The Coaching/GM Influence of the San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford are making an impact on the coaching and front-office world of the NBA. (poundtherock.com)

The San Antonio Spurs are championship breeders.

This is partially in reference to the play on the court, as not many have been better in the past decade than the Spurs. But this is also referencing the breeding ground for coaches and general managers. Teams have come calling early and often for those who learned from Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford.

Having the Spurs organization on the resume is gold when marketing for a head coaching or general manager position. The tally is up to 11 current coaches and general managers around the NBA, according to RealGM.com, that came from Popovich and Buford's tutelage while in San Antonio. 

Two former assistant coaches left the Spurs this offseason, the first being Mike Budenholzer, who left for the head job in Atlanta, and now Brett Brown, who this week took the head coaching position in Philadelphia. Last season it was Jacque Vaughn, who is heading into his second year as the head coach of the Orlando Magic.

The most well-known assistant of Popovich's is Mike Brown, who is back coaching in Cleveland after being fired by the Lakers. The list of head coaches coming from San Antonio concludes with Monty Williams of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans' general manager Dell Demps also spent time in the San Antonio front office.

The general managers who have come through the Spurs is even more impressive. Names like Kevin Pritchard (now at Indiana), Sam Presti (Oklahoma City), Danny Ferry (Atlanta), Rob Hennigan (Orlando) and Dennis Lindsey (Utah) all learned what they now incorporate at their respective organizations from their time in San Antonio.

It's easy to see why teams seek men from this organization. The winning helps. A lot. But so does the style of winning. If you find a circus in San Antonio, it will not be inside the AT&T Center. There are no Dwight Howard personalities on this team, and the Spurs are just fine without one, or the talent that accompanies it. Some teams boast about doing things the right way, but that doesn't matter without results. The Spurs have become experts at keeping pride in how the organization is run without compromising winning.

Not every assistant coach or GM who leaves the San Antonio can turn their new team into a mini Spurs organization. There's not enough room at the table for 11 others like it. But as long as Popovich and Buford keep winning, and winning the way they know how, their assistants and members of the front office are going to be receiving a lot of calls. Teams who want to win go to where championships are being bred.


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Greg Oden Is Close To Making A Comeback

Greg Oden is trying to get back on the court after not playing in the NBA since 2009. (sports.yahoo.com)

Greg Oden's NBA career has been a punchline and example of how quickly dreams can come crushing down. Now he has a chance at redemption.

Oden is just 25 years old, a relatively young player with years before he reaches old-man status on the court, but it seems like a lifetime ago that Oden wore an NBA jersey. It was December 5, 2009 to be exact, just two years from being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the No. 1 overall pick. But injuries took Oden down swiftly and quickly as he played in only 82 games in those two years, and has had three knee surgeries since entering the league.

Now Oden is making his comeback, working out for several teams and Deadspin reports the two clear favorites are the two teams that met in this year's NBA Finals: San Antonio and Miami. Not a bad choice for a guy looking to make a fresh start in the league.

Teams should take another chance with Oden. The reward is a 7-footer with great low-post skills that averaged 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds his first two years (remember, those stats were with him playing with one good knee most of the time). He's not going to expect a huge paycheck and 40 minutes a night. He just wants another chance, and has proven it by getting himself back into playing shape and at a respectable NBA weight. It would be different if he was a bust because he wasn't able to adjust to the NBA style of play. He proved he could play in the NBA, his knees just didn't cooperate. The potential gains outweigh the losses on this one.

Oden has a chance to take back what his knees took from him, which is a chance he deserves. An NBA player can only go as far as his body will take him, but Oden had too much potential to have his career end after basically a season of play.

Oden probably won't be an All-Star next year and won't be competing for any scoring titles, but size can't be taught, and the value of a skilled 7-footer is worth the risk of injury.

For Oden, it's just about getting back in the game he was forced to leave too soon.

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Danny Green Is San Antonio's Unlikely MVP

Danny Green has evolved from a benchwarmer to possible NBA Finals MVP. (nba.si.com)

Danny Green and LeBron James were teammates once upon a time, although hardly any time was spent on the floor together.

Green was a rookie drafted by Cleveland, who only saw action in 20 games and averaged 5.8 minutes per game, while James led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Semifinals before losing to the Boston Celtics 4-2 in the series.

It was the 2009-10 season, and it also happened to be both players' final seasons in Cleveland. Green was let go and found a new home in San Antonio while James, well, you know what happened with James. Turns out the change of scenery has worked out pretty well for both players.

