Wednesday, October 01, 2003 12:10:29 AM
Spurs greet new players as training camp starts today
By Johnny Ludden
San Antonio Express-News
09/30/2003
The Spurs began defense of their 2003 NBA championship in a North Side conference room this summer, barely one month after their festive River Walk celebration.
New Spurs forward Robert Horry laughs it up while answering questions during the team's media day Monday. The defending champions start workouts today.
Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News
Tim Duncan is confident, but says he will miss David Robinson. 'It will still be tough going out that first night and looking over and not having him there.'
General manager R.C. Buford watched Tim Duncan walk into the team's practice facility on the rain-soaked afternoon of July 16, then handed him a pen and a $122 million, seven-year contract.
That same day, the Spurs plucked Rasho Nesterovic out of Minnesota and handed him David Robinson's old job. When Stephen Jackson balked at a $10 million offer one week later, they quickly traded for Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu. After Steve Kerr retired in August with five championship rings, Robert Horry arrived from Los Angeles with five of his own.
Yet for all the talent the Spurs added this summer, they may long regret the loss of one of their largest icons: Jimmy Chang.
When Mengke Bateer signed with Toronto, he took Chang, the Spurs' prodigious self-described "language consultant," with him.
That leaves coach Gregg Popovich as the team's resident linguist when training camp opens today, an unenviable job considering no fewer than seven foreign countries will be represented on the 18-player roster: France (Tony Parker), Argentina (Manu Ginobili), Slovenia (Nesterovic), Turkey (Turkoglu), New Zealand (Sean Marks), Yugoslavia (Igor Rakocevic) and Brazil (Alex Garcia).
And that neither includes Puerto Rican guard Larry Ayuso nor the Pride of St. Croix, Duncan, whose birth in the U.S. Virgin Islands also places him on the NBA's ever-growing list of international players.
"We're going to have to find a way to call the plays," Parker said. "Maybe we have to use signs. If we speak English, everybody is going to be, 'Huh? What?'
"I think we should all speak French. Everybody needs to start practicing it anyway because we're going over there."
Parker will serve as tour guide when the Spurs make their week-long sojourn to Paris on Saturday, a trip that doubles as a get-acquainted session for the team. Only six players — Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Malik Rose and Kevin Willis — remain from the championship roster.
"We don't expect the chemistry to be clicking right off the bat," Duncan said. "We'll spend this entire season getting people used to our system and getting people confident in our system. The new guys will come around. Luckily enough, we have a pretty decent core of guys who have been around."
For the first time in his career, however, Duncan will begin the season paired with a center other than Robinson.
"It will still be tough going out that first night and looking over and not having him there," Duncan said. "He's always been there, so I don't know anything else. But at the same time, I have Rasho and Malik and Robert and Kevin. We'll make up for it. We'll be all right."
To duplicate their success of last season, the Spurs also will have to make up for the losses of Kerr, Jackson, Speedy Claxton, Steve Smith and Danny Ferry.
The Spurs won't be the only ones in flux. Minnesota added Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell and Michael Olowokandi. Dallas swapped Nick Van Exel for Antawn Jamison. The Lakers fortified their title hopes by signing Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
"They are two great players," said Horry, who signed with the Spurs after the Lakers declined to pick up his contract option, "but (there is) only one basketball.
"I remember in Houston when I was traded and they got Charles Barkley. You can ask Clyde (Drexler) and Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon) how they liked playing with Charles. You get used to having the ball all the time. Guys get used to a certain path. We'll see."
For now, Duncan likes what he sees of his latest supporting cast. It was only a year ago the Spurs had to adjust to six new faces.
The difference?
"It's going to be a tougher season," Duncan said. "We're going to have a bullseye on our backs. We're the defending champs."
Notebook: The Spurs completed their training-camp roster Monday by signing Garcia, a point guard, and Dan Langhi, a 6-foot-11 forward who played with Phoenix and Houston, to non-guaranteed contracts. ... Indiana waived Ferry on Monday, allowing the Spurs to announce his hiring as director of basketball operations. Sam Presti also has been promoted from assistant director of scouting to director of player personnel. Both have been working in their new jobs the past month. ... Dick Stockton and Bill Land will split the Spurs' TV play-by-play duties this season after Joel Meyers left for the Lakers. Kerr, Sean Elliott and Lance Blanks will rotate as analysts.
