Tag: George Hill

Younger Spurs planning organized workouts during lockout

Several of the younger Spurs have met and plan to start organized workouts soon.

Spurs guard Danny Green told Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs.com that he has been in contact with several of his teammates . Several of them recently returned to San Antonio to map plans during the workout.

“I saw them actually about a week or two ago,” Green told Garcia. ” We all went back. We talked about dates we want to go back and work out with each other.”

The organized work could be a boon for Green, a former North Carolina standout who appeared in eight game during two stints with the Spurs last season after spending most of the season with the Reno Bighorns in the NBA’s Developmental League. Green scored a season-high 13 points against Phoenix in the regular-season finale on April 13 and averaged 8.7 points in his final four games with San Antonio. He also made the Spurs’ playoff roster, averaging 1.3 points in seven minutes of playoff action over four playoff games.

“The main guys we worked out with at the end of the summer were mostly the young guys,” Green said. “James Anderson, Da’Sean Butler, Gary Neal was there for a little bit, George Hill before he got traded. I’ve seen him (Hill) about two weeks to when I was in San Antonio for the WNBA All-Star game was there. We saw that game.

“Cory Joseph, I’ve kept in touch with him. Hopefully we will go back again, I think in about a week or two, to go workout again with each other. Me, Cory, Da;Sean Butler, James Anderson mostly the young guys. We keep in contact with each other, stay in shape, and we’ll see what happens from there on.”

The organized work will be critical for the young players, who will miss an opportunity to work with Spurs coaches and trainers during the lockout.

Green’s late-season spurt could help him challenge for a roster spot at either shooting guard or small forward if he keeps improving.

That’s why his summer work with other Spurs players will be so critical for him.

George Hill, speeding through the Valley

You’ve got to hand it to now-former Spurs guard George Hill. Despite the fact the Spurs traded him to Indiana on draft night, Hill has kept commitments he made to visit youth camps in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

Trips to places like McAllen, Brownsville and Laredo aren’t exactly glamorous, but Hill is making them anyway.

“I wanted to keep my commitments to those kids,” Hill said late last month, “because it’s about more than basketball.”

Hill’s willingness to remain engaged in a community that isn’t really his own anymore is commendable. Unfortunately, it appears Hill might have been in a little too big a hurry to get to Laredo this afternoon to fulfill one of those obligations.

To wit,

Just Got Pulled Over on my way 2 Laredo! But Cop let us go, because he said what I do for the Kids and Fans N that I’ll be missed!

Luckily for Hill, it appears he got away with his bit of errant driving. Let’s be careful out there.

Lorbek reportedly wants to join Spurs

Back on draft night, the average Spurs fan rode a roller coaster of emotions. They grieved for the trading of George Hill to Indiana, wondered about the untapped potential of Kawhi Leonard and even giggled when somebody saddled the newly acquired Davis Bertans with the too-comical nickname “The Latvian Durant.”

Few gave much thought to the third player to hit the Spurs’ coffers in the deal. What happened on draft night 2011, however, apparently meant a lot to Erazem Lorbek.

According to a Spanish website, having his rights transferred from Indiana to San Antonio has caused

“With this change, it’s much more interesting to me,” Lorbek, who is currently employed by FC Barcelona, told Mundo Deportivo (). “My hope is to cross the Atlantic to play in the strongest league in the world.”

Lorbek, 27, is a 6-foot-10 forward drafted 46th overall  by the Pacers in 2005.  By this point, his internal clock is ticking. If he’s going to join the NBA, time is running short. Lorbek has an opt-out in his contract in Spain which would pave the way for him to make a move.

Apparently, Lorbek is serious about this. According to the report above, he has already informed the Slovenian national team he has no intention of playing in this year’s Eurobasket tournament, angering the Slovenian coach.

Of course, Lorbek’s timing couldn’t be worse. The NBA, as you might have heard, is embroiled in a bitter labor dispute that could threaten some or all of the 2011-12 season. In a reversal of the traditional talent pipeline, some NBA players — notably New Jersey All-Star Deron Williams — are contemplating playing overseas for as long as America’s top professional basketball league remains shuttered.

Until the lockout is resolved and the NBA resumes business as usual, it will be difficult to handicap Lorbek’s chances of joining the Spurs next season.  It is safe to say, however, that the Spurs traded for Lorbek for a reason and, at age 27, time is running out on his opportunity to make an NBA impact.

It seems like he would at least be in the conversation for the Spurs’ roster at some point in the near term.