Report: Spurs set to work out center Kyrylo Fesenko
The biggest need for the San Antonio Spurs is size. Aside from Tim Duncan and Tiago
Splitter, the Spurs depth at big men is scarce with an undersized DeJuan Blair (if the team doesn't trade him) and a one-dimensional player like Matt Bonner.
And with the team striking out in available big men in the offseason (Chris Kaman and Andray Blatche), the Spurs are set to work out center Kyrylo Fesenko next week according to SI.com.
Fesenko is a 25-year old, 7-1, 280 lbs., big man who last played with the Pacers (though saw a lot of time on the bench). He got his start in the NBA with the Jazz and for his career, he averages (per 36 minutes) 9.9 points, 1.7 blocks, 1.3 assists, 8.7 rebounds, and is a 49% shooter. His best season was in 2008-09 with the Jazz where he averaged 11.3 points, 3.5 blocks and 8.5 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Overall, he averages 2.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and averages 49% from the field per game for his career.
Aside from San Antonio, other teams interested in the big man include Cleveland, Atlanta and Miami.
At this point, Fesenko might be the Spurs best option to help fill the need for size. The Western Conference is stacked with big teams such as the Thunder, Lakers, Grizzlies, and to a lesser degree the Mavericks. If the Spurs are to contend with the bigger teams, the crop of bigs they have now will not be enough.
Granted, the Spurs are loaded with guards which should prove to be a nuisance for the bigger teams in the NBA but in the end, size matter and the Spurs do not have it.
Fesenko might not be a glamorous player to sign, but he will do the dirty work, is young, and can help spell Duncan in the paint and use those six fouls against the likes of Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol.
What do you have to say Spurs fans? Think the Spurs should sign Fesenko or continue the hunt for help in the paint?
There is a lot of upside to Krylo. The Pacers used him sparingly because there top player is playing ahead of him. It's like the back up for Lebon James or Kobie Bryant. They get very limited minutes. There are too many teams that laugh at the Spurs front line when it comes to defending the front of the rim. It is the main reason for the decline in the team' defensive rating. Fesenko could help in that regard. He's not quick afoot, but the Spurs need him because of Duncan or Splitter get injured, and one of them will, Blair and Bonner just can't get the job done. And when that duo are on the court at the same time it is pitiful for Spurs fan to watch. Hope Pop likes him and can get the front office to make him a good offer.
@jimjule Heres the rub on Fes..He is in Bulls camp now, but Bulls are essentially hard capped atm so they will have to release their camp guys after final exhibition game then will not be able to sign anyone until November (then Im pretty sure only vet min deal) Bulls lost their big in Asik and really need a legit big. Although it sounds like Marco Jaric is also impressing them in camp, but my bet is that Fes is the guy they will want. And if it came down to a choice, 95% sure Fes would pick Bulls over Spurs. http://www.csnchicago.com/basketball-chicago-bulls/bulls-talk/Camp-invites-Jaric-Fesenko-could-help-Bu?blockID=784245
He would provide a big body to spell Duncan and Tiago and he has NBA expeience.
Unless there is a better option, theSpurs need size inside. Sign him.
I know many of us want to see Blair, Bonner gone but in one of Pop's interviews a week ago or so he stated Blair and Tiago will be better for us this coming season. Read into that. And good luck with that in Blair's regard. Here we go again the "Blair Witch Project" continues. this old man is just wasting Timmy's last gasp for a fifth. We aint getting it like that. Get Fesenko for the cheap before Miami does so Tiago can see some playing time.
@Titletown99030507 I actually had a dream the other night that David Robinson came out of retirement for one more year. I woke up thinking, that is ridiculous...........but still better than bonner
@Titletown99030507 gotta take that with a grain of salt imo..pop would say the same thing even if he knew Blair would be traded in the very next week. There have been enough reports about Blair being on the block at this point to make me think its true. I think DJB will start the season with spurs but be gone by trade deadline. If he improves a little bit, it may even be enough to land us a 1st rounder from someone that has needs at his position.
