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Anyone see Ian play for Dallas, our hated rivals, last night? The kid played like I'd always hoped he would for us. But it seems like I've seen this movie before starring.

1. Contract low bid to SJax.
2. Traded Scola to our rivals so they would take a bad contract off out hands. It made sense because Splitter was suppossed to be twice the player that Scola is.... NOT!
3. Beno Udrih ... I think we let him walk then badly needed his offense and energy the next year as the Lakers eliminated us. We had a 20 something point lead in Staples in the 3rd Q and couldn't hold it because we only had three players who could score consistently on our roster. But like with Ian, Pop never really used Beno while we had him.
4. Ian looks like exactly the player we need to beat the Lakers. Except he will be helping Dallas beat us and the Lakers.



Alright I feel better.

Saw the game on NBA TV.

Ian was extremely active. Defensively, he's all over the place. Changing shots, blocking shots, rebounding, getting his hands on loose balls. It seems like every time he's on the floor, he's doing something to help the team. It was a great performance by Ian. I'd say the best game of his career defensively.

Well, if we're talking about the ones that got away, I'd like to nominate Hedo Turkoglu to that list.

I felt Hedo (thou not at his current salary) is a great fit for us. A small ball SF/PF with 3 point range and helps our passing game. He's great at pick and rolls and that's something we do over and over again on offense. His size at 6'10'' as a SF definitely helps too.

Guys like Beno, Sjax, and Hedo, they turn out to be the player that they are today because we trade them. It's not likely IMO that they become what they are had they stayed with us.

Beno was injury proned and lost his confidence after Lindsey Hunter raped him. Plus, what we need from a younger Parker backup at that time was someone who was steady, a leader on the court, a veteran, and plays defense. Beno didn't become a real PG and steady until he got the playing time in Sacramento.

Sjax showed clutch games and slickness when it comes to driving to the rim but didn't really show much else IMO. His defense didn't really stand out yet and it didn't stand out until he shut down Dirk I think. I don't recall Sjax being some tough defensive player until the Mavs series. And he showed better scoring and passing skills in... Atlanta was it? I recall he sign somewhere first before going to Indiana. And as good as he is passing the ball, he's also very turnover prone. Not to add that he had huge attitude issues on a team that values character. I thought the Spurs' offer (3 year 10 mil) was a fair offer at that time knowing what we knew.

I saw the game too but it was only one game and we've seen this from him before. He'll explode and have an amazing game then just disappear again for months.

He had a similar game for us last year against New Jersey when he went off for 15 and 9, but then he reverted back to the old Ian.

I think he's a really talented player but he needs a ton of work.

I agree but lets just wait on Ian thats one game. I do agree with all other statements we let some talent go.
Like a good starting 5 lol
Mahinmi
Scola
Hedo
SJAX
Beno

Mahinmi is about as raw as it gets. He's okay but I don't miss his game at all.

Hedo sucks. He had one or two decent seasons in Orl and that's about it.

^
Agree with the Hedo stuff. He's useless when he doesn't have tha ball in his hands.

As for Beno, it would of been nice to keep him around but the Kings offered him the full MLE, we would of been stupid to pay that much for a backup PG.

Ill still take Splitter over Mahinmi

don't let one or two games fool you... trust me, this roster has many bigs that are better

If SJax and Hedo were THAT good, why many teams would trade them??
Even though i like Stephen Jackson..

Ian was a bet when we drafted him. He was 18 i think..Splitter is a proven player overseas.
He has much more experience and we will see some good things from him. His defense has been good so far..

Well Shaq's been traded several times. Getting traded doesn't necessarily mean you aren't a good player. If anything, it means you're wanted by other teams and therefore have some value.

Mahinmi is not a game changer, and he'll have a nice game here or there, but he's def not the difference maker that will get Dallas over the hump, not by a long shot.

Anybody should take Splitter over Mahinmi. Mahinmi just never produced anything, really.

Well, I'm not expecting much from Splitter this year since he's likely to play behind Duncan like Blair did this season. However, he's shown plenty of good qualities as a basketball player and I have no doubt he'll atleast enjoy a solid career in the NBA with us. Don't think hell ever reach All-star status thou.

One thing Splitter needs to do this summer is get bigger and stronger. He'd be so much better if he's packed and strong because the way he plays is physical.