Green went from only playing in 28 regular season games his first two seasons (without a start) in the league to this year playing in 80 and starting in them all. Still, Green is considered a role player to support the Spurs big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Yet if the Spurs can close out their 3-2 series lead and win the NBA Finals, Green could be the MVP of the series. Green (averaging 18 ppg for the series) hit six 3-pointers as part of his 24 points in game five, putting his name in the NBA record books. Green now has 25 3-pointers during the NBA Finals, three more than Ray Allen's previous record of 22. More impressive is the fact that those 25 makes have come on 38 attempts, giving him a shooting percentage of 65 percent from behind the arc. For the entire postseason, Green has 53 3-pointers for a 51.5 percentage. Green has been a steady 3-point threat the past two seasons, shooting above 40 percent each year, but this is a give-the-man-a-gatorade-bath-because-he's-on-fire type of streak.

The giant stage of the NBA Finals is a great venue for breaking out as a player, but it hasn't been completely out of nowhere. This has been slowing evolving the entire postseason. Green has gotten better each series (except for a small step back in production from the Golden State to Memphis series), going from 23 minutes per game, seven points per game and three 3-point attempts per game in the first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers to now 34 mpg, 18 ppg and 7.6 3-pointers per game in the Finals, with steady rises from the first round to semifinals and conference finals to the NBA Finals.

Green is another great lesson that players don't have to be superstars as rookies. College is a place to get better, but so is the NBA. There is room for improvement upon entering the league and San Antonio should be given credit for giving Green a chance to grow. It's also no coincidence Green grew in the Spurs' system. That's what Gregg Popovich does.

Green didn't get much time to share the court with James as teammates, but now that the two are sharing the court again, this time as opponents, it may be Green who keeps James from earning that second ring.

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Friday Roundtable: Who Will Win The NBA Finals?

LeBron James is doing all he can to win that second ring. (ibtimes.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: With the NBA Finals tied 2-2 through four games, who wins the series and in how many games?

Alex:
With the series tied 2-2, Heat-Spurs is going to seven games. San Antonio will bounce back for game five and win on their home court, but once the action returns to South Beach, LeBron James will finally prove he has the killer instinct that he has so long been criticized for lacking. James has already shown flashes of it this season and will submit for final acceptance two noteworthy performances, taking on the scoring load while using his excellent court vision to find his teammates for efficient looks. James can't do it all on his own - Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the role players need to chip in buckets, too - but when LeBron is on, there's no one in the NBA who can contain him, not even in the Spurs' fundamental system.

Kyle:
The way this back-and-forth series has gone so far, it's hard to not think it will go all seven games. Miami has not lost two games in a row throughout the entire postseason, but they have also not won two games in a row since finishing off the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and winning game one against the Indiana Pacers (that was 11 games ago). Even if San Antonio wins game five in front of the home crowd, which seems feasible, it feels more likely Miami wins two straight before losing two straight, sealing the series with two wins in Miami. It's hard to count out the Spurs, as they were really the better team the first three games for all but the second half of game two, but it's also hard to bet against LeBron James, especially if Dwyane Wade continues to play like his former self. If Miami can get more production from guys like Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers, they win it in seven.

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Where Will The Heat And Spurs Be In Six Years?

It's been six long years since LeBron James and the San Antonio Spurs met in the NBA Finals. (mysanantonio.com)

It's been six long years since LeBron James faced the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals. James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers at a time before the burning of his jerseys, an owner's letter written in Comic Sans and the winning of a title.

A lot has happened in six years. The Spurs added to their dynasty argument with a fourth championship in 2007 and then hasn't been back since winning that series. James was being questioned if he could win in Cleveland, which led to The Decision and now he is looking to win his second straight ring.

Which brings Alex Skov and I to wonder, where will James, the Spurs' big three (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) and the Heat and Spurs franchises be six years from now? Here's our best (OK, probably not) guesses.

The Spurs' Big Three: Duncan, already at 37, and Ginobili, 35 and now suffering from injuries, will have hung up the sneakers for several years. Ginobili will be resting with a luxurious head of hair(plugs), while Duncan will spend his time setting off-ball screens at second-tier celebrity charity games and yelling at a recently rehabbed Justin Bieber to use his freaking left hand. Parker will probably still playing in the NBA at 36 or 37, even if it will seem like he's closer to AARP age, dishing out assists for the Spurs to a young at heart but dinosaur-aged Tracy McGrady, who is allowed to use a Segway for the first halves of games to stay rested.

