Pounding The Rock

they are awful, the author probably have not watched the spurs play this season.

The worst part is that you have to pay to read that article.

I wouldn’t favor of any of them (considering Varejao isn’t healthy right now), but I could warm to the idea of having Randolph on the team. It’s not ideal, and he’s certainly risky, but the Spurs need all the guys at the four/five positions that we can get. A guy who can block shot and rebound well would help especially when we’d still have Manu, Kawhi, RJ and Neal at the SG/SF spots.

Like you said about Randolph, he could be a star or a bust. With that said I think the Spurs player dev team is by far the best in the league so a year with them might be what he needs to reach his potential. I wouldn’t mind this trade so much.

Scratch that. I wouldn’t give up BOTH Green and Anderson. One or the other not both.

We didn’t extend Anderson and it doesn’t seem like he will have a legitimate role on this team unless injuries arise, so it’s not too bad.

That being said, isn’t it a little risky to trade for a guy that is averaging 12 minutes a game — on the T’Wolves?

It’s a “potential” trade. Randolph has so much potential but so does Anderson. If it was strait up for Green i would be all over that but I’m too high on Anderson to see him let go so easily.

They didn’t extend JA, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be back. Green is dependent upon who chases him and what Spurs are willing to offer. Nothing is guaranteed at this point.

Oh, of course. But that fact that we didn’t extend him doesn’t bode well for our future plans with him. There’s definitely the possibility that we bring him back for less money, but I think he’s expendable with the guys we have.

The more I think about it, the more I see it as the Spurs just being frugal, as they normally are. Obviously, he’s not the hottest thing ever, so they didn’t lock him up, but I can’t go on much since its a lockout based season without much extra time.

We have around $47 million dedicated to next year’s team (without Timmy or the potential RJ amnesty), so we’ll see what PATFO will do with some room to maneuver.

Yes, but every dollar counts, and that’s why I can see them dropping guaranteed money off. This is why they did the Barbosa deal the year they chased Kidd. they wanted to max out every dollar.

Bring Howard home!!!! :D

grego21: I trust PATFO to maximize every dollar. They’re usually really smart with building the best possible team given our limited resources.

spurs fan87: Dwight Howard = championship

Championships :D

Howard is no championship unless they have a good rest of the core. A lot would depend on what they keep and what they lost. But yeah, Howard is not happening.

Every player needs help

Of course. But sometimes the cost to gain a player is not worth it. The melo trade is a good example of that.

The Nets proposed trade for Howard, earlier this year was another example of that.

I should’ve added (sarcasm) to the end of my post. As I know and LeBron knows, championships aren’t easy.

I agree I’m just pointing out the fact that every player needs help

The T-Wolves are actually pretty deep at front court players. Nikola Pekovic has been playing great and he is an actual center along with Darko being an actual center. They also have Brad Miller who plays center. Then you have Kevin Love who is a beast, Williams who can play the 4 and 3 as well as Michael Beasley who can do the same. Anthony Tolliver is a good glue guy who can play the 3 and 4 also.

They are deep at the front court positions and especially at the four where Randolph would most likely be the most effective because he is too light in the ass to play the 5.

On the one hand it should make them fairly willing to trade away Randolph, though on the other hand they’d be less willing to take Blair as part of the package. I’d be reluctant to trade away both Anderson and Green, and in any case would want to get either a past or future draft pick from the T’Wolves in an otherwise two for one deal for Randolph. The Spurs units that have featured Green, Anderson and Neal playing together have done very well; which is why I’d give up Blair before I’d give up two of them. Minnesota’s been rumored for other trades, so perhaps they could use Blair after all or include him in a 3 team trade. Otherwise I’d wait till the offseason before dealing away both Green and Anderson. There are two 6’9" forwards on the Toros averaging close to double-doubles that could be just as effective as Randolph if given the opportunity.

True they don’t need Blair.

I also agree with you about not trading both. I co-signed your post lower in this thread about your trade ideas because they made the most sense.

No one does. Although with the type of team Twolves have, he’d actually fit better since Twolves are big at nearly every position.

I guess but they have a boat load of 3’s ,4’s and 5’s so they don’t need him.

They might be able to cover some of his defensive problems because of the other guys sizes but it isn’t like a lot of those guys are great defenders either. I mean Darko blocks shots well and Pekovic is a decent man to man defender but other than that who is really good on defense in there front court?

I truly do not know

Darko’s starting position is gone now. Pekovic is now the starter (and will be for now on, I’d bet). I’m sure they’ll give up Beasley with Williams now on the team.

Yeah Pekovic has been playing great.