With this team he won't have to do a bunch of scoring, just play solid defense and rebound be a force in middle. He's young big & tall (7'0) so in my opinion he can't do any worse than all the other centers after David Robinson and they worked very well in the spurs system. If they sign him, maybe they should go after Darko as well just for insurance purposes, maybe if they move Bonner and Blair get Ryan Richards to be that stretch four...... What's going on with RR anyway?
@ZILLA Not sure if you could call RR a stretch four..they are typically deadly 3 shooters and RR only shot 36% in regular FG stats in summer league. Havent heard any news on him since summer.
lol how many times have we seen big man X described as "currently the Spurs best choice due to their lack of bigs." When will player X become a D-Leaguer like Dawson that we will be convinced by the brain trust that "fits almost perfectly in our system." Bottom line is, we need to make a move for a big man THIS YEAR. We only have realistically 2 years left of contention and then its back to NBA purgatory with Timmy D gone. Our FO must loosen its pockets or make a killer trade because Diaw, Bonner, Blair, or Splitter guarding Dwight/Pau is a recipe for disaster. Spend the money FO and win a title, or live in perennial fear of the next Richard Jefferson. The choice is yours.
@CraigThomas Out of those 4 you mentioned Splitter has the best chance against DH or Pau.
@CraigThomas We are only contenders and no more winners. In the first place PATFO just wasted their $$ on DeColo who was not required this year. It was very clear from the beginning (last two years now) that spurs need a big but still wasted their money on DeColo who is not ready yet and we do not need him. I hope we have a trade coming or else we won't make WCF this year with 82 games. If duncan gets hurt, then GAME OVER as we don't have any backup.
@nish21 @CraigThomas NDC is only getting like 1.4 mil, reportedly the BAE which is close to the average vet minimum that we can use even now WITH NDC. NDC really didn't prevent Spurs from snagging a good big imo. They tend to get much more than BAE $. And it could be argued that Spurs actually did need a combo guard since Neal was pretty terrible at PG last year (and possibly will be gone by time he has to be guaranteed) And game over could pretty much happen to every team in the NBA if they lose a star. That said, ya, we could use another backup big and hopefully it will happen.
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@CraigThomas With exceptions essentially used up and Spurs only basically having the ability to offer minimum deals because of cap, how is "loosening the pockets" even a possibility? And even if it were, what big money big is left out there anyway? And trades are obviously easier said than done, ESPECIALLY when a team has limited tradeable assets. I doubt FO has been sitting on their hands and not even TRIED to look at trades. It's already widely reported that DJB has been shopped...who knows what else. Who do YOU think we could trade and who for? I'm not dogging you either..actually curious to know who you might think we could get for who that would be a safe bet to improve us.
@TylerCameron @Spursfan66 @CraigThomas Not sure I understand the rationale of the argument that jazz has too many bigs, then saying they should take bonner. I'm not saying I would be against it, Im just saying its HIGHLY unlikely they deal Al for spare parts..ESPECIALLY when it's already somewhat expected that Milsap will be dealt before deadline. And actually still have some young guard picks they made that they could sign (that could easily be on CJs level or better) and from what I see they are UNDER the lux tax by around 4 million. You also need to consider Utah wont be looking to help improve the spurs..same conference. http://www.hoopsworld.com/utah-jazz-team-salary
@Spursfan66 @CraigThomas But when you consider the jazz's need at the 1/2 spot and overabundance of bigs, plus the jazz need a big outside shooter to spead the floor then it accually makes sence, espechally becuase of the money of the trade would get the jazz under the luxury tax and save them an additional couple of mill.
@TylerCameron @Spursfan66 @CraigThomas problem is that those 3 together dont even make 1/3rd of what Al makes so it doesnt even come close to working..you would have to add jax's 10 mil too..and STILL highly doubt Jazz would do anything other than laugh at us
@Spursfan66 I say we flip Blair, Neal, and Bonner for a servicable big man like Mozgov + something, or we pull the trigger and ship Blair, Neal, and Jackson's expiring contract for a big name like Paul Millsap or Varejao. I don't know, I'm not in the FO so I can't claim to "see the big picture." But all of this non-sense about working out SG after SG or SF after SF is ridiculous. As seen from last year, there is a point in the year at which half of our team simply disappeared. As a big man, it's hard to disappear due to your size (you can always get rebounds as a 7-footer. We have to provide Duncan with some help inside if we want to survive Dwight's rebounding or Durant's penetration. The problem is that we didn't loosen our pockets (I'm talking luxury tax and pushing past the soft-cap+exceptions) beforehand to go after the bigger fish. Now we're stuck with the scraps. I'm sure R.C. will pull off another Jefferson type trade that will leave all of us dumbfounded. However, this summer has been so frustrating watching big men show their interest and land elsewhere. Hell, even our drafted players won't come over here! We need help inside, and we need it NOW.