San Antonio Spurs: Gregg Popovich will still coaching the Spurs, but also teaching spacing philosophies to roadside garbage pick-up crews as a part-time corrections officer and coaching other NBA coaches on how to make sideline reporters cry. Eventually, Popovich gets bored and moves the team away from it's workman-like, fundamental and strategy-filled style of play in favor of a flashy, if-you-can-see-the-basket-it's-a-good-shot gameplan. Danny Green will go too far with the new freedom and shoot a record 32 shots per game, averaging a career high 13 points per game. Meanwhile, Tiago Splitter releases underground rap mixtapes under the name T. Spitter at the behest of his out-of-the-league former teammate, Stephen Jackson.

LeBron James: With Dwyane Wade getting out of the league after Kobe Bryant's recommended Germany medical trip goes wrong, LeBron makes a decision to play for the Washington Wizards (this time with a more tasteful 30-minute decision show) while wearing a headband twice the normal size in an attempt to retain his *ahem* youthful appearance. Determined to end the Michael Jordan comparisons, James went to Washington to prove he could put up better numbers at the end of his career than Jordan did with the team. Because of this, he makes John Wall only touch the ball to throw alley-oops to him. He is also looking into retiring and purchasing the Cleveland Cavaliers, making them a laughing stock until he comes out of retirement to save the day and win back the heart of the city.

Miami Heat: The Heat are no longer a title contender, making the 14 true, die-hard fans who have season tickets and stay for the whole game very upset. Erik Spoelestra loses credibility and is called Vinny del Negro v. 2.0, proclaiming to the media, "I promise you, I have at least two notebook pages' worth of plays!" Other players decide to leave with James, including Shane Battier, who retired and is offering in-studio NBA analysis while testing teams' interest in bringing him on as an assistant coach, and Mario Chalmers, who refuses to be yelled at by just Chris Bosh, causing him to fill the Irrational Confidence Guy role as an overpaid sixth-man for the New York Knicks and be yelled at by Carmelo Anthony.

Several key role players remain, including Udonis Haslem, who finally adds range to those mid-range jumpers just in time to have a consistent 3-pointer ready for all those times he needs it in retirement. Having matured, Chris Anderson will just go ahead and get the tiny spaces of open skin between his tattoos inked in an attempt to hide the mistakes he took as a young-ish man. Norris Cole? He is still rocking the flat-top. What else matters?

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Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich Set Playoff Record In Spurs Style

Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich have accomplished what no other player-coach duo has in NBA history. (blogs.thescore.com)

Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich accomplished this feat in a very Duncan and Popovich manner.

They did it without a lot of flash, but they did it better than anyone else. They did it in a way that makes you feel surprised when you hear it. It can't possibly be right, until you think about it and realize it makes absolute sense.

ESPN Stats and Info tweeted before Monday's Spurs/Grizzlies game that Duncan and Popovich had won 128 playoff games, the most for a player-coach duo in NBA history. That number is now 129 and will surely rise more before the season is over.

That's more than Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson.

That's more than Red Auerbach and Bill Russell.

That's more than Magic Johnson and Pat Riley.

That's more than Karl Malone and Jerry Sloan.

You get the idea. That group is impressive company, yet there are other great duos that fall behind Duncan and Popovich in that category.

Yet either due to the style of play or the location of the team, the Duncan/Popovich duo never seems to be appreciated for the Spurs' postseason success the way the before mentioned duos were. They've won more playoff games than anyone else through consistency, experience and a style of play that would make James Naismith proud.

Duncan is the Big Fundamental, a lock for the NBA Hall of Fame, and Popovich the wizard with a secret to youthful stamina and getting a group of players to play like a team. They've been doing this since 1997, when Duncan was a rookie and Popovich was a second-year head coach. And it's not just playoff wins they have to show for it, it's four NBA Championships as well. Every year seems to be the year the Spurs, and Duncan, are too old (Duncan is 37) and yet here they are, off to the NBA Finals again. And here we are, surprised that they could be leading a statistic like the one above.

Right now Duncan and Popovich's workman-like mentality rubs off on us. They work hard and take care of business, not making more of the success than it is. The Spurs are in the NBA Finals again. That's what we've grown to know and expect as long as these two and guys like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are still playing.

