Spurs *were* the Front-runners for Maggette

[Ballings7]

I'm not buying into the money over a better team situation with Maggette... of course it's justified if he does, but with the point he's at in his career, and as well as the comments he made most recently.

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

Good... get outta there Boston, you don't really need him anyway... Posey's actually more important to having on your team.

[lukeridenour]

yea, im happy they arent going after maggette anymore but posey is the better fit which makes them the better team.

[Ballings7]

Three days into the NBA’s free agency period, Corey Maggette is still talking to teams and weighing his options. It appears the free-agent swingman is heading into the holiday weekend a little bit closer to becoming a Spur than he was before the week began.

A source close to the negotiations said Thursday that, though no deal is imminent, talks between the Spurs and Maggette are serious and the interest is mutual.

Meanwhile, published reports out of Orlando suggest the team perceived to be the Spurs’ stiffest competition for Maggette might be near dropping out of the race altogether.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic are formalizing a contract offer for free-agent point guard Chris Duhon, perhaps by the end of the week. In that event, Orlando would be all but forced to abandon courtship of Maggette.

The Spurs’ most significant challenger for Maggette’s services might now be the new NBA champions.

The Boston Celtics have made an offer to Maggette as well, one he told the Boston Globe on Thursday he is seriously considering. The most the Celtics could offer Maggette is the mid-level exception, same as the Spurs.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/bask ... e7bd9.html

Definitely getting a bit excited here

Conflicting reports about Boston... *shrug*

More FA info in there too... Barry, Finley, external players.

[Blame Rasho]

Encouraging News...

[magicianman]

i am confused. why would maggette come to san antonio instead of orlando, or boston? just because a SA newspaper says so? the yahoo report is directly from the SA paper, too. i am trying to think about this from a realistic standpoint. the spurs cant offer any more money. SA isnt 'home' like orlando is. the taxes are WAY less in fla. the weather is better. and they have dwight howard, most importantly. what does SA have to offer that orlando doesnt? obviously SA has won 4 rings in the past decade, but as it stands now, thats it. and SA is probably going to be the 4th best team in the west at best next season....all possible acquisitions aside. and they are old. LA was clearly outmatched by boston, and SA was outmatched by LA. it just doesnt make sense...you would think that he would prefer to go out east to stand a chance at getting to the finals. the spurs arent equipped to beat these younger, more dynamic teams. if you picked up maggs, who would lose their minutes? bowen, your best perimeter defender? or ginobili? granted boston would be even worse placement wise because he would be competing with pierce and allen, but im sure he stands a better chance winning there than SA anyhow. it seems like he is using spurs as leverage to try to get a better deal elsewhere. the consensus is that hes worth more than the MLE anyway. im not trying to start an argument here, but i am just curious what base these rumors are standing on.

[SMRattler]

^^^ Just want to address this one point...

Taxes are WAY less in Fla? How far below can you get versus "no state tax"? I think we tie there dude. Plus, the cost of living? Not even close.

I'll let someone else talk about the rest.

But overall, the situation in SA in terms of basketball is great for Maggette. I agree though, it won't be a clear cut decision for him, especially when teams with more money start tossing some of it his way.

[HarlemHeat37]

well clearly he's misinformed..

the Spurs made the conference finals, bro..this is without mentioning the high amount of injuries during the regular season(to our 3 best players) that would have probably gotten us the #1 or #2 seed and avoiding the hardest matchups of ANY team in the playoffs(Phoenix, NO)..without mentioning Ginobili's injury in the conference finals..

the Spurs ONLY serious flaw is the scoring droughts, which would be completely solved with an athletic wing of Maggette's caliber..don't you think he knows that?..

I'm still not getting my hopes up, but your reasons are false..

the ONLY reason he would have to go to Orlando is the hometown part..he doesn't make the Magic significantly better, and he doesn't make them nearly as good as Boston..they'd still be behind Detroit IMO..they need a PF much more than they need another wing IMO..

[Blame Rasho]

LOL... Taxes are less....

[Ballings7]

Magic aren't a title contender with Maggette... there's a serious shortage defense, rebounding, and size (up front) outside of Dwight in the starting line-up. Dwight's terrific, but it's too much and unfair to ask of him, to basically do everything on the interior. Lewis is far too small mass-wise to be a regular PF. Though if Lewis moves to his natural and primary SF spot like he really should from now on, and a solid helper big rightfully required comes back next to Dwight, that'll be a good help up front.. they just need one more guy aside from Battie and unproven Gortat. Dwight needs his Horace Grant, Haslem, Kurt Thomas, PJ Brown, Horry (not just like him, but what kind of role he played on the inside) kind of helper big man next to him in the starting line-up. But, defensively on the wings, it's still just not that good, there isn't a consistent, solid or better defensive presence there... Maggette would get to start and would be in his home-town. The east is weaker as a conference than the west, but it's getting better and is top-heavy for sure.

If I'm Orlando I go after Q-Ross, Pietrus, Azubuike for a wing-man to better complement Rashard or even Hedo (who ever is at SF, which it should be Lewis) and better balance the starting line-up and the team.

