Childress was just the beginning. His real impact, I think, will be making going overseas a viable option not just for guys who struggle to make NBA teams (like Paul Shirley), but for lower-tier players. The impact will be more psychological; I think before, players had the attitude that going overseas was like being sent to Siberia. Now that big stars like JKidd, Kobe, or Lebron are talking about it, and a few NBA players are doing it, it’s almost “cool.”

Sure, they say to themselves, I’ll go on a yearlong European vacation and get paid almost a million dollars to do it. You only play once or twice a week, not the grind of the NBA fogofinis. And you could be in Athens, Rome, Barcelona, et al, rather than, say, Cleveland or Oklahoma City (or San Antonio, for that matter).

If I had the choice of playing for 750K as the Spurs’ 15th man, getting shuttled back and forth to the Toros, or playing in Spain or Greece for 1.5 million, no question I’m on the next international flight out.

Hopefully there’s some sensible plan here, like “Gist wasn’t going to get any minutes with us anyways behind Mahinmi and Kurt Thomas. Let’s let him go overseas and see if he’s a real player, and if so, we can sign him to replace old man Thomas.” Does anyone know if the Spurs retain his NBA rights?

This is very depressing. Our Gist Bandwagon just crashed into a big plate of spaghetti.

And the hits just keep coming…..

So, I guess this means that the FO thought that Anthony Tolliver (signed to a non-guaranteed camp deal) is more valuable to us THIS season than Gist would have been? This is not Tolliver-bashing. I liked the guy in Summer League and thought he at least deserved a camp chance, if not a roster spot, filling in the SmallBall-shooting-4 spot that Horry vacated and Bonner seems unable to fill. But if anyone watched Summer League, Gist looked like a man out there. Defended. Banged. Rebounded. I was skeptical of him early on, but by the end of the RMR, I was on the bandwagon too. I know it’s only Summer League which we know may not mean much (and I’m looking at you Nate, Belinelli, et al), but it just seemed we needed Gist’s athleticism in the paint this year more than a shooting 4. I’m normally a FO supporter (some of you might say ‘apologist’), but this one looks dubious even to me.

What I think this does mean is that Pop is prepared to go into the season giving big minutes to Ian, not just spot fill-in time when KT is in foul trouble. If TD gets 35 min/game, that means the other three guys (Ian, KT, Oberto) will all get about 20 each, unless Bonner is out of the doghouse.

A few points:
- I had heard during the Summer League time frame - meaning I read a comment somewhere - that the Spurs were going to TRY to get Gist to play overseas this year.
- If the Spurs wanted him in Austin then they would have to sign him, using up a roster spot and salary space, then put him in Austin.
- The Spurs, do not lose their rights to him. And, because he is a second rounder, can sign him for any amount. So, if he goes to Italy and becomes a crazy stud, it will just cost us more to get him back.
- My guess is that the Spurs didn’t think we would contribute much this year and are hoping that he can develop overseas.
- this is the equivalent of drafting an international player who you stow overseas for a couple years on somebody else’s dime, but you at least have to figure he’s MORE interested in coming to the US.
- I guess I will have to follow the Italian league this year

This is what they wanted to do with Marcus Williams last year. But he didn’t want to go overseas. So, he forced the Spurs hand and got an un-guaranteed contract to training camp. Got cut, making him a free agent, and ended up in the D-League making jackshit. And now, after a year in the D-League, he might be a player who could help a team.

I’m disappointed for two reasons:
1. I wanted to see Gist play. I think he has some excitement in his game.
2. Empathy for SiMA. I know he’ll be crushed.

Well, the Gist bandwagon completely slammed into a bridge embankment with that news, didn’t it? I knew it was a mistake to let Pop and RC change the oil and ‘tighten up the wheels’ last week.

So much for hoping that we’d suit up a player who could dunk. I’m gradually coming to terms with the fact that again this year, media highlights of the SPURS will be of Timmy’s stoicism and Manu’s friar-tuck patch and nothing more. I truly believe that Gist would have helped us NOW (much as CDR, Green or Giddens would have, fyi), but like ATS said we’ll just have to become fans of the Italian league. It is especially shitty though that worst case, we’ve wasted yet another draft pick. Best case, we’ll have to pay more than we’re capable of and willing to just to bring him back if he’s a baller (which HE IS). I’m struggling to see the wisdom from our brilliant front office on this one when you look at it long-term.

