Sports News and Trade Rumors: Pro Sports Daily

Spurs' McClinton combines sharpshooting, defense

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July 3

San Antonio Express-News

"When you're the 51st selection in the NBA draft, you try harder to make a good first impression. Jack McClinton, a 6-foot-1 shooting star from the University of Miami, showed up Thursday to meet his prospective bosses on the Spurs looking as if he had stepped off the cover of GQ Magazine. His dark gray, pinstriped suit was set off perfectly by a hot pink tie, and he wore a well-shined pair of black leather dress shoes. Then he got a look at a piece of clothing that looked nattier than anything he'd ever seen in a fashion magazine: A white Spurs home jersey, No. 33, trimmed in silver and black, with "McClinton" emblazoned across the back. "You want me to put this on right now?" he said to ..."

Spurs get in line to woo Wallace

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July 2

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs put in a call to representatives for Rasheed Wallace not long after NBA free agency opened at 11:01 on Tuesday night. Now, the wait is on. "There's interest, mutual interest, I would say," Wallace's agent, Bill Strickland, said Wednesday. "I would say the Spurs have a job to do." Wallace, considered to be the top free-agent target for a Spurs team in desperate search for a big man, fielded similar calls from Orlando, Cleveland, Boston and elsewhere in the first few minutes of free agency. All of the above teams, including the Spurs, can make Wallace approximately the same offer, a short-term deal starting at the mid-level exception, expected to be worth around $5.6 million. The ..."

Blair's arrival fills a need for Spurs

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July 2

San Antonio Express-News

"In April, just after the Dallas Mavericks sent the Spurs to their earliest playoff exit in more than a decade, members of the Spurs braintrust gathered to compile a specific wish list for the offseason. "No. 2 on the list," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, "was ass-kicking forward." The Spurs just didn't expect to find such a player in the second round of the NBA draft. On Wednesday, the 20-year-old who the Spurs hope can fill that bill walked through the doors at the team's headquarters for the first time. DeJuan Blair says he will be all too happy to oblige. Selected with the No. 37 overall pick in last week's draft, Blair is expected to contribute immediately to a Spurs ..."

Not just Wallace

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July 2

San Antonio Express-News

"It is widely believed Rasheed Wallace is at the top of the Spurs free-agent target list. Yet they are hardly putting all their eggs in the Wallace basket. In addition to Wallace, the Spurs have contacted at least two other big men during the early throes of free agency. According to an NBA source, the Spurs have also been in touch with Antonio McDyess, Wallace's soon-to-be-former Detroit teammate, and Dallas forward Brandon Bass. McDyess would be an intriguing fallback option should the Wallace plan not work out. The Pistons are interested in re-signing McDyess, who returned to Detroit after being included in the Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson deal last fall, but it is believed he could be ..."

Jefferson discusses shock of trade to San Antonio

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July 2

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Former Milwaukee Bucks forward Richard Jefferson said he was shocked on a few levels when he learned he had been traded to the San Antonio Spurs, who did not have to lose Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli. Jefferson made his comments Tuesday on Dan Patrick's radio show, which airs in the Milwaukee market on WSSP-AM (1250). Jefferson said he was in North Carolina preparing to attend the funeral of his fiancée's great-grandmother when he learned he had been traded. "I was kind of surprised," Jefferson said. "I was shocked to tell you the truth. The fact that San Antonio was able to keep their three main players was even more of a shock. It immediately got a buzz going on my phone." ..."

Finley stays; big, tall task left for Spurs

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July 1

San Antonio Express-News

"The first piece of the Spurs' free-agent puzzle fell into place just before lunchtime Tuesday. That's when Michael Finley informed the team that he didn't want to be one. Finley, 36, eschewed a second consecutive summer of free agency, exercising a contract option to stay in San Antonio that will pay him $2.5 million next season. If the Spurs' next offseason move is a success, Finley probably won't wind up having to play center next season. At the stroke of midnight in New York, which signaled open season on this summer's free agents, Finley - 6-foot-7 and a swingman by trade - officially became the fourth-tallest player on the Spurs' roster. As this summer's free agency opens, this much ..."

Finley opts to stay with Spurs

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June 30

San Antonio Express-News

"Michael Finley has informed the Spurs that he intends to exercise his contractual option and spend a fifth season with the team. Finley, 36, is coming off a season in which he averaged 9.7 points, shooting 43.7 percent from the field and a career-best 41.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. He played in 81 games, starting all but for."

