Spurs worked out Memphis' Elliott Williams

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 23, 2010 00:08.

The busy summer continues as the San Antonio Spurs continue to look for new talent to add to the team.

According to Draft Express, the Spurs worked out Elliot Williams from Memphis. Williams is a 6'4" shooting guard who averaged 17.9 points, 3.8 assists, shot 45.9% from the field and 36.6% from the three-point line.

Currently, he is projected to be drafted late in the first-round which would fall right where the Spurs are picking at number 20.

However, during his workout, Williams injured his knee and is not in Chicago for the NBA Combine.

Elliot Williams is not in Chicago at all after suffering a minor knee injury this week. His coach at Memphis, Josh Pastner, told us via text that “he is OK” and that the injury is “nothing serious.”

Williams’ agent, Thad Foucher told us that ""Elliot banged knees with another player in a workout in San Antonio and stayed in L.A. to rehab. It’s nothing too serious and he should be back in action by the end of the month."

Favors' thoughts on meeting with the Spurs

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 21, 2010 21:27.

As reported early today, the San Antonio Spurs met with Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech. Favors is a projected top four pick. While the Spurs holding the 20th pick in the first-round of the 2010 NBA Draft, there is no way the Spurs will be able to draft Favors.

However, will the Spurs make a move to be in a position to draft him? According to the AP, here is what Favors had to say about the meeting with the Spurs.

Favors said he met with San Antonio, which holds the 20th pick. "I feel like they're trying to make a move to try to get me," he said.

What are your thoughts Spurs nation? Just "smoke in mirrors?"

If the Spurs do intend to draft Favors, which current Spurs will you be willing to see the team part with in order to make this happen?

Projected Spurs selection in the 2010 NBA Draft: Luke Babbitt

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 21, 2010 12:18.

With the 2010 NBA Draft fast approaching, the San Antonio Spurs will have the 20th pick in the first-round. Currently, the NBA Draft Combine is underway in Chicago and one player projected to be selected by the Spurs is Nevada small-forward Luke Babbitt.

So who is Babbitt? Well why not take a look for yourself as he was interviewed by Draft Express.

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Spurs met with Derrick Favors?

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 21, 2010 11:48.

In the upcoming 2010 NBA Draft, Georgia Tech freshman power-forward/center, Derrick Favors is considered one of the best players in the draft and will most likely be drafted in the top four. More than likely, Favors will fall to the New Jersey Nets who hold the third pick overall.

On the other hand, the San Antonio Spurs hold the 20th pick in the first-round and will have no shot at drafting Favors. But did this stop the Spurs from reaching out and talking with him? Not at all.

According to HoopsWorld, the Spurs met with Favors at the 2010 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

You would expect that Favors, who is arguably the fourth-best talent in the draft class, would be talking to the top 8 to 10 teams, and if you looked at his interview list you'd be right. However there was one team that jumped off the page for Favors – the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs hold the 20th pick in the first round and have no shot at drafting Favors as they stand, but they met with him yesterday which is sure to fuel the trade speculation.

The article goes on to state:

If a team has interest in a player, they would want to meet with that player before giving up assets to move up in the draft, and just because a team meets with a player outside of their range, that does not mean they will meet the price tag to move up.

But Derrick Favors meeting with the San Antonio Spurs is interesting, especially when the New Jersey Nets have been floating that they would consider trading the third overall pick for the right kind of veteran . . .

Take it for what you will Spurs fans but I find this interesting. Is this just Popovich being "Popovich?" Is the Spurs front-office working their NBA Draft "magic" again or is this a case of "where there is smoke, there is fire" especially with trade rumors involving Tony Parker.

Splitter still unsure about playing in the NBA?

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 21, 2010 00:00.

According to a tweet via Twitter from Hoops Hype, Tiago Splitter plans to play for Brazil this summer and has no current plans to play in the NBA.

Is this more of a canned-answer by Splitter until both sides meet to discuss his NBA future or should Spurs fans be concerned about this?

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Women of San Antonio strike back at Barkley

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 20, 2010 11:38.

After the San Antonio Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, TNT's Charles Barkley made a rather unflattering comment about the women of San Antonio.

Basically, he insinuated the majority of them are "fat."

