Training camp/ Pre season news and thoughts

[the southern dandy]

Now that training camp is underway I thought it would be smart to put all the news and thoughts into one thread.

It's the first day of training camp and we already have two more injuries.

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/c ... d_o_2.html

Kurt Thomas suffered a mild strained hamstring and Salim Stoudamire suffered a groin strain. Luckily both are listed as day to day at this point. I don't believe this will affect Thomas that much, but this could be a real blow for Stoudamire. I've suffered many groin strains myself playing bball and they can really affect ur lateral movement a lot. Hopefully this was more a precautionary thing from Stoudamire and he is able to return tomorrow or the day after.

Guaranteed Places(IMO)
C - Thomas/Oberto/
pf - Duncan/Bonner/ Mahinmi
sf - Bowen/Udoka
sg - Ginobili/Mason/Finley
pg - Parker/Hill

It's hard not to think that Vaughn is going to be challenged, and his flaws will become particularly noticeable against the scorers that have been brought into camp. While many feel that Bonner is being shopped it's hard not to see him getting a shot now with a year of experience and the injury situation in the front court.

Unguaranteed Places
C - Darryl Watkins
pf - Anthony Tolliver
sf - Desmond Farmer/ Devin Green
sg - Salim Stoudamire/ Malik Hairston
pg - Brian Morrison

This should be one of the better training camps, in terms of new faces at least, that the Spurs have hosted in recent years. These are guys that in one way or another have had success and are known. While I'll may not be terribly familiar with a lot of these players I shall give a brief writeup from my perspective.

Darryl Watkins - A big body with good strength and athleticism. He picked up some experience last year with the Kings and was one of the last few cuts from the team. He strikes me as a long term type of project which could hurt his chances of impressing in the limited time over training camp. If he defends well and plays hard he is a shot at making the roster, mostly because he provides elements that the current roster is lacking.

Anthony Tolliver - He's undersized but brings a wide frame and a willingness to run the floor and throw his body around. Only recently he has perfected an outside shot that he simply didnt have in college. This could be a sign that he can improve drastically. He was a member of the summer league roster and arguably performed better than any of our draft picks. His athleticism overall is questionable, which probably opens the door for Watkins. He was signed almost immediately after summer league so he should have an edge practising in SA. He duplicates what Bonner gives. I feel that the Spurs front office has an obvious interest but he may be redundant on this roster.

Desmond Farmer - He's been toiling in the D-league for a while and he's not as young as you'd think (26). The man is an excellent scorer and a decent enough shooter. On a team of finesse shooters his strong slashing would be a welcome addition. Farmer is a great player compared to SA's usual crop of trainign camp invites. As a leading scorer in D-league he would have had offers with almost every team. This leads me to believe that the Spurs have promised to give roster spots to the strongest performers. There have been questions about his bball IQ, shot selection and temperament in the past, but coach Pop usually does well with guys like this. He's the type of player SA desperately needs, I would love to see him play well enough to earn a roster spot. I feel that if he were to earn one he would likely be able to find himself minutes in the regular season.

Devin Green - At the point he is well below Farmer as a player. He seems to be fearless driving to the paint and a quality athlete. Unfortunately for him he is inefficient and his game lacks a lot of polish. In years past he would have had a look but I see him being heavily overshadowed by the other wings brought into camp. He could potentially be a nice player for the Austin Toros though. Look for the Toros to sign him if his play is decent. This way the Spurs could continue to look without committing themselves to him.

Salim Stoudamire - He's the only camp invite with legit NBA experience. He scored 9.7 ppg in his first NBA season, so we know he is capable of scoring the basketball at this level. After their heavy pursuit of Jannero Pargo the Spurs obviously have their hopes set on a scoring combo guard, which is great for Pargo. Salim is an absolute freak of a shooter but the other aspects of his game are lacking. Ideally he shows enough improvement in his ballhandling, which already has improved in his career to be able to play next to be a shooter with the Spurs. I'd like to see him make the team, preferably at the expense of Jacque Vaughn. His speed is underated IMO. Also his attitude must improve a great deal if he is to have success with SA.

