I was thinking about a short post on this subject, and still might. But there is not much to add beyond what you’ve said here. You can see their rationale, but I don’t think Dice solves their problems. I prefer Wallace, loose marbles or not.

    Another thing that happened between now and the time of my post was a suggestion by Marc Stein that Dallas and Cleveland are both interested in Sheed. If that’s the case, it significantly hurts San Antonio’s chances.

    In either case, Dice would help. The question is, would he help enough. I’d say not.

  • Greg

    I think I feel the same way about it that you do. When I read on your blog a few months back about Sheed to San Antonio, I actually got a little excited and thought it would be a good fit. But when he wrote that about McDyess, I didn’t have the same reaction. He just seems like a little younger Kurt Thomas. He still couldn’t guard Dirk and wouldn’t provide any additional size inside.

    I don’t know if I saw you mention this, and I tried to look up some splits for Dirk against Detroit in his career, but do you think Sheed would be a viable defensive option for guarding Dirk? He’s definitely got the length, but didn’t know if he still had the agility to do so. And I heard the same thing about other teams wanting Wallace, would that drive the price tag too high for him and cost us the full MLE?

    I’ve seen a lot of people saying Ariza would be a good player for us, but don’t know if that is realistic. I heard some rumblings before about Marvin Williams, are those pretty much a pipe dream?

  • Todd

    Just a note about the types of teams Pop likes to form. If you are going to win a championship, you either need overwhelming talent (i.e. Lakers) that can force your style on every team you meet or a versitle team that can attack and defend in many different ways.
    The small market Spurs are never going to attract overwhelming talent. We are left with trying to build a team that can function in many different styles. The 2005 and 2007 teams could run with the Suns and plod with the Pistons. Pop could change the entire look of our team with a few substitutions.
    A side effect of this versitility is that we cannot overwhelm any team. When our role players are off, we are in trouble.
    Going forward, I would like to see the Spurs rebuild a defense that can keep up with the Blazers and hold down the Cavs. If Ginobli and Duncan return healthy, we will still need to clear out 5+ players to remake our team. Get to it Pop!

  • Hollywood

    TV,

    Thanks for the long response. I knew we had placed Gist in Italy as a way to develop him but I’ve never heard anyone claim that we still control his rights. If that’s the case, then I feel somewhat better about the situation.

    However, I think he could have helped us this/last year. Giving Tolliver a roster spot was idiotic because we already had Bonner and we were only duplicating the same skill set (undersized PF with no game outside of shooting the 3). Bonner was already under contract. I still think Gist could be our best defender to work against the mobile PFs in the West.

    Of course the reality is Pop wouldn’t have played him, but I have no interest in basing all discussions around predicting Pop’s mindset.

    After seeing our role players implode versus Dallas it’s difficult for me to believe than Gist is much worse than our current ghosts. Was Gist’s strong play in Summer league only hype? Perhaps, but I still think he already deserved a roster spot.

    I understand the FO has interest in him but I think they are doing their now typical mistake of overestimating the talent of their current roster while also underestimating the potential immediate productivity their young players can give them, especially in the regular season when we need to be resting our veterans anyway.

  • Rodrigo

    If Gist develops into a 3 I think the Spurs will have a much deeper roster.

    Also… i think his 3 point shooting ability is underrated.