Spurs expect Finley to come back

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June 30

San Antonio Express-News

"The NBA free-agent market opens for business at 11:01 p.m. today, when all expiring contracts are terminated. The Spurs aren't expecting to have to stay up quite so late to have their first big free-agency decision made for them. Though he has yet to officially inform the club of his decision, swingman Michael Finley is expected to exercise his contract option and remain with the Spurs for a fifth season. Finley, 36, played in 81 games for the Spurs last season, starting all but four of those. He averaged 9.7 points, while enjoying the most accurate shooting season of his Spurs tenure - he hit 43.7 percent from the field and a career-best 41.1 percent from 3-point range."

Spurs' Jefferson a new piece for new era

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June 28

San Antonio Express-News

"Stepping off a private jet onto the tarmac at San Antonio International Airport on Wednesday, Richard Jefferson felt a blast of triple-digit heat boiling up from the blacktop and believed he finally had arrived in the place his NBA career was meant to be. Born in Los Angeles, raised in Phoenix, and with a summer home in San Diego, the newest Spur had no problem adjusting to the sizzling temperatures that have kept most South Texans seeking artificially cooled interiors for nearly two weeks. "Everyone is talking about how hot it is here," Jefferson said. "But this feels like home to me." Home is a relative concept in professional sports, but Jefferson has reason to believe San Antonio could ..."

DeJuan DeMan: Beyond his talent

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June 28

San Antonio Express-News

"Hasheem Thabeet stretched and blocked the shot. He does that. He's 7-foot-3. But then DeJuan Blair retrieved the basketball. This was in February, when Pitt met UConn in a Big East showdown, and Blair quickly powered back to wow America. "I felt like an animal at that point," Blair said then. "I felt like I wanted to kill." Blair paused and shrugged. "So I killed." Blair ended with 22 points and 23 rebounds, and the UConn coach, Jim Calhoun, called Blair "a man." Weeks later, when penciling Pittsburgh into a tournament bracket in front of a TV camera, President Obama used the same, exact phrase. This is why the Spurs suddenly feel blessed again, and this is why the Spurs are as optimistic ..."

O'Neal Is Set To Be Best Since Jordan

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June 27

Washington Post

columnist Mike Wise

"When the rumor first gained genuine steam some two weeks ago, Kobe Bryant's championship night was nearly upstaged. When the trade officially went through Thursday, Blake Griffin's big moment was shoved to the back burner. The Orlando Magic, meanwhile, heard footsteps ominous enough to make the defending Eastern Conference champions go out and procure Vince Carter later that day. And now, two days later, the reverberations of Shaquille O'Neal pairing with LeBron James in Cleveland are still being felt, with Shaq undeniably gaining an upper hand on Kobe and Tim Duncan in the race for a fifth NBA championship ring. All of which begs the question: More than 10 years after Michael Jordan ..."

Blair and Young fall to second round

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June 27

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Pitt All-American DeJuan Blair announced April 9 that he was leaving Pitt with two seasons of eligibility remaining. At his news conference, Blair said there was no reason for him to return to school, saying: "I'm guaranteed of being a first-round pick. I'm an Internet freak. I go on all the draft boards. No one has me going in the second round. That's almost a guarantee to me." Blair found out last night there are no guarantees on draft night. Blair and teammate Sam Young, also a first-round hopeful, were not selected until the second round. That sent shock waves around the Pitt campus where many had expected to hear their names called much earlier. Blair, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound forward, ..."

Spurs' first-rate discoveries

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June 27

San Antonio Express-News

"With three second-round picks, the Spurs grabbed a rebounder whose knees caused him toout of the first round, a sharpshooter some think is too small for the NBA and the requisite foreign guy who'll likely remain overseas for a spell. Still, ESPN.com's Chad Ford gave the Spurs his only A for going with Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, Miami's Jack McClinton and France's Nando de Colo, calling Blair the steal of the draft. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford agreed: "You don't find a guy like that falling very often." Douglas Pils tracks down what others have said about the Spurs' selections, as well as a few notes on each. DeJuan BlairFacts: Turned 20 on April 22. ... Grew up 600 yards from the ..."

