Q&A: Spurs are in tough spot with Ginobili
Also, given that Duncan and Tony Parker are untouchable, there's no one else on their roster who could command a quality player in return.
It's also true that the full-speed-ahead style of the 31-year-old Ginobili often leads to stints on the injured list — during his NBA career he's missed an average of nearly 11 games per season. Even so, he remains the primary motor of the Spurs offense — simply because he can go get the ball while the ball has to come to Duncan. Make no mistake about Ginobili's skill level — he's a bona fide super star. So, then, for whom could Ginobili be traded? Who could possibly duplicate what he does for San Antonio?
Obviously, guys like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant are out of the question. So is Paul Pierce, who's rapidly approaching the 32nd anniversary of his birth. Perhaps someone like Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter could be had — but none of these guys fit Pop's unselfish game plan.
Would the Kings be willing to deal Kevin Martin (25)? Would Pop want anything to do with Tracy McGrady (29)?
Probably not.
Nor would the likes of Luol Deng (23), Gerald Wallace (26), or Rip Hamilton (30) be considered without additional inducements.
Indeed, the only semi-available player I'd trade Ginobili for would be Joe Johnson (27). Failing this, the Spurs would be advised to stand pat, hope that their elder statesmen can squeeze out another quality season, that Ginobili's rehab will be successful and that Roger Mason is a big surprise.
Moreover, having most recently won championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007, hopefully the Spurs should be the odds-on favorites to win again in 2009.
Hi, Charley. You are my favorite writer on the Internet. I'd very much like to read your scouting report of yourself as a player and as a coach. Thank you. — Volkan Akin, Istanbul, Turkey
Thanks for your kind words.
As a collegiate player at Hunter College in New York, I was mostly a pivot man who scored with a right-handed half-hook-half-jump-hook, a strong baseline drive (from the left box) and a turnaround jumper over my left shoulder. If I'd been forced to feed myself with only my left hand I would have starved to death — going left, my only move was to suddenly turn my right shoulder into my defender and, hoping I wasn't called for charging, unleash a fairly accurate bank-shot. I was also a very good mid-range shooter (15-18 feet), so zones never really bothered me. In my junior year I averaged over 24 ppg.
Even though I had bad hands and couldn't jump, I was big and strong enough to grab 16 rebounds per game in my senior season.
I was never required to either pass or set screens — aspects of my game that didn't blossom until well after I graduated. I could also run the court surprisingly well for my size — 6-foot-9, 230 pounds — but my coach was a station-to-station guy and our ball handlers weren't very effective on the run.
My defense was awful, and I was usually kept well hidden in the back of a 1-3-1 zone.
If I wasn't a terrific technician as a coach (especially on the defensive end), my strengths were my ability to relate with my players, to discern the strengths and weaknesses of players, to work hands-on with young big men, to effectively read the progress of ball games and to make in-game adjustments. In addition, my quirky sense of humor and my perpetual passion for the game also served me in good stead — although my passion too easily turned to rage against what I deemed to be the incompetence of too many refs.
All in all, I was probably a much better coach than I was a player.
I've played in several AAU summer tournaments and was dismayed to discover that they are nothing but glorified street games. What is particularly upsetting is the obvious waste of coaching time and effort that should have focused on teaching the players how to move without the ball, play solid defense and so on.
Where do you see the state of basketball in the USA 10 years from now? — Roy, Chicago
More uptempo offense. More gambling, pressing defense with more defenders looking for steals and blocked shots and consequently biting at fakes. More dunks. More 3-point attempts. Fewer "pure" point guards. Fewer well-schooled pivot men. More of a disregard/ignorance of fundamentals. An increase in the glorification of me-first scorers. The devolution of NBA action into the kind of madcap play you witnessed in AAU competition.
In other words, the uglification of a beautiful game.
Do you think the NBA should expand to Europe to prevent Euroleague teams from pirating NBA players? — Greg, Philippines
David Stern has repeatedly claimed that the NBA will never expand into Europe — and he's probably right. The huge travel budgets would bankrupt any stateside franchise that would be on the bubble — and there are several of these at the present time. The time differences would also preclude live telecasts back here, which would drastically curtail the interest of both viewers and commercial sponsors. Also, having a resident NBA team in Italy, Spain, France, etc., would radically diminish interest in the local teams, players and leagues. Accordingly, most countries would be hesitant to accept an NBA franchise. And teams comprised mostly of native-born players would be unable to compete with American-born players on even terms over the long NBA season.
The biggest reason why so many second-level players are opting for Europe is the sagging state of the American economy. Having NBA teams situated overseas will do nothing to rectify this situation.
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I am dumbfounded in learning about your academic credentials. Why, oh why, would a man with the kind of intelligence needed to obtain a Master's degree in Medieval Literature and to go as far as you have toward earning a Ph.D. do something as meaningless as spending your life writing about basketball? Sportswriters, announcers, etc, are pathetically irrelevant, but can be excused if what they're doing is all they are capable of doing. To be fair, you certainly are by far the best basketball writer in the business — and the most analytical. Do you really think you are doing something important? — John Miller, Jakarta, Indonesia
Let's be realistic here. What else might I have done with my degrees and my almost-degrees? Little except to teach on a college level — which I did for four years. However, my teaching experience was profoundly unsatisfying. I saw too many veteran teachers who had been teaching the same year 20 times. I saw too few students who were really interested in learning. And I saw very little relevance in what I was teaching to the "real" world.
Not that I'm anti-intellectual. Not by any means. I read at least two books a week — mostly history and biographies, both literary and political. But there's life out there beyond the book covers and beyond the academic enclaves.
For me, every basketball game is a true-life drama that, among other things, reveals how individuals (players, coaches, refs, announcers and writers) react to stressful situations. The games reveal every aspect of the participants' character, both strengths and flaws.
The appeal also includes the humanity, the passion, the skills, and the suspense — all being played out without a script.
Of even greater interest to me, the games we play and watch reveal critical aspects of our culture: How easily most of us are influenced by glitz rather than by substance.
If I can, in any way, help people to view their worlds with a bit more discernment, while at the same time helping them to see beauty and grace in actions they might not have previously noticed, then yes, I believe that what I'm doing is not only relevant but necessary — moreso today than ever before.
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