The Other Other New Guy

by

If you took a quick poll of which new Spur fans are most excited to watch this season, Antonio McDyess probably wouldn’t come up that often. Despite having a higher PER than Richard Jefferson last season and 13 years worth of NBA experience on DeJuan Blair, McDyess’s arrival in San Antonio has had nowhere near the media buzz of either. (I’ll admit to being a bit stricken with Blair-mania myself.)

But then again, the spotlight has always had a tendency to pass right by our new starting center. You could easily argue that McDyess was the most effective member of the Piston’s frontcourt last season. He certainly was the most efficient. And yet his former teammate Rasheed Wallace received most of the press during the season and was the more highly coveted free agent after it ended. All the while McDyess toiled away, shooting his patented 17-footer and recording the highest rebounding rate, assist rate and true-shooting percentage of his career.

But maybe McDyess’s on-court efforts, as well as his highly likable personality, will finally get the attention they deserve. Mike Monroe is certainly doing his part to make sure they do. He’s written a lovely article that highlights McDyess’s humble and thoughtful attitude:

[McDyess’s] conclusion, reached in the hours before the free-agent market opened on July 1: Unless he got a contract offer from the Spurs, he would retire, giving up on his quest for an NBA championship ring after 13 seasons.

“That’s how strong I felt about coming here,” said McDyess, the 6-foot-9 veteran who figures to be the team’s starting center on opening night.

The Spurs felt strongly enough about adding McDyess to their reshaped roster to offer him a three-year contract worth about $15 million.

Both sides feel fortunate to finally have connected.

“There have been years when I’ve been trying to come here before, but they turned me down,” McDyess said. “I feel privileged to be here.”

The spotlights have always been a bit dimmer in San Antonio, allowing workmen like McDyess to receive more of the credit they rightfully deserve. But even we Spurs fans, with our Manu infatuation and Duncan worship, can overlook the “little guys” every once in a while, even when they come packaged in a 6’9″, 245 pound frame.

All I’m saying is: next time you’re watching a game and you realize the opposing team is having a difficult time scoring at the rim, remember the ceaseless effort it takes from a number of men to defend that paint. And oh yes, with a Duncan/McDyess frontcourt, opposing teams are going to have one hell of a time trying to score at the rim.

  • http://atxsports.net Andrew A McNeill

    I’m getting more and more excited for the season to start every day. Good stuff.

  • to19

    McDyess is definitely the most intriguing addition for me. Finally, if healthy, a capable player on both ends of the court to play alongside Duncan.

  • zack

    mcdyess, and jefferson are really exciting, however its really exciting to see fresh faces come in who have never been in the nba and see them make a difference in the game (blair) ESP! OFFENSIVE rebounding!!my god we need him so bad. now lets all get together and pray for a healthy season

  • http://latamviewsports.blogspot.com/ Rodrigo

    Dice was my number 1 choice for off season big men acquisition.

    I couldn’t be more exited for the beginning of the season :)

  • errin

    I am so happy we signed McDyess instead of that nut case Rasheed he just seems as if he would be a better fit shoots the 17 foot jumper well and will be excellent in pick and roll with Tony i think this is the most underrated signing of the summer that will pay huge dividens for us in the playoffs.

  • http://www.goodtimescomic.blogspot.com Jordan

    I loved the McDyess signing as well.

    On a sidenote, Dwyer has Duncan as the #1 center of the decade:

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-10-best-centers-of-the-last-decade?urn=nba,193423#remaining-content

    He calls him a center because he plays in the pivot. That seems to be the difference between centers and power forwards in Dwyer’s mind.

  • Gilbert

    I have admired McDyess’ game since he came into the league. I am very happy to find that he is also a high quality individual who fits with our team of professional MEN. I am so excited about the upcoming year, I can hardly stand it. If officiating is fair, and we remain reasonably healthy, I think we have the best chance of winning it all. What an amazingly deep roster we have. Incredible quality at each roster spot. Wish we could keep 18. Hope those cut will stay in the system as positions will be available soon. Love that Gist agreed to go overseas again, thereby remaining with the Spurs.

  • NL

    Not to knock on him, but remember when Roger Mason was our big pick up. Again, not to knock him, he had a hell of year and I hope he can contribute, playoffs aside, like he did last yera, but what a difference a year makes.

  • NL

    I’ll admit, I was pretty bummed when we didn’t land Rasheed Wallace. He was one of my top three players not in a Spurs uniform. But I do love the McDyess. What a hard-nosed player and a class individual. Perfect fit - I wish he would’ve come here earlier.

  • SAJKinBigD

    Love Dice! He’s a perfect fit for this team! Wow! I think this season will be a great one, coming down to the wire with LA! Will it be Chemistry over Talent for the West? Sure hope so! And that’s not saying our guys don’t have talent, but stacked against the Lakers, we fall a little short in that department if everything goes smoothly for both teams. I think Spurs can do it, though! GO SPURS GO!
    Can we get to the season already?

    And how did I miss Gist agreeing to go overseas another season? SA-WEET!

  • Brian

    As a Pistons fan, I can assure you that Antonio McDyess was a far better signing than Rasheed Wallace. Truly a class act, and should be a perfect complement to your stars. If his playing time is limited to 24-25 minutes per game, you will be delighted with the results.

