A high level 2nd round pick + cash seems like an ideal trade for the Spurs.

GSW are going to finish pretty high this season so their 2nd round pick is going to be pretty low plus the Spurs are probably a little hesitant trading him to a potential contender.

I think that's the best they're going to get as well. Maybe if his contract wasn't expiring, they would have a little more leverage to get something better.

I love Dejuan, he plays hard, hustles, rebounds well and can put up great numbers when he starts
I hope he stays, but doubtful he will

I like Dejuan, I just don't see how he fits into the Spurs' plans. He's a good hustle guy who can play great defense when he gets the right matchup (posts who rely on quickness and don't have great "over the top" moves), but so far he hasn't shown that he is a guy who can go out there and consistently score and defend.

He is what he is, which is ok but when you look at the post lineup the Spurs are working with it's hard to see any minutes for Blair.

They've got Duncan for everything, Splitter for pretty good help defense and running the pick and roll and working the baseline, Diaw as the stretch 4/5 and good position defender, and now Baynes is looking like he has a chance to be the rebounder and all-around defender the Spurs have been looking for since the last title run. That's 4 posts, and Diaw is the only one whose role Blair might be able to fill.

It doesn't hurt anything to keep Blair to soak up some regular season minutes, but maybe the Spurs think they can replace him with a piece that fits a little better or a project with a higher ceiling.


I'm also kind of wondering about Neal's future. His shot selection is getting worse and worse, which puts his "instant offense" role in jeopardy, and his defense is getting pretty bad as well. His minutes and touches seem to be falling off a little. He's clearly never going to be a point guard and the Spurs have Green, Mills, and Manu to fill the 2-guard spot. If they can get a pick for him, I think I'd take it. He could probably start for a few teams in the league.


The shadow over everything the Spurs do these days is that they have to start working out the succession plan for Pop, Duncan, and to a lesser extent Ginobili. There are no Duncans out there, and precious few coaches in Pop's league. Young Ginobili has already been replaced with old Ginobili, so that's not the problem it would have been 5 years ago.

That ended up not making a ton of sense. Short version: Blair is replaceable, Neal doesn't quite fit, Pop/Duncan/Ginobili not going to be around forever.

Does it make sense to do a deal with the GSW if there is a good chance they would meet in the 2nd round of the playoffs?

Or, I guess that could be a general question: Would you deal a player to a team that you might meet in the playoffs?

As long as the Spurs get what they want from the trade, I don't think they should worry about what it does for the other team. Possible exceptions would be the Spurs getting a tiny bit better but vastly improving the other team (unlikely) or when the other team is the only competition for the conference title (GS doesn't fit that description).

TD goes down on his knee tonight. Will be anxious to hear report.

Sprained left knee and right ankle.

On the plus side, Timmy should be back and well rested for the playoffs, and the Spurs extended their win streak to 10 games. On the minus side, they are still having trouble maintaining huge leads. Went up 27 but ended up letting the WASHINGTON WIZARDS cut it to 6.

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He's fine, he's fine," Parker said. "It's nothing big. I'm sure (coach Gregg Popovich) is going to be very conscious about his knee and we'll see.

"That was scary when you see that," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "Those are always the ones you don't want to see when a guy falls into you while your feet are planted on the ground. I just talked to his doctors and they said he is going to be fine."

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[This message has been edited by Enzo The Baker (edited 2/3/2013 4:57a).]

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Parker, who led the Spurs with 19 points and 12 assists, said he was heartened after talking to Duncan postgame.

“He was pretty positive,” Parker said. “He’s fine. It’s nothing big.”

Spurs fans will have to wait until medical tests confirm that diagnosis before they can properly exhale.

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ugh

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Spurs center/forward Tim Duncan is listed as day-to-day with a sore left knee and mild right ankle sprain after an MRI revealed no structural damage following his injury in Saturday’s victory over Washington.

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Now what's more concerning is how we let the Wizards score 60 in the second half.

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Now what's more concerning is how we let the Wizards score 60 in the second half.