@CraigThomas Well, we do know spurs have at least shopped blair, and I doubt they havent at least considered the same with the others. And frankly, you pretty much HAVE to think that they are at least considering moving some smalls since they HAVE been reported to be looking at other ones. Jazz may let Paul go, but I highly doubt our scrubs and jax will get that done. And since Spurs DID use up our exceptions we are essentially hard capped now. Once you commit to being under the cap by using up exceptions you arent able to go into tax. Larry Coons CBAFAQ explains that.
Honestly, if you look at the moves the spurs did make, its hard to say they werent good moves..TD at 9-10 mil? Diaw at less than MLE? Even DGs deal wasnt bad. And PM at 1 mil will likely be a steal as well. And considering these guys got to wcf last year, keeping those pieces together was a good bet imo. Afterall, like you said, we could have ended up with RJ 2.0 if we made a change just to make a change. As for the other bigs that landed elsewhere thus far, most were too expensive, and you have to remember that if they are FA, they have to WANT to come here and we all know SA has lost out in that arena many times before. And what drafted player have we tried to get over that hasnt? If you mean Lorbek, we didnt draft him, and again, we couldnt afford to beat the deal he took.
Ya, the vast majority of us think we need a big to fill our last spot..and like with most teams, that will be figured out at camp. Thats also when more trades may happen. Trades RARELY go down in the last month or 2 before camp. Sometimes patience really is a virtue..consider last year when we stole Diaw and dumped RJ for jax..
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If he is in shape, he could easily fulfill the need of a big man to come off the bench. He is young enough to learn the Spurs system. The question is how much will the Spurs have available to pay him. As much as he has to prove to that he can help fill the big man Spurs shortage, the Spurs need to sell him on the advantages of wearing the silver and black. Somebody for sure will pick up this guy soon.
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Just read on hoopsworld that Mcgrady worked out for the spurs. Another F-G. We should sign this guy and DARKO and will be good to go.
@Titletown99030507 @nish21 Im no big Blair fan at this point, but even I will admit DJB is better than Fesenko in nearly every category.
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I think we have some very good perimeter defenders. if this guy can block shots and fill up the lane. That will make everybody else an even better defender. just like the old days. But this time we have better offense.
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Go Spurs...grab this one big guy for the future....Fesenko is Big..so its big chances to compete for another FINALS....GO Spurs...
Who is this guy? I had to search the web to confirm that he played in the nba. Are you kidding? This dude is supposed to be the remedy for our front court woes?
@jaws3 What exactly are you expecting considering spurs only have minimum contract room left ?
@Spursfan66 This rumor just reminds me on when the NFL brings in a new player who was a bar tender or elementary school teacher the week before.
@jaws3 @Spursfan66 Fair enough, but my point stands I think. Can't expect Filet Mignon when you only have burger money. ONLY way Spurs CAN get an "impact" player is to trade off jax or TP or Manu imo.
@Spursfan66 You basically state my concern in a different way. If this guy is the last player off the bench then he is NOT an impact player. The bartender comment is supposed to be silly but if signed would be the last guy on the bench. Lol
@jaws3 1st of all, its not a rumor, its a report of a WORKOUT of a player that would likely be the LAST guy on the bench for the Spurs IF he made it. And the simple facts are that he has been in NBA for years already, and it seems everyone here but you HAVE at least heard of him before. Not trying to insult, but your comparison is just a bit silly. Anyone expecting an All Star to fall from the sky and sign a minimum contract in SA is just setting themselves up for disappointment.
I am according with you. Definitely the size is very important but we must also recognize that good medicines come in small packages too.