With the Spurs he's already coming onto a title contender, gets to start, have the tax situation, and that team entry makes the Spurs significantly better than they were.

With Boston, great team, but he'll have to sacrifice a whole lot (certain things for at least a little bit), is he willing to do that at this stage in his career? Also the committment to going after him isn't #1 on him right now, because of Posey.

Right now it's Maggette and then everybody else for the Spurs, similar probably for the Magic - but really, as a whole, why go to the Magic over the Spurs?

[lukeridenour]

nice post ballings.

[ss1986v2]

the yahoo report is directly from the SA paper, too.

false. the yahoo report was the original report. the SAEN article quoted the yahoo report, not the the way around.

the taxes are WAY less in fla.

also false. texas doesnt have a state income tax either. and cost of living is lower in sa.

the weather is better.

hurricanes say hello.

and they have dwight howard, most importantly.

*cough*duncan*cough*

what does SA have to offer that orlando doesnt?

aside from a better team?

the spurs arent equipped to beat these younger, more dynamic teams.

maggette would make us better equipped, no? if not, what is it that needs to be equiped?

if you picked up maggs, who would lose their minutes? bowen, your best perimeter defender? or ginobili?

bowen is 38 years old, and would certainly see some reduced minutes. and manus workload last year was far too high, and he would probably go back to the 25-30 minutes per he plays better at. maggette would inherit all of finleys minutes, and probably a piece of the 4th/5th wings minutes as well (udoka/barry/or whovever it ends up being). with 96 wing minutes to go around (plus a handful of small-ball minutes, so lets say we have 105 minutes total). you can have bowen at 28, manu at 28, and maggette at 34, and the 4th wing at 15.

it seems like he is using spurs as leverage to try to get a better deal elsewhere. the consensus is that hes worth more than the MLE anyway.

very possible (has happened before). but its not like its a lot of leverage. he can go to phili or gsw and see if they want to give him is payday. if not, its the MLE or bust. its not like he can start a bidding war with us; we are stuck with the MLE, just like everyone else. its a reason to be concerned, but not a reason to dismiss the possibility.

im not trying to start an argument here, but i am just curious what base these rumors are standing on.

the original rumors stated from the yahoo article and their sources, and the subsequent confirmations from other outlets (espn and chad ford to name one).

[HarlemHeat37]

RIP..

[magicianman]

i havent read all the responses, but i just wanted to clarify that not only was i compared fla to tex, but also boston, which has higher taxes and cost of living expenses...i will read your guys' input now...

[magicianman]

ok, i had a nice little rebuttal and then my computer crashed, so this will be more succinct:

first of all, its hard to look past SA's success over the past 9 years. in my outside opinion, thats your best selling point for maggs.

that being said, i stand by my position that the spurs arent equipped to handle younger, more athletic, more dynamic teams. i understood and expected many here to disagree. the spurs are a slow team that is only getting older. tony parker is somewhat consistent, but not fantastic. ginobili is a beast, but clearly slowing down, injury prone, and no spring chicken. bowen is a solid role player. duncan is duncan. he is one of the greats...but his production has plateaued. your center position is irrelevant, with the exception of kurt thomas(another oldie-who might not be back). is finley coming back next year? or is he going elsewhere? all these comments are assuming that no one acquires maggs, including orlando(or boston).

ballings, i like your assessment of the needs/weaknesses of the magic. they certainly match what the media suggests the magic need. however, its not entirely accurate. sure, the magic would love to have another PF. it seems like the magic are a candidate for a trade deadline deal for a pf(using turk, probably). however, battie being out the whole season forced the magic to go with a lineup that they were only planning to use part time. i am not a blind fan that thinks that battie is the missing piece to a title...but as a team he fits the need. the magic need offensive rebs, and weakside post help D...the two things he is very good at. many people have the mis perception that the PF spot is the greatest weakness of the magic. the sole reason for this is because of the detroit series. however, the pistons are/were built to beat the magic. they have had 4 seasons to prepare for dwight. they did so by utilizing 6 bigs to hack away at him. those 6 bigs averaged a hair under 5 fouls per game EACH during the playoffs. now the question i beg to ask, where are your six bigs to throw at dwight? the answer is you dont, not even close. in fact, few teams do. its all about matchups, and orlando matches up well against many, including SA. i will delve into that later...i dont know if everyone is familiar with the Roland Ratings, but its a very effective way to digest teams you arent familiar with: http://www.82games.com/index.htm use the links at the left column to look at the teams you wish to analyze. but, long story short, the magic's biggest need is at sg. thats where maggs comes in for them.

orlando is in a better position to win than SA. they matchup well with boston already and have no problems with them. detroit is their biggest foe, but its no guarantee that detroit will be the same team next season. and orlando is no doubt on an upswing. SA not only has LA to contend with, but PHX is no slouch. UTAH is a strong team, as is houston, if healthy. LAC could give you problems, as could portland, eventually. NO is the future of the west.