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I'm gonna go ahead and give SA a mulligan for losing the huge lead in that game due to the general pall Duncan's injury cast over the game, but I agree--SA's propensity for losing big leads is concerning.

Still the '03 and '05 Spurs also had a nasty habit of letting teams back into games, and they rang, so it can be managed, I guess.

Aron Baynes has been recalled.

Ginobili is listed as Doubtful for Wednesday's game but should be back shortly after that.

Duncan will travel with the team and is listed as day to day but most think he will sit out 2 or 3 games.

Seems the Spurs got really lucky considering this pic. Looked pretty dang bad.

Baynes sprained his ankle in the last game as well. I guess it's not serious.

I heard that as well but apparently he's good to go.

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dan mccarney ‏@danmccarneysaen Baynes said he slipped on wet spot in Bakersfield, nothing major. Called it a "niggle" which sounds like something from a Harry Potter book.

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Tim and Manu will be out tonight as expected. However, both were at shoot-around today.

I say we go 7-2 on this one with losses coming from Brooklyn and GS.

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Here is the latest they are telling me: The San Antonio Spurs are the front-runners to land Al Jefferson in a trade with the Utah Jazz – and they are frontrunners like Secretariat was in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. Here’s why, followed by a how. “Those teams are practically incestuous, they are on such good terms internally,” one NBA source told me Wednesday. SheridanHoops

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[This message has been edited by Enzo The Baker (edited 2/6/2013 2:02p).]

If something like this were to happen it would almost certainly involve Jackson, Splitter and Blair. But just seems kind of pointless for both teams as all of the players will be free agents this offseason anyways.

Ehh highly doubtful. He's just speculating also. No confirmed talks or anything.

Not sure I'd do a deal that involved Splitter.

Jack + someone like Bonner + a First rounder and I would but highly doubtful that would be enough on Utah's end.

7-2 on the road trip and I will be ecstatic. 6-3 and I'll be happy, even 5-4 with a healthy roster and I'll be okay.

I thought Timmy was seriously hurt so just get him right. Not worth it.

Yea I'm not sure I would like the trade. The thing that makes Tiago so valuable is is pick and roll ability. Jefferson is more of a post guy. No sense in doing a trade like that. Just keep what we have now and decide in the summer when everyone's a free agent.

Yeah. We would definitely take a hit defensively as well since Big Al is not even close to Tiago in that area. It would be nice to have another reliable scorer who can create his own shot but not sure this rumor even makes sense.

I would probably do Jack, Neal and a 1st rounder. Throw in Bonner if they want it.

Although that only depends on is he will sign an extension and how much that extension is worth.

Danny Green on fire tonight.

Glad we pulled the game out, but this has been some of the ugliest basketball a team with an 11 game win streak has ever played. I think it will get better when everyone's healthy though.

And wow, I've never seen Neal in this bad of a slump. What is wrong with the dude?

Spurs should give Patty some more looks at the 2. He hasn't been very impressive when given opportunities this year also but I'm not sure exactly what Neal brings anymore. 35% from three is abysmal. At least we know Patty is an average defender where as Neal is horrible on that end as well.

If Pop keeps sticking with him then he has to get out of this slump for the Spurs to be successful in the long run.

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And wow, I've never seen Neal in this bad of a slump. What is wrong with the dude?

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90% of his shot attempts lately are either double clutch up-and-under floaters from 18 feet or blanketed threes from 2 feet beyond the line. He's not working within the offense, he's jacking up a shot every time he touches the ball, and the defense knows it. If he'll chill out a little bit, he'll have more chance to get in a rhythm.

Neal and Parker have both been playing defense on skates lately. Overall, the team hasn't been playing inspired ball, but I think Pop has been playing with lineups lately (including fitting Baynes in and dealing with the absence of Duncan and Ginobili, who had finally started playing pretty well). When Duncan comes back and they tighten it up for the playoff run, I suspect they'll look a lot better.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 2/7/2013 10:02a).]

This defense is atrocious. Get Neal out of there.

40-23 on the boards at the end of the third.

Neal is regressing just like Roger Mason did.

This game is awful. Wow.