By Johnny Ludden
San Antonio Express-News
09/30/2003
The Spurs began defense of their 2003 NBA championship in a North Side conference room this summer, barely one month after their festive River Walk celebration.
New Spurs forward Robert Horry laughs it up while answering questions during the team's media day Monday. The defending champions start workouts today.
Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News
Tim Duncan is confident, but says he will miss David Robinson. 'It will still be tough going out that first night and looking over and not having him there.'
General manager R.C. Buford watched Tim Duncan walk into the team's practice facility on the rain-soaked afternoon of July 16, then handed him a pen and a $122 million, seven-year contract.
That same day, the Spurs plucked Rasho Nesterovic out of Minnesota and handed him David Robinson's old job. When Stephen Jackson balked at a $10 million offer one week later, they quickly traded for Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu. After Steve Kerr retired in August with five championship rings, Robert Horry arrived from Los Angeles with five of his own.
Yet for all the talent the Spurs added this summer, they may long regret the loss of one of their largest icons: Jimmy Chang.
When Mengke Bateer signed with Toronto, he took Chang, the Spurs' prodigious self-described "language consultant," with him.
That leaves coach Gregg Popovich as the team's resident linguist when training camp opens today, an unenviable job considering no fewer than seven foreign countries will be represented on the 18-player roster: France (Tony Parker), Argentina (Manu Ginobili), Slovenia (Nesterovic), Turkey (Turkoglu), New Zealand (Sean Marks), Yugoslavia (Igor Rakocevic) and Brazil (Alex Garcia).
And that neither includes Puerto Rican guard Larry Ayuso nor the Pride of St. Croix, Duncan, whose birth in the U.S. Virgin Islands also places him on the NBA's ever-growing list of international players.
"We're going to have to find a way to call the plays," Parker said. "Maybe we have to use signs. If we speak English, everybody is going to be, 'Huh? What?'
"I think we should all speak French. Everybody needs to start practicing it anyway because we're going over there."
Parker will serve as tour guide when the Spurs make their week-long sojourn to Paris on Saturday, a trip that doubles as a get-acquainted session for the team. Only six players — Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Malik Rose and Kevin Willis — remain from the championship roster.
"We don't expect the chemistry to be clicking right off the bat," Duncan said. "We'll spend this entire season getting people used to our system and getting people confident in our system. The new guys will come around. Luckily enough, we have a pretty decent core of guys who have been around."
For the first time in his career, however, Duncan will begin the season paired with a center other than Robinson.
"It will still be tough going out that first night and looking over and not having him there," Duncan said. "He's always been there, so I don't know anything else. But at the same time, I have Rasho and Malik and Robert and Kevin. We'll make up for it. We'll be all right."
To duplicate their success of last season, the Spurs also will have to make up for the losses of Kerr, Jackson, Speedy Claxton, Steve Smith and Danny Ferry.
The Spurs won't be the only ones in flux. Minnesota added Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell and Michael Olowokandi. Dallas swapped Nick Van Exel for Antawn Jamison. The Lakers fortified their title hopes by signing Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
"They are two great players," said Horry, who signed with the Spurs after the Lakers declined to pick up his contract option, "but (there is) only one basketball.
"I remember in Houston when I was traded and they got Charles Barkley. You can ask Clyde (Drexler) and Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon) how they liked playing with Charles. You get used to having the ball all the time. Guys get used to a certain path. We'll see."
For now, Duncan likes what he sees of his latest supporting cast. It was only a year ago the Spurs had to adjust to six new faces.
The difference?
"It's going to be a tougher season," Duncan said. "We're going to have a bullseye on our backs. We're the defending champs."
Notebook: The Spurs completed their training-camp roster Monday by signing Garcia, a point guard, and Dan Langhi, a 6-foot-11 forward who played with Phoenix and Houston, to non-guaranteed contracts. ... Indiana waived Ferry on Monday, allowing the Spurs to announce his hiring as director of basketball operations. Sam Presti also has been promoted from assistant director of scouting to director of player personnel. Both have been working in their new jobs the past month. ... Dick Stockton and Bill Land will split the Spurs' TV play-by-play duties this season after Joel Meyers left for the Lakers. Kerr, Sean Elliott and Lance Blanks will rotate as analysts.
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