Last week was a big week for Spurs fans, but there is much work to be done. A big trade and successful draft do not a roster make. Speculation will still abound with roster spots to fill and salaries in luxury tax territory.
Current
First up, we are now the employers of Richard Jefferson, but we shipped out 3 guys to do it. Here’s how the roster stands.
- Tony Parker – PG
- George Hill – G
- Roger Mason – G
- Manu Ginobili – SG
- Richard Jefferson – F
- Tim Duncan – PF/C
- Matt Bonner – PF/C
- Ian Mahinmi – PF/C
That’s 8 guys, just a touch more than half a roster. Last year we saw Pop try to play Mason and Hill at the point, something I expect to see more of this year. Manu should be healthy, RJ will be a wonderful addition who, don’t kid yourself, will guard 3 positions, and will be the PF when we play small ball. Bonner still holds potential, but completely tanked when Gooden came to town, a big shot of self-esteem would help him out. Mahinmi also holds promise, but he’ll need to remain healthy longer than 17 minutes to see if he can help us.
New
As you can see, a couple of guards will likely be added, a couple of smaller forwards, and a legit center should be on the menu as well. Thankfully, this year’s draft may have addressed some needs.
- Jack McClinton – SG
- DeJuan Blair – PF
McClinton is well known for his shooting abilities, and after reading more reports, he may have a larger offensive repertoire ready to go than I thought. Something I did not know at draft time is he is a defender. It seems San Antonio was ready to pick him at #37 until Blair fell into our hands. Pop has a pretty good track record with guards, and is reported to have fell in love with his defense. With his Pop’s love for D, and a hot hand from afar, he’s a near lock to make the roster.
Blair is a rebounding beast, I like to compare him to a pre-Chicago Rodman, many call him a better Malik Rose. Either way, he can fill a huge need with our poor rebounding, because Duncan can’t box out everyone. Even better, Blair is a beast on the offensive boards.
Old New
We also have some options from previous drafts and trades. They’ve all had some time to improve, so now might be the time they get brought in to play.
- Marcus Williams – G
- Malik Hairston – G
- James Gist – F
- Robertas Javtokas – PF/C
- Tiago Splitter – PF/C
Williams is a more known quantity, having actually played 2 games for us last year. But I don’t envision him making the team with the other guards we currently have available.
Hairston also logged some minutes for us, spending 15 games with us. After a year in the NBDL, he might be someone we look to for 10-15 minutes a night, with the big advantage of having spend some time in the system.
Gist took his game to Europe, which has been a good place for current stars Parker and Ginobili. if he shows he’s ready, he could be the guy we rely on to back up RJ.
And with the 56th pick of the 2001 NBA draft, the Spurs Select, Robertas Javtokas. It wasn’t long after that, he was in a bad motorcycle accident, but has since recovered and returned to hoops. This Lithuanian center once dunked on a 12′ hoop, had a solid olympics, and could be an excellent backup, but supposedly wants more money than he’s worth. We could use him, but money will likely prevent it.
No Spurs dream is complete without mentioning Tiago Splitter. Reports are that this 6’11” 24 year old is one of the best bigs in Europe. Much like with Scola, there is a buyout issue that has kept us from making an effort to get him here, so this year will likely be the same, but we’ll still have some money available in 2010. Many think it will take him a year to adjust to the NBA game though, so we need to get him here while Duncan can still teach him something.
Old
Former Spurs without a contract could make it back to the roster as well. There is also the chance that Bowen and/or Oberto could be cut and be resigned as well. So our list grows.
- Jacque Vaughn – PG
- Michael Finley – SF
- Ime Udoka – SF
- Drew Gooden – PF/C
I don’t expect Vaughn back, we have too many potential young guards in the mix now.
Of this group, Finley is the most likely to be back. I don’t like it, but he is a veteran that can still bring something on occasion. Just one small note to Pop, I don’t ever want to see another box score (in the playoffs no less) that shows him playing more than 20 minutes, much less 30.
Udoka was brought on for his defensive potential, and never lived up to it.
Gooden showed some flashes, but will likely command more money elsewhere than we are willing to give him. I’d like to see him back, but we’ll see how much cash he’s willing to give up.
Potential
An early roster projection might read like this:
Tony Parker – PG- George Hill – G
- Roger Mason – G
- Malik Hairston – G
- Manu Ginobili – SG
- Jack McClinton – SG
- Michael Finley – SF
- Richard Jefferson – F
- James Gist – F
- DeJuan Blair – PF
- Tim Duncan – PF/C
- Drew Gooden – PF/C
- Matt Bonner – PF/C
- Ian Mahinmi – PF/C
And just like that, 14 roster spots. 4 of those spots may be new faces from last year, but we’ve never won a championship without a fair number of new faces compared to the previous one.
It seems highly likely another trade is in the mix to bring in a legit center. The closest thing we have is Duncan, but whenever possible, we want to keep him at the 4, no need to guard the Shaq’s and Howard’s of the league when you have 18 fouls elsewhere to use.
As the week progresses, we’ll be taking a look at some potential free agent targets. Anyone out there that you’d like to see on our roster?
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