Tag: R.C. Buford

Spurs slowly getting business in order

The Spurs unlocked the doors to their practice complex Thursday morning, but players didn’t exactly barge through.

Maybe they knew members of the team’s medical staff were waiting inside, ready to give each player the requisite preseason physical exam.

Who likes an ice-cold stethoscope pressed against bare skin anyway?

Only three Spurs showed up for physicals Thursday: team captain Tim Duncan, second-year guard James Anderson and first-round draft pick Cory Joseph.

Most other members of the team aren’t expected to arrive until the weekend, and authorized offseason workouts won’t begin for another day or two.

According to one eyewitness, Duncan looked fit and trim.

All-Star point guard Tony Parker is scheduled to take a flight from Paris today and is expected at the practice facility Saturday or Sunday.

All-Star guard Manu Ginobili — who had been in San Antonio for a few weeks before the Nov. 10 breakdown in labor negotiations — will be in town Wednesday, according to his agent, Herb Rudoy.

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford and his staff continued talking to representatives of free agents so the club can be prepared for the opening of free agency, scheduled for Dec. 9.

A report in the Argentine sports publication Ole! on Thursday quoted former Spurs center Fabricio Oberto expressing hope that he might return to the Spurs for one more season.

According to that report, the Spurs had talked with Oberto’s Argentina-based agent before the lockout and showed interest in bringing the 36-year-old center back to the team.

Buford would neither confirm nor deny the team’s interest in the big man.

Traded by the Spurs in the 2008 deal that acquired forward Richard Jefferson, Oberto retired from the Portland Trail Blazers last season after suffering a recurrence of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that twice sidelined him during his four seasons with the Spurs.

Cleared in July to play for Argentina in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Oberto was a solid contributor to his national team winning the gold medal in that grueling tournament. He is expected to play for Argentina during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Meanwhile, a significant hurdle on the path to a new collective bargaining agreement has been cleared. The players union will be reconstituted after receiving recertification cards from more than 260 player members. This will allow bargaining to continue with the NBA in an effort to complete a collective bargaining agreement in time for the planned Christmas Day opening of the 2011-12 season.

Spurs en route to gym

It’s beginning to seem a lot like NBA season.

Permitted by the NBA to resume upgrading the roster, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford and his staff spent most of Wednesday working the phones, talking to agents to gauge the interest of potential free-agent signees on Dec. 9.

“This was like the July 1 of (a normal) free-agency period,” Buford said. “We had a big group in the office making a lot of calls.”

This morning the Spurs’ practice gym will open to players, and head athletic trainer Will Sevening will be on hand.

Whether any Spurs show up to work out, put up shots or play pick-up games remains to be seen.

“We’re still not allowed to talk to players,” Buford said, mentioning that the NBA lockout continues despite the tentative deal reached Saturday. “We don’t even know who is, and isn’t, in the area.”

Matt Bonner, the Spurs forward who served on the players union’s executive committee during months of negotiations, plans to be at the facility by Sunday, along with a majority of his teammates.

“I’m definitely excited to get back on that practice court in San Antonio with the guys and start preparing to try and win a championship,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of the guys. Most of them will be back by this weekend. A few more will be there early next week, and everyone is definitely happy to be getting back on that court and looking forward to playing NBA basketball again.”

Though a new collective bargaining agreement remains a work in progress, the NBA gave teams the go-ahead to unlock facilities that have been off-limits to players since the league locked them out July 1.

Spurs players will have to get physical exams and sign waivers absolving the team from responsibility for injuries before they can use its facilities.

The Spurs’ new strength and conditioning coordinator, Matt Herring, and his staff will be allowed to assist with weight-training equipment, but the training and conditioning staffs are prohibited from supervising workouts.

Executives and coaches are forbidden from observing player activity until the lockout officially is ended.

Meanwhile, most NBA players on Tuesday received official recertification cards from the trade association that has represented them in negotiations to settle the anti-trust lawsuits filed by player plaintiffs. The National Basketball Players Association disbanded Nov. 14 after negotiations broke down. Included with the cards: FedEx envelopes for returning the signed cards quickly.

At least 260 signed cards in favor of reforming the union must be received by the American Arbitration Association by the close of business Thursday to allow negotiations on a formal CBA to continue.

Bonner said faxed copies of the signed cards will be counted, as will electronically submitted cards, pending receipt of the original cards.

The formal CBA must be ratified by both the players and owners before the projected opening of training camps Dec. 9.

Blog brother thinks Nash for Tiago, TP is workable deal

Even with the lockout, there’s still a few interesting stories found on the internet if you look hard enough.

ESPN.com “insider” Tom Haberstroh spells out a variety of scenarios that might be available for the Phoenix Suns if they .

Among the possible trades that Haberstroh considers is one where Nash would be dealt traded to the Spurs for a package including  Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter.

Haberstroh also mentions Oklahoma City and New York as possible locations for Nash.

Here’s what he had to say about a Nash-to-the-Spurs scenario on his password-protected report.

“Who else should the Suns call? The San Antonio  have a shutting title window, but it’s still open as long as Tim Duncan’s around. The Spurs might feel pressure to shake things up after their core was blindsided by the Grizzlies last season. The money works for a Nash-for-Tony Parker deal, but the Suns may be reluctant to absorb Parker’s long-term deal unless they receive Tiago Splitter in there, too.

One problem with Haberstroh’s analysis. Even with Parker’s iffy contract status, I can’t see Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford willingly trading him and Splitter for Nash. Parker is more than 8 years younger than Nash. While Nash ranks among the greatest point guards in NBA history, I think that age difference effectively kills any interest the Spurs might have.

Here are a few other Spurs-related stories from across the web. Enjoy them. 

  • Oregonian columnist John Canzano says that Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindseyfor the vacant Portland general manager position.   
  • Project Spurs.com’s Michael De Leon liked what he saw when by scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to help beat the former BYU All-American’s team.
  • Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of Hell.com describes how a the Spurs annual Rodeo Road Trip. And McNeill isn’t excited about Duncan , despite new Spurs strength coach Matt Herring’s aim to preserve his career for a few more years.
  • Humberto Cervera of Project Spurs.com writes that  for the NBA season to start.
  • Associated Press Indianapolis-based reporter Cliff  Brunt when the lockout ends.
  • The Sacramento Bee’s Ailene Voisin notes that the Kings’ home exhibition opener against the Spurs is among the .
  • an interview with Toronto radio station CJCL.
  • Among current and former Spurs, Duncan ranks as the  on the Bleacher Report.com’s Kelly Scaletta’s list of top players in NBA history. , , and . Michael Jordan is the.
  • CBS Sports.com’s Jeff Goodman describes the to former Oklahoma coach and current Houston top assistant Kelvin Sampson.
  • KXAN television in Austin notes that the Spurs and Rockets are the only professional teams to have .
  • Parker’s wedding band tattoo when he married Eva Longoria is ranked as one of the by Miss Abigail’s Guide.com.