Tag: Cleveland

Spurs were interested in Casspi until the lockout shut off transactions

The Spurs apparently were active right up until the cutoff point before the lockout as they attempted to swing a late trade.

ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets that , who eventually ended up in Cleveland in the J.J. Hickson trade.

Casspi remained with the Cavaliers and the Spurs couldn’t get the deal done before last Thursday’s shutoff point.  

Does that mean they may still try to trade for Casspi as an answer to their jumbled rotation at small forward?

We’ll have to wait until after the lockout to see about that. 

Until then, here are a few missives from my blog brothers and other conventional media sources as we head into the  NBA’s uncertain immediate future because of the cursed lockout.

  • Ken Rodriguez of Spurs.com has the story of from working for the Seattle SuperSonics in college to an assistant coaching position with the Spurs.
  • Kevin Callahan of the Cherry Hill, N.J., Courier-Post pens that.
  • Dave Mackall of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports thatduring games at the Greentree Sportsplex in Pittsburgh.
  • Brad Everett of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relates how Blair at Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am League.
  • Trevor Zickgraf of Project Spurs.com has anfor Latvia  in Fiba’s current U-19 tournament.
  • Erick Dampier might not have been partying with the Dallas Mavericks after the NBA Finals, according to Ira Winderman of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that was .
  • Tony Parker and George Hill apparently are headed to France , according to ouestfrance.fr.
  • The Big Lead.com hasduring the lockout.
  • The Austin American-Statesman’s always astute Kirk Bohls is the Spurs picked former University of Texas point guard Cory Joseph in the first round of the NBA Draft.  
  • B Diddy of Air Alamo.com has from both sides as they work to a settlement in the lockout.
  • Matt Bonner tells the Manchester Union-Leader at Rundlett Middle School back home in Concord, N.H.
  • Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of Hell.com writes about and how it might affect the Spurs’ deal with Jefferson.  McNeill also wonders if if they haven’t signed professional contracts during the lockout and expects because of the lockout.  
  • Hill tells Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that the lockout will give him with his new teammates on the Indiana Pacers.  
  • Josh Guyer of Pounding the Rock.com has started a.
  •  and are among the Spurs-related choices on the Bleacher Report’s Colin Ward-Henninger’s list of the 101 most despised athletes in sports history.   

Rick Barnes says Spurs have a keeper in Cory Joseph

University of Texas coach Rick Barnes believes that the Spurs might have a strong contributor in point guard Cory Joseph.

Joseph was ranked by most talent analysts before the draft as a second-round selection. But Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said that Joseph can help the team defensively at point guard as he explained why he was picked 29th in the first round with the Spurs’ second first-round draft selection.  

Buford should know. He saw Joseph play often during his freshman season as a teammate of his adopted son, Texas forward Alexis Wangmene.

Joseph played in all 36 Texas games as a freshman, leading the team in assists, steals, 3-point percentage and minutes played. He averaged 10.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, reaching double figures in scoring in 21 of the Longhorns’ 36 games last season.

“Cory is a player who, as a coach, you really enjoy being around because of his approach to the game and his work ethic,” Barnes said. “He simply loves to be in the gym and compete.”

That competitive streak should help him prosper in the NBA, Barnes said.

“Cory has a quiet confidence about him and he does all the little things that help a team,” Barnes said. ”We would have loved the chance to work with him at Texas for a longer period of time, as we understand that he is just beginning to develop into the type of player we know he can become.”

Joseph was the third Texas player selected in the first round Thursday night, joining forward Tristan Thompson (No. 4 pick by Cleveland) and Jordan Hamilton (No. 26 pick by Dallas, eventually traded to Denver).