When back up point guard T.J. Ford went down, it left a void on the San Antonio Spurs roster. They no longer had an experienced back up for Tony Parker. For the time being, Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal will split that time because as back up point since the Spurs are slightly reducing Manu’s workload while he recovers from last week’s hip flexor injury. The trade deadline came and went without the Spurs addressing that specific need. But as recent history has shown the trade deadline doesn’t mean the end of teams making deals to bolster their playoff chances.
Enter this tweet from from Fox Sports Florida columnist Chris Tomansson.
“While somebody else could make waiver claim, Anthony Carter told me agent Bill Duffy talking to San Antonio and Minnesota on Carter signing.”
You might remember Anthony Carter from the cup of coffee he had with the Spurs in the 2003-2004 season. It was actually more like an espresso shot since he played five games before being released and has gone on to be the back up and fill in starter for playoff teams like Minnesota and Denver. He was most recently in Toronto and was just bought out by the Raptors.
I’m indifferent about this. I think the Spurs will be fine with Stephen Jackson or Manu Ginobili being the primary ball handler in the second unit. However, he’d be a good insurance policy to fill in if Parker needs a night or two off or if someone gets hurt. There’s also this idea involving the soon to be bought out Derek Fisher from Royce Young with CBS Sports and the Daily Thunder.
“Once he’s bought out, he’ll be a free agent that will likely look to hitch his wagon to a contending team. Maybe the Heat, maybe the Thunder, maybe the Spurs, who are in need of a backup after losing T.J. Ford. Options abound for Fisher and with his veteran leadership and steady play, a team is going to certainly bring him in.”
At first glance you’d probably want Fisher because of the rings he has and the shot he’s hit (I refuse to bring up specific examples). Personally, I wouldn’t hate it because we’d be getting a playoff tested guy for cheap. But really Derek Fisher has been a pretty bad basketball player for the last couple of seasons. He doesn’t shoot well anymore and is so slow he usually is guarding the other team’s shooting guard. Plus at this point in their careers, he kind of just reminds me of poorer version of Gary Neal and I wouldn’t want him to take time away from Neal. Judging from some conversations I had on Twitter, I’m in the minority here. And as my friend Jim Bob Breazeale said, if Fisher was playing the Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals I’d be terrified to have him taking the last shot. So maybe it’s better to have him on the Spurs bench than on any other.
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