Malik Hairston gone !

[franktony]

Malik is going to play in Italy

http://www.sportando.net/ita/italia/ser ... rston.html

Thoughts?

[co_laper]

Couldn't understand the article... How legit is this source? I'll wait until I hear something a bit more official.

If this is true, I don't have any problem with it. Honestly, I like Malik in the sense that he's been here a while and he deserves a shot now that there is an opening for backup SF. But do I believe that he can play those backup minutes and be productive? No. I don't think any of us have seen enough of Malik to really know what he's capable of. But really, there are no high expectations for him right now and in a perfect world, he's our 12th guy on the team. Not a key rotation player.

[franktony]

it's official

Montepaschi Sienna official web site

http://www.menssanabasket.it/site/detai ... spx?K=6165

"La Mens Sana Basket comunica di aver raggiunto un accordo biennale con Malik Hairston, ala ventitreenne di 198 cm per 100 kg."

Basically a 2-year deal with Malik Hairston.

I don't a problem with that either, but we do need a backup SF. I don't think Gee is ready.

[co_laper]

We do need a backup SF, but there hasn't been anything that shows Malik is ready to take that role. Right now, I'm more impressed with Alonzo Gee than Malik and that's mostly because we don't know what we have in Malik. They say of all the young guys, he's the one with the best defense. At the same time, I doubt his defense is anything more than good or decent compared to the rest of the league. Really, if one of our young kids gets minutes, I'm hoping it's Gee. After summer league, he's the one who deserves a shot.

[Nolan]

I really thought he was going to be in the rotation next year behind RJ at SF. I guess this means Gee is going to get a serious chance to play this year.

[Frankie23]

Yeah, Gee and Manu are going to be our back up SF..

We can play:
TP/Hill/Manu
TP(Hill)/Anderson(Neal)/Manu
Hill(TP)/Manu/Gee
etc..

[franktony]

Official release from the NBA website

http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/spurs_rel ... 00729.html

I really don't know what our FO have in mind. I don't think Gee is ready. Maybe James Anderson playing some minutes in the SF spot? Or a rotation with 3 guards (Parker/Hill/Manu). Or a vet, but i don't see any good options with the money that we have.

[Nolan]

Bringing back Keith Bogans is looking like a decent option right now.

[SApuro_]

That leaves us pretty thin at the 3 spot. Hairston more than likely was not going to crack our playoff rotation anyway. Spurs did spend a lot of time and energy developing the kid. This year would have been his first real shot at some playing time.

With him gone I expect a vet wing or vet point to get signed soon. If the FO has a lot of faith in Anderson then its a PG.

I expect Hill to see the majority of his minutes as a 2 guard.

Splitter/Dice
Duncan/Blair/Bonner
RJ/Manu/Gee
Hill/Anderson/Neal
Parker/Terrells

[franktony]

I think we're gonna start with:

Parker/Hill/Temple
Hill/Manu/Neal
RJ/Gee
Dice/Blair/Bonner
Duncan/Splitter

Manu coming from the bench as usual.
And i don't see Terrells as part of the final roster. He will be waived.Expect more minutes to Blair and significant minutes to Splitter and Anderson.

[Nolan]

I think we're gonna start with:

Parker/Hill/Temple
Hill/Manu/Neal
RJ/Gee
Dice/Blair/Bonner
Duncan/Splitter

Manu coming from the bench as usual.
And i don't see Terrells as part of the final roster. He will be waived.Expect more minutes to Blair and significant minutes to Splitter and Anderson.

That looks about right too me. But I really don't see Hill and Dice staying in the starting lineup for the entire season. I really think Splitter and Anderson are going to become starters ove the course of the season.

[co_laper]

Yeah, I have a feeling that Anderson will end up being starters, but in his case, I don't think he'll be playing 30+ minutes like regular starters. The Spurs need that shooting help and right now Anderson helps us in that regard.

Last year in the playoffs, rotation was basically:

Bigs: Duncan, Dice, Bonner

Perimeter: RJ, Manu, Parker, Hill.

That's basically what we went with during the playoffs. I expect Splitter and Blair to get minutes over Bonner by season's end. And I expect Anderson to crack that rotation and give the Spurs a solid 9 man rotation

Bigs: Duncan, Splitter, Dice, Blair

Perimeter, RJ, Manu, Parker, Hill, Anderson

[Donald Kaufman]

This whole Manu off the bench thing is played out. He needs to start.

[tbdog]

Spurs cant start Parker, Hill, Jefferson. No shooters at all. This is the problem. Do we start Manu? Do we start Andersen? Do we have Jefferson come off the bench as our go to player with the second unit?

When it comes to lineups, the thing is, Parker or Manu need to play with Hill, as Hill is not good enough to create and be the playmaker. However, Parker, Hill, and Manu rotation does not sit well with me. Who becomes the playmaker? And all three players need the ball. Its how they work.

Then also keep in mind that Jefferson worked far better with Manu than Parker. It appears that Parker coming off the bench is actually the best rotational offer. However, you run the risk of losing Parker in the next offseason.

I say, Parker, Hill, Anderson, Blair, Duncan as the starting 5. Fairly small side to open up with, but we dont have any tall sf's regardless. And Duncan and Blair should do their bit to clean up the glass. Having a second unit of Hill, Manu, Jefferson, Dyse, Splitter is extremely dangerous and from what I can tell it would work wonders.

Manu becomes the playmaker and go to option, with Jefferson moving off the ball. Hill still is a threat to take his player off the dribble and hit the outside shot while providing solid D. Dyse is our low post scorer and also spreads the floor, with Splitter working hard with his size down low. I dont see how Blair and Splitter would work well together. Both new to the NBA level, and Splitter does not have the outside shot. Having Dyse or Bonner with Spiltter would help spread the floor.

The starting 5 puts duncan at center which makes sense at this part of his career. With Parker and Hill helping with penetration, with Anderson providing some respect of the opp D to start collapsing, and Blair just being who he could be.

Remember that Pop starting 5 is just there for the first 6 mins. Their main side would be, Parker, Manu, Jefferson, Duncan, Dyse/Splitter. Spurs have the option of going big with Splitter and Duncan. They also now have the shooters to surround Duncan if teams are doubling him hard, with HIll, Neal, Manu, Bonner/Dyse, Duncan.

This Spurs side is becoming very good. We are still missing a solid 3. I honestly think Dyse might be traded to provide us with that three. Heck, the Spurs didnt pay Bonner that money to get a few mins in the regular season and sit out in the post season.

Thoughts?

[co_laper]

Honestly, I see teams like Boston starting their big 3 together. I see LA with all of their best players in the starting lineup. I doubt Miami will bring one of the big 3 off the bench. I'd prefer us start Tony with Manu. Sure, we need sparkplug off the bench, but I think we have solid offensive scorers (Anderson and Hill) off the bench and energy guys like Blair with the second unit. They're likely to be in the court with one of our big 3. That's enough to me.