Sometime in the near future, the time will have come where Duncan hangs up the jersey and Popovich sits somewhere other than the bench. Maybe in hindsight we will look back with less shock at that number and appreciate the success more.

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Friday Roundtable: Predicting The Eastern And Western Conference Finals

Fact: Matt Bonner's New Balances do not add inches to his vertical leap. (sportsgif.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: What teams will make it out of the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals to face each other in the NBA Finals?


Alex: 
Eastern Conference Finals:

The Indiana Pacers will not fumble away a 2-1 series lead against the Miami Heat this season because they will never have one. It will take the Heat five more games to close out the Pacers, 4-2, featuring numerous nail-biters. Indiana is a team built to contend with the Heat. It is no fluke the Pacers have claimed a high playoff seed in consecutive seasons; they have even made strides this season, re-tooling the bench and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, though that may be due to the luck of not running into Miami in the semifinals again.

That being said, there is no team in the East capable of stopping LeBron James' march to a third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. He's playing too well and, along with a healthier-than-he's-looked-in-a-while Dwyane Wade, the Heat's supporting cast is full of players who could be starting on multiple teams if they played elsewhere: Shane Battier, Ray Allen, even late free agent pick-up Chris Andersen. Mario Chalmers' unavailability to play allowed Norris Cole to show the progressions he has made as a defender, which opens up even more doors for a team that's championed the "positional revolution."

Western Conference Finals: 

Oddly enough, the Pacers' Western Conference doppelganger is still in the title hunt, as well. The Memphis Grizzlies are a team with a high caliber defense and an offense that seemed to be climbing the ladder toward equal footing until the San Antonio Spurs made it sputter in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs' core cannot have much left in the tank, but this series is the reason why coach Gregg Popovich rested his stars during the regular season. San Antonio has the experience necessary to make it out of this series alive and, thanks to Pop, its players also have the requisite stamina. Memphis will have its time -- soon -- but when convincing arguments could be made for Tony Parker and Tim Duncan being viable league MVP candidates at separate times during this season, the Spurs are playing like (for lack of a better term) a team of destiny.

Kyle:
Eastern Conference Finals:

Indiana had plenty of chances to win game one of the series. There was a better chance of Mario Chalmers dunking on Roy Hibbert for the win than Ray Allen missing a free throw followed by Paul George hitting the desperation and tying 3-pointer after the Pacers ran around the perimeter for eight seconds. Yet that happened and still a blown defensive play allowed LeBron James one of the easier layups he will ever take to win the game.

The Pacers say it will make them better, more confident. It could also crush their spirits being so close to taking a critical early game on the road. This probably won't be a blowout series. Indiana has played well against the Heat and Hibbert's size can be an X factor down low. But the Pacers still look inexperienced and uncomfortable, as proven at the execution late in regulation and overtime. This series will be close, but Miami wins it in six.

Western Conference Finals:

It feels like it's been the "last ride" for the aging San Antonio Spurs stars for two or three years now. This is a young man's game and Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are running out of time. Well, maybe not quite yet. It's not time yet when Parker gracefully dishes out 18 assists and Duncan efficiently tallies 17 points and nine rebounds in game two of the Western Conference Finals. They've proven that.

Meanwhile, Memphis' offense is MIA as the Grizzlies have failed to crack 90 points in either game this series. Give credit to Popovich's defense and planning for that. Memphis needs more from its role players like Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince if it hopes to get back into this series. Everyone was expecting Oklahoma City to meet Miami again in the NBA Finals, but I think the fans will do OK with a Spurs/Heat matchup after San Antonio finishes off this series with relative ease.


Fred:

Eastern Conference Finals:

I see the Heat winning the series, but it might take them seven games. The Pacers lost Game 1 in overtime in Miami from a last second layup by LeBron James. However, this defeat did not demoralize the Pacers. After the game Pacers’ coach Frank Vogel said he was, "Very encouraged, our belief in our ability to beat this team has strengthened after Game 1. Our familiarity in the playoffs, in the playoff series grows with each day, grows with each game, and there's a lot of things we can definitely do better."

Even with the win, the Heat had a problem shooting the ball. Shane Battier went 0-4 and Ray Allen went just 1-8. If their shooters can “heat” up from outside, expect them to win in 7.

Western Conference Finals:

The Spurs are up 2-0, but the series is now heading back to Memphis. The Spurs have played great basketball. They are well coached and have the right players to make any adjustment that needs to be done.