  • SpursfanSteve

    I’m excited about Mcdyess as well. I think his contributions both on and off the court will be huge. Can you imagine him mentoring Blair? Or what their combined rebounding % will be? Thats astronomical.

  • Bentley

    NL,

    I wished he had come here before he had hurt his knee severly. Think of how scary good that might have been

  • Ian

    I hoped that the Spurs would acquire Sheed, simply because I did not expect the Pistons to give up Dice that easily (he seemed to be quite loyal to the Pistons franchise, too). That said, it’s surprising that he did not create any sort of buzz during the off-season what so ever, given that McDyess may (arguably) be Duncan’s best front-court partner since Robinson’s retirement.

  • mikrobass

    i seem to remember a game 7 of the 2005 nba championships when duncan took over and won the finals…i also recall that mcdyess left in the second half of that game and was replaced by r. wallace. i cheered at that moment. i always hated mcdyess playing against the spurs…i’m glad to see him in a spurs uniform.

  • lvmainman

    McDyess great pickup for the Bynum/Gasol, Howard/Gortat, Shaq/Z, Garnett/Perkins, Martin/Nene, Oden/Aldridge tandems that the Spurs will face in pursuit of a championship. Every championship Duncan had a tag-team partner, Robinson and Nestorovic. At least Duncan won’t be on his own this year with a steady McDyess along side.

  • Bushka

    I just got such a chuckle from reading that last refrain. There is going to be some crazy defensive rebounding and low opponent fg numbers.

    My wife wanted to know what the hell I was reading on my iPhone that had made me “giggle like a school girl”.

    Go go go San Antonio mcdyess

  • Alain

    Imagine being Dejuan Blair…
    A rookie coming in the NBA, you land with the Spurs, and get the opportunity to learn with McDyess, Duncan, Pop… could you have it any better ?
    Let’s get it on with the season !

  • Will

    What I find the most interesting is the quote from McDyess saying he tried to come to the Spurs before but was turned down… I wonder whether it was because of money, or because the Spurs had somebody else in mind (such as KT). If it’s not the money I don’t really understand why the Spurs didn’t ask him to come earlier, since it’s not like the Spurs have been known for their big men in the post-Robinson era (except Duncan of course).

  • http://myspurslink.blogspot.com Robby

    McDyess is a great pick up and unpopular it may seem, I’m glad that we get him instead of Rasheed. just my thoughts…

  • Tim in Surrey

    I’m pretty charged up about Antonio McDyess myself. I’ve been an admirer of his going all the way back to his two years at Alabama. (I’m a Vanderbilt grad, and unfortunately we knew all about him. I’m still trying to figure out how Arkansas won the SEC when Alabama had a frontcourt of McDyess, Jason Caffey, and Roy Rogers.) Antonio was an amazing talent back then, pretty comparable to Shaun Kemp IMHO. But he always showed a lot of leadership and poise and made big contributions off the court, too.

    Antonio’s not young anymore and his spectacular athleticism hasn’t been seen since about 2001. But he’s a helluva player and just an extraordinary man. Nobody really talks about it that much but he missed or was severely hobbled for about four years because of a ruptured patella tendon-one of the worst injuries a basketball player can suffer. It’s difficult to think of players who have come back from such a devastating injury to play so well and for so long. Certainly there are a few who have come back from equal or worse injuries (Walton, Bernard King, Grant Hill, Randy Livingston, and more recently Shawn Livingston). But over the last five years since recovering, McDyess has averaged 76 games per year with decent minutes (24.7 per game) and excellent numbers per 40 minutes: 14.1 pts, 11.4 reb, 1.7 ast, 1.1 stl, 1.1 blk, 1.6 to, 50.9 FG%, 64.3 FT%. That’s a lot of production for someone on a knee that has been rebuilt twice, especially when you add the Pistons’ deep playoff runs and consider how many other options they had to go to. The only really comparable player I can remember is Arvydas Sabonis, who ruptured an achilles tendon, which is an equally devastating injury, before he ever played in the NBA. (I was also fortunate enough to see Sabonis with the Soviet national team in 1982, when he was a teenager-he was absolutely amazing.) McDyess was a special athlete who lost that special quality and had to adapt to by being smart, strong, and hard working. To do that, to come back TWICE from such an injury, settle for playing with much less talent, and to play with such dedication shows a lot of character. And all this without complaint or drama. While I certainly think that Rasheed Wallace would have been a nice addition, I think that McDyess is at least his equal on-court. And off-court? What a man. Forget what Antonio can teach DeJuan and everyone else about basketball. They should try and find out what he can teach them about life.

    Just my $.02…

  • Derek

    I’m a lifelong Piston fan and McDyess was one of my favorite players to come through the Piston organization. The guy is one of the classiest players in the league and I hope he get’s his ring with the Spurs (an organization I’ve always respected). For those of you who haven’t followed him much you will be pleasantly surprised, he’s far more skilled than you expect and he always works hard. When last season slipped away he was the only Piston that you knew would come to play every night. Great signing for the Spurs!

  • Crow

    I like Dice and am particularly interested in how Pop uses him and TD on defense when together. That is who guards the center or power forward regularly, or the tougher guy, or the really big guy or the faster than normal guy.