It was funny when he played great against us and everybody was talking shit about how bad we looked for him to do what he did. The dude is actually a pretty solid player and he is starting to show it on a consistent basis. He should start over Darko but Darko still will get run due to shot blocking and being another big body

Darko will of course get time since they now have depth, but Darko is not as consistent as one would hope. Thus limited minutes for him, now.

Exactly. One or the other and I prefer Anderson at this point over Green

DrumsInTheDeep - February 17, 2012 reply

The only chips I’d offer in ANY trade are Blair, Anderson, Joseph, and RJ (obviously). But we’d never get a big enough stud back in return to justify an upheaval.

I wouldn’t give Joseph away too easily, actually. Not untradable, but he shouldn’t be in just any deal.

I just dont see much potential in Joseph. He’s too raw. He should’ve stayed in college for at least 2 more years.

He plays with a lot of energy, but he’s not a good shooter, average defender and he can’t run an offense. He’s at least 2 or 3 years away to be ready.

One of the sons of the Spurs staff members is on his team. So they had good scouting for him. He shot the 3 well in college and his D was pretty good, from everything i read. He needs a few years, but he has a lot of good pieces, especially for where they got him. He’ll be in Austin all of next year (if Ford is back next season) and that’ll be a good thing.

exactly. he is 2 or 3 years away but the dude is quick and can handle the ball. Why trade away a young piece for a mediocre guy when he could turn out to be something. I mean if he along with other players can actually get us a young good player then bye bye but to trade away a young player in training for an aging role player just doesn’t make too much sense. Especially with the dude not making much

I really don’t think it would hurt to see what we have in Joseph. He isn’t being pressured to be a savior of the franchise and TJ Ford can hopefully ease his transition into the NBA. It won’t take a huge financial investment from PATFO to decide whether Cory is worth it.

I agree and that is why I don’t think we should trade him unless we can get a really solid to good player

Considering he’s incredibly young and hasn’t proven anything, that’ll be hard to accomplish.

I know that but i mean we shouldn’t just use him as a throw in for any type of trade unless we can get somebody solid to good. Of course he hasn’t done enough to warrant being traded for a prospect like that on his own. LOL

I’m really good at stating the obvious in case you didn’t know. It’s one of my most consistent traits.

Slowpoke Rodriguez - February 17, 2012 reply

Giving up Leonard in a trade for Sideshow Bob?? Hell no. All these trade proposals, in the words of Flavius Josephus, suck balls.

Good breakdown of some awful trade suggestions.

Edg5 - February 17, 2012 reply

Thanks. I didn’t feel they were completely awful like some other people have suggested considering the depth we have at SG/SF. If Varejao was healthy, I wouldn’t mind that trade even though it would suck to watch Kawhi on the Cavs.

1- Bonner is the 3rd best big. Getting Mayo back doesn’t help things.

2- Taking away Green and Anderson in a trade would wipe out the wing depth.

3- Taking away Leonard would kill off the future, but then Side Show Bob is now injured too. Leonard has more upside than SSB. There’s no guarantee that Green is back, but then he’s not a 3 anyway. The weakness at the small forward would once again become an issue if you moved Leonard. So yeah, you just create another big weakness that needs feeling. It’s like taking a plug out of one hole to fill in another hole.

Bonner is the 3rd best big

glad someone shares that view

Matt Bonner being the third best big doesn’t make me feel to strongly about our frontcourt.

Mayo for Bonner reduces it to Duncan/Splitter/Blair… Yep, that’s much better.

(Vomits). That’s exactly why I wouldn’t take the Mayo deal. We’re getting a nice offensive talent but at the expense of severely depleting our frontcourt. Like you said, it’s filling a hole while simultaneously creating another one. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.

+1 Billion

That would be good for the Spurs. But the Cavs would be giving up their second best player for Bonner, who replicates what Jamison does and is on the books for two seasons., and Leonard. They are not going to do that.

Edg5 - February 17, 2012 reply

Anderson Varejao doesn’t have upside (he is 29), but he’s an elite rebounder and defender. Not many guys can say that and if Kawhi Leonard wasn’t in the deal, I’d be more ecstatic.

Am I missing something about Varejao here? I know he rebounds good and hustles but is he really an elite defender? I don’t think I remember that.

Great PnR defender and defensive rebounder. He struggles in the post.

Edg5 - February 17, 2012 reply

Correction: I didn’t mean to say he’s an elite defender. But he can’t be worse than DeJuan Blair, right?

Sure, but giving up Blair instead of Bonner would make more sense in that case then. Obviously, Blair doesn’t have Bonner’s contract.

Still would never give up Kawhi. He has to be a Spur for life.

I feel the same way. He has the requisite attitude and ability to succeed in our organization. That’s why I’d be disappointed on the fun we could be witnessing in the future. He’s only 20!