Blair: No regrets despite falling to 2nd round pick

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June 26

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Despite being taken in the second round of the NBA Draft last night, Pitt All-American DeJuan Blair has no regrets about turning professional after his sophomore season. "No, this is what I wanted," Blair said this morning on a conference call the day after the San Antonio Spurs drafted him with the No. 37 overall selection. "I think it was a good decision. I couldn't have landed in a better situation than I am in now. [San Antonio] just traded Kurt Thomas, their starting forward. It's a dream come true. I should have been a first-round pick, but God wanted me toto the second round." Blair's agent Happy Walters said it was in Blair's best interest to turn professional because Blair has a ..."

Spurs see Blair as steal

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June 26

San Antonio Express-News

"In a different world, with a different medical sheet, Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair might have been a lottery pick. Blessed with an instinctive rebounding ability but cursed with two surgically repaired knees, Blair instead slipped to the second round of Thursday night's NBA draft. The Spurs were waiting. And almost salivating. When Blair was still on the board at No. 37, the Spurs — after a long wait just to get on the clock — wasted little time in using their first pick of the night to try and fill their most pressing need. "They were the one team that believed in me," Blair said by phone late Thursday night. "Since they believed in me, I'm going to give them 1000 percent." The Spurs ..."

Spurs' makeover continues with draft

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June 25

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs' trade for Richard Jefferson came together quickly Tuesday, but it did not happen overnight. It was the result of months of wheeling and dealing, huffing and haggling, gentle prodding and hard-line negotiation. And when it was over, and the Spurs front office had consummated the team's most significant trade in two decades, general manager R.C. Buford stood before the news media and made a pronouncement. This, he said, was only the beginning. "This is just a piece of our plan going forward," Buford said. "I think there are some opportunities in the draft and free agency. We're going to continue to look at a lot of different areas to bolster our lineup." The trade with Milwaukee, ..."

Jefferson answers the call for Spurs' latest evolution

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June 25

San Antonio Express-News

"Richard Jefferson had been a Spur only for a few hours, but he was already in Gregg Popovich's doghouse. Jefferson took a flurry of cell-phone calls in the moments after he learned he had been traded from Milwaukee to San Antonio on Tuesday. He just so happened to miss the most important one. The one from his new head coach. It was a text message from Tim Duncan that ultimately alerted Jefferson to his faux pas. Then, the Spurs captain offered his newest teammate a friendly warning. "He said, 'Don't get traded twice in one day,'" Jefferson said. Eventually, Jefferson got a hold of Popovich, who is out of town, and the two enjoyed a brief conversation. By Wednesday morning, Jefferson was on ..."

San Antonio Spurs just got better; the Dallas Mavericks didn't

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June 25

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

columnist Randy Galloway

"Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, Stars — just don't do these kinds of deals: The San Antonio Spurs, about as small-market as you can get on the pro sports landscape, gave up "nothing" and added a $29 million, major front-court piece this week in Richard Jefferson. For the Mavs' loyal fan base, sweating through the summer's first heat wave, a logical and loud response was, "Where the bleep were we?" Mark Cuban, I have been notified, answered the Jefferson steal by tweet (OK, the first time I ever Twitter, shoot me). "Winning the summer is not the ultimate goal in the NBA" was his catty comeback. Thanks, Mark, except you left your rear end hanging out there in the left lane of I-35. The Spurs' ..."

Draft and Trade Buzz

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June 24

Yahoo! Sports

"As the Minnesota Timberwolves prepare to make a push for Memphis' pick at No. 2, it's become clear that they won't package the fifth and sixth picks to get there. The Wolves have made it clear to teams that are trying to pry their 18th pick that it isn't available. They want to use that in combination with one of the two higher picks to make a deal with Memphis. … The Utah Jazz are enamored with University of Pittsburgh tough guy Sam Young at No. 20, who is a perfect fit for head coach Jerry Sloan. … Golden State has long been enamored with Brandon Jennings at No. 7, but league sources say the Warriors are considering Wake Forest forward James Johnson there as well. Few teams would have ..."

Bowen says San Antonio will always be home

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June 24

San Antonio Express-News

"Before Bruce Bowen arrived in San Antonio in the summer of 2001, signed by the Spurs as a free agent, he had played professionally in France, Rockford, Fort Wayne, Ind., then had stints in the NBA with the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. No wonder, then, that a few hours after learning the Spurs had traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, Bowen declared his intent to remain a San Antonian. "This is home for us, and we've said this time and time before," Bowen said at a brief news conference in the foyer of Yardley's Salon and Spa, the business he and his wife, Yardley, opened in 2008. "I wouldn't do something like this (business) and then turn around and leave as ..."