Well a local San Antonio radio station made a calendar dispelling Barkley's viewpoint, proving not all San Antonian women are as Barkley describes. If anything, it's Barkley who needs to look in the mirror before he talks.

Nevertheless, the TNT crew had fun with Barkley. Fair warning: you might go blind at the photos of Sir Charles.

Splitter is a primary target but what about Mahinmi?

Written by Robby Lim on May 20, 2010 00:00.

After another early playoff exit, the San Antonio Spurs will tweak the roster over the summer. Chances are their main priority will be to convince Tiago Splitter to come over to the Spurs to address the glaring need for a quality center to play along side Tim Duncan.

In the playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, it was clear Duncan needed help patrolling the paint. The Suns took advantage and Spurs fans saw Steve Nash and even Goran Dragic get to the rim with ease. Considering there was no weak-side help defense.

Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair did what they could do but it wasn't enough. To get over the hump, the Spurs will need a legit big man beside Duncan in the post. Enter Splitter.

Splitter would be a nice fit. He is young, at 25 years old, and his experience from international competition should help his transition into the NBA less difficult. Not to mention he was named the 2009-2010 ACB MVP which speak volumes about his ability to play the game.

But there is on huge question: will he opt to stay overseas and look for a pay-day or will he realize his dream and play in the NBA?

With the Spurs over the salary-cap, the team will be salary-conscious and will probably offer Splitter the mid-level exemption which is about 5.85 million. But will that be enough to lure him to play in San Antonio? Getting Splitter doesn't necessarily mean the Spurs will be back in the title hunt, nor will it solve all the Spurs' issues but it does address an immediate concern.

Splitter can provide the Spurs more size in the paint, another scoring option in the post, and a defensive boost to their aging and undersized front-court. If that happens, the Spurs will have a front-court rotation of Duncan, Splitter, McDyess and Blair which looks very good on paper.

However, Duncan not only needs a "side kick" in the paint, he will also need more rest to stay efficient and effective. Blair has proven he can provide meaningful minutes while Duncan rests but he is too undersized against most bigs in the league which creates match-up problems. McDyess can still defend and hit the occasional jumpers but at 35 years old, he will need to reserve his energy for the post-season play.

Aside from Splitter, the Spurs need yet another big-man who can fill in some minutes for the Spurs. So what about Ian Mahinmi?

Laugh if you must (I don't blame you) but know I'm fully aware Mahinmi has not lived up to expectations during his time with the Spurs. He is injury prone and when he finally plays, he can't seem to stay out of foul trouble. Not to mention the Spurs did not pick up the final year of his contract.

I get it! He hasn't given Spurs fans reasons to want him back in a Spurs uniform next season but hear me out.

He has yet to realize his potential and has the tools to be a good NBA player. He is long and athletic, can run the floor well and block shots. He is also agile for his size and still young at 23 years old.

It may seem that the Spurs have waited long enough for Mahinmi to show he was worth being drafted but the reality is, he has only played a total of 32 games in his NBA career averaging 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 61.2% from the field and 71.4% from the free throw line in just 5.9 minutes of playing time.

Granted, most of those minutes came when the game was already decided but it still shows some hope he can get it together and play. Another off-season of hard work in the gym might do wonders for Mahinmi. Also, more self-confidence, a little more knowledge on how to play the right way and of course a little more playing time certainly will help. If Blair and Mahinmi can provide 25-30 minutes of productive minutes between them, it will help a lot in giving Duncan and his aching knees much needed rest. If the Spurs can re-sign Mahinmi on the cheap, don't you think they should do it?

If Splitter plays out well, assuming he comes to play for the Spurs next season, the Spurs will have the luxury of giving the Duncan the night off during the second sets of back-to-backs. This will make the Spurs a better team in the long run.

What do you guys think? Is Splitter enough to solve the Spurs' front-court issues? Does Mahinmi deserve a legitimate chance to prove he can play with the Spurs or is there another free-agent big man worth considering in the coming off-season? Share us your thoughts.

Splitter named MVP

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 19, 2010 18:52.

Congratulations to Tiago Splitter as he was named the ACB 2009-2010 MVP.

Entrenadores, jugadores, medios de comunicación y aficionados han refrendado lo que durante toda la campaña se había estado viendo: que Tiago Splitter es el MVP Orange de la ACB 2009-10.