Malik Hairston - It almost seems like the Spurs invited this guy to camp almost out of obligation, which is a real shame because I like his game. He is the sort of bulky do it all guard that the Spurs could definitely use. He throws his body around nicely but doesnt seem to stand out enough, particularly scoring the ball. His major downfall will probably be his lackadaisical attitude in general. He didnt stand out in summerleague, maybe he can pull a miracle in the preseason.

Brian Morrison - He's a prototypical skilled white guy that lacks the speed to truely make a run at the roster. He was a nice summerleague player and could potentially be a very handy floor general in the d-league, but his lack of athleticism in general will ultimately stop his from getting to the big show. He should provide some competition in camp and help in running the sets with his good passing game. Looks to me to be a player the Spurs like and see as a future Austin Toro.

[Blame Rasho]

I liked your recap.

I think we basically have our rotation set for the year...

I think there is a good and reasonable chance that Watkins makes the roster. We are kinda thin in the frontcourt.

It is painfully obvious that we are older than dirt on the backcourt. Hairston looks like the guy who should make the roster due to the fact that we drafted him and is athletic. YEt I ask myself is he any better than James White? I don't think so.

I think that Salim getting hurt really hurts his chances to make the roster. He is an eddie house type player. He isn't a point guard and he would have to shoot lights out each and every time he has an open shot in the preseason.

I really don't have that much faith in the Spurs FO. They have let me down this offseason and draft. I mean Hill should be expected to be a rotation player. I really don't want Jacque playing unless for defensive purposes. I am scared when he shoots and his role is basically give the ball to manu with the 2nd unit.

I am surprised how interested the Spurs were with Tolliver given that we have Bonner on the roster. If he makes the roster I expect the Spurs to shop Bonner hard for some swing player.

[ss1986v2]

i hate camp. cant wait for halloween to roll around and get the season underway. nothing ever comes from camp, except injuries. the majority of the players we all spend so much time debating end up cut, and the ones that stick around end up having a nonexistent level of impact. they guys are simply camp fodder. not one of them will contribute anything of note to the team (donuts and coffee aside), and if any of them ever to get the chance, it means our team is sunk anyway. id rather just pretend nothing is going on in the nba for the next 3 or so weeks (thank god for football).

that being said, i will give my 2 cents on our camp fodder here one time. id figure one of tolliver and watkins makes the team for sure (need another big stiff for insurance), to go along with possibly one of farmer and salim, with an outside shot of hairston here if he can actually show something in camp. both players (doesnt matter which ones) are in suits the entire year (baring injury). and both are gone within 2 years, if they even make it that far. hooray for camp fodder...

[the southern dandy]

Every year no name players rise up and become something in the league. Sure it's unlikely, but I seem to have regained my optimisim now that the sting of the Finley signing has worn off.
Speaking of Fin, apparently he's dropped 15 pounds heading into camp. Does anyone have a media day pic to confirm?

[Ballings7]

I like Tolliver a lot more as "a big foward shooter" because he's more athletic than Bonner... as I've said and like BR said, Bonner really should be shopped for a younger wing-man with some experience. Was quite impressed with Tolliver in the SL, I think he's an NBA player.

Farmer I have never seen play, just seen his name around relating to the D-League, but from what I've read on here about him, I really like the sound him.

Watkins I've already covered recently, really like what he can bring on both sides of the floor. From seeing him with the Kings, and now having an off-season under him to improve.

This team needs a bit more youth and athleticism (one up front (even with Mahinmi, when he's back), and another on the wing), and that increase should come from a couple players here.

And yeah, very nice post, TSD.

