SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Ike Diogu. Per club policy details of the contract were not released.
Diogu, 6-9, 250 pounds, spent last season playing for the L.A. Clippers, He appeared in 36 games, averaging 5.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes while shooting .561 (83-148) from the field.
A five-year NBA veteran, Diogu was originally drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He has also seen action with the Indiana Pacers (2006-08), Portland Trail Blazers (2008-09) and Sacramento Kings (2008-09). For his career Diogu has appeared in 223 games, averaging 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.5 minutes.
Diogu will wear No. 1 for the Spurs
0 recs | 176 comments
Eh…better than Bonner on defense?
Joe deLarios - January 3, 2012 via mobile
Yi’s chair is better than Bonner at defense.
Fred Silva - January 3, 2012
Mike Bibby’s corpse is better than Bonner at defense. Wait… what???
silverandblack_davis - January 3, 2012
Actually, Bonner’s defense is better than Blairs a lot of times… But then, that isn’t saying much either.
grego21 - January 3, 2012
Yi’s sofa is better than Blair at defense.
Fred Silva - January 3, 2012
Yi’s got a nice sofa then.
grego21 - January 3, 2012
Well now we have a number 1 and a number 2.
J.R. Wilco - January 3, 2012 via iPhone app
When you get a chance, check your e-mail.
Edg5 - January 3, 2012
His name sounds better than Ime Udoka.
Ayatollah - January 3, 2012
We need this
When you think about spurs frontcourt
Duncan, and Tiago … the only players that actually play defense
Bonner is just there to make 3s
Blair undersized
Even if he dont play good defense … he grab more rebounds than bonner, steal and block more than bonner
cuentaluis1 - January 3, 2012
If only Spurs had Finley still. Then they could have Mike and Ike.
grego21 - January 3, 2012
There’s still time. Findog is looking to get back in the league.
Edg5 - January 3, 2012
Sweet, my dream is coming true!
grego21 - January 3, 2012
Woohoo bring the zombie back!!!
spursfan87 - January 3, 2012
very nice
gunnin' gervin - January 3, 2012
He’s not a great defender but he’s a decent rebounder who doesn’t suffer from a chronic
allergy to paint like Scalabrine, I mean Bonner. Let’s hope that he comports himself well
enough on the floor to consume some of Bonner’s minutes, given our HOF’s coach
infatuation with Bonner.
mercer - January 3, 2012
He’ll also take time from Blair, if he’s not playing well, so net benefit!
grego21 - January 3, 2012
If signing Diogu puts Blairs min. to 10 a game or less the rest of the season then I love this signing.
spurlover - January 4, 2012 via mobile
15-17 mpg I’m ok with as well.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
why the blair hating? he has been playing efficient and productive basketball.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
It depends on the team. He was solid against Utah. Not so solid against Minnesota. His Grizz game he was in too much foul trouble with Duncan to declare that successful, for either bigs.
He still reaches far too much. He really needs to make those easy shots, especially on bigger teams. He has always fared well against a team like Utah though.
That said, I want more limited minutes to maximize his positives and minimize his negatives. He’s an energy guy. In shorter bursts, hes more effective. In longer ones, his effectiveness lessens.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I don’t hate Blair. I really, really like Blair, but he needs to start boxing out. I know I’m like a broken record with this, but it really hurts the team when he doesn’t. Just watch how he rebounds on defense next game. Lazy.
His production on offense has been great so far, though.
Edg5 - January 4, 2012
I know his limitations pretty well, but he is more than a 10min a game player. Its ok for him to be averaging 20-25 minutes a game in my opinion, less would be undervaluing his production and more than that would expose him too much.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
you are right, he is more than a 10-min-a-game player, he is a career 12.5-min-a-game player.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
oops, I guess, you meant Blair, not Ike, please ignore my comment.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
I think 25 is too much, depending on the team. For example, Twolves game is a good one where a lot of his value is wiped out (at least in the current way he plays) because he can’t out-athleticize the opponent. Kevin Love is deceptively athletic (although he’s definitely gotten in better shape the past two years).