This

He has an awful contract

Who has an awful contract? Kawhi?

Varejao

I don’t think $7.7 million this year isn’t so bad for what Varejao provides when you consider all the bloated contracts in the NBA.

It’s pretty bad considering what you give and what you get back.

I know the Trade Machine isn’t perfect and can’t project what players Anderson and Kawhi will become, but the Varejao trade would not add or subtract any wins to this years team.

Of course, but you are a Spurs fan. You know what Kawhi has shown already. That already shows enough in my mind.

I was just posting something that shows that the trade won’t severely hurt us this year. Long term, we’ll be missing out on Kawhi for sure. But then again, no one is a sure thing even a guy like Kawhi (who I absolutely love) who’s going to work hard to become a great player.

(PS: I’m not even for this trade, more neutral … leaning towards keeping Kawhi. I just wanted to post both sides of the deal.)

Hell no. Maybe Anderson and somebody but not our best perimeter defender who is actual young for a injury prone older roll player. We want to keep getting younger around the Big 3 not older and more injury prone

Lets trade Anderson, for Gustavo Ayon

cuentaluis1 - February 17, 2012 reply

I was very disappointed that PATFO didn’t go after him before he became a Hornet.

Gustavo Ayon is restricted on the NBA Trade Machine because he hasn’t been with the Hornets team long enough.

That ends either 2 months after he signed or March 1st, whichever is later. Since Ayon signed in December, he should be eligible to be traded as of March 1st.

Thanks for the clarification.

silverandblack_davis - February 19, 2012 reply

He was on the Spurs’ radar. Just that it’s tough to steal gems like Ayon and Pekovic since everybody’s been imitating what the Spurs have been doing for the last decade or so in terms of scouting international players.

Mayo will have limitless space to roam and do things that he was expected to do when he was picked with the No. 3 pick in the 2008 draft.

Though Anderson was a better scorer in his final year in college than Mayo in his one year, along with being a better rebounder. I’d expect Anderson might prove to be the better player over the long run, it’s merely the matter of having the opportunity to get minutes. Since it is looking somewhat unlikely he’ll have the opportunity with the Spurs, rather than pick up another wing the player I’d be interested in from Memphis (once his trade restriction expires) would be Haddadi. He’s played very well in FIBA competition but hasn’t had much of a chance behind Marc Gasol and Thabeet (last year) or Speights (this year). He’s had setbacks due to immigration issues that have caused him to miss training camps, which results in usage similar to that of Tiago’s last season.

If a trade for Randolph were to be considered, I’d make it Blair (rather than Green) and Anderson, and ask for one of their young international draft right prospects (Bjelica, Norek or Prestes).

The other possibility for Blair and Anderson would be Ilyasova from the Bucks.

Mayo is too one dimensional. He was a solid scorer at USC, but he hasn’t changed much from that.

Yes, he is one-dimensional and I have a hard time seeing him fit in our defensive scheme. Don’t think he’d be a realistic fit although he’d bring a legitimate scorer of our bench.

Scoring isn’t the Spurs real problem. I feel like he might help, but i don’t think he’s worth who you trade to get him. It creates a huge hole in the front line.

Agreed. While it would vault our offense into the top 5 of the league, is that really necessary? Not when you have an average defense and a weakened frontcourt. Of all the trades, I felt like the Mayo trade was the worst fit.

what would we be losing?

Anderson can’t even beat out Danny Green, if RJ is cut loose at some point, thats more minutes for OJ. If he comes off the bench, what more could you want than instant offense?

Adding OJ would give us absolutely no let up in offense

bren - February 17, 2012 reply

But do we need a better offense? The Spurs are the sixth most efficient offense as it is without Manu for the majority of the season. That’d leave us with three big men (with one being bad defensively) and not a lot of potential to improve on our 16th best defense.

Fair point, but

In the grand scheme, Mayo is an upgrade over RJ and Anderson, neither of whom they have any use for really.

If an upgrade is going to be made on defense, its going to be made in spite of Bonner anyway and probably not until the summer. Id rather jettison our valuable parts for someone with an actual, tangible skill like Mayo’s rather than gambling that Randolph can put it all together.

bren - February 17, 2012 reply

Mayo doesn’t fill a specific role for our team though. We’d be trading just for the sake of trading and getting collectively weaker at a position (power forward) that we need to improve and making it tougher to create a cohesive rotation with Mayo. Deciding who would be left out wouldn’t be an enviable task. If the Randolph gamble were to pay off (which isn’t any greater than 50/50 at this point), then we’d have a tough frontline (Timmy, Splitter, Duncan, Blair, Randolph) with ample depth. It seems that staying pat wouldn’t be an awful preposition with the way the Spurs are playing currently.