Spurs are getting Bucks' Jefferson

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June 24

San Antonio Express-News

"I'd thank Bruce Bowen and tell him to come back someday. Bring your No. 12, I'd tell him. We might want to display it with a few other numbers. I'd want Fab Oberto to know how much he meant in 2007, and I'd tell Kurt Thomas he was unlucky. He twice missed playing with a healthy Manu Ginobili in the playoffs. Then I'd do this deal - after a quick call to Tim Duncan for approval - because Richard Jefferson is worth this and more. But that's easy for me to say, since I won't be paying millions in luxury tax. Peter Holt will - to the surprise of many. This goes against the trend. When Holt isn't looking for the public to build him an ice rink, he's wanting a few more million for AT"

Spurs trade three for one

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June 24

San Antonio Express-News

"During each of the past few offseasons, a growing segment of the Spurs fan base has been asking for the team to get younger and more athletic. On Tuesday, the Spurs answered. In a move meant to jimmy open Tim Duncan's championship window just a few more inches, the Spurs obtained swingman Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee as part of a three-team deal that sent longtime defensive whiz Bruce Bowen and forward Kurt Thomas to the Bucks and landed center-forward Fabricio Oberto in Detroit from Milwaukee. In doing so, the Spurs swapped three of their oldest players for a proven NBA scorer who just celebrated his 29th birthday Sunday. "He's an athlete," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, ..."

Flexible benefits

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June 24

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"The newest makeover of the Milwaukee Bucks began in earnest on Tuesday when general manager John Hammond dealt 29-year-old forward Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a three-team deal to achieve some needed financial flexibility for the franchise. Jefferson, acquired in a draft-day deal by Hammond last June, was sent to the Spurs in exchange for 38-year-old forward Bruce Bowen and veteran forward Kurt Thomas, and the Bucks also obtained forward Amir Johnson from Detroit while the Spurs sent forward-center Fabricio Oberto to the Pistons. The deal took nearly all day to complete, finally becoming official around 9 p.m. The move will result in some financial flexibility for ..."

Spurs trade Bowen, Thomas and Oberto for Richard Jefferson

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June 23

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs are nearing completion of a trade that will send veterans Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for athletic, 29-year-old small forward Richard Jefferson, NBA executives from both the Eastern and Western conferences have told the Express-News. Jefferson averaged 19.6 points per game in 2008-09, his first season with the Bucks after seven with the New Jersey Nets. He started in all 82 of the Bucks' games last season, making 43.9 percent of his shots, 39.7 from 3-point range. He also averaged 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Bowen, 37, has been with the Spurs since 2001. A defensive standout at small forward, he started every game for six ..."

Bucks deal Jefferson to Spurs

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June 23

ESPN.com

"The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto a Bucks source told ESPN.com. The two teams have agreed to the deal in principle. A trade call to make the deal official is coming later Tuesday. The move gives the Spurs a dynamic wing scorer to play alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs had promised to make their team better this summer and adding Jefferson for role players should give them a huge shot in the arm. The Bucks incentive to make the trade is largely financial. Bowen, Oberto and Thomas are all in the last year of their contracts. The deal will clear $15 million off the books ..."

Spurs discuss trade for Bucks' Jefferson

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June 23

Yahoo! Sports

"The San Antonio Spurs are in serious discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks for forward Richard Jefferson, league executives told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday. The proposed deal would have the Spurs send send veterans Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto to the Bucks, who are looking to shed the remaining two years, $29.2 million on Jefferson's contract for the Spurs' expiring contracts. The deal isn't completed, but league executives say both teams appear motivated to get it done."

Udoka waits for news on future with Spurs

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June 23

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs fans are eager to know what their team may, or may not, do between now and Thursday's NBA draft. So, too, are the players who were on the roster when the team made its early exit from the playoffs, and if you are a player less than two weeks from free agency, anxiety is a daily companion. Ime Udoka's path to the Spurs included stops in Spain, France, the NBA D-League, and minor-league teams in Fargo, N.D., and Glens Falls, N.Y. It is a career history that mitigates abject fear of the unknown, but Udoka will be watching the telecast of Thursday's draft to the bitter end, attuned to any news with a potential to affect his future in silver and black, with a touch of nervousness about ..."