You are not going to out jump or out reach the Twolves, but you can box them out.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I think there is not a definite answer of which teams Blair is useful against. I remember him dominating the Lakers last season…… probably the most talented and taller frontline in the NBA.
In my opinion, he should get 20-25 mins as an average. Of course if he is dominating the other team he should near 30-35 mins, and if he is having trouble then a couple of stints starting the 1st and 3rd quarter would be enough.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
If his offense remains good and Timmy keeps struggling, Pop might have no choice but to play him a lot of minutes. I like how the guards force-feed DeJuan the ball early on to try to get the other team’s bigs in foul trouble.
If he would just box-out, I would be more than happy with him being playing 25+ minutes.
Edg5 - January 4, 2012
I think this is by design because Blair tends to be best at the beginning of the game. It’s easier for other guys to find their rhythm later in the game. They also do this with RJ with decent success. The problem is as the season progressed, they went away from RJ.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Unfortunately, Bynum and Gasol played like dog poo in that game. That was there really bad stretch where they just got embarassed by the Heat as well. Keep in mind the Heat had trouble beating any +.500 team, especially on the road during the season.
I think its easy to spot the teams where he will more often do well.
Clippers are super athletic, but lack the smarts.
Utah is actually not that big.
Golden State is athletic, but not really big or smart defensively.
OKC (if Perkins is in foul trouble or out of the game). Ibaka is athletic, but not enough to push Blair around.
Teams he’ll have issues with are like:
Grizz
Bulls
Twolves
Lakers (one game is not enough)
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Im not so sold on the Wolves. Yes Kevin Love is a beast, but the other guys in their frontline have big weakneses that Blair can exploit. I think it was just a one game thing.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
I’m not saying they are the best big men, but Darko, Love and Derick Williams are pretty good bigs. He’s yet to really have success against them.
He won’t in the current way he plays. Perhaps he will have success, but that’s because he changed to fit the right ways to play those bigs.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Good one,. I forgot about the boxing out. He tries to out-athleticize guys far too often. He has the perfect body for boxing out on the defensive end. Now that the Spurs have a plethora of tall wings, if he boxes out, a guy like Leonard can snatch the ball.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I completely agree with this. Short wide guys (specially with a ridiculous wingspan like Blair) are very useful for boxing out.
Come on coaching staff! Coach the kid
Chilai - January 4, 2012
I blame the staff as much as everyone, but you have to blame the player a little bit too. It takes two to tango, and Blair doesn’t seem to always like to listen.
The other thing that annoys me is his reaching on offensive rebounds. He picks up silly fouls that ruin his momentum or the team’s momentum. There are just times you have to give up that chance at an offensive rebound.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
But you have to take risks to get the rewards.
Dont forget Manu is always reaching, always trying impossible things. A lot of times he makes it happen and its beautiful. Other times he gifts the other team a 3 on 1 fast break or breaks a hand or something.
My point is, Blair has to reach for offensive rebounds all the time or else he wouldnt get any. Of course he can improve his sense of when to reach and when to just give up a bit more, but in my opinion you have to live with that kind of mistakes if you want him to be productive.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
We just have seen the unfortunate result of Manu reaching one time too many times …
Kondor - January 4, 2012
Too soon, man ::drinks a shot::
Edg5 - January 4, 2012
Yes, Pop loosened the leash on Manu/Parker for steals, but the guys who lead the league in steals are often not good defenders. If you look at some of the recent best defenders, Bruce, Battier and Artest all had strengths that were not going for steals.
Reaching has also cost the Spurs badly in one post season. That said, Manu has a better defensive reputation. He’s able to get away with that.
Blair, as flexible and light on his feet as he can be, is not. He gets whistled pretty much any time there is decent contact because he tends to be so wide compared to the other big. It makes him look worse.