I agree

there is no pressing need to make a trade at this point, but Im just looking forward and see Mayo as an asset. If theres reason to believe Randolph would blossom and fulfill his potential under Pop, isn’t there reason to hope that Mayo could do the same, particularly defensively?

One way or another, RJ is not long for the Spurs. So the 2/3 rotation would consist of, hypothetically, OJ, Leonard, Green, Neal and Manu, the latter of which will see decreased minutes going forward anyway.

Honestly, I don’t expect anything to happen, OJ was just an intriguing option. But just having Bonner for the sake of having a tall body isn’t really doing anybody any good defensively anyhow.

We’ll see, I think we’re all living with the dread of repeating last year, amazing regular season, flaming out in the playoffs-but I think the moves they have made and the opportunities that have arisen have made the team better than last years anyway.

bren - February 17, 2012 reply

Neal already is instant offense. That’s not a good mix for the team.

Seems like Mayo has the benefit of being drafted by Memphis and handed a starter’s spot right out of college, which he has since lost. At this point he has played around 8000+ minutes more than Anderson because he did not have a Manu in front of him. George Hill joined the NBA at the same time as Mayo and is 2500+ minutes behind Mayo, but would have been much further behind if not for injuries to Tony and Manu. Anderson, rather than getting an opportunity his rookie year from injuries ahead of him, fell behind due to his own injury. He did not have the benefit of either a Summer League or full training camp. But at 20 years old Mayo at USC averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists; while Anderson at age 20 at OSU averaged 22.3 pts, 5.8 rebs and 2.4 assists. Mayo is “proven” only due to having the opportunity, and he’s dropped off since his rookie year.

O.J. played solid defense in the playoffs, unfortunately his best job was against us. How quickly a lot of us forgets. The guy can create his own shot which is something Anderson isn’t that great at and he is an okay 3 point shooter but to be honest I don’t think we need more wing players

“… I don’t think we need more wing players.”

Exactly. It’s not that Mayo isn’t a good player, it’s that he wouldn’t fit the constructs of this Spurs team. It’s more fit versus actual talent because, if anything, Mayo has a lot of talent.

Also, I really don’t want to relive the playoffs. I was expecting a deep run and Memphis stunned me. I’d prefer not to recall bad memories.

He could fit the team easily. We just don’t have as great a need for wings as we do for big guys. I mean Green is playing solid and so is RJ in spurts and if Memphis would be stupid enough to want to take on Anderson for Mayo we would be dumb not to trade Anderson A.S.A.P. but to throw Bonner in there is just plain dumb because it hurts an area we are already weak at, thus making it even weaker. Mayo can shoot, drive, finish well and defend solid. He is a pretty good young player but unless he grows like 6 to 7 more inches in height we don’t really need him

Yes, the whole Grizz team was solid, but that was more a system thing than anything else. They were probably the best wing defense team last year with Shane Battier and Tony Allen leading the way.

I don’t feel like OJ’s growth is moving as it should, considering the minutes he gets and the team he plays for. It’s not like he doesn’t play for a winning team…

Grizz have tried to trade him twice. Tony Allen decked him. I’m not sure what’s there, but something has got to be causing him to not grow anymore.

New coach, philosophy and his minutes have decreased along with his role. He is now the 6th man on a team that has way more scoring options than they did when he first arrived. He put up decent numbers when it was he and Rudy carrying the offense.

Yeah they have tried to trade him but it was for players that fit coach Hollins playing style better. The guy hasn’t complained publicly and he has played hard coming off the bench and he hasn’t been chucking up a boat load of shots while he is out there to compensate for the 6 less shots he takes and 12 less minutes he plays now.

Tony Allen decked him over a card game right? Not to mention this is the same cat who said Manu was faking an injury while wearing that huge ass arm brace. LOL. That dude is a dip shit

Hollins knows how to win. None of the previous Grizz coaches did. There’s more to the game than just scoring. Someone forgot to tell D’Antoni that.

OJ’s career has been petty much the same as it was at USC. he could put the ball in the bucket, but he never fully stood out.

The big knock on OJ was his bball IQ/smarts in general. I think that’s why he’s not progressed as some would hope. I have a feeling he wouldn’t fit on the Spurs even if just for that.

And yes, Allen is a little bit crazy, but he also complimented Manu too. He was a big part of that championship Boston team. He’s like the Spurs SJax at one point.

So you are just going to not look at the obvious lack of role, minutes and shoots for the guy now? That is the reason his stats are down and he still gets run because he is doing what the coach wants him to do which is play defense and take less shots. He doesn’t drive as much now because they dump the ball in the paint to Gasol and Randolph. He is actually pretty good at creating his own shot but you don’t see that now because he plays the roll his coach wants him to play.

