This is from Johnny Ludden a SA newspaper reporter responding to a question concerning this trade: Ludden: Let me put this as simple as possible: Jackie can't speak. He's got a good feel for the game on the offensive end, but he can't communicate. He mumbles at best, and not a single scout I've spoken to -- nearly all of whom don't work for the Spurs -- thinks he could ever grasp the Spurs' defensive system. And if the guy was so damn good, why did the Spurs have to package Scola with him? Cleveland desperately wanted Scola, but killed the deal because they wanted no part of Jackie. Not even just to cut him. The guy is 22, so his career is far from over, but talk to anybody in the league and they'll tell you the same thing: He was way too into the night life in New York, his work habits in San Antonio were poor until the later part of the season and no one can understand him. The Knicks have eight beat writers covering the team and you'll be hard-pressed to find a single quote that came out of Jackie's mouth during his two seasons in New York. The problem, of course, is the Spurs, for some innane reason, thought he could fit with them.
The Spurs permitted the Rockets to talk with Scola, 27, in recent days and, although contract negotiations were not permitted, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was confident Scola was ready to make the move to the NBA. ``We're planning to sign Luis,'' Morey said. ``He's excited to play in Houston. We expect to see him in a Rockets uniform next year. Luis is very motivated to come to the league and is very motivated to play with Yao (Ming) and Tracy (McGrady). ``The Spurs gave us permission to speak with him about three days ago, and we had a long conversation.''
Thanks neighbor, we'll let him walk away next year. We've lived with JHo's contract for years, Bulter's 2mil for one year is just a piece of cake.
Cleveland, I believe, is going to be well into tax territory if they spend any kind of money re-signing Varejao or Pavlovic, so Jackie's $2.4 mil per year is really double that to them. The Rockets have a little more flexibility on that front (guys like Snyder, Reed, etc can be easily traded for no salary in return), so he's less of a risk to them. I can't imagine otherwise his salary would be that big a problem for any team...
Scola doesn't have to be an impact player. He has to be serviceable. If he adds even 10% to the cumulative team worth on each end of the floor, he'll be a bargain and the Rockets will be significantly stronger. I hope he can be an impact player, but I'll be happy if he just ends up being a 4 we don't have to worry about.
I agree. They really don't want or need Spanoulis. Even if they have to pay him off, they will use the cash we supplied in this deal. This trade was done to dump Butler's salary and open up a roster spot so they can pursue Ime Udoka. I saw somewhere that SA will end up saving $7 million because of this trade. Now that's smart. They can afford to make this deal because they have several good prospects still stashed overseas. Scola really had no spot on this year's or next year's Spurs team. Butler had played himself out of SA. This is a good deal for both teams because they both end up with something of value.
I'm sure Butler's contract is much easier to swallow than Jho's and as you point out it's only for a year.
Well, we dealt with Yao during his transition, so this shouldn't be a big deal. Bring Colin back and have him live with Jackie so they can work on enunciating the English language.
I don't think so bud. The way its being reported, the Spurs were trying to make deals with eastern conference teams to keep Scola out of the west. What does that tell you? That they think enough of Scola's game to where they didn't want to trade him to one of their division rivals. I think theres two things that happened for the Rockets to make out like bandits. 1) The Spurs not being able to make a deal with eastern conference teams and 2) the pressure to still get something done within the next few days so Scola could get out of his contract and live his dream in the NBA. I mean look, the Rockets are the last team they want Scola going to but they were running out of time, and out of sense of integrity, for Scola's sake, they took the best deal still out there, which was the Rockets one. Thats the way it see it.
Yeah, I'm skeptical too. I think if Scola had legit talent he'd have been in the NBA before 27...but then again, who knows. I'll just see what happens.
Here's why from today's SA Express-News: A 2002 second-round draft pick of the Spurs, Scola has been playing for Spanish team Tau Ceramica, where he is generally regarded as one of the best players in Europe. The Spurs had hoped to sign him two years ago, but his buyout was too large, so they instead opted to bring over his friend and countryman, center Fabricio Oberto. That buyout was initially $15 million and is now reported $3 million. In the meantime, they won it all with Oberto and Bonner so they have no need for Scola especially when you consider they have Splitter waiting in the wings. He was just about to sign with Tau Ceramica and SA would have lost him for good. So they make this deal, dump Butler on us and turn nothing into something. Scola is no Tim Duncan but he's light-years better than what they currently had hence the joyful shouts of glee you see in this thread. Yeah, I'm getting a nice chuckle at all of the Morey love going on right now and I fully agree that it's best to wait until November and actually see how this new team does on the court before we annoint him as the chosen one.
Sabonis was another guy who had legitimate NBA talent but stayed overseas during the prime of his career, so it can happen.
Its mis-ploding... the multiverse. If we could sign that SF3 guy this will become the Best Team ever assembled in the history of the Multiverse. Mark my words. In fact, when Morey trades Lucas for a time machine, we can bring Les's statement from 5 years ago back to the future - so he can be recognized for the visionary he is - who would have known Les is a prophet? Huh? What?!! Shut up, and smell this. We're obviously headed down the wrong hole, holes you say... I can't believe wie gave up Michelle for this chump, wtp?! Who?!? Look man, it was stolen, this is a better destiny for you and this multiverse. Thank you, come again... just not in the slushy machine.
There is something: 1. After Spurs held his rights but not allowing him to talk to any other NBA teams for several years, Scola and his agent told them he would never play for Spurs. 2. Only 3 days left before Scola signs a contract with Tau for 5 years. Once it's signed, Scola will have no value at all to Spurs. 3. Spurs tried to put Scolar in a 3 way deal with Cavs and Kings, but it didn't go through. 4. By dealing with Rockets, Spurs gets 7 million back plus a 2nd rounder.
Keep in mind that the Spurs brain trust has been broken up, thus their management is no longer the feared unit it was. Sam Presti left to become GM of the Sonics, and Kevin Pritchard left to become the Blazers' GM. (And notice the nice offseasons both those teams have had...) So, conceivably, it IS possible now that the Spurs have no clue what the hell they're doing.
Amen... Butler, no. Scola yes. (1) The Spurs came to feel that Butler could not function in their defensive system which relies on making reads and communicating with teammates. He showed up this season out of shape and got banished to the end of the bench. I have no real expectation that he'll even stick here because he doesn't appear to fit in with what Adelman wants to run. (2) Scola had no spot on their team. Oberto took his place. Bonner showed up and played well and they have Splitter waiting in the wings next year. That's really all there is to it. No big mystery. And everyone including Hayes & Landry would look good playing next to Tim Duncan. (3) San Antonio did try to make a 3-way deal to move Scola to the East and it fell through. Faced with Scola about to sign a long term deal with Tau Ceramica they simply took the best deal out there. What this trade does show is that SA is so loaded they can't even find room for a guy like Scola on their roster. Even with this trade, you have to assume that the Rockets have a ways to go before they can be considered a real threat to the Spurs. While this team is now certainly better on paper, it still remains to be seen how well it will perform vis-a-vis the likes of Dallas, SA & Phoenix. That's what I'll be waiting to see.
Helped out a lot by some lotto balls. Yet, that wasn't what most of you wanted to do when it was en vogue to bash Morey. Now, you want to wait until November when they actually start playing games to grade the offseason. Novel concept.
Scola doesn't really fit on the Spurs compared to the guys already on their roster. What they really need are centers to pair with TD.