I’d rather have Blair play solid defense with his footwork, box out and play within the system then see him get 2 to 3 steals in a game.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I agree with you. Im talking more about reaching for offensive rebounds, but I used the manu comparison to talk about gambling in baskeball in general, being a offensive rebound, a loose ball, a steal or whatever.
Blair gambles a lot on both sides and he should cut it a lot, but he should continue to “gamble” on offensive rebounds in my opinion. That’s his forte, dont take it away from him.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
I don’t mean to say lose it, but if he has one foul, he should be a little bit more conservative. That’s my biggest problem.
I do think going for the offensive rebound is still a good thing. In no way am I against him stopping that.
Honestly, if I had to lose one thing, it would be him reaching on the defensive end. And of course gain the ability to f-ing box out.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Sadly, Bonner does a better job of boxing out. You know it’s bad when that is said.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I dont know. Neither boxes out in my opinion.
We should hire Oberto to teach them. He was a master at boxing out. He would have only 3 rebounds in the whole game (all offensive) but he impacted our defensive rebounds a lot. Parker, Manu and Duncan got the ball really easily to start the break thanks to Fabricio.
Intangibles baby! Intangibles
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Whey I say Bonner boxes out, he tries but basically gets pushed out of the way by everyone but a PG and a small 2 guard. But he tries. If Blair tried as much as Bonner, we’d probably be happier.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
If we could put Bonner’s brain into Dejuan’s body we would have Kevin Love.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Hmm.. DeJuan may end up gobbling sandwiches.
day_late_friend - January 4, 2012
He doesn’t already?
grego21 - January 4, 2012
He was supposed to but then he thought Bonner looked more delicious. Hence, Bonner’s brain
-→ DeJuan’s body.day_late_friend - January 4, 2012
I expect watching Ike playing will make us to appreciate DeJuan more.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
It will. No way Ike plays better than Dejuan, who knows the system and has developed a chemistry with the other guys.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Blair gets spoon fed by his favorite player who is out with a broken hand Now. If Blair could just dominate regardless of who’s on the floor well then that would be a different story. He can’t even get going because he’ll get 3 PF by time the spurs touch the ball.
Titletown99030507d - January 4, 2012
I don’t expect Ike to play better than DeJuan. But a new look is good. Also, more players i nice during a really tight season. That and it’ll push Blair to be more focused or he’ll lose time.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
You mean infatuation with Blair. Pop still thinks Blair is Charles Barkley.
Titletown99030507d - January 4, 2012
Right. Fire Pop.
day_late_friend - January 4, 2012
eh not a terrible pickup…
sleep research facility - January 3, 2012
Is this really the best we could do? Meh. Not terrible considering my new opinion of where the Spurs are heading.
bj1der - January 3, 2012
I would have wanted Leon Powe, but there’s probably a reason he can’t stick either.
grego21 - January 3, 2012
Championship?
spursfan87 - January 3, 2012
……………
bj1der - January 3, 2012
I wanna be Like Doug!
Re-arranged, his name spells: Like Doug
Fun Trivia: He’ll be the only guy on the roster, who’s name starts with a vowel.
TrooperJoe73 - January 3, 2012
You forgot about Anthony (Tony) Parker and Emmanuel (Manu) Ginobili.
MG99 - January 3, 2012
I just knocked out some push-ups
TrooperJoe73 - January 4, 2012
No, it doesn’t.
It was clearly the missing ingredient for our success in post-Ime era.Kondor - January 3, 2012
Sorry, boredom.
TrooperJoe73 - January 4, 2012
I nominate “Count” as his nickname
Count Diogu
i luv this site - January 3, 2012
Why not “the President”?
Kondor - January 3, 2012
Teach me how to Diogu.
silverandblack_davis - January 3, 2012
Look at the photo below. Ike dioguing with 5 girls.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
LOL
Ayatollah - January 4, 2012
I wish we would’ve gotten somebody taller
gunnin' gervin - January 3, 2012
The ‘taller people’ wanted taller stacks of money.
transgojobot - January 3, 2012
True dat
gunnin' gervin - January 3, 2012
Was there ever an acceptable answer given as to why the Spurs’ FO passed on Scola? I’m watching the guy do Olajuwon moves with a quarter of the athletic ability. What happened?