I’m not saying Mayo is an All-Star or anything but the guy is a solid player who isn’t the type of player the coach really likes. it’s obvious that he likes certain types of players and there is nothing wrong with that. But the guy is being a good soldier and doing what he is asked to do.

I’m not saying that Anderson is better because he’s not doing anything… At the moment, every GM pretty much would take OJ over Anderson. My point is that OJ doesn’t (at least so far) show anything that would fit too well with the Spurs.

I was in college when he was playing. Even though I was a UCLAer, I photographed and followed the basketball team. OJ could score, but that’s always been his career.

I don’t think that proposed deal works, less because of Anderson and more because Spurs lack front court depth and Bonner is very valuable in the current system for the Spurs. It has less to do with Anderson.

I never said we should do the trade. I actually said the exact same thing you are stating as far as it hurting our front court, thus making it a dumb trade.

My point was he wouldn’t have a problem fitting the team like some stated. Then you posted something to the effect that he hasn’t improved any while trying to down play the obvious which is the team has changed thus effecting his minutes and role. That was the who premise of what I was saying and I stayed consistent with my point while you are all over the place

Not to mention it’s obvious you don’t like the guy because you went to UCLA. LOL. It’s all good though.

It’s cool though. UCLA beat USC in both games they played. Afflalo hit a game winner on them at USC. That was fun. :)

I’d think there could be a possibility of expanding upon a trade with the Bucks by having Anderson, Blair, Neal, RJ and Nando for Ilyasova, Delfino and Livingston. Jefferson did well with the Bucks before and would likely be a decent fit for them again.

He did well, no one else really did. That’s not his fault, but injuries and the roster weren’t that good.

Bucks are DYING to get read of Captain Jack, maybe we can “help them” to get rid of Jackson if they throw in Illyasova. I’m pretty sure they take back RJ,Bonner and Anderson[maybe a draft pick]

get rid* =/

I love Iyasova. His contract is really cheap and he’s a solid rebounder (13.2 per 40 minutes!).

Me too

I like both of those suggestions. Keeping Green would be ideal, because I like his entire basketball game even when his shot isn’t falling. He finds a way to contribute.

I love your idea about the Randolph trade! I think it is a fair trade and if they want Green instead of Anderson I wouldn’t like it but if they throw in a draft pick in the 2nd or something it would maybe help swallow the pill.

I also like IIyasova and your trade idea for him also. I think Blair would flourish out there with the Bucks because they need people to score and with Bogut out he could get a lot of shot attempts at the rim. While we get a tough younger player who rebounds, runs the floor and can hit a jumper.

I love your thinking!

Thanks. Not many people enjoy my (lack of) insight. But I appreciate it!

I was actually co-signing Alamo’s idea

Oh, sorry. My bad. It was under my comment so I (wrongly) assumed it was pertained to me. Doh! I apologize for my egotistical comment there.

It's cool

I like that you brought the mid season trade ideas up again though because we do need to make a move unless Blair figures it out on defense soon. I just think our front court depth is going to be one of the things that does us in come playoff time.

Not to mention I’m all for the team trying to get young talent around Timmy and Manu to help our team transition smoothly when they do decide to hang it up

I’m a little worried too, but let’s save that for a time when the Spurs aren’t in the midst of a nine game-winning streak. Right now is a good time of year.

Look my friend, people said the same thing to me last season when I pointed out the same problems and it bite us in the rear when the playoffs came around.

I’m not trying to be a Debbie downer or anything like that. i’m just pointing out the obvious. Now if we do well in the playoffs without fixing the problem I will proudly say i was wrong but until then I think we need help.

I know and I fully realize our frontcourt depth isn’t ideal. I’ve been fully aware of this since and I have kept this in mind when deciding how optimistic I should be regarding our title hopes.

I can’t say Randolph is worth much. He should be bargain basement at best. Anderson’s growth is slowed more than playtime and an injury in his rookie year. Randolph is a headcase so far and hasn’t done anything.

Randolph’s growth has been plagued by playing time and injuries also. I don’t know anything about the guy being a head-case but I do know when the lockout was going on he was working on finishing up his degree at LSU. I also never really heard of the guy getting into trouble or being known as a malcontent.

You do realize Randolph is actually younger than Anderson by a few months and has played less time in upper tier basketball than Anderson. He only played one year at LSU while Anderson’s last two seasons at Oklahoma State he was a big time piece for them. It also takes longer for big guys to adjust and develop to and in the NBA as opposed to wing players.

I’m not Randolph is a better player or even worth a roster spot but he is still young and an actual forward who has good height and some kind of ability. Maybe with an actual good coaching staff, (excluding Rick Adelman) good and winning teammates he can turn the corner.

