Fare thee well: Roger Mason signs with San Antonio

[BruceO]

good for him, he's one of us despite where he goes, grew up a wizards fan. I hope he gets a significant role in SA. I liked him coming off the bench, I guess its nick youngs year to grow. I know Sa pursued Mason last year but he came back so its cool for him to go to SA. I'll probably hit anybody on their head who boos him when he comes back to play. He's obviously given us more than taken. I think also the better sign is a championship team took him on. Thats a good sign for his career that he might be able to stick in the NBA. Hopefully he gets financial security

[doclinkin]

I'm happy for Roger but there's a pang to see him go he helped us a ton this year. I just hope this Gilbert Arenas cat we got coming in can fill his shoes.

[doclinkin]

Wow...Mason was able to triple his payday in one season. The offered him the vet minimum last year, and now he's making roughly $3.7 million per.

You know? This team practically prints million dollar bills for any two guard who works a little bit. Players leaving the Wiz get paid good and proper. Free agents take note!

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

Perfect scenario in my mind.

A great guy in Mason gets matched up with a classy organization, an organization that has wanted him for a while and a has great shot at playing a significant role in helping them get back the title.

Also, Mason won't be immediately coming back to haunt us within the division or conference and kill us in the biggest weak spot the Wizards have out in 3 point land,

And last but not least, provides an opportunity for Nick Young to get major minutes and hopefully shine in his sophmore season.

Couldn't have said it better. And I'm still happy, I can't see this team throwing that kind of money at him with NY in the wings, and now RMJ can play alongside another big 3 and hopefully get some shine consistently on national TV.

As much as seeing him go sucks, I'm excited to see what NY's got for us after this offseason

[nate33]

According to the Spurs board, the deal for Mason is 2 years/7.5 million. I'd say that it's a pretty good payday for RM and shows just how serious the Spurs were in acquiring him with such a big chunk of their MLE.

That's too much for Mason. I think the Spurs made a mistake. They needed to save the full MLE to go after a legit starting-caliber athlete. A guy like Childress, Posey, Pietrus or Barnes would have made sense. I think Roger Mason is a good fit, but they probably could have grabbed him with the LLE (2 years, $4.2M).

[LyricalRico]

According to the Spurs board, the deal for Mason is 2 years/7.5 million. I'd say that it's a pretty good payday for RM and shows just how serious the Spurs were in acquiring him with such a big chunk of their MLE.

That's too much for Mason. I think the Spurs made a mistake. They needed to save the full MLE to go after a legit starting-caliber athlete. A guy like Childress, Posey, Pietrus or Barnes would have made sense. I think Roger Mason is a good fit, but they probably could have grabbed him with the LLE (2 years, $4.2M).

I think a big part may be that he only signed for 2 years. Maybe other teams were offering 3-4 years and the Spurs had to up the ante to get him. And certainly most of the other guys you listed would want longterm deals. But that's not what SA wants to do IMO.

The Spurs have to extend Manu but even if they do they'll stiill have MAX cap space in 2010. So they did what the Knicks did when they signed Duhon - overpayed in the short term to get the guy they wanted but maintained future flexibility for an upcoming historic offseason.

And it's not like the Spurs are powerless now. They still have about $2M of the MLE left plus the LLE. Guys like Azubuike and Barnes are in that price range. Worst case scenario they use the LLE on Finley and then use Bird Rights to sign Kurt Thomas to a 2-year deal. They still remain legith contenders and maintain their ability to add a superstar in 2 years.

Genius.

[MF23]

Looks like San is going all Good Council this offseason.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Double post.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I think Roger's way better than most here think.

I believe the Wizards played their absolute BEST perimeter defense when Mason and Stevenson were the guards. I like how Roger grabs, bumps, and will put a hard foul on guys when he defends. He defends just like the international players do against the US National Team's elite players, and Mason is effective.

I also like that Roger's pretty strong and he doesn't turn the ball over.

In going to SA, I think Mason will be excellent on the Spurs because he'll get a lot of clean looks. Also, they of all teams will appreciate his chippy kind of defensive tactics. Horry and Bowen will love Mason because like them, he can shoot it and also like them, he's got the tricks down pat.

I'm happy for Mason and even though Nick Young's far more gifted athletically, I liked seeing Roger on the court way more. But that's just me.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

According to the Spurs board, the deal for Mason is 2 years/7.5 million. I'd say that it's a pretty good payday for RM and shows just how serious the Spurs were in acquiring him with such a big chunk of their MLE.

That's too much for Mason. I think the Spurs made a mistake. They needed to save the full MLE to go after a legit starting-caliber athlete. A guy like Childress, Posey, Pietrus or Barnes would have made sense. I think Roger Mason is a good fit, but they probably could have grabbed him with the LLE (2 years, $4.2M).

I think a big part may be that he only signed for 2 years. Maybe other teams were offering 3-4 years and the Spurs had to up the ante to get him. And certainly most of the other guys you listed would want longterm deals. But that's not what SA wants to do IMO.