Fred Silva - January 3, 2012
Yeah it makes me mad every time I see him killing us!!!!!!!!
gunnin' gervin - January 3, 2012
They didn’t pass on Scola. In fact, the FO attempted to sign him, but Scola didn’t accept the Spurs contract offers due to his large contract buyout amount. They could have kept his rights by keeping him in Europe, but decided to give him the opportunity to play in the league by trading him to the Rockets. The Spurs had also just drafted Tiago which probably made their decision to trade Scola easier. In hindsight, however, the FO would have never made this trade.
MG99 - January 4, 2012
I read that they didn’t think his game would mesh with Tim’s and that was the reason they traded him.
You do know there is a set amount all NBA teams can give for a contract buyout so no matter how much it was they could only give the same amount as any other team in the league
gunnin' gervin - January 4, 2012
Real truth? Money/being cheap. They didn’t want to pay him as much. The money they gave Oberto was the money they wanted to give him. He wanted more, since the buy out was expensive. Spurs could only put so much toward the buyout so yeah.
The worried about playing with Duncan is a cop out. Good excuse, but yeah, ok…
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Now this reason makes more sense. Trying to low ball the man, but to be honest you kind of can’t blame them because they didn’t know if his game would pan out in the NBA. I wish they would’ve paid the dude because we could’ve maybe won another championship I think
gunnin' gervin - January 4, 2012
well more than we did with Oberto I mean
gunnin' gervin - January 4, 2012
They didn’t feel his defense was up to par and thought he wasn’t as worth it. Now, they obviously got burned as they couldn’t get him to take Oberto’s level of money. And yep.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
It was that. Scola was ready to make the jump earlier than he did but he needed a bigger contract do it. He was young (26) but not young enough that he could afford to make the move without thinking of the financial implications and his buyout was huge. From some of the statements he has made over the years I think he might have accepted a lower offer if the Spurs had showed serious commitment to bringing him over. They were “flirting” with Oberto and other bigs the whole time. It’s all pure speculation, though.
It was a pretty big mistake by PATFO, considering he would have been the best big Timmy had played with since the Admiral.
Edg5 - January 4, 2012
He would have lost most of the money from his buyout if he took Oberto’s offer, sadly. I heard they were hard him, especially RC, about his D. They probably used that to drive his value lower.
But yeah, they covered that up well.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I think that was their second biggest mistake. I think their biggest mistake was re-tooling a little bit too slow. They should have started thinking re-tool sooner. Its sort of part of the reason why they had trouble repeating, because they relied on vets, but vets can only take so much pounding with deep seasons. They also drafted too heavily on foreign players in too many consecutive drafts.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Look, I remember they tried to bring Scola but he demanded more money. For the same money they could get Oberto, who had a game that could mesh better with Timmy (who now plays more like a center, but in 2006 he was more of a power forward). Fabricio was a center, one who could play excellent D and get garbage buckets off the ball. Scola is a scorer who needs shots. Fabricio was clearly the better fit, and we won a championship with him as our starting center. So it wasnt that bad of a decision.
The point we can criticize is that Scola was the better option down the road. And that we could have been more selfish and kept his rights for a couple of years after signing Oberto. I dont know if our PATFO is really that solidary, but it seems like they didnt want to screw Scola.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
True. But defensive-minded centers are easier to come by than talented low-post scorers. It was a money thing. The Spurs had no problem signing defensively-lacking front court players in the years after that, so that wasn’t it, either.
No decision that leads to a championship is that bad, but for a FO that has gotten so much praise for how they scout foreign players, PATFO dropped the ball with Scola.
Edg5 - January 4, 2012
Even now, I don’t think Scola would make the difference in a championship. That said, it could put them one piece closer.
