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My Thoughts on the Kurt Thomas Trade

by sungo on Feb 20, 2008 10:26 PM CST

I am going to miss Brent Barry. He was our best shooter and his fast break abilities were eclipsed only by Parker and Ginobili. My feelings regarding him vs. Finley are common knowledge around here. Who's better or worse obviously doesn't matter now, but it didn't matter before the trade, either.

Pop wasn't going to play Brent Barry. In fact, ever since Brent arrived I always got the impression that Pop played him begrudgingly, like a bad husband who goes shopping with his wife just to complain about how much he hates shopping. With Brent's injury and the emergence of Ime Udoka as a useful bench player, The Cooler had little hope of ever seeing the floor.

As for Elson, he never seemed to grasp the defensive system; Pop gave up on him months ago.

So the Spurs gave up two guys who Pop wasn't going to use and got Kurt Thomas. What I like about Kurt Thomas reads very similar to the list of what I don't like about Oberto.

Rebounding. This year Kurt Thomas is averaging 16.7 rebounds per 48 minutes. If he statistically qualified that'd be good for 6th in the NBA. Oberto's at 12.6 boards per 48 minutes.
One-on-one defense. Kurt Thomas got absolutely destroyed by Tim Duncan last year and is overrated as an individual defender. But he's certainly better than Oberto who's downright awful. The only way he gets a stop is by drawing an offensive foul.
Outside shooting. Kurt Thomas can make the 18 foot jumper from all angles. Oberto can make the 10 foot jumper along the baseline.

Oberto definitely has his usefulness. He meshes incredibly well Ginobili. Once Parker is back I anticipate Thomas starting and Fabricio coming off the bench with Manu.

The obvious question is where are Thomas' minutes going to come from? I'm (of course) hoping from Horry see's more time on the bench. But what is more likely (and stampler mentioned this on the phone) is that Pop will go small less often.

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Re: My Thoughts on the Kurt Thomas Trade

This trade hit me like a slap in the face, I don't know what to think. I like Bones, but I also like Kurt Thomas. And I don't have nearly enough knowledge of basketball to know whether this will be good or bad for us. I guess in the end, we just had to get on the trading party (orgy).

by Hipuks on Feb 21, 2008 12:15 AM CST reply actions

Re: My Thoughts on the Kurt Thomas Trade

Oberto definitely has his usefulness. He meshes incredibly well Ginobili. Once Parker is back I anticipate Thomas starting and Fabricio coming off the bench with Manu.

i'd bet that at least half of ginobili's turnovers are passes to oberto. i think they over do it.

by dmcnulla on Feb 21, 2008 2:45 AM CST reply actions

Re: My Thoughts on the Kurt Thomas Trade

agreed.

by efantich on Feb 21, 2008 8:35 AM CST up reply actions

Re: My Thoughts on the Kurt Thomas Trade

This was a tough one. The Spurs were forced to make this move to counter Gasol-Bynum/Shaq-Amare, the newfound love of the Twin Towers concept in the West (both moves are themselves desperate counters, to Spurs and Tim D).

Thomas is a good fit who will do the defensive things that Elson couldn't. I feel much better about the 5 with Thomas/Oberto than Oberto/Elson.

Losing Brent is a huge risk, but they had no other trade bait (I wouldn't have minded them losing Finley). Now who is going to knock down 3s reliably? There are rumors that they could bring Brent back in a Stackhouse kind of a 30-day deal. I sure hope they do. They need someone to knock down those 3s.

I am not getting a good feeling about this season. This is the worst they've looked in years, and that is because Pop has been stubborn about keeping veterans, even as they fade.

I am extremely worried about the Lakers and Gasol. The Spurs should have made a move for Gasol.

I think the Mavs made a huge mistake giving up Harris for Kidd, and Shaq will be a liability for the Suns.

by steele on Feb 21, 2008 2:40 PM CST reply actions

Re: My Thoughts on the Kurt Thomas Trade

I hope this trade has the effect of the Malik Rose for Nazr Mohammed trade. Nazr played wonderfully in the 04-05 playoff run, especially defending and rebounding against the pistons. For whatever reason he didn't fit in after that. Unfortunately I still don't see us beating the Lakers in a 7 game series. A lot would have to go right for us to beat them and get a bunch of lucky breaks.

by speedostuffer on Feb 21, 2008 2:48 PM CST reply actions