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NBA BASKETBALL:  SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Spurs Team Report

By MICHAEL A. DE LEON                  Sept 10, 2001
La Prensa Newspaper

David Robinson and Tim Duncan were at Sea World of San Antonio as part of a new promotion. Duncan said although some of the players gone will be missed, he thinks there is a definite improvement in this season's lineup and he is excited about the chance to play with Steve Smith. 

Cherokee Parks also seemed very excited about playing in San Antonio. Parks, who flew in to San Antonio Thursday, said he looks forward to playing with an established team and playing with two future hall-of-famers (Duncan and Robinson) 

Sean Elliott signed a two-year contract on Tuesday to be the color analyst for the Spurs broadcasts aside play-by-play announcer Joel Myers. Elliott was on the Spurs broadcasting team when he was recovering from a kidney transplant for the 1999-2000 season. Although many think this signals the end of Elliott's career, his agent Armando Rios says there is a clause in Elliott's broadcasting contract that allows him to play if he gets an offer from the Spurs or another team. 

Jaren Jackson was released on waivers from the Spurs last Wednesday. His exit means another roster spot opens up, but players can only be signed for the league minimum because Jackson's contract was not up until after this season. The Spurs must continue paying Jackson until his contract runs out or until another team signs him, possibly Miami or Cleveland. Jackson was instrumental in the 1999 NBA Finals run, earning the tag "The Eliminator" from NBC broadcaster Bob Costas for his burying the Lakers with three-pointers in the playoff sweep leading to the finals. Jackson signed a three-year contract with the Spurs after their title run for close to $3 million a year but showed up to training camp the next season reportedly overweight and unmotivated. He sat on the end of the bench and rode the injured reserved list most of that season and last season. 

If a team picks Jackson up, the Spurs will be able to bring in another player or re-sign Derrick Dial. Dial reportedly turned down the Spurs last offer to him to look for more playing time elsewhere. Chicago was rumored to be interested in him. If there is another acquisition, it likely needs to be at either guard position with only Antonio Daniels and Tony Parker at the point and the older legs of Steve Smith and Terry Porter at shooting guard. If Parker is not able to make an immediate contribution, there will be a need for a reliable backup point guard, and I do not think Charles Smith is that man. Dial has improved over the years and may be able to contribute. He's extremely athletic, loves to shoot the ball, finishes well, a good rebounder for his size and has good size at 6-5 to play point guard. Although I think Antonio Daniels will succeed as the starting point guard and Parker will be able to contribute, another guard is needed especially with most of the roster spots already taken up by centers and power forwards. 

Speaking of Parker, his website, www.tonyparker.net, published a recent 
question and answer session with him. Visit his site to check it out.

Emmanuel Ginobili, whom the Spurs picked with the 57th selection in the 1999 NBA Draft has been making headlines in Europe. Ginobili was left overseas to develop his game and he is now playing top-notch basketball in the Euroleagues. In an earlier article on Telebasket.com, Ginobili was compared to Kobe Bryant. Ginobili led Argentina to the Tournament of the America's gold. The team defeated Brazil 78-59 sending them to next summer's world championships here in the United States. Argentina went undefeated in the tournament, 10-0 and Ginobili's performance contributed to the team's success. Ginobili exploded for 28 points in the final game and was awarded the tournament's MVP award. The Spurs should think about including Ginobili on their next summer league roster to see how he plays against NBA competition. He could be their main future shooting guard. Ginobili's contract is still up for two more years, but it has an NBA escape clause after the 2001-2002 season. 
 


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