Kudos to the man for helping us win three championships and for shelling out lots of big, long-term contracts for a small-market team. And I respect the concept of fiscal responsibility (even though I’m a left-wing, tax-and-spend whacko). But why did he force management to trim our roster to 13 players? There were a couple of young guys on our preseason roster who would have been good long-term prospects for the team to develop, and it really wouldn’t have cost Holt that much to pony up for at least one of them. (Yes, the team is facing a luxury-tax penalty, but the way the system works, one minimum contract wouldn’t make a big difference.) What particularly worries me is that we only have four true swingmen on our roster, and three of them are 32 or older. Why the hell didn’t we keep Melvin Sanders, who would have given us some athleticism and defense at off guard and small forward, might have saved our asses in the event of an injury, and might even have developed into a real contributor down the road? According to Johnny Ludden, he had the right personality and work ethic to be Spurs material. What’s especially egregious is that this decision was made despite the fact that the Spurs don’t have any sure-fire prospects in the pipeline (i.e. players developing in Europe) at these positions, where we’re aging rapidly.
Peter Holt, you’re on notice.
Another Spurs fan buddy of mine was concerned about losing Devin, since we are now a Finley-ankle-turning away from being in trouble at the swing, especially since Finely isn’t known for hard D on taller guys.
I think that has changed with Finley’s age. Apparently he did a better job of guarding Amare (who can now be referred to by one name) in last year’s playoffs than anyone else on the Mavs’ or the Spurs’ rosters – according to people who actually watched that series. He’s probably half a step slower than he used to be, but bulkier, which suits our needs perfectly. He’ll be playing most of his minutes at small forward for the Spurs.
On offense, he can post up, and he’s the first regular rotation player at the 2 or 3 we’ve had in a long time who can do that well. That will add another dimension to our offense.
Having said all that, of course I was upset about losing Devin. If not for lingering questions about the seriousness of his injury, I think re-signing him would have been better than signing Finley.
Don’t fuck with Peter. He has a Silver Star, three Bronze Stars for Valor and a Purple Heart for wounds received in Vietnam.
The man controls a lot more than just the Spurs. Watch what you say, if you care about your family members still living in San Antonio.
Notorious CBC, you’re on notice.
My family has the right connections. They’ll be fine. And even Holt’s mafia-like reach isn’t enough to get me out here on the Left Coast. But maybe it’s fortunate that I’ll be in China when the Spurs roll through town this year.