He’s had his time with those things as well, but he’s also been criticized for work ethic from what I recall reading.

I do know that Randolph is very young. If it’s all about youth, then yes, he’s the better choice, from that standpoint.

I just don’t see Randolph as ever making it.

All i’m saying is the guy is young, tall, athletic and has showed that he can play decently when given minutes. He hasn’t been on a lot of winning teams, with all that great of teammates and coaches besides Aldeman who has a team full of players who can do what he does.

But I think it is funny to give one guy a pass but not another guy who has had almost if not more of the exact same hurdles put in his way.

We could make that argument for just about every player. I mean, Anderson has gotten shafted more than Randolph, but you are with the point, that he’s clearly expendable.

I don’t think he’s worth Green and Anderson though. one or the other, but not both. Not based on what Green has done this season. Sure, Green might be near what his best can be, but he fits what the Spurs are doing to win and he appears to be a part of their improved D.

Gaining Randolph likely doesn’t do much this season. It would almost be like letting richards play or Malcolm Thomas when he was around.

You just respond without reading the other post don’t you? SMH. I once again said the exact same thing you are stating, which is we shouldn’t trade both Green and Anderson for Randolph. One or the other and i prefer Anderson because Green seems to be a better fit for our team.

Now as far as Randolph not getting any minutes this season I would agree with you unless the front office traded Blair away also. But I seriously doubt they would trade Blair away unless they knew for sure what they were getting in the front court player that was returning in the trade.

I misread (or something). My apologies.

And Lorbek would have more than likely been a Spur if not for the lockout. So I think Spurs probably aren’t as desperate for size as fans might be.

Really? I haven’t heard too much about Lorbek. I would like to know how close he is and if he will actually make an impact in the next few years or so.

There was a report that he contacted the Spurs about coming over. He didn’t was to sign for the Pacers but I guess Udrich talked to him about the Spurs or something.
Is he good? He is TERRIFIC .
Imagine Splitter. But imagine his “dark mean side” with a reliable 15-footer.
Thats the guy. He is bigger and stronger then Splits but he is a much bigger offensive weapon.
There are some questions about his defense. He does well on the post but I am not sure if he can recover fast enough in Pick’n’Roll situations against more athletic Forwards.

The only uncertainty I have about him coming over is what his current contract looks like. Does it end after this season? Does it have a buy-out? NBA-out?

Interesting. Thanks for your insight. I’m hoping he’ll be yet another European 2nd round gem for us.

I think the NBA lockout spoiled plans for at least a few possible international players. Some usual get tested in the Summer League, but there was no summer league. There were no NBA signings for months, so if you wanted a paycheck you had to sign in Europe. There were a number of NBA players that decided to give Europe a try for a short period in order to get a paycheck themselves, which meant some of the regulars in Europe sat while an NBA “star” got featured. Lorbek seems to have wanted to come over, but he couldn’t be signed until several months after he had been traded for and so stayed in Europe instead. I believe his current contract is for more than a year, but has a provision to be bought out in order to go the NBA.

Would he be similar to a Mehmet Okur? He sounds a bit similar to Bonner but while Bonner is just working on a drive Lorbek seems to already have that as part of his game along with post moves. If he had joined the Spurs this year, I’m not sure if it may have meant they would have been more willing to include Bonner in a trade. If you add him to the current 4 bigs, I’m not sure any of them quite provide adequate defensive coverage for a PF with a good perimeter game that could also drive past his man. Would Tiago be the quickest big of that group?

Alamo - February 18, 2012 reply

Thank you!!! Somebody is looking at shit logically.

We need a dude who is quick enough to guard 4’s but solid enough to guard 5’s. Somebody who is actually young enough to be around for more than 4 years tops. Somebody who is closer to mid twenties instead of early 30’s LOL

I truly hope the front office actually brings a guy over that is not closer to 30. I just think it is prolonging the inevitable. I’m sure Lorbek is a good player but it is time to be realistic and start bringing more young guys in to the fold so they can learn from Timmy and Manu.

Spurs front court depth is the weakest it has ever been. Honestly, yes they need more defense than offense, but when you look at how little the Spurs have, Lorbek for a few million seems like he’d work well.

Man do these trades suck. I think it might be time to rummage the FA market and D-league to find a gem that others pass on. A reasonable trade at this point seems unlikely.

yea! let’s find our own XXXsanity

Sounds easy enough. Why couldn’t think of that? I blame myself.

You should!

I actually feel that the PATFO are looking around.
Because the team is playing well it’s easy for them to scout around quietly.
We have quite a few good trading chips. The best are Blair, Green and Neal. They bring amazing value per the money they get.

