where exactly would one find such a player?

CC, I think maybe you’ve not watched enough of McDyess’ play for the Pistons in the last few years. No, he’s not a thoroughbred on the fastbreak, but I can’t think of any bigs we’ve had in the last 5 years who have been. Certainly not Kurt Thomas.

He was one of the top per-minute rebounders in the NBA last season. He’s been healthy on those horrible knees for 5 years and he’s a strong enough and big enough defender that he guarded Timmeh for big chunks of the game when we played against Detroit.

And one final note – Pop’s defensive scheme is not built around shot-blockers, but around the bigs getting in position to force bad shots from bad positions on the floor. None of the guys we have had in ages have been shot-blockers. In fact, chasing shots to block (and thus, getting out of rebounding and defensive position) is what got Elson run out on a rail. Well, that and his completely useless stone hands.

CC, it’s obvious you don’t like McDyess and I don’t expect to change your mind. But I would say that you are underselling Dice a lot. He’s a quality big who will be a significant rebounder and defender on this team. Plus, there’s always Ian and Blair to run with the thoroughbreds.

Are you shure you even watch the nba? Mcydess is the second best pick up we had beside jefferson. He might not be as fast as he use to but is a good deffender. He is Kurt thomas 2.0 and has a much better jumper and can spread the floor, ya that a downgrade from Kurt.

I still think we need length to match up better with the Lakers but you’re not giving Dice enough credit for what he brings to the table.

Hah. You’re awesome, CC. Every season, you bring it and keep on bringing it. Recced to Pop’s sneer!

#1. A downgrade from Kurt Thomas? ( does anyone in here actually believe this?)
 
#2. Comparing Mcdyess to Glen Robinson at the same stage in theyre carreers is laughable.

#3. SURE we overpaid a bit for Antonio. But i didnt see any other better deal out there. ( Gortat? Pachulia? >>chuckele<<).You described the type of player you wanted next to Duncan , bit didnt actually name any alternatives. I would love to see Marcus camby in black, but lets get real……

#4. The NBDL center you speak of who could rebound and block shots is on the Spurs roster. His name is Ian Mahinmi.( Nobody is saying hes going to be Marcus Camby part two, but judging by your words, youd be happy to have just an adequate rebounder and shotblocker…whick Ian has the potential of being. )

1. Antonio cant keep any of the big men out west off the boards? I guess we shall see about that….

#6. As for all of this concern that " We dont match up well with the lakers" .. as i recall, just two seasons ago the spurs were within a few blown 15 point leads and a no call to taking the mighty Fakers to seven games… Yes , this was including the huge mismatch that Pau Gasol provides us with. We lost that series cause we couldnt score worth the sh^T , not because of the great Pau Gasol…..all of this with a vastly inferior team compared to what we have now.

Talk about Debbie Downer.

CC, you continue to amaze me with your total lack of insight. maybe 10% of what you said has real meaning. you really should consider taking up another team to root for/follow.

okay i havent read everyones responses yet, but whoever started this thread needs to take a chill pill.

Antonio has been the best addition we’ve had since ’03. that is all

Thanks for the thought-provoking post CC. Unabashed optimism, is what I think I’ll be relying on this coming season, but that doesn’t mean I’ll turn a blind eye on rationality. Anyway, for me if details and nitpicking get in the way too much, I always try to step back and look at the big picture.

I guess it’s safe to assume that the Spurs FO have already thought of in advance on how to address some of the holes that you’re pointing at. An example would be the signing of Haislip, seeing as he’s got height and athleticism which could be used to defend some of the more spry bigs like Dirk and Pau, if in case McDyess loses another half step or full or goes down with injuries. Another plus is that Haislip has range on his J, so that he won’t be totally useless on offense. As a lot of people mentioned, Ian and his crystalline ankles are there too. Of course these two big boys could totally fail and might never even see the light of day in Pop’s doghouse, but that’s the risk the FO is willing to take.