And I’m tired of being a SPURS fan in the way that every offseason, we tolerate so many bone-headed moves on the pipe-dream that they’re secretly planning a major coop; only it never comes.

RIP Mr. Gist. Good luck in Italia. Play well, but not too well.

Now what the hell do I do with this damn Gist jersey?

In hindsight I think it was a better gamble to send him overseas than to allow him to essentially be an Unrestricted FA in the D League (presuming that, most likely, we would not have used a roster spot on him. This way, at least we still have rights to him and will be able to see whether it’s worth bringing him back without having other teams throwing money at him.

The downside to this is the ever increasing possibility that Euro Teams will be throwing more money than is logical at these players. They’ve already evidenced their ability to spend big money on lower to mid tier NBA caliber players, so there is a strong possibility that we will see some club throw nice cash at him if he puts up even DECENT numbers. In that scenario, we’d just have to assume that our hands might very well be tied. In that respect, it would definitely suck, because I feel like the tools that Gist was developing would be helpful to us.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It comes in the form that, historically, Euro teams have always had a chub for obtaining a certified NBA player. They’ve never really cared who it was they were getting (see: Earl Boykins) as long as they could add a little bit of legitimacy to their roster. Despite the fact that basketball is much more global now than it was even ten years ago, the bottom line is that the NBA is still perceived as the pinnacle of talent, and having ANY player from there can be seen as a boon for a Euro club. Before I decide to ramble too much, I’ll just come right out and say that Euro clubs are quicker to drool over players they DON’T have more than the ones they do. In a year’s time, if Gist has done well, but there are newer, flashier FA’s in the NBA worth throwing some dough at, Gist will fall by the wayside as the requisite cash is thrown in their direction rather than his. It’s the whole “grass is greener” proverb. In that situation, it might be easier to lure him back than we initially fear.

Front Offices in any sport are usually given way too much credit, as well as way too much blame. Their job is a speculative one, with a good or bad workout potentially having a tremendous effect, good or bad, on a player’s employment, and the GM’s own employment at that. With that said, I do think that we run a tighter ship than many in the league. We (mostly y’all, because I tend to get my rocks off being GM in NBA 2K8 on PS3…) all complain about things not going exactly how we had planned or envisioned, but we have to consider that our guys most likely didn’t just pack Gist a ham sandwich and boot him overseas. There is almost certainly some form of contingency to work with when it comes time to decide if we shell out for him. As before though, at least we won’t have to worry about some other NBA team fitting him with a money hat.

Besides, I doubt very sincerely that a 22 year old with NBA talent will want to miss out on being in THE NBA for very long. Until further notice, it’s still the best game in town.

Its an odd year, we’re due.

Why are we excited for James Gist again? I’m not all that bummed. There are worse things that can happen this offseason, and I’m sure they will.

...if they didn’t think Gist could contribute this year ahead of Mahinmi and Kurt Thomas. The FO is working with a pretty low budget. I think that having him go overseas and retaining his rights is really the only good option (if they weren’t planning to play him). The only other options would be putting him in the D-League and letting some other team pick him up, or signing him and sitting him on the bench or shuttling him back and forth to Austin.

And, for the reasons Scrappy mentioned, I think the Spurs will be able to lure him back if they so desire (if Gist turns out to be a player).

Interview up of TP talking about NBA Live on ESPN right now.

Riveting stuff. Hold onto your chair.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/index

There’s a silver lining to this bit of news: Messi rocked and Argentina won.

...Ah, sorry, and the Spurs were screwed.

Whatever. It’s an odd year next season. We’ll win it.

This is the first offeseason in which I feel really worried that the Spurs arent a real title contender, every move has been lateral at best, and sure you can say we were only a Manus ankle away from the Finals, but he’s older and inhaling ungodly amounts of PCBs as we speak

But I suppose you cant blame Gist or guys like him going overseas for more money and minutes.