[Ballings7]

Add Charles Gaines to the TC roster

Never heard of him before

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed forward Charles Gaines. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed. The 6-9, 223-lb Gaines has spent the previous four seasons playing in Europe. Last season he played with Galatasaray Cafecrown in the Turkish TBL League. Gaines appeared in 28 games and averaged 12.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.86 steals in 25.5 minutes. He also saw action in 17 ULEB Cup games, averaging 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.12 steals in 27.3 minutes. Over his career, Gaines has made stops in Spain (DKV Jovent), France (Adecco ASVEL), Italy (Eurofiditalia Reggio Calabria) and the Continental Basketball Association (Michigan Mayhem).

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... nio_spurs/

Interesting sounding player considering his size, probably has some athleticism to him as well considering his statistics and size.

Been to quite a few places, too.











Looks like a tough guy, heh

[the southern dandy]

I'm all for adding another big to this roster. All statistics would indicate that he has almost no perimeter game. I'm guessing he's a high energy power foward.
Brian Morrison sets a training camp record for the shortest stay.

[HarlemHeat37]

I'd be surprised if Tolliver isn't in the rotation ahead of Bonner by December..I think the FO is gonna try to get Bonner out of here, and we'll probably get a worse deal out of it..Tolliver is just the better player IMO, even at this point where he has proved nothing..

my guess is that by December, our rotation will look like this..

C Thomas/Oberto
PF Duncan/Mahinmi/Tolliver
SF Bowen/Udoka
SG Mason/Manu/Finley
PG Parker/Hill

this season is gonna come down to Mahinmi and Hill's production IMO..as sad as it sounds, we're gonna need their production if we have any chance at beating the Lakers this year..

[the southern dandy]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spur ... chine.html

''Finley was 235 pounds at the end of last season and has now dropped to 220, the lightest he's been since his days in Dallas.''

I know that I'm a pretty open Finley hater in general, but I find this to be an encouraging sign. A lighter Finley becomes considerably more useful, especially in limited minutes. I really hope he's improved his agility and lateral quickness.

[Blame Rasho]

Well we will need him to be fresh given that Manu is out. I would love for him to give us 13ppg at 44% and 40% 3%

[Ballings7]

That can only help him for another season

Looks in tremendous shape there

[the southern dandy]

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/c ... _t_19.html

It seems that George has been working with Chip on improving his shot. This is a great sign, hopefully he'll supplant Jacque Vaughn sooner rather than later.

"There's still a chance he might end up at Austin to start the season, but team insiders say that chance is remote."

I find this to be a very encouraging sign.

[lukeridenour]

finley looks great. im excited for the season.

[the southern dandy]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spur ... ected.html

This article has a pretty positive review from our coaches in regards to Roger Mason. Seems that he is bringing an unexpected ability to create off the dribble. If true, this would be a real shot in the arm for our team going into the season.

The bad news is that Stoudamire has not played since injuring his groin on the first day of training camp. Unfortunately this has to significantly weaken his chances of making the roster.

[Ballings7]

Actually I remember seeing some of Mason Jr. create off the bounce last season, and I think Wizards fans mentioned that abitlity after we signed him.

Anyway, he'll definitely improve the supporting cast from what it was

[the southern dandy]

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/c ... _d_12.html

Excellent news coming out of camp right now. It seems both Salim Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas have returned to action.
Hopefully Salim can steal a few minutes in the pre season opener against Houston.

[the southern dandy]

The lack of media coverage for the Spurs training camp is really bugging me right now. Perhaps our current spurs writers havent developed any sort of rapore with the Spurs franchise.
We have no idea how the training camp battles are progressing besides Salim being at an obvious disadvantage. The first pre season game cannot come fast enough.

[Ballings7]

Great about Kurt and Salim, I think Salim will probably make it if he gets enough oppurtunities

[the southern dandy]

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/c ... e_3_s.html

Ian, Salim and Kurt are not making the trip to Houston for the pre season opener. Disapointing, but not really surprising.

[Blame Rasho]

Ever since Ludden for yahoo left we just gets nuggets of happenings of the Spurs.