The Clock on Mensah-Bonsu

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Over the weekend, ESPN radio ran a sound clip of Tim Duncan saying it would be nice for the Spurs to add “a high energy, rebounding, shot blocking big man.” This is strictly conjecture, but Duncan will get his wish. If the Spurs are not able to swing a trade for a big, I’m confident that Pops Mensah-Bonsu will receive a 10-Day contract that will eventuate in a proper deal. This might be the case even if the Spurs swing a deal for a big man, especially if it’s the sort of trade that goes two or three for one. Mensah-Bonsu is moving on up like George and Wheezy.

Appropriating a piece from Ian Whittell of Basketball 24/7, here is Quin Synder’s take on Mensah-Bonsu:

Snyder said: “…I would think he is a guy who will get a call up opportunity. From there, if it’s a good fit, he can stay, certainly he’s got the ability. Some of it is just chance, if somebody gets hurt or something else happens, but I definitely see him at that level…He’s been doing great, to get acclimated as quickly as he has is terrific. His energy picks everybody up and I think he is so excited about playing again that it shows out on the floor. He has been rebounding, scoring, blocking shots but, more than anything else, he has helped us win. He will get better and better as he gets more comfortable with us because we’ve had a lot of new guys and everybody is trying to get to know each other.”

If you want a little back history on Mensah-Bonsu as a part of the Spurs program, point your browser here, here, and here.

Tick-tock.

  • Jimbo

    Pop and Pops – that should be a good combo! In all seriousness though, I truly hope the Spurs acquire a PF/C of the type Duncan described. Nick Collision is available and he’s cheap!

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

    Jimbo,

    We addressed Nick Collison in the first Tilt a Whirl.

    I’m not sure how available he is, and I would qualify his cheapness. His contract would throw a grenade into the 2010 stuff, but relative to his production “cheap” is a good description.

    I’m interested to see if any international players (i.e. C. Delfino) or vets receive buy outs in the next week. The Spurs might be able to pick up a worthwhile player on the cheap. Given the economy, there may be some surprises on that front.

  • Will

    I just wish the Spurs would have a serious look at Turiaf because he is exactly the kind of player Duncan describes…

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

    There is nothing at all to suggest the Spurs are thinking this, but…

    If reports of the Spurs’ interest–despite subsequent denials–in Vince Carter are true, one would wonder why they wouldn’t consider taking on Corey Maggette’s contract if Ronny Turiaf could be added as a sweetener. Maggette/Turiaf combined is more or less equal to Carter’s current deal. In a pure dump, Oberto, Bowen and Horry could get Maggette/Turiaf. Maggette is not as good as Carter, but he’s younger and cheaper and Turiaf is a great cherry on top.

    Again, this is conjecture. There is nothing suggesting the Spurs have the slightest interest in either player….I’m just thinking about the possibility of adding to the cap, which the Spurs seem willing to do, in light of your comment.

  • Rodrigo

    I have always liked the idea of having Pops with us if we don;t get a quality big out there…

    Tony recently said that he doesn’t have an Alley Oop target on the Spurs and we could definitively add that play tot he book with him out there.

    I have high expectations on him. Haven’t seen Sims who i have been told is the best big man project out there, but Pops makes a lot of sense to our roster.

  • Samm

    How can we trade Horry when he’s not on the team? I like the Turiaf-Maggette idea — maybe Oberto-Thomas-Finley? That leaves us with only three bigs though in Turiaf, Timmy, and Bonner and that’s probably no good. Would Golden State be interested in Bowen? I doubt it. They don’t play defense and that’s all Bowen does. The problem is, our franchise is so well-run, we don’t have a lot of sizeable, tradeable pieces. All our dispensable guys make low dollars, so its hard for us to trade for anyone with significant money on their deal.

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

    Samm,

    Horry hasn’t filed his retirement papers; his bird rights are owned by San Antonio. They could sign and trade him for something in the 4 million range. If you’d like more details, check previous Trade Season Tilt a Whirl posts. But the short answer is to say it’s not uncommon. Dallas did it last season with Keith Van Horn in the Harris-Kidd trade. But as a friend pointed out, this would likely push the Spurs into tax territory.

    If Golden State took back a player like Bowen, it would be with the intention of buying him out, not playing him.

  • Samm

    If we’re looking for a shot-blocking big man (and I think this is the right move) what about a simple Jacque Vaughn for Joel Anthony deal with Miami? Anthony is third in the league in blocks/48 mins. It works on the trade machine and Miami just got another big man in O’Neal and Anthony might be expendable. Plus, it gives Miami a veteran PG presence behind Chalmers and we don’t need Vaughn as much because of Hill. Plus, Manu and Mason can both play the pseudo-point if needed.

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

    Because Pat Riley would not trade a young, promising shot blocker for an over the hill point. In general, you don’t trade big for small, and that rule becomes more rigorous with each year of life between a young big and an old small.

  • Latin_D

    Regarding the Carter trade rumors and the common complaint that the Nets would have to cut three players for it to work as suggested by mySA’s McDonald, Hollinger had some interesting words today:

    “It has come up that the rumored San Antonio-New Jersey deal for Vince Carter in its present form would require the Nets to cut three players. If San Antonio were to send Fabricio Oberto, Bruce Bowen, George Hill and Roger Mason to New Jersey for Carter, the Nets would have to cut three of their 15 players before the trade is approved … even though they’d likely cut Bowen and Oberto afterward.

    But it’s pretty easy to find three Nets worth cutting. Stromile Swift and Maurice Ager have expiring deals and never play. That’s two right there. Coming up with a third can be done with a two-for-one deal or by cutting the chronically disappointing Sean Williams, or by waiving Chris Douglas-Roberts and telling him to stick around for a few hours so he can re-sign after the trade goes through.

    Bottom line, it’s doable, and it wouldn’t be an impediment to a Spurs-Nets swap.”

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=All-Star-Notebook-090215

    Still, I doubt it will happen. Timmy said it didn’t make sense, and I imagine he knows more about what on Pop’s mind that us.

  • ChillFAN

    Almost everytime I get on the trade machine, you end up trading away at least four players to equal a Sheed type piece. That’s a testament to our front office Savy to win on the cheap in the past, but also to the fact that other franchises have given fat contracts to mere role players.

    As for pops, looking forward to seeing him in austin, but…

    Even oberto and Thomas would be tearing it up in d league, nba experience matters for bigs, especially in the playoffs. It’s unlikely Pops would get floor time, nor should he be expected to produce much this season.