When asked if the Grizzlies will make any big adjustments to their lineup, coach Lionel Hollins responded with, “It’s not something I’m ready to do. We want to come out and play much more aggressive, much more confident. There’s no need at this point to change the starting lineup. I mean, we lost an overtime game and we got blown out in a game. We’ve got to come here and hold serve. We have to play better obviously. We’ve got to play better earlier and we’ve got to play better later.”

The Spurs have looked great, but the Grizzlies have shown that they can grind out a game and get the win. Can they do that over a whole series to get into the NBA Finals? Spurs in 6.

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Friday Roundtable: Best First-Round Playoff Matchup

Denver against Golden State is one of the first-round playoff matchups we're most excited to watching. (nba.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: With the NBA Playoffs beginning Saturday, what first-round matchup we are most looking forward to watching?

Alex:
There are plenty of interesting matchups in the first round of the playoffs this year. It's OK to admit it. Secretly, you're not going to dismiss the possibility of the Lakers ousting the Spurs or the Hawks...well, the Hawks will continue to be the Hawks we see every year around this time.

Fortunately, though, it shook out that two young, small market teams are set to give us a noteworthy series in the West. Denver, as the conference's No. 3 seed, is speedy and attacks inside without fear, whereas Golden State (no pushovers in the quickness department, either, if there is such a thing) beats opponents with an outside-in game. The Nuggets have been great in Denver this season and, despite slipping a bit after a strong start, the Warriors' Oracle holds one of the feistiest home-court advantages in the NBA.

There are seemingly few scenarios in which this series doesn't last at least six games (i.e. if it goes just four or five games) with as evenly matched as the teams are. Ty Lawson vs. Steph Curry is the main course, but Kenneth Faried is -- and there may not be a better way to relate this -- fun to watch. He embodies what Denver-Golden State will provide viewers: high energy and tough competition.
These are soon-to-be perennial contenders and they happen to be opponents this year. Stay ahead of the curve and enjoy it now.

Kyle:
If the first round on paper is any indication, this year's NBA Playoffs will be a fun one for the fans. Fans get a good rivalry in Boston vs. New York, giants of the West in San Antonio vs. the Los Angeles Lakers and two up-and-coming, exciting teams in Denver vs. Golden State.

Even with those storylines, I'm most looking forward to Oklahoma City against Houston. The obvious reason is James Harden facing his former team in the playoffs and hoping to spoil the favorite to return to the NBA Finals in the Thunder. These are also two of the highest scoring teams in the country, with the Rockets averaging 106 points per game and the Thunder close behind at 105.7 ppg. This series probably will not go to seven games, but Houston's ability to hit 3-pointers at will and the number of stars and players who have sparked a buzz in the NBA (Linsanity!) makes this an exciting series to watch.

Fred:

I’m looking forward to the Lakers vs. Spurs series. While the Spurs are ranked as the No. 2 seed, and the Lakers are the No. 7 seed, these teams may be more evenly matched than their records suggest. Since Jan. 23, the Lakers are 28-12. The Spurs’ record since Jan. 23 is 24-13.

The Lakers lost Kobe Bryant recently and have a very banged up Steve Nash, but the Spurs have recently released Stephen Jackson and have less than 100 percent versions of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Lakers still have Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and possibly Steve Nash, which poses a challenge for the Spurs. Tim Duncan is looking youthful and the Spurs have the best coach in the league with Gregg Popovich.

The Lakers will be fighting to prove their teams isn’t a complete failure, while the Spurs will be fighting to avoid the embarrassment of an upset.


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The OKC Thunder a.k.a. San Antonio Spurs, Jr.

Serge Ibaka and the Thunder are catching up to the Spurs. (Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty)

As basketball has increased in popularity around the world, the NBA has experienced an influx of foreign players making hoops careers stateside. A record-tying 84 international players were on rosters when the NBA season tipped off last fall, with the San Antonio Spurs setting a single-team record by including eight such athletes. While the Spurs have long been a bastion in this regard, the Oklahoma City Thunder are quickly establishing themselves as a franchise that's not shying away from a reliance on talent from overseas.

Although Oklahoma City was nowhere near the top of the list at the season's start, rosters have changed and the ranks of NBA players is thinning even more as the playoff race heats up. Serge Ibaka, Thabo Sefolosha and Hasheem Thabeet continue to get meaningful minutes and they form one of the more domineering combinations of international players in the Association.

