Category: In the News

George Hill considering playing in Europe during lockout

Former Spurs guard George Hill always has enjoyed basketball competition.

The lockout has to be killing Hill, even with the excitement of moving back home to play for the Indiana Pacers after his trade there by the Spurs last month in the Kawhi Leonard swap.

Now, it appears that Hill during the lockout.

Hill’s agent Michael Whitaker told Hoops Hype.com that his client is taking a “wait and see approach” to going overseas to play.  

“If a team with the appropriate budget – that’s an Euroleague or Eurocup team – is willing to give him an NBA out if and when the lockout ends, George will highly consider the offer,” Whitaker said. “If the NBA season is fully canceled, it will be more likely that George pursues an opportunity to play in Europe or China.

“We had a few Euroleague and Eurocup teams very interested and willing to grant him an NBA out, but at the time George was not ready to commit to such offers.

“If such an offer comes at this point, I believe George will be more willing to consider it and accept it.”

Hill’s attitude to playing overseas is similar to those of other players.

If he is convinced there will be no basketball played in the NBA this season because of the lockout, he’ll be ready to play somewhere else.

Former Spurs jailed after legal scrapes

Two former Spurs have been involved in brushes with the law this week that have led to their incarceration.

Jay Vincent, who played 24 games with the Spurs in the 1988-89 season, was jailed Thursday in East Lansing, Mich., . He had pleaded guilty to charges of fraud last year, according to an article by the Lansing State Journal.

And former Spurs forward/center Samaki Walker was arrested late Thursday on drug charges in Kingman, Ariz.  

Vincent’s bond was revoked at a U.S. District Court hearing today and he will be held at the Newaygo County Jail, the article said.

Vincent, who had a nine-season career for six NBA teams, allegedly traveled the country charging people to try out for a fake basketball team.

“We indicated he might be engaging in additional fraud and felt it is pretty clear (and) evident he was writing false checks,” U.S. Attorney Mike MacDonald said in a previous interview.

Vincent also allegedly made at least $2 million on an Internet scam charging people to certify them as home inspectors.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 2.

Walker, who played 132 games for the Spurs in two seasons from 1999-2001, was booked into the Mohave County (Ariz.) jail , as well as one count of tampering with physical evidence, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. 

After being the ninth selection in the 1996 NBA Draft after playing at Louisville, Walker played 445 games in a 10-season career with six different NBA franchises. He was a member of the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers championship team.

Blog brother reports ‘The Titan’ will remain in Spain for two more years

I’ve got to give much credit to Paul Garcia and my blog brothers over at Project Spurs.com for keeping things humming — even in the dog days of a lockout.

Garcia has the report about Gustavo “The Titan” Ayon, a 6-foot-10 power forward from Mexico who drew some interest from the Spurs and the Lakers after an earlier workouts this year.

“The Titan” is going to stay in Spain, scratching another potential big man from helping the Spurs next season. According to El Universal, Ayon said he will with his current team, Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in Spain, thanks in part to the current NBA lockout.

  • Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of Hell.com opines that it won’t be a good sign for the end of the lockout if we see several Spurs .
  • Project Spurs contributors Michael DeLeon, Garcia and Trevor Zickgraf during their weekly podcast.
  • McNeill also to compare Matt Bonner’s production in the regular season compared to the palyoffs and also looks at Gary Neal’s in the wake of the George Hill trade.  
  • Tim C. of Pounding the Rock breaks down someapart from the NBA during the lockout.  
  • The Bleacher Report.com’s Jesse Dorsey analyzes whether,  andare really worth their paychecks.
  • Kevin Prather of Toros Nation.com , the former Baylor standout who almost made the Spurs’ opening roster last season.