There are a lot of good reasons why the Spurs never repeated/won more though. Some luck, some bad judgement by FO, some bad judgement by the players and national teams.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
of course, no one is perfect. A FO withouth mistake would probably have a top 4 team every season.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Agree. Although, they probably should have repeated at least once….
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Even though I say this, I wouldn’t trade the FO for anyone other than Presti (and he was a Spur during most of that time).
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Presti looks like a genius so far. But we should wait a couple more years and see what else he does and if his team can win a championship.
Great GMs can become BAAAAAAD in a matter of years, just ask the Pistons fan base.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
From what I have heard from peeps close to the org he was a big part of their big deals since he understood the CBA very well. I would argue that Presti is a bit different from Dumars though.
You see it with moves like Green and knowing that Harden is the one who is the better of the player. You see it in guys like Eric Maynor, Nazr and Cook . You see it in Westbrook (i know he’s a hot topic right now, but it was sstill a sweet move).
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I remember everybody in the internet was thinking Westbrook was the most likely big bust of the draft, that Presti was insane taking him that high.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Nobody is laughing at this decision now.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
I was at UCLA, working for the Daily Bruin at the time so I knew what was up. I even got to see him play in high school. :)
grego21 - January 4, 2012
GMs also under valued another Bruin, Darren Collison.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
then he got massively overrated for a couple of months of brilliant play (people were saying Chris frickin Paul was expendable because they had Darren Collison), and now is properly rated as a mediocre starting point guard.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Yes, he got a bit of the extreme, but honestly, he’s still a pretty good PG. Not a star, but someone you’d want on your team.
If you have 2 other stars at the other positions, he’s perfect.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Indy is one of the best places for him with all the young talent they have.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
They dropped the ball defintely. But they had their reasons to drop it. How many undersized, unathletic guys with iffy shots have made it big recently? (dont forget Scola developed that deadly midrange shot in the last 5 or 6 years)
A mistake for sure, but not the typical dumb mistake other front offices make.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
i am sure there is a lot of smart reasoning behind each dumb mistake.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
Depends on the GM. Take Isiah for example…. :)
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Agreed. Isiah is in the category of his own though. What he did in NY was pretty amazing.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
Well if he wants to be famous, I think there is now an “Isiah” category when it comes to being a GM.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
NBA should have an annual Isiah award given for the worst FO move of the year.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
I miss the Isaiah days. Every stupid rumor about a ridiculous signing or trade for a black hole cancer became real in a matter of hours. Just when you thought Isaiah could not top himself he would trade for Francis, Jalen Rose or whatever 15+ppg scorer he could find.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
It was like he was playing fantasy basketball with the Knicks, but only looking at points per game.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I remember him talking to the media and the guy really thought that his plan couldnt fail.
“we have like 8 former 15+ppg scorers, we should win a lot”
The Francis-Marbury backcourt was one of the more comical things I have ever watched on a basketball court.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
you see, even Isiah had a plan :)
Kondor - January 4, 2012
my point is, you cant blame the FO too much for their decision.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
well, it was arguably the worst Spurs FO decision of the last decade.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
what about signing Jefferson for 10 million a year?
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Nowhere close in my book. It may not have been the best move money-wise, but it didn’t hurt the team. And these are not my money, so I don’t care too much.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
I don’t think that will be. If they amnesty RJ they saved a lot of money (since they would have paid so much luxury tax). They also failed to win over Dorrel Wright, James Jones, Gomes and Rasual Butler.
Honestly, he wasn’t that bad last year. Now, he did start to digress in the second half of the season, but I blame the coaching staff for that a bit. They really didn’t do anything with him. That alley opp was gimmicky. Only works against crappy teams over and over.
RJ this year is good to have around. He looks even better than he did last year. At the very least, if he thinks he’s only a Spurs one more year, he’s going to play his ass off for a good contract.
Worst decision was starting to re-build too slow. They cheaped out and also focused too much on stashing talent rather than taking some guys who were decent to build around.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
This is really a cop-out, way too vague. Only specific moves should qualify.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
Well, it’s not one move though. The Spurs tried to hold onto vets too long and tried to just keep stashing picks. Financially, a 2nd rounder is cheap since the contracts are non-guaranteed.