Spurs assistant in charge of Aussies

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June 21

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown will never forget his first trip to Australia. He was 25 years old, with wanderlust in his heart and a little bit of money in his pocket, a young man from New England on a serious undertaking. "I was on a mission to travel," Brown said. "It was a period of my life where I was unsure what I wanted to do. I was just out of college. I had made some money. I was single. At that point, I just wanted to see the world." So he set out to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Along the way, he met his future wife, found a calling as a basketball coach and wound up staying for nearly 13 years. Earlier this month, Brown, now 48, returned again to Australia, again on a ..."

Washington Trade Rumors: Ginobili

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June 13

Washington Post

"As I've stated before, this time of year, there are several rumors that get floated around, names get mentioned, people start to get in a tizzy. One minute it's Ricky Rubio, then it's Amare Stoudemire, then it's Josh Howard. Now, the latest is talk about the Washington Wizards having a deal on the table for Manu Ginobili for a package involving the No. 5 pick. The website, Hoopsworld, has a purely speculative story about it and now it's all over the Internet. I still don't know what the big deal is. Until I see something meaty, there really is no need to overreact. From what I hear, this is what went down: The San Antonio Spurs contacted the Wizards to inquire about what it what it would ..."

Paris-bound Parker promises to stay healthy

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June 12

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs All-NBA point guard Tony Parker is headed to France in a few weeks to begin training with Les Bleus, the French national team that will attempt to earn the final berth in EuroBasket 2009 in an additional round of qualifying next month. During a stopover in San Antonio after a lengthy European vacation, Parker took time to visit the team's youth basketball camp, where he engaged in some spirited pickup games with youngsters barely topping 4 feet in height, and in spirited commentary on reports that Manu Ginobili believes a trade away from the Spurs no longer seems impossible. "I don't know why he said that, but I don't think he's going nowhere," Parker said. "Everybody loves him here, ..."

Guard accused of stealing from Tony Parker

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June 12

San Antonio Express-News

"A security guard hired to watch over Tony Parker's home has been accused of attempting to sell an autographed Michael Jordan jersey on Craigslist after stealing it from the Spurs guard's personal gymnasium. Bexar County sheriff's deputies charged 22-year-old Christopher James Carolan with theft this week after linking him to a posting on the online classifieds Web site for the jersey. Carolan's employer, Price Protective Services, confirmed he was working at the gym when Parker's jersey was stolen May 17. Deputies said the Craigslist advertisement was posted May 18. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office on Thursday said Price Protective Services cooperated with detectives and assisted them in ..."

Guard accused of theft from Spurs' Parker

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June 11

San Antonio Express-News

"A security guard hired to watch over Tony Parker's home has been accused of attempting to hawk on Craigslist an autographed Michael Jordan jersey he swiped from the Spurs guard's personal gymnasium. Bexar County Sheriff's deputies arrested 22-year-old Christopher James Carolan after linking him to a posting on the online classified Web site for the jersey. Deputies said Carolan resigned from the security company a day before the jersey was advertised on the Web site. Carolan's former employer, Price Security Company cooperated with detectives and assisted them in finding Carolan, according to the Sheriff's Office. The investigation also revealed that Carolan had an active felony warrant ..."

Money talks, and Manu stays

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June 11

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Buck Harvey

"A team put in a call to the Spurs last season with a legitimate offer for Manu Ginobili. "Helluva player for a helluva player," is the way Gregg Popovich describes the proposal now. Popovich's answer then is the same as it is now, even after Ginobili ended another season with a limp. Popovich has always loved the guy, and he knows a healthy Ginobili can't be replaced. But there's another reason Ginobili will be a Spur as long as he is upright. He's also a helluva draw at the box office. That the Spurs would even consider trading Ginobili seemed impossible a year ago. Ginobili used the same word this week to describe his sense of that time. But then Ginobili collapsed in Beijing, and the ..."

Spurs' Oberto optimistic after heart procedure

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June 9

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs center Fabricio Oberto wasn't asking for much. All he wanted was to be able to play the game he loved without his heart going haywire. Thanks to a simple procedure, Oberto might have gotten his wish. Oberto is recovering at home after undergoing an ablation procedure Thursday meant to permanently correct a recurring irregular heartbeat. "I want to keep playing without worrying," Oberto said Monday. "That's what's great to me. I get to have a normal life." Oberto, 34, has suffered three bouts of the arrhythmia, called atrial fibrillation, since April 2007, with the most recent episode coming during a practice in March. The condition caused a butterfly feeling in his chest. Each time, ..."

