I guess I disagree with both of you on 2 accounts

1) Stephen Jackson believed in his own abilities and is now reaping the
rewards of his hard work and determination. Good for him, he's earned
it. He is a hard nosed player that will give any team an 'edge'.

2) Now to Tony Parker. In the current NBA environment, I think the
Spurs got a very good value w/ Tony. He's making $22M less over the
next six years than Kirilenko, Gasol, and Randolph ($84M). Of those 3
the only one I'd take over Tony is Kirilenko. Gasol is young like Tony
and has not developed the toughness needed to earn a max contract yet.
Randolph is an amazing talent, but he might be a handful for that team
(and Tony seems to be a great teammate and a great marketing force in
France).
Tony is also making less than Jason Richardson (6/$70M) and only a
little more than Troy Murphy (6/$60). J Rich is an explosive player
and did average 18.7 ppg last year, but let me remind you that Stephon
Jackson average 18.1 ppg last year and plays better defense. In Troy
Murphy's breakout year (two years ago because he missed about 55 games
last year w/ injury) he was a 11.7/10 player on a bad team. Drew
Gooden will better those numbers this year w/ a team that will win more
games than the Warriors.

I don't know the exact numbers, but I'm guessing that with the new SBC
Center the Spurs are a pretty profitable franchise. The players that
are needed to continue that profitability need to be compensated
fairly. The bottom line is that the Spurs got a hometown discount w/
Tony. There is the chance he will get hurt this year, but chances are
that he could have been a max out player in one year. Of course the
collective bargaining agreement may change all of this, but we'll have
to wait and see.

The Spurs have locked up their top 7 players for at least the next 4
years (if they exercise the team option on Bowen). It ought to be a
fun ride, especially with Beno looking good and Pop's talent of getting
the most out of his role players.

d


On Nov 2, 2004, at 7:18 AM, Jesse wrote:

> I know that many like Parker because he is young and good looking, but
> to me, he has never shown that he can run the offense for the Spurs.
> In both playff series, he fell flat on his face, and it were not for
> Steve Kerr, SA would have lost in the 2003 playoffs, just like they
> did to LA this past season. Parker is not a point guard. He may have
> tremendous athletic ability, but compared to Avery Johnson, he's no
> leader. Avery struggled for years to make it in the NBA, yet he lead
> the Spurs to their first NBA title, hitting was is the greatest shot
> in SA Spurs history. There is no reason the Spurs shouldn't win it all
> this season with Shaq in Maimi and no real threat to Duncan
> defensively, so I just hope Parker has matured enough to lead the
> Spurs to the promise land. He certinly is making enough money.
> spursfan in SA
>
>
> Dennis Rosete wrote:
>
> Gabriel,
>
> I guest its immaterial.  Our Tony just signed a long term contract
> earlier. 
>
> I have to admit you are correct but Tony Parker is being "influenced"
> by his agent.  This is the same case when S. Jax made the serious
> mistake of following his agent and ended up losing more money in the
> end.  Although he finally signed a major contract with Indiana, had
> he been injured then he would be without a job this season.
>
> Now back to Tony Parker.  He is young and is a smart investment for
> the Spurs.  But he is also raw and at times a bit out of control
> (remember the Western conference finals when they had DA).  And you
> know what, he might just do it again.
>
> All for the Spurs,
> DOc Dee
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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