Spurs were able to get away with it for the most part since Tim Duncan was that f-ing good. Oh and yeah, there was an awesome Manu (when healthy) who struck fear into all fans who weren’t Spurs fans. Parker, although not as consistent still was scary in some games.
You can’t say “they didn’t get this guy” because who knows who did what.
However, Spurs were slow to re-build. That much is obvious. They tried to find a replacement for Bruce Bowen, but their focus was too narrow.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I agree with most of what you say, but the thing about Jefferson big salary is that now we dont have ANY space to do anything. There’s not even a remote chance we can get under the tax in the foresable future
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Speaking about big salaries, is that true that TJ is paid $8.5M this year?
Kondor - January 4, 2012
He’s getting the vet min by the Spurs. They would not be able to afford 8M for a year.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
this is from here
Kondor - January 4, 2012
That’s not correct.
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/san_antonio.htm
grego21 - January 4, 2012
thanks a lot, I was very surprised with TJ’s number.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
This is why i don’t get why so many are down on TJ. He’s a vet min paid player, but a good value and “real point guard”
grego21 - January 4, 2012
TJ looked much better against the Dubs. I agree that he looks like a good pick up so far.
Kondor - January 5, 2012
Well, he’s getting time with the team. Really unfair to him since hes a PG and no real training camp or preseason. He’s gotten better each game. He had good looks in the Twolves game.
grego21 - January 5, 2012
the spurs are paying him the minimum. I think is 1m per year or something like that
Chilai - January 4, 2012
in any case, all our Big 3 members are overpaid this year.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
I disagree. Manu before the injury was our best player and the only guy with a better PER was Lebron James.
Parker is an all-star point guard, and his numbers will raise a lot with manu out.
So both of them a properly paid.
You could make a case Timmeh production doesnt match his salary, but he is the spurs leader. And when the playoffs begin and he gets more minutes, he is worth every cent.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
He’s also the main reason why they have 4. Yes, Manu and Parker were big, but he was there all 4 years. :)
grego21 - January 4, 2012
you may notice that I was talking about this season specifically, not about great career of the GOAT Timmy Duncan.
Kondor - January 5, 2012
Of course, but it’s almost like a thank you to him. If i could choose to make his amount less, sure, but we can’t.
grego21 - January 5, 2012
I would still pay him his money, unless they’d paid me the difference (:) Timmy deserves to be overpaid.
Kondor - January 5, 2012
If you split it with me, I can live with that.
grego21 - January 6, 2012
sure, just make it happen and 50% are all yours
Kondor - January 6, 2012
Manu indeed started the season very well, played in 4 games and got himself out for about 2 months. We don’t know how well he’ll look when he comes back. He has a history of getting injured when he is the most needed (in the playoffs). I love Manu, but he is injury-prone and this makes him less valuable. So he is overpaid.
Tony is a former all-star and former Finals MVP. He didn’t look like an all-star to me in the first 5 games of the season. He had a good game against Ws though. If his fraction of good games will stay at 1/6, he is overpaid.
I don’t think Timmy was playing as a $18M player in the last playoff series against the Griz. I don’t expect him to be much better this year as well, and he had rather slow start of the season.
Don’t get me wrong, I love all our guys, and our big 3 were underpaid in the past, so it’s OK that they are overpaid now. I mean ‘overpaid’ as a statement of fact, not to blame them or anything.
Kondor - January 5, 2012
I don’t think you can judge Parker’s season off 5 games though. Honestly, the whole season needs to be looked at before anyone can be considered overpaid.
grego21 - January 5, 2012
You are right, of course. But unfortunately, my predictive powers are weak, so I can only extrapolate what we have seen so far this season and before. It may happen that TD will return to his superstar form, that TP will play as an all-star consistently and that Manu won’t have another injury in the next five years. But based on what we have seen in recent seasons I would say that Tim’s play is declining, Tony is inconsistent and Manu is injury-prone. I’ll be happy if any of these guys will prove me wrong this season.