Ginobili predicts complete recovery

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June 8

San Antonio Express-News

"Manu Ginobili boarded a flight to Argentina late Sunday afternoon, headed home for the first time in nearly a year. This time, he planned to stay awhile, using his vacation to relax with friends and family and do all the things that a wandering son and brother does when he finally gets a chance to return home. "I've got almost everything packed up and ready to go," Ginobili said from his San Antonio home a few hours before leaving for the airport. "There was a lot to pack." Ginobili could be bringing everything but the kitchen sink back with him to Buenos Aires. It still wouldn't match the baggage he carried the last time he made the trip home. Last summer, the Spurs guard boarded a ..."

Despite poor economy, NBA will not eliminate luxury tax

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June 5

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Although several teams have taken a hit financially, NBA Commissioner David Stern said Thursday the league has no plans to eliminate the luxury tax until the economy recovers. With his team's player payroll projected to exceed $76 million, Hornets owner George Shinn could have to pay a luxury tax bill of more than $5 million next summer. The Hornets were one of the 12 teams that received loans from the league this spring. Since 2003, 17 of the league's 30 teams have borrowed $2 billion since the league began establishing a line of credit for loans used by teams. "There's a difference between choosing to and having a need to," Stern said at state of his league address before Thursday's ..."

Ever against Spurs, Kobe doin' work

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June 4

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Buck Harvey

"Spike Lee aimed 30 cameras at Kobe Bryant a year ago. In the background, playing the straight man in the film, were the Spurs. Never has casting been more appropriate. As the last NBA Finals of this decade begin tonight, the Spurs are in the background again. Kobe has a chance to cement the Lakers as the team of this decade and, if he does, the reason should be clear to anyone who remembers 2000. Then Kobe looked the way he will look tonight. The Lakers will win this championship. They have flaws, as the Rockets and Nuggets revealed, but they match up well with the Magic. The Lakers have long defenders to stretch out on the Orlando 3-point shooters, and they have two 7-footers to stretch ..."

Spurs get OK for ice rink

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May 29

San Antonio Express-News

"The San Antonio Spurs on Thursday won preliminary approval for a $4 million taxpayer-funded practice facility at the AT"

Spurs want $10 million released for arena

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May 24

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs are seeking $10 million in Bexar County bond money for improvements at the county-owned AT"

Richest coaches are not the best

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May 18

Philadelphia Inquirer

columnist John Gonzalez

"It's a cruel, unjust world.Forbes recently released its list of the 10 highest-paid professional coaches. If you haven't seen it, be sure to have some Kleenex and high-quality vodka handy - it's enough to make you cry, or drink, or both.Lakers coach Phil Jackson is No.1, earning $10.3 million per year. It's an obscene salary, but he has won nine championships. Only four other guys in the top 10 have titles: Larry Brown (No. 2, $7 million), Doc Rivers (tied for No. 5, $5.5 million) and Tom Coughlin (No. 8, $5.25 million) each have one pro championship, while Bill Belichick (tied for No. 10, $5 million) has three.The rest of the list haven't won a thing: The Knicks' Mike D'Antoni and the ..."

Old Spurs making their mark

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May 16

San Antonio Express-News

"The NBA long has been littered with Spurs alumni, and when one of them won a coach of the year award last month, Gregg Popovich admitted there's a downside. "Once trained," Popovich said after former assistant Mike Brown was honored for his work as head coach of the Cavaliers, "it is hard sometimes to watch them go away." Then there are those who were never trained at all. While Brown channels his inner Pop and leads the postseason's only undefeated team, the two coaches who best encapsulate this year's frenetic, new-era playoffs are guys who also have silver-and-black roots. George Karl and Vinny Del Negro were Spurs, all right. Just like Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. The meanings of ..."

