That's why I wanted a guy like Bass. Not significantly worse at rebounding than Blair, but dang, the guy can put the ball in the hoop.
And like Malik Rose, he could shoot.
Agreed. DB is the type of player that has to out work everyone in the offseason just to be on an NBA team. His game did not grow from year one to now, and infact, you can say it actually regressed.
I guess playing basketball over the summer and stuffing your face with junk food is putting in work for DB.
Blair a draft steal they said
Sure, he's talented but doesn't have a good work ethic.
I don't even think the biggest problem is work ethic. While he had those weight problems the first season, the Spurs simply have a different need inside. You just couldn't throw him at Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol, or Favors/Jefferson or Griffin/DJ on a 7 game series. The extra inches he needs to cover those guys just isn't there, and they ain't going to magically appear.
The "Malik Rose" model worked when Duncan was in his prime and could protect the rim all on his own. Those days are long gone.
I just hope the Spurs can move DeJuan before the next season starts. I understand his contract is cheap, but I'm not sold his head is going to be there.
The Rockets have a glut at PF too...
Some guys make up for their shortcomings with work ethic. The only thing that has expanded in DB time here is his waistline. That should tell you enough about the guy.
Reading between the lines...
"I can help more in the playoffs than Matt Bonner, you morons."
i hope he does get traded. his talents are better used somewhere else. the spurs need to get some assets out of him though because right now his contract is very low for the value he provides.
You can fixate on his waistline while overlooking the fact he's just not tall enough to play a position where we've needed size for a while, especially against playoff teams all of which more or less have decent frontlines.
Any chance he had of overcoming his lack of height was reduced to zero because he never expanded his game. His value would be much higher to himself and his team if he had worked hard enough to improve his game, even if that improvement still kept him from getting meaningful playoff minutes. There's really no excuse for the stagnation, even regression, in his game.
Yeah, it's quite a mystery as to why his rebounding numbers have plummeted.
Last edited by SenorSpur; 07-09-2012 at 01:30 PM.
What a in idiot. Just go already.
Can't say I didn't see this coming. Surprised he bit his tongue for this long tbqh.
So is this going to be a red flag for teams interested? Blair makes it seem like he wants to start wherever hes going.
Can't help, but it's not like there was a lot of interest in him when the Spurs shopped him before the draft.
It is a concern, although he was still at 9.3 rebounds/36, which isn't terrible.
And while his rebounding %s have fallen every year in the league, the team's as a whole have remained pretty steady, which would indicate that it's teammates taking his boards (i.e. Kawhi averaging an extra 2 boards over what RJ gave the Spurs) and not opponents.
I don't like Blair. I didn't see him improve since he arrived. I hope the Spurs and Blair find a good deal for both sides and move on
I think he's improved. He's gotten more efficient around the rim. Added that floater. FTs are no longer a liability for him. Found out how to get his shot off against bigger defenders. Learned how to use his quick hands to knock the ball away from opponents backing him down.
He's regressed in rebounding, but that may, or may not, be due to his knees. We'll find out over the next few years regardless of where he ends up.
But, at the end of the day, he's just two short to defend competent post players and offers no rim deterrent as a help defender. A lesser team might be able to live with that, but not a le contender.
Maybe Brooklyn could use him beside Howard.
I agree with this. He's lost some athleticism. Probably not from weight because he always had that but degeneration of his knees as you suggested.
I think he improved his post play immensely. Before this year he didn't even have a post game. He was REALLY raw. This year he learned to back players down and better use his size.
Yeah, he should have tried to improve his jumper but I think he was wise to improve what he was good at first before trying to go outside of himself. Sounds silly but I think it was the right approach.
His shooting is horrible but he's not the only one. Look at Splitter. No one complains to the same degree about his awful shooting. In fact, Blair improved his free throw shooting so I think the work was there. In games he was just trying to play to his strengths. He didn't have enough leash to try shooting outside shots. No way Pop has patience for that learning curve.
All said, I think he should be traded for everyone's benefit. But no reason to bash him. He's a young guy trying to figure it out on a team full of old men who talk about wine and European politics.
So what teams would you guys imagine even have interest in Blair? Obviously GS considering that was the only team we heard of on draft day but anyone else? I imagine the Thunder could use him considering they don't have anyone with as good of a feel at rolling towards the basket as Blair does...not much else comes to mind except maybe some team like Charlotte that's in desperate need of help everywhere.
u trade him + green to the hawks for a package
A short Kevin Duckworth.
Maybe trade Blair and a pick to Brooklyn for Brooks? They're trying to get another 1st to improve the offer for Dwight.
Blair has ALWAYS been too short to defend competent post players. The problem is, with the exception of Duncan, all the Spurs bigs have serious limitations and deficiencies (lack of size, athleticism, skill) which makes for an inadequate pairing of whatever combination Pop decides to throw out on the floor.
That leaves the Spurs frontline extremely vulnerable and susceptible to the opposition's ability to score on the inside, attacking the rim and getting second-chance shots. It also places an inordinate amount of workload on Duncan, who as we all know, is in decline.
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