Kondor - January 5, 2012
so, ‘overpaid’ is my prediction for the season, rather than final conclusion, which I am not able to make at this point.
Kondor - January 5, 2012
Actually, Spurs are under the cap next year. Obviously, a lot depends on how big Duncan wants his contract. They aren’t close to the luxury tax either.
Spurs would be in much worse shape without RJ though. They’d likely be without a decent 3 the past 2 years. Maybe they would have been forced to play Green all of last year? Maybe Neal would be playing starting 3? Scary.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
The trade for jefferson was a stroke of genius. We got him for nothing. HIs extension? Bad move considering no one was bidding against us. RJ had a really bad year.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
The opt out/new contract thing was an under the table the type of deal. He would not have opted out if he didn’t have a deal in place.
Now thinking about all the other guys sans Dorrell Wright, paying those guys the full MLE wouldn’t be that much of a better deal either. Now, it’s still less than what RJ is making per year, but all those probably would be overpaid as well.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
don’t forget that the guy didn’t take $15M and was rewarded with longer contract as a compensation. good business decision for both sides, if you ask me.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
But that was his last year. We now will have RJ at 10million a year for the next 3 years…
Chilai - January 4, 2012
But they aren’t paying much luxury tax. Spurs were going to pay more than 10M in luxury tax that year.
They aren’t the Mavs.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I can’t remember, but someone did the numbers and the Spurs saved I think more than 10M in luxury taxes.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
they pretty much ended even thanks to the savings, and they gained a respectable starting SF in the process. THe thing is, that contract tied us to him for 4 years. And his numbers are misleading because he plays great against crappy teams but he dissapears in the playoofs and against good teams.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
Well, we need to approach this as it is. Spurs went money first, basketball second. In that way, they win. In a basketball sense, they lose.
Spurs did not want to gamble with the thought of no team taking him on. RJ had more leverage, and he won that case.
There was also probably a requirement that RJ work out with Pop and staff all summer as part of the deal, which he did.
He was decent at the beginning of the series against the Grizz. His aggressiveness disappeared in the last 2 games.
But his season started to digress over time as the team had issues down the stretch. They didn’t get RJ involved much, and they struggled to put together good ball over that time.
As much as we can blame RJ, a lot of players didn’t show up.
The deal is an ok one. It’s a win for the Spurs as a business. Not as much of a win for fans. We’ll see though. He’s still a Spur.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
exactly. they saved enough to reward RJ with more lucrative contract.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
Now, if Spurs were a bigger market team, they probably could have gotten away with paying double his last year in luxury taxes. Then they could have maybe made a deal with a team who wanted to drop a lot of cash off their roster. There are no guarantees. though.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
I think it was a mix of a lot of things. This is why I don’t think its the Spurs FO biggest mistake, but I think it still ranks in the top 3.
The rules only allowed for 500k towards a buyout. Scolas buyout was huge so he wanted a bigger contract to cover that buyout. Spurs wanted to keep him lower. In some ways, they played conservatively.
I’m curious what would have happened with Manu if it fell that way. Obviously, Manu and foreign player drafting was much more rare. But if Manu was more recent, who knows…
grego21 - January 4, 2012
They were tired of hearing all “the best FO in the league” crap and wanted to cut it off by doing something stupid. The intent was to convince the other 29 GMs that they can make a deal with the Spurs without looking outsmarted.
Kondor - January 4, 2012
As long as he brings his posse!
I’m all for the signing!
D1g1tal J1m - January 3, 2012
Arizona state ladies im sure. Free agent girls probably werent as nice.
Spurs Yoda - January 3, 2012 via mobile
I think you miss-spelled that last word
bigtee34 - January 3, 2012
I wanna be like Ike!
