Before & After: Big Man Down
Big Man
A report was released yesterday from Yahoo’s own, Adrian Wojnarowski bringing up the possibility of the Spurs dealing for Amar’e Stoudemire. In his article he claims that according to several sources around the league, the Spurs have been weighing their options in terms of potentially pursuing the versatile big man before the trade deadline. While I believe the Spurs roster, as currently constructed, could challenge for a title this season, I think a trade (given the right circumstances) could put this team into a better position to be competitive.
That being said, I believe that aggressively pursuing Amar’e would need to have some stipulations fastened to it before it gets my signature of approval. If you look at the numbers, Amar’e is currently making upwards of sixteen million dollars. According to the trade regulations set forth by the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, trades between two teams over the salary cap must meet certain requirements. The salaries of the players must be within 125% plus $100,000 in order for it to be approved by the league. With that in mind, the most attractive pieces that the Spurs could offer include the expiring contracts of Roger Mason Jr., Michael Finley, and Matt Bonner. Unfortunately those salaries do not add up anywhere near the amount necessary to bring in Stoudemire.
The fact of the matter is, the Spurs would most certainly have to part with a larger contract (most likely Manu Ginobili or Richard Jefferson) in addition to George Hill and one of their many overseas prospects from drafts’ past.
The difference between moving Richard Jefferson and moving Manu Ginobili in a trade for Amar’e Stoudemire are substantial. Jefferson has been a disappointment this season, when you consider the whole picture. I realize you should cut the man some slack because he’s in a new system with different circumstances, etc., etc. Even still, he has clearly not adapted and is continued to struggle at being a consistent contributor to this club. Moving Jefferson, Hill, and a prospect for Amar’e would be a godsend for this San Antonio Spurs club.
On the other hand, moving Manu would completely change my perspective on this deal. First of all, Manu is making considerably less money per year than Jefferson, so the Spurs would need to add more players to the deal. The other part of such a deal that makes me hesitant to pull the trigger is that the Spurs would be parting with both their back-up PG in Hill in addition to their third best ball-handler/playmaker in Manu Ginobili. For such a deal to occur, it would be paramount that the Spurs either got back a PG (i.e. Goran Dragic), they have another deal in place to bring in a PG, or they sign a veteran PG that gets cut from another team so they can save money. With Tony Parker struggling through his plantar fasciitis, it is vital that the Spurs have not only someone to spell Parker so he can rest during the typical game but further, they need a relatively reliable insurance policy should Parker’s injury cause him to miss time.
Man Down
While on the subject of Parker and injuries, Tony went down in last night’s game en route to a 105-90 victory over a very high quality Atlanta Hawks opponent. Parker rolled his ankle with 2:29 remaining in the third period and did not return.
According to sources the Spurs will not know the extent of Parker’s injury until Friday. At this point they will assess his injury and give an estimate as to the time he will miss as a result. Teammate Manu Ginobili hinted as if the All-NBA guard’s return will be sooner rather than later.
“Tony said it wasn’t so bad, but he will probably miss a couple of games,” said Ginobili.
X-rays taken at the AT&T Center were negative but again, a timetable will not be established for Parker’s return until he is re-examined by the team’s medical staff on Friday.
The front office remains optimistic but this could be a huge blow for this San Antonio Spurs team if Parker has to be out for an extended period of time. The Spurs have a couple of home games against Memphis and Denver before commencing their annual Rodeo Roadtrip which will see them play nine of eleven games on the road during February. What already stood as a tall task and a crucial point in determining the legitimacy of this Spurs team this season will grow tremendously if Parker is forced to miss time.
George Hill has done an above-average job in stepping into the line-up this season, but asking the young man to lead a team during a potentially make-it-or-break-it roadtrip is no easy task. While Tony is shelved, Hill, Mason and Ginobili will shoulder the PG responsibilities.
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