Spurs' Duncan, Parker grace All-NBA teams

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May 15

San Antonio Express-News

"Tim Duncan made another round of history with Wednesday's release of this season's All-NBA teams. Tony Parker experienced a career first. Duncan, the Spurs power forward, earned a second-team mention for the second year in a row, becoming the first player to be named All-NBA in each of his first 12 seasons. He is one of eight players in league history to receive at least a dozen All-NBA selections. Parker, meanwhile, was named to the third-team, garnering All-NBA mention for the first time in his career. In doing so, he became the first point guard in Spurs history to be named All-NBA. Duncan averaged 19.3 points and ranked fourth in the NBA with a team-leading 10.7 rebounds per game. He ..."

Fisher needs help, and Lakers need to get mean

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May 12

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs fans' memories of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals last no more than four-tenths of a second before reality is perceived as injustice. Then, in Game 5, Derek Fisher was an assassin in the corner. But Fisher wasn't the point guard who deep-sixed the Spurs' hopes of defending their 2003 title. By accepting blame for allowing Tony Parker's 50 points in Games 1 and 2, Gary Payton set the tone for the Lakers' comeback from a 2-0 series deficit. The series outcome only seems as if it hinged on Fisher's shot with four-tenths of a second left. Payton's defiance in a "blame me" rant the day after Parker burned him and the Lakers for 30 points in the Spurs' Game 2 victory sounded an ..."

People skills made Chuck Daly a dream to play for

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May 11

Philadelphia Daily News

"THOSE WHO knew him well will tell you that Chuck Daly probably was as good with X's-and-O's as the next basketball coach. It wasn't his strongest trait, though. What made Daly one of the most revered coaches of his or any era was his uncanny knack for knowing what buttons to push to transform a disparate group of individuals into a cohesive unit. Daly, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2001, died of pancreatic cancer Saturday morning in Jupiter, Fla., at the age of 78. With the exception of a wretched half-season with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a rookie NBA head coach in 1981-82, Daly was a winner everywhere he went. And, ..."

Daly ends battle with cancer

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May 10

Charlotte Observer

"Chuck Daly once described himself as "a journeyman coach who got lucky with some players in Detroit." He didn't really believe that, of course, but that was part of Daly's self-deprecating charm, his enduring appeal. He didn't need to act important all the time, or remind people with pithy slogans how much of a defensive innovator he was. Maybe that was because he didn't become a head coach in the NBA until he was 51, a champion with the Pistons until he was 58. He was a dues-payer and a lifer in the truest sense. In his final days, as pancreatic cancer stole this dapper 78-year-old's trademark vigor, he was surrounded by, among others, Billy Cunningham and Rollie Massimino, the ..."

'Bad Boys' coach won two titles

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May 10

San Francisco Chronicle

"Chuck Daly, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles, then the U.S. Dream Team to the 1992 Olympic gold medal, died Saturday in Jupiter, Fla. He was 78. Mr. Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two months ago. In his honor, NBA coaches have worn "CD" pins during the postseason. Born in 1930 in St. Marys, Pa., Mr. Daly was a Depression baby, who used to tell a young Doug Collins, "I don't trust happiness." Mr. Daly's rise was as improbable as that of his Pistons, a widely-hated team that reveled in its nickname, "Bad Boys," as it unseated the Larry Bird Celtics and the Magic Johnson Lakers. He began humbly at Punxsutawney High School, in ..."

After their early boot, Spurs focus on next season

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May 7

San Antonio Express-News

"Suffering their earliest exit in the postseason since 2000, the Spurs hope to use the long summer to reinvigorate their championship franchise. And fresh off their dismal first-round, five-game series performance against the Dallas Mavericks, the Silver and Black could use the extra time off even if they weren't counting on it. To avoid a similar scenario next season and to contend for a fifth NBA title, the Spurs will look to use three second-round draft picks and some leeway in their budget to get the Big Three some much-needed help. "I don't think at all we are over," said point guard Tony Parker. "I think with a healthy Manu Ginobili and a couple changes in our role players, we will be ..."

Duncan's defense honored again

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May 7

San Antonio Express-News

"For the 12th time in his 12 seasons, Spurs forward Tim Duncan found his name listed on one of the NBA's All-Defensive teams Wednesday. In doing so, he etched his name deeper into the league record books. Duncan, an eight-time member of the All-Defensive first team, earned a spot on this year's second team. He is the only player in NBA history to claim a dozen All-Defensive nominations. Duncan had shared the previous mark of 11 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "He's been our foundation for quite a while now," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He does whatever he can to make things good for everybody else." While Duncan's All-Defensive streak remained intact, Bruce Bowen's did not. Limited mostly ..."

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