TDzilla! - January 4, 2012
Kobe is gunning like crazy!!!!!! How is he going to have more shot attempts than Pau and Bynum combined two games in a row?!
gunnin' gervin - January 3, 2012
Ha 14-29 right now lol
Spurs Yoda - January 3, 2012 via mobile
Chris Webber on the post game show just said they need to get Bynum and Gasol the ball more. He didn’t want to call out Kobe but he said the guards need to get the big guys the ball in there sweet spot because they have the most skilled height advantage in the whole league. I added the most skilled part. LOL
gunnin' gervin - January 4, 2012
Hey guys
The reason you never use the subject line…is it because the thread runs smoother the less the subject line is used? If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me? I would have understood.
WaveOcean - January 4, 2012
whoah, i thought you were dead. Otherwise I would’ve told you… maybe.
the little o - January 4, 2012
why would i be dead?
WaveOcean - January 4, 2012
i mean, i’ve used the subject line here before, and the only thing people ever did was wag their fingers and tell me stop using the subject line, sometimes using capital letters. I couldn’t understand why people cared so much. I kept wondering what the big deal was. It couldn’t be because every single person here thought it was “uncool”; that wouldn’t have made any sense. If someone had given me a legitimate reason like speed issues, I would have had no problem with it and not made any fuss. But nobody ever did.
WaveOcean - January 4, 2012
well, it’s most likely a product of me not checking every single comment on ptr lately but I haven’t seen yours in quite some time, or at least since the lock-out. As far as the subject line, the reason you gave, from what I know is exactly why we don’t use it. The thread reads much smoother without it. I’m not one to scold at whoever uses the subject line, because frankly, I don’t find it that punishable an act. However, it is tradition and one of the things that makes pounders feel unique/better amongst other sbnation sites, so I oblige diligently. If there ever was any scold either by me or other pounders towards people using the subject line, I’m sure it was mostly an attempt at giving advice, while being funny and dramatic at the same time, so don’t take it too seriously. At the same time, it’s an effective way of pointing out outsiders, which I find amazing in itself. I guess what I’m saying is that the fuss that you got was probably some funny fuss that you didn’t get, or at least that’s what I expect it was.
Glad to see you around though.
the little o - January 4, 2012
thank you so much. I’ll stop by more often from now on.
WaveOcean - January 4, 2012
This seems so pitiful a selection, there has to be something more not being shown he can do for the team.
indiancharlie - January 4, 2012
Bring back Lawal? Sign Leon Powe (and I still would want him)? It’s pretty much a crap shoot.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
What is the story with Powe after Boston shafted him? Has he played well anywhere since that injury?
LionZion - January 4, 2012
His injury has taken away some of his game. I don’t think he’s fully recovered from it.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
he already was injured before playing an NBA game. Then he recovered enough to help Boston win a championship in a very limited role. After that he has been injured all the time. I dont get the infatuation with him.
Chilai - January 4, 2012
I think it’s the “got shafted” by Boston and then comeback story,. I think we all like come back stories. Hoping De’Sean Butler can still get back.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
Yes on Butler.
indiancharlie - January 4, 2012
Apparently Pop ‘s been trolling the forums while his team has been getting waxed. For everybody clamoring for a big including me we can all shut up now. This doesn’t bode well for Blair after missing so many easy under rims shots and committing rapid fire personal fouls. In my opinion if this guy gets going. A big if. Then the front court rotation will look slightly different.
Titletown99030507d - January 4, 2012
Not so fast. We got a big and that is great but many, including me, would like a bigger one. Specially a defensive minded, fear inducing shot blocker. I know it’s a lot to ask but it would feel wrong not to.
Sh!fty - January 4, 2012
Spurs also need to hit the boards better. If he can improve that, make Blair work harder, that helps a lot too.
grego21 - January 4, 2012
yup, 0 defensive rebounds for Blair against the wolves
spursfan87 - January 4, 2012
Mighty Mouse needs some new powers.
indiancharlie - January 4, 2012
Zero ! :O Crap I know they shot a high percentage but damn.
LionZion - January 5, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Pounding The Rock to post a comment.