Unfortunately we are lacking in a big expiring contract that we can pair with the young talent.
That makes the trading difficult because nobody wants RJ and even Bonner is dead cheap so not enough.

That contract disappeared with Dice.

It’s odd, but while the west is wide open, the Heat is keeping everybody in reality check.
Except the Thunder every other team who consider itself a contender in the west have that feeling that unless they make a move they don’t stand a chance against the Heat.

So i am sure that our front office knows thins and will make a move f they sure will play for the better.

This team just need an upgrade in the PF. The lack of versatility of Blair is the thing that hurts this team the most.

If Randolph wasn’t such a bonehead, I’d be all for the Randolph trade.

The Knicks waived Renaldo Balkman in order to make room for JR Smith. Seems as though Balkman has a fair reputation as a defender that would have greater mobility at PF than Blair or Bonner. His former contract made him a bit overpriced, but it would seem he might be a nice pickup off waivers.

Manu ex Machina - February 17, 2012 reply

I remember him being decent at least, but he’s listed as 6’8", 225. We need a big that’s actually big.

He’s nice energy player, but he’s not exactly an upgrade to Blair. He’ll be fine as a 5th big, but I prefer a real big.

No more 6-foot-8 guys who bring a lot of energy to the table. I appreciate it, but it’s time to get some legitimate length.

TWSS

it’s time to get some legitimate length.

gunnin' gervin - February 17, 2012 reply

I don’t think you closed your bold tag.

DrumsInTheDeep - February 18, 2012 reply

;

you could have :P

I most likely didn’t. LOL

This story is at least two weeks old. It would have been interesting to talk about then, but now it makes no sense when the player in the best trade mentioned is now out for a significant amount of time. Side note, there is a rumor the Nugs are shopping Chris Anderson. Not sure if the Spurs would be interested, but his defense and rebounding would look nice in Blair’s minutes.

NotDeadYet - February 17, 2012 reply

Andersen would be a nice fit. He blocks a ton of shots and brings a lot of energy much like Varejao. He’d be a lot cheaper and wouldn’t require nearly as much in return.

He is 33yrs old and he owed 10mil for 2 more years i think, that’s bad for a role player.

$13.5 million for three more years (AAV $4.5M). Not too bad. He’s making about $1 million more than Bonner and is producing 13-11 with 3 blocks per 36 minutes.

Miami is currently MURDERING the poor-poor Cavs. It’s 29-8 start

Free Agents

Centers

Ajinca, Alexis
Armstrong, Hilton
Dampier, Erick
Fesenko, Kyrylo
Gadzuric, Dan
Mbenga, DJ
Przybilla, Joel
Ratliff, Theo
Thomas, Etan

Power Forwards

Allen, Malik
Songaila, Darius
Powe, Leon
Powell, Josh
Jackson, Darnell
Dorsey, Joey
Diogu, Ike
Smith, Joe
Elson, Francisco

meh

You took the words out of my mouth. I’m not exactly enthused. Let’s just make a huge run at Dwight and see what happens.

Przybilla is the only one, but something must be wrong with him, for him to still be available.

Nothing is actually wrong with him, he just wanted to retire. But teams keep pressing him to come back.

I thought he was recovering from surgery?

Richard Jefferson/James Anderson/Jumbaco/Cash considerations for Dwight Howard

TrooperJoe73 - February 17, 2012 reply

No way the Spurs send Jumbaco.

Sh!fty - February 17, 2012 reply

I would have said Whataburger, but we would have to package Blair too!

TrooperJoe73 - February 17, 2012 reply

Well said. Whataburger would push the Dwight Howard over the top though.

How about a trade:

Blair/Anderson for Gustavo Ayon?

TrooperJoe73 - February 17, 2012 reply

You guys must be extremely bored.

alamobro - February 17, 2012 reply

The Spurs haven’t played since Wednesday, what do you expect?

oh my eyes!

TDzilla! - February 17, 2012 reply

Anderson for one of the following:

Casspi – Spurs have always coverted him, add 2nd rnd pk or Euro prospect if necessary
DJ White – adds needed 5th big
D Greene – versatile forward

We are playing pretty well right now though, so no need to shake things up too much unless it’s a ‘must do’ trade. However, since JA is out of the rotation and we’ll likely lose him this summer anyway I’d trade him if possible.

MG99 - February 18, 2012 reply

-OJ MAYO: The people who want OJ Mayo (on a team that already has Manu Ginobili, Gary Neal and Danny Green….seriouly look up, we are the most powerful team at the 2 position) have not seen him play much, except against the spurs. His whole career he has been on total fire against us, so maybe that’s the reason people in here are overrating him so damn much.
OJ mayo is a neutral defender and very good but streaky shooter. HE CANT DEFEND 3’s or 1’s. Im here to tell you this: he is pretty much Gary Neal, but with a worse shot selection. Why would we want him? I wouldnt even trade Jefferson for him, RJ is more valuable to us because at least he is bigger and can neutrally defend 3’s.