Three players isn't many, in the scheme of things, but considering the talent acquired by the Thunder, this trio is an exception to the rule. While Thabeet gets what is essentially clean-up time, that amounts to nearly one quarter of play each game. Sefolosha and Ibaka, who has quickly become one of the best shot blockers in basketball the world over, are both starters. Trotting out two of these players to begin a game puts Oklahoma City on par with San Antonio, where Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter are starters.

The Thunder haven't quite accrued the depth to rival San Antonio, but it is not out of the question. OKC general manager Sam Presti was once a part of the Spurs organization, working his way up to assistant GM from a video intern position. Having worked with the franchise for more than five years, Presti knows the inner-workings and machinations of prospecting foreign talent. He is also familiar with finding the specific players internationally to mesh successfully within a system, having been in the Spurs' front office during five division titles and three NBA championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007, respectively.

Shortly before the trade deadline, the Thunder acquired the rights to Georgios Printezis, a 27-year-old Greek forward currently playing overseas. Whether or not he will turn into an asset for Presti's resume is tough to call, as four other teams held Printezis' rights before the Thunder since his name entered the league in 2007. He was selected with the No. 58 overall pick in the 2007 draft by — you guessed it — the Spurs just a few months before Presti left the organization to join the Thunder.

More recently, Printezis dismissed a minimum contract offered by the New York Knicks last summer around the same time he buried a game-winning shot against the defense of Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved's CSKA Moscow to earn the first Euroleague title for his club, Olympiacos, since 1997.

With the success he is experiencing in Europe, Printezis could be satisfied playing out his career there. Or he could be taking the Ricky Rubio route and taking time to develop (or, in Printezis' case, to ensure his rights belong to a franchise of which he approves) before making the leap over the Atlantic. If he waits much longer, though, this could turn into the Pablo Prigioni route and we could see a 30-something-year-old NBA rookie.

Printezis' future cannot be predicted. He is playing in Europe right now, as Ibaka is swatting shots and improving his jumper in the red dirt of Oklahoma, being a key role player for Presti's highly regarded Thunder squad — one full of youth, and possibly soon, enough international talent to surpass the Spurs as the premier destination for players making their way to the NBA from overseas.

Spurs Continue International Trend With Aron Baynes

Aron Baynes daydreams of his future with the Spurs. (NBA.com)

On Jan. 23, the San Antonio Spurs signed center Aron Baynes of Union Olimpija from the Slovenian Basketball League. Baynes averaged a near double-double during his time in Europe with just less than 14 points and 10 rebounds per game, and in a two-game assignment to the Spurs' D-League affiliate Austin Toros, he averaged 18 ppg and nine rpg while playing 27.5 minutes each night. He brings good size to the Spurs, standing at 6’10’’ and 260 pounds. He looks like an NBA center and has a traditional post game, rather than that of someone who will stretch the defense. While we don’t know much about Baynes to this point as an NBA center, the early returns suggest he could have a nice future in the league. Since being signed by the Spurs, Baynes is averaging more than four rebounds and three points per game in under 10 minutes per contest. It’s a small sample, but one corroborated by Baynes' 7.5 ppg, 3.3 rbg performance with the Australian national team in last summer's Olympics. His production in limited action is promising and another indication that the Spurs have yet again hit on an international signing.

Few franchises, if any, have been better than the Spurs at bringing in foreign talent. The list of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tiago Splitter, Nando De Colo and now Aron Baynes is an impressive grouping with production and stardom at the top and potential and promise on the bottom. Parker has been one of the best point guards in the league for the last decade. Ginobili has been incredibly effective both off the bench and as a starter. Both have averaged double-digit points every year since their rookie seasons; both have the ability to create for their teammates consistently while being able to can create their own shots; and both are great leaders for the Spurs franchise. Oh, and by the way, they both have championship rings.

When you look at the rest of the list, Splitter is certainly the most proven player so far. He can score and rebound well, while providing great height, coming in at 6’11’’. He also shoots incredibly well from the floor, hitting at 59 percent for his young career. While we don’t know much about either De Colo or Baynes to this point, both of them averaged double-digit points during their time in Europe and bring good size for their respective positions. While both have limited experience at the NBA level, the Spurs have had such a great track record of signing and developing talent from overseas that you can’t help but think they will become at least solid NBA players who will have long and healthy careers. It will be interesting to see how these players develop and who the next player the Spurs bring in from across the pond.


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