I cant figure Fesenko out. At times he has looked good, but everywhere he goes other than the brief run he got in UT he has sat on the bench. It is susbpect that guy this big still hasn't signed. I still like Darko better but I would take either one of these guys if we get them at an ok price.
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Do it! Simple as that. I don't even care who it is anymore. Just A BIG. At least to placate us and make us think they are still trying to win this thing. lol.
I think Fesenko might be the best available big (free agent), so I say sign him! He's a big body and he will be good in those times when where facing bigs! It will take a whole lot of pressure off timmy, there for letting timmy play better! I also believe the the spurs can improve Fesenko game! Now if were talking trade for a big thats a different story....
I guess Darko is still available and is better than Mr Fesenko. We should trade Mr Blair for a pick and get hold of these two guys. I wouldn't mind Malcolm Thomas either.
@nish21 @SONofSAN Seems that they are already trying to trade Blair..but theres a reason why no trades have happened for a good while..teams are waiting to see what shakes loose once camp starts, and get a better idea of their own teams needs once they see their players in action. I would give the edge to Darko too btw..however I highly doubt Spurs would sign 2 Cs with Blair gone. I think they would keep one spot open or go PF or SF route
@SONofSANthere are still guys like kenyon martin and birdman who are good but i dont think id want them playing to spurs anyway...maybe an exception for martin.
if they work him out and it goes well they should sign him but i dont see how a 7 ft 260 guy ends up without a team last year if he isnt rubbish or at least way too inconsistent
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@scottmer.. @SONofSAN I think Andersons legal trouble alone would keep FO from even considering him. And its sounding like Kmart isnt interested with a vet min deal, but considering how he looked last year and that teams are about out of $, he may have no choice. That said, I would take Fesenko over Kmart everyday
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@aespurs @scottmer.. @SONofSAN lol no prob aespurs..I can take a fellow fan disagreeing with me. I just think we really need one actual big body to at least intimidate a bit at the rim. I would be ok with Kmart too actually, same as several other guys. But I just think we need a 7 footer to guard DH/Gasols/McGee etc types and I just don't see Kmart helping in that regard at this point.
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@Spursfan66 @scottmer.. @SONofSAN not trying to bash you cause i usually agree with you, but just saying my opinion, id take kmart over fesenko. I like his intensity a lot and i think itd be fun seeing him getting used to pop training his attitude (and pop would be the coach to get as much out of him while keeping him in line). not to mention id actually like a thug combo on the spurs that other teams would be kind of intimidated by. him and jackson? how awesome would it be to see jackson and kmart switch on D guarding the 3 and 4 while other teams play small and think they have the "mismatch" and realize that it doesnt matter cause both those guys can D on forwards like nothing
this is alright but he wount be playing any playoff minutes anyway. he isnt that good.
orlando need a backup pg they only have 2 and have soo many big its not fair...maybe theyll be into a cory joseph, dejuan blair and matt bonner, maybe a draft pick trade for al harrington nd an unknown big like niola vukovic who is better than kyrelo. it may be a bit of a reach but jaque vaugn knows the potentil of joseph and blair and orlandos not making the playoff anyway so matty will be perfect and give floor spacing like al would. al harrington WILL contribute in playoff gamesthats what we wantwhat does everyone else think
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@scottmer.. 1st off, magic have 8 bigs already, so Im sure they wouldnt consider DJB or Matt. They also already have 17 under contract and I think Ayon is the only one non guaranteed. So they actually need to get rid of 2 guys as of right now. Draft pick could POSSIBLY get us Ayon..Harrington will likely go at the deadline. He also has a deal paying him 6.7-7.6 over the next 3 years..not good and Spurs couldnt take that deal on, and he cant even be traded until oct 10th. I guarantee Magic will keep Nicola..hes on rookie deal and Magic want young guys like him, at LEAST long enough to see what hes got. Best shot at Magic guys would be Ayon or Mc Roberts for Spurs..MAYBE Harper.
And as far as Blairs 'potential", I think our coaches (and JV) think he has hit his ceiling, and I pretty much agree. MAYBE a slight improvement, but not much, PLUS his knees will always be at least a consideration. And they already have a better version of Blair in big baby..