The Spurs have to extend Manu but even if they do they'll stiill have MAX cap space in 2010. So they did what the Knicks did when they signed Duhon - overpayed in the short term to get the guy they wanted but maintained future flexibility for an upcoming historic offseason.

And it's not like the Spurs are powerless now. They still have about $2M of the MLE left plus the LLE. Guys like Azubuike and Barnes are in that price range. Worst case scenario they use the LLE on Finley and then use Bird Rights to sign Kurt Thomas to a 2-year deal. They still remain legith contenders and maintain their ability to add a superstar in 2 years.

Genius.

Honestly, I don't think it's too much for Mason.

I'll go on record with this: Mason could start with Gil and be just as effective or more than DeShawn Stevenson. He's just as good as Stevenson IMO. Strictly by the numbers, Rogers eFG of .552 is considerably better than .510 of Stevenson, and his PER was 13.8 to Stevenson's 12.6. Roger's the better pure shooter and better finisher, but DeShawn's the better rebounder, passer, and defender. Roger's just a deadly shooter and would have been even moreso next to Gil. To me, he's every bit as good as DeShawn and BETTER right now than Nick Young (but that could change in a hurry this season).

I think Mason's a great addition for SA.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Double post.

I need to slow down and stop hitting quote instead of edit.....

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

According to the Spurs board, the deal for Mason is 2 years/7.5 million. I'd say that it's a pretty good payday for RM and shows just how serious the Spurs were in acquiring him with such a big chunk of their MLE.

That's too much for Mason. I think the Spurs made a mistake. They needed to save the full MLE to go after a legit starting-caliber athlete. A guy like Childress, Posey, Pietrus or Barnes would have made sense. I think Roger Mason is a good fit, but they probably could have grabbed him with the LLE (2 years, $4.2M).

Maybe they could have grabbed Roger of less...

I'm thinking Posey's out of their price range now and I expect ATL will match any offer for Childress (unless the Smith re-signing costs too much).

Roger's a better shooter than the other guys you mentioned. The Spurs are closer to correct and the Wizards, as with Rip Hamilton, are undervaluing the guy they're letting go. Roger's got something special and it will show up next season. He's not an Arvis or Ared or a Juan ixon. He's got a jumper and he can defend pretty well.

I think SA will be fine if they get a young big who can score. Somebody like Craig Smith. Their biggest problems this season were the injury to Ginobili, a lack athleticism in their froncourt behind Duncan, and subsequent problems scoring.

To me, Mason and Smith or better, Landry, puts the Spurs in fine shape

[nate33]

I think Roger's way better than most here think.

I believe the Wizards played their absolute BEST perimeter defense when Mason and Stevenson were the guards. I like how Roger grabs, bumps, and will put a hard foul on guys when he defends. He defends just like the international players do against the US National Team's elite players, and Mason is effective.

I also like that Roger's pretty strong and he doesn't turn the ball over.

In going to SA, I think Mason will be excellent on the Spurs because he'll get a lot of clean looks. Also, they of all teams will appreciate his chippy kind of defensive tactics. Horry and Bowen will love Mason because like them, he can shoot it and also like them, he's got the tricks down pat.

I'm happy for Mason and even though Nick Young's far more gifted athletically, I liked seeing Roger on the court way more. But that's just me.

The one thing to remember about Mason is that he was 20 mpg reserve. Teams didn't really game plan against him at all. If you move him to a more prominent role, I think teams would put out a scouting report on him and take away some of his strengths. For this reason, I don't think he's as good as his per-minute numbers attest. He's a solid role player, but nothing more. I certainly don't think he's as good as Stevenson.

I'm not hatin'. I like him as a role player. I wish him well and I think he'll do well in San Antonio. I just think San Antonio had a bigger need for an athletic wing player. They're in trouble if they have to rely on Manu or Bowen to play big minutes. I guess they're counting on Udoka.

[Spence]

NATE, I agree with you that Roger Mason is "a solid role player, but nothing more." The thing is, I think that's also a pretty accurate description of Deshawn Stevenson.

FWIW, I also think the Spurs overpaid, but not by too much, considering they only gave him 2 years. 2 years at $6 million would have been more appropriate.

[ss1986v2]

NATE, I agree with you that Roger Mason is "a solid role player, but nothing more." The thing is, I think that's also a pretty accurate description of Deshawn Stevenson.

FWIW, I also think the Spurs overpaid, but not by too much, considering they only gave him 2 years. 2 years at $6 million would have been more appropriate.

id agree, but im willing to bet that the fact that the spurs were only offering two years probably forced them to overpay. i could see mason signing a 3yr/7.5 mil deal, so the spurs had to at least match that.

[Spence]

im willing to bet that the fact that the spurs were only offering two years probably forced them to overpay.

That's what I think.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Glad that Mason gets to play for a Grade A organization now. I hope he does well.