-ANTHONY RANDOLPH: funny thing is, that trade is so ridiculuous and lopsided that even PTR started to think that he is that good. HE IS NOT. He is as raw as they come, he has 0 fundamentals and the Wolves dont like him. That being said…..we can aquire him pretty easily. The Wolves are DESPERATE for a legit 2 guard, that we could just offer them Anderson alone and they would say YES withouth blinking. I think this is a logical trade for both teams, as we are stacked at the wing positions and dont have a place for Anderson. Remember, as long as its a 1 for 1, its a rational trade, because Anthony Randolph will never ever ever develop into nothing for the Wolves. They dont have a use for him, he is dead weight. We need a big, they need a SG. Its a perfect match.

-Varejao: seriously do you people watch non-spurs games? How could you underrate Varejao so much? If he can come back in a month or two, I would do the proposed trade withouth blinking. He is one of the best defensive bigs in the whole NBA, he is one of the best rebounders in the NBA, and he is a very limited but clever offensive player. You can match him up against ANY team. He can play the 4 or 5 indiferrently, he can guard a Dirk or a Dwight credibily. He is EXACTLY what we need. Yes our spacing would suffer when he and Tiago play together, but who cares about that when your are pummeling the other team into oblivion with 2 mobile seven footers with quick feet on offense and defense.
Varejao is still young, has a good contract, is one of the most energetic players in the NBA and knows his role. For Bonner, Leonard and J. Anderson, I would do it. JA is a free agent anyway and we are not going to use him this year, so he is worthless, Kawhi is a 10-15 minutes player this season and Varejao would be a HUGE upgrade over Bonner. Varjao was a serious candidate for the All-star game for christsakes, he may be the best role player in the NBA right now.

Chilai - February 18, 2012 reply

Well, including Leonard in ANY deal is a serious bet. He has a huge upside, besides his athleticism which is one of the best in the NBA, he has great character, he works hard on and off the court and he a huge set of undeveloped offensive skills that can make him an all-star in 3-4 years.
So as much is I like Andy[and I do, a guy that hustles and rebounds as well he is?? just my type!] Leonard is way to valuable to send away in this trade.

While I agree (somewhat, but no the same extent) with your synopsis on Varejao, you’re shortchanging Kawhi’s game. He isn’t a 10-15 minutes player this year. He’s already played 22 minutes per game and that is during a season with no training camp. He’ll get there.

Varejao would be a very, very good addition to the team. But…

Would he be able to contribute significantly midway through the season in one of the leagues most complicated playbooks, with no training camp?

If we lose Leonard, we are back to full time RJ in the playoffs. Did you consider that? We also lose our small forward of the future. Hes looking very good and his only going to get better.

Sure Bonner becomes nearly useless in the playoffs, but there is always a chance this might be the year he actually plays well. Hes shooting the ball with the most confidence I have ever seen. Hes going to help us get a high seed too ( I dont give a shit what anyone says, yes, homecourt matters)

Why would Cleveland do this trade?

I might do this trade in the offseason, but right now? I think I would probably veto it.

alamobro - February 18, 2012 reply

Good point. Full-time RJ would be a no-no.

We can probably play Manu or Danny Green at the 3 position withouth missing a beat. I agree that Cleveland would never do the trade.

Chilai - February 18, 2012 reply

Now or for the future? That would not work in the long run. Leonard is legit. I’d bet on that. Manu is not a 3. Green is versatile, but he’s a better fit long term to play the 2 and guard the 1 or 2 positions. I don’t think side show bob makes that much of a difference this season.

Losing Bonner, hurts the offense. They gain a lot from his play. obviously, if it ends in the playoffs, that’s another story. But he’s been key in the season so far.

Agree. It’s tough at this point to give up too many key players. And Leonard’s future upside is so much greater.

Just to add about the playoffs…. Although Bonner has disappeared, the team has, not just one guy. That’s why the Spurs have had some pretty tough post seasons recently. So yeah, there’s that.

I watch games and know about Varejao. The problem is you are throwing in leonard in that proposed deal. To get the frontcourt help, you lose the key wing you’ve been working for. Lets assume RJ is gone next year. Green is more a 2 than a 3. So Spurs would have to start this race for the 3 position all over again.

Losing Bonner or Anderson or Bonner is not as big a deal , but losing Leonard is. Varejao’s contract isn’t the prettiest also. I’d give up Neal and Blair in Leonard’s place if that’s what it took though.