Spurs fans feel Splitter is the missing big man in the middle to help the team push for another title next season. However, with European teams having no salary-cap, Splitter can either look for a pay-day and stay overseas or fulfill his NBA dream and play for the Spurs next season. Hopefully he choses to come to the Spurs.

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Spurscast En Español -- Episodio 11

Written by Arianne Villanueva on May 19, 2010 00:00.

Arianné is back for the latest Spanish edition of the Spurscast. In this episode, Arianne recaps the last playoff game for the Spurs against the Phoenix Suns and gives all the latest Spurs news.

Remember, Project Spurs was the first Spurs blog to have a Spurs podcast and the first to have a Spanish podcast for Spanish-speaking fans.

Arianne regreso con el Spurscast en Español mas reciente. En este episodio Arianné repasa el ultimo juego de los Spurs contra los soles de Phoenix y mucho mas notacias de los Spurs.

Recuerden que Project Spurs fue la primera página de Internet en tener un podcast de Los Spurs y la primera en tener un podcast en español para los fanáticos de habla hispana.

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Addressing a need: reliable shooters

Written by Jeff Garcia on May 18, 2010 01:00.

One of the more glaring areas of concern for the San Antonio Spurs is having reliable shooters on the team to spread the floor. This was exposed during the playoffs. Especially in the series against the Phoenix Suns.

You might be reading this and thinking to yourself, "We have Matt Bonner and Roger Mason." Well there is your problem. Bonner and Mason have been "no shows" when it really matters -- the playoffs.

Bonner, for as much as he has great games during the regular season, when it has come to the playoffs, he tends to be a non-factor. In the 2008-2009 playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks and even in this past playoff run against the Mavericks and Suns, Bonner was a "no-show." Though I will give him his due. He did have two good games against the Suns in game two and three contributing 14 and 11 points.

Still, his stats show a drop off. Take this season for example. During the regular season, Bonner shot 44% from the floor and 39% from the three-point line. Come playoff time, his percentages dropped to 43% from inside the arch and 37% from the three-point line. This resulted in five points per game in the playoffs as opposed to the seven points he averaged in the regular season. His career playoff averages are 36% from the field and 31% from the three-point line.

You might think it's not that much of a drop off but this is the playoffs! Every player has to step it up. And with Bonner's reputation as a "reliable" shooter, the Spurs sure could have used a bit more consistency from him in this season's playoffs.

Mason on the other hand, well, all season long he demanded to be traded, wanted more minutes, and just wasn't the "Mason" Spurs fans saw last season. His shooting touch was, in a word, unreliable. In his first season with the Spurs he shot 42% and this season he dropped to 38%. From the three-point line, last season he shot 42% and this past season he shot 33%. During this past playoff run, he averaged 0.5 points. For his playoff career, he has averaged 36% from the field and 31% from behind the arch. Granted his minutes were down this season but when given time on the floor, he did not make a strong case for continued minutes. Mason, who was a complete non-factor for the 2009-2010 season, will more than likely not be in a Spurs uniform next season.

Bottom line, these two players were not reliable when the Spurs needed them and with both being free-agents, why not look at three available free agents in this summer's crop who are reliable shooters.

Jason Kapono, Philadelphia 76ers. Though he has a player option, Kapono is a deadly shooter especially when it comes to the three-point shot. He averaged 36% from the three-line and 41% from the floor last season. His career playoff shooting averages are 55% from the field and 53% from the three-point line.

Kyle Korver, Utah Jazz. Known for his outside shooting touch, Korver can definitely hit a timely shot form the floor when needed. Ask the Los Angeles Lakers in their series match-up with the Jazz. For his playoff career, he has averaged 42% from the field and 36% from the three-point line.

Eddie House, New York Knicks. Put the ball in his hands and he will be ready to knock down the shot. For his playoff career, House has averaged 40% from the field and 38% from the three-point line.

Expect the Spurs will be financially conscious as they tweak the team this off-season. Also, chances of them getting players like Korver or Kapono are low (mainly because of financial reasons) but if they intend to make another push for a title, why not find a shooter who might not pull a disappearing act in the playoffs.

The Spurs will probably resign Bonner but with the above mentioned free-agents available, and if the team is willing to remain over the salary-cap, the Spurs should at least entertain the thought of finding better and more reliable shooters.