Training camp/ Pre season news and thoughts
Posted: Wed Oct 1, 2008 5:28 am
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.
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.