On that note, I mentioned, if only in passing, the concept of risk in my McDyess post, and that’s how I like to rationalize things. The NBA is a business and everyday, calculated risks are being made. The Lakers just made one with Artest. Anyone could argue that it makes LA worse, but I’m pretty sure their FO spent their due diligence as well before pulling the trigger. Orlando made it with VC. Dallas made it with Marion. Heck, our RJ trade was a big risk as well. Optimism and pessimism in daily life go hand in hand, but at the end of the day, you can’t succeed without taking some form of risk. If players were stocks and we chose the Spurs FO as our broker, this is what our broker – after much thought and number-crunching – recommends. Sure, we may not always agree with it, but you look at the big picture – the entire roster in this case – and you have to appreciate the way they are hedging this Dice (or could’ve been ‘Sheed if we got ’em) risk with moves like the signing of Haislip and Yawn. If it blows up in everyone’s faces, so be it. But at the very least, I will have respect for the FO for having the balls to almost completely overhaul our roster in just one season. I think that in itself is a bigger risk than the McDyess signing.

I just realized that I haven’t responded to this directly.

The Spurs are likely not done with this makeover, though the biggest transactions have already been made. The BAE is still available for someone like Rasho, who can come in and provide a defensive presence. But then again, Dice is no slouch on defense – I saw him give Timmy fits in a game just this past season, and Timmy’s the same size as Gasol or Bynum. Dice can hold his ground against those Laker frontcourt players, so that’s not too much of a worry. Pau can effectively shoot over him, but I think Bynum would be bothered by the physicality that Dice brings. Time will tell, though. Between RJ, Blair and Dice, I think the Spurs have made a dramatic improvement over last season. A healthy Manu would be an even greater improvement, and a healthy Ian can’t hurt, either.

Don’t get me wrong, I do have some pretty legitimate concerns. Most notably how the Spurs are going to use RJ offensively, since he’s not as good a passer as the big 3. But they’ve wanted him for quite some time, so they must have had something in mind. Another concern I have is the lack of a real perimeter stopper – A Bowen return or trade for a guy like Raja Bell would immediately fix that, but I don’t recall very much about RJ’s defensive abilities and we do have Hill, so maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.

Regardless, I have a lot of faith in the FO at this point – I was one of those pessimists who thought they might try to salary dump this offseason, but boy did they prove me wrong. Let’s all wait for the results before passing judgement.

Somebody mentioned this in one of the threads(losing count now…or myabe its the vodka and club soda).

This coming season could be the toughest coaching challenge Pop has yet to face. The pieces are there. Given reasonable health, can he make the coaching give us a advantage over the Lakers or anyone else.

If Pop can do that, I am fine with the personnel.

I think McDyess is a great pickup. But the real question is can he and the rest of the front court additions take enough pressure off of Tim so that he reaches the post season in good shape? Will the Spurs need him to play 30-35 minutes a night? Or can they get by with less, have good playoff seeding, and still have him healthy in March, April, May & June?

The same question applies to Manu’s ankle. The Spurs will need both to be healthy to make it out of the west.

I’m not really trying to be negative but I don’t think anyone can know at this point. To me it is just something that we’ll just have to wait and see.

By the way, Glenn Robinson played for us, not Glen Williams.

As usual, I don’t agree with your post, CC. I think Dice will be a significant imporovement for the Spurs at his position.

I love your passion about our team. And I believe that with your latest post that the earths axis has realigned itself. All is good.

i honestly share many of the same concerns as the cigar man on this one – but i do think he (or maybe she?) has the charges trumped up a bit.

i wasnt clamoring for dice for the very same resons cig points out. there always seems to be room in the spurs system for a guy like rasho/nazr/KT – and we dont have that at all right now. we have two old power forwards and one undersized rook that could play either 4 or 5. it should be noted that one of our old PFs is one of the greatest players of all time – but he has always had a strong defensive post presence to play off of. dice does not bring that and post defense will be a problem i predict.

dice does bring some scoring ability and he has improved his rebounding in the last couple of seasons. the other thing dice brings is that he allows the spurs to play in several different personnel packages. we can be very diverse with him in there.