if you were a FA that has stated that winning is more important than money...wouldnt you rather take a team on the upswing with the best big man in the game over a team that has had a good run of things, but is one of those teams that just wakes up one day and looks in the mirror and says: 'wow, what happened?' we saw it this year.

if you get maggs that would greatly help you guys as a team, but i dont think he would benefit you more than he would the magic(roland ratings)

btw...short responses to ss1986's comments...the SAN AN express story broke out here before the yahoo story....im not disagreeing with what some of you said regarding sources, but thats the way it is...if you guys think that san antonio has better weather than orlando, then you are in the minority. if by SA being the better team by counting how many rings you have gotten in the past as you being a better team, then i guess you are...but current team matchups favor the magic. who also happened to have a better point differential last season.

some questioned, what do the magic have to offer that SA doesnt? so far, the only leg up you have are PAST accomplishments. i am anxious to hear what else you have...

[lukeridenour]

i understand your want for maggette like us, but you have to realize that a great starting 5 doesnt mean you have a great team. Yes, with maggette you guys have arguably the best starting lineup in the league, BUT you have major holes. You guys have no true back up for dwight and no true PF, you guys dont have a defensive wing stopper/role player, you guys dont have role players, you guys have no 6th man that could provide scoring and you guys have 10 players on your roster right now. by signing maggette to the MLE will mean that you have to find cheap players to fill the rest of your roster and expect them to come through as role players.

in this league, a strong starting 5 is not enough to win. just ask the suns.

[ss1986v2]

the weather thing was just me being snarky and a bit of fun (i just find it funny how the little hurricane issue never comes up when discussing how great the weather is in florida), and the fact that i wouldnt want to live there personally (just as hot, more humid, mother nature tries to sink the state every other year).

as for some of the meat, heres the links to the yahoo story and the follow up SAEN story:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... &type=lgns
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/bask ... 78daf.html

the release date of the yahoo article was Jul 1, 9:44 pm EDT, for the SAEN article it was 07/02/2008 01:09 AM CDT. it broke over 24 hours later.

and no, i dont think that the spurs are a better team than orlando because of the rings, its because i think the spurs have both a better team and a better coach.

the spurs still have duncan/parker/manu, who i would take over the trio of howard/lewis/hedo every day. i also think that the reserves are much better for the spurs. nelson is a big boost for the secondary scoring, but i think thats easily match by the defense that bowen brings to a team. battie is a serviceable f/c, but so is oberto, and we havent seen battie since his injury. and while the spurs still have questions in regards to free agents finley, barry, and thomas, we have the space below the tax line (as well as bird rights to everyone but barry) to bring in both maggette as well as a select number of said players and still be under the tax line (something that is going to be very hard for orlando and their free agents evans, dooling, and arroyo). the spurs can field a team of:

parker/hill/vaughn
maggette/manu
bowen/udoka/hairston or gist
duncan/mahinmi/bonner
oberto/thomas (assuming a high number of 5 mil per)

rotation players: parker, maggette, duncan, bowen, manu, thomas, oberto, udoka, mahinmi, hill

and still come in below even the current tax line, give or take a couple 100k. while orlando would be looking at:

nelson
maggette/bogans/lee/redick
hedo
lewis/cook
howard/battie

thats 10 players with a payroll of just under 65 mil. that leaves evans, dooling, and arroyo as possible roster fill-ins that can be obtained, min players excluded (i dont know about your BAE, so i will ignore it, but there is also that at 1.9 mil if needed/desired). because of the current roster situation, i will just sub in dooling at his most recent salary (might be a bit low, but i dont want to speculate too much more than i already am). and i will throw in a vet min at sf, but assume maggette sees time there, as does lewis. and then we need at least one more spot to fill out the minimum roster requirements, so we throw in a rookie min as well. so that leave a payroll just over 70 mil (tax line may be as high as 71 mil next season) with:

nelson/dooling
maggette/bogans/lee/redick
hedo/vet min
lewis/cook/rookie min
howard/battie

rotation: howard, lewis, hedo, maggette, nelson, battie, dooling, bogans

and none of that discusses the coaching edge id give to the spurs. out of those two teams, id pick the spurs.

[Blame Rasho]

ok, i had a nice little rebuttal and then my computer crashed, so this will be more succinct:

Use Firefox. It saves your posts by going back on your browser in case you can't post for whatever reason.

[Blame Rasho]

I still don't understand why people think Maggette is a shooting guard.

[ss1986v2]

I still don't understand why people think Maggette is a shooting guard.

hes not really. he plays his best as a sf. but for the spurs, i usually slot him in ahead of manu because it doesnt matter if you list him as a sf or a sg: it makes no difference for who bowen is guarding.

[Ballings7]

the weather thing was just me being snarky and a bit of fun (i just find it funny how the little hurricane issue never comes up when discussing how great the weather is in florida), and the fact that i wouldnt want to live there personally (just as hot, more humid, mother nature tries to sink the state every other year).

I agree... I mean, I'll definitely visit there (and have several times), but live there for awhile? Just not for me.