It's a shame that shooting guard James Anderson has encouraged the Spurs to trade him. It's also quite interesting that Anderson's agent, whose client is only one year removed from being drafted with the No. 20 pick in the 2010 Draft, has made his frustrations known to the public.
Like Steve Novak and Beno Udrih before him, PATFO have been very accommodating when their players have wanted to go to a different team. I expect them to do the same mostly because we have built solid depth at the SG/SF spots to withstand "giving" up on last year's No. 1 overall pick and because the Spurs value team chemistry and continuity over athletic ability. They don't want an unhappy player to inhabit the locker room and influence the team in a negative way. I'm not necessarily calling Anderson unfit to play for the Spurs (he's not that kind of player) but with his intentions public, it would be the ethical thing to let him attempt to salvage a career. Not to mention that his playing time has dwindled to nearly zero for stretches of the season.
(Editor's Note: This was written at my request by the artist formerly known as LWM Sucks, who changed his name in honor of Manu's return. -jrw)
The Whirlwide Liter recently posted an intriguing article (Insider inside access required, a sneak peak is available here) on three trades that could improve the Spurs title chances -- which are calculated as currently being six percent, according to TeamRankings.com. I'm here to dissect these trades, hopefully balancing the pros and cons of each deal.
Welcome to the fifth...or sixth installment of my State of the Spurs series. I'm not good at counting, so I'm not sure what number I'm at, but five or six sounds right (I may be wrong, but I doubt it). Anyway, if you've read the title, and have this annoying feeling in the back of your head, like a song that just won't leave, it's likely because it immediately brought to mind this commercial.
So as we close in on the half-way point of this shortened NBA season your beloved San Antonio Spurs sit at 19-9 good enough for third in the Western Conference. Are the Spurs contenders in the West? If so, who are the teams to beat? In this uncertain year of weird schedules and even weirder results, San Antonio is getting back their best player in the midst of their longest road trip of the year and just happen to be playing their best basketball of the year. Teams like Dallas and the Lakers are struggling to keep pace, while the young guns in OKC and the "other" LA team are setting the bar. It's an odd year to say the least, so let's take a look at the contenders and pretenders in the West.
When the Spurs received Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, the trade was billed as one of the more lopsided of the post Gasol-to-the-Lakers era. Spurs fans rejoiced and fans of other teams cursed their front offices for not pulling off similar trades.
Needless to say, the trade was not the resounding success we thought it was going to be. The Jefferson the Spurs got the first year was nowhere near the offensive force most expected; he struggled with his shot and seemed passive and lost, while Pop couldn't really find a way to integrate him into the flow of the team.
After that disastrous first season, he opted out and was resigned for less money and more years in a move to avoid the luxury tax. While he seemed much more comfortable his second year wearing the Silver and Black (which prompted the coining of a new nickname RJ2.0) he still hadn't turned the Big 3 into the "Big 4" like the more optimistic of us were hoping for. Instead, he was just a role player. A good role player to be sure, but not the kind of high usage offensive weapon he had been in his first 8 years in the league. After a good regular season where he rebounded well and shot the ball at a career-high level from 3-point land, the postseason arrived and he, along with the rest of the team, struggled to make an impact in the playoffs. Which brings us to this season and to the point of this article:
Richard Jefferson is getting a lot of flack for his play this season and I'm here to tell you that he doesn't deserve it.
I don't do this often, but there were a few things that I wanted to add to Edg5's excellent recap (that he did on extremely short notice, I must point out) on this game. First, even if you watched the entire contest, you owe it to yourself to watch these highlights. Deserving special recognition are:
Yesterday was the deadline for picking up team options on players on their rookie contract and it appears that the Spurs have decided not to secure the option for second year swingman James Anderson. This might not seem strange considering Anderson's inability to crack the rotation even with Manu Ginobili sidelined, but it is, in fact, very rare for teams to decline their options on first round draft picks.
Most teams keep those young players, even if their production doesn't match their potential, because their contracts are cheap and they might still develop over time. Even the biggest busts seem to get that extra year to prove that they belong on the league. And then there's the Spurs.
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