What happens in Vegas Summer League...

...usually doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot.

But still, it's nice to watch the once and future (and never will be) Spurs fight for recognition and credibility. Summer League is a chance for rookies to make their introduction to the league, sophomores to hone their skills and try to earn some more playing time, and fringe players to fight for notoriety and roster spots.

There is some fantastic Spurs VSL coverage from our friends at 48minutesofhell and PoundingTheRock (AusTechSpur from PtR is even in Vegas doing some excellent reporting). So I won't bore you with the details and the minutiae and the analysis, as that's already being done superbly elsewhere.

There are a few key elements that I'm very interested in seeing from VSL. Is Mahinmi ever going to be ready for the big team? Is Blair going to be as good as advertised? Will Gist, McClinton, and Hairston make the leap to San Antonio? But the most important question I have is this: What will become of George Hill?

By all accounts, Hill had a tremendous rookie year. Due to injuries, he got some starts early in the year and did not disappoint, helping lead the team to some necessary and surprising wins. He seems to have a real knack for defense, and a presence and maturity about him that belies his years (and endears him to Spurs' coaches and fans alike). After mysteriously being benched late in the year, he made a strong showing in the last few games of the playoffs, being one of the few Spurs to acquit himself well in the disastrous series against the Mavs.

All of this is wonderful, and he has a bright future in the organization...if he can learn to play point guard. We desperately need him to be Tony Parker's backup. We haven't really had a true back-up PG since Speedy Claxton, and that's been a long time. For our last few postseason runs, Manu was the de facto back-up PG. Which isn't a bad thing, but it would be nice to have more than 2 players that you can trust with the ball in their hands. Plus, as last season wore down, it became apparent that Tony Parker was being worn down from carrying too much of the offensive load. We need to be able to spell him in games and throughout the season, and we need to be able to do it without worry of our entire offense falling apart.

Late in the season last year, Roger Mason, Jr. became the back-up point guard. Now while I don't believe this to be as big a disaster as many Spurs' faithful do, it's definitely not the right move. Not only is Mason, Jr. an average PG and ball handler at best, but being forced to play PG diminishes his true value to the team as a dead eye 3 point assassin. He should be waiting in the corners and at the top of the key for kick outs from penetration, unloading dagger baskets. He's proven that he's quite good at that. (Sidenote: I chose the longer clip because it makes the moment so much more delicious when you realize that the Suns, just moments before Mason, Jr.'s shot, thought they had the game won.)

It's quite clear that we need a real back up PG this season. And yet, the FO has done nothing to get one (to our knowledge). To me, that shows a lot of faith and belief in Hill. Clearly they see something there and trust that he will get the job done. So as we follow VSL, we want to follow Hill very closely to see how he's doing. Which, by all accounts, is spectacular. Over at truehoop, David Thorpe is tweet-raving about his games. It shows that he's been working very hard on improving his floor game. With any luck, he will be a very good back up to Tony Parker, giving us one of the more potent back courts in the league.

It takes a million little pieces and a million little moments to win a championship. There are the obvious big ones, starting with the superstars in this league. But every great championship team has had superb role players, making amazing plays at opportune times. The Spurs have made some big moves this offseason, signing Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. They are renewing thier commitment to championships. But at the end of the year, if the Spurs are hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy, the most important piece of that puzzle may end up being the development and emergence of George Hill as a critical rotation player.

Rolling the dice on McDyess

'Sheed is gone to Boston.

All the dreams (and nightmares) of Wallace wearing the Silver and Black can now be put to rest. I was really high on 'Sheed, and I think that this is a great pick up for the Celtics. And one way or another, we still need to find a veteran big man to play alongside Duncan and our suddenly youthful and athletic frontline.

A lot of speculation and attention has been paid to Antonio McDyess in recent days, which seems a bit ironic since he was Wallace's teammate last year. We are reportedly set to offer him a contract with our mid-level exception. Is this a wise move?

I would argue yes. I would also argue that the difference between McDyess and Wallace is much slimmer than many imagine. McDyess' stats for last season compare favorably to Wallace's. Wallace was a slightly better scorer; McDyess a better rebounder (a trait I find more favorable for a Spur, especially with 4 great scoring options on the roster right now). Look at the 4 playoff games against Cleveland, especially the deciding Game 4; McDyess had a monster 26-10 in almost 40 minutes, while 'Sheed had 0 points and 5 boards in 29 minutes. ZERO points in an elimination game!? This speaks to one of the knocks on Wallace--he'll check out when all hope is lost. McDyess on the other hand played his best game of a rather abbreviated postseason with his back up against the wall.

Ultimately, I think Rasheed gives a team a better chance at greatness. With his combination of skills, size, and intelligence, he has the chance in almost every game to be the best player on the court. Unfortunately, he seldom is. He is higher risk, higher reward.

McDyess, on the other hand, provides a team with much more consistency and reliability. His days of being the best player on the floor are long over. But you'll never doubt his commitment, his heart, his energy, and his devotion to the game and the team. He's a lot like Kurt Thomas--a player whom I loved on the Spurs--but with more talent and athletic ability, which would make him an upgrade for us. He'll never blow you away, but he'll never make a costly mistake in crunch time. And you can always count on him to get an important board, or take a charge, or hit the 15 foot jumper.

Ultimately, I think McDyess would be an outstanding addition to the Spurs. He fits our 'culture' like a glove. He has an intense desire to win--remember, he gave up money to leave Denver and re-sign with Detroit. In hindsight, that was a poor choice. But he did it to win. He's a high character guy. He'll fit seamlessly into the team and the system, and will be happy playing whatever role is asked of him.

If Rasheed was Option 1, I think McDyess is ultimately Option 1A. It may look like we're settling for the leftovers; but in the long run, I think McDyess has the potential to be as good of a signing as (if not better than) Rasheed Wallace would have been. I hope we get him.

Up and Down, Round and Round...

...the free agency carousel spins on.

But first, a look back at the draft. I don't really follow college basketball closely, so outside of the top prospects, I have limited and uninformed opinions on the players being chosen. Especially in the second round, when the Spurs tend to select. So imagine my surprise when the Spurs drafted not one but two potential impact players in the second round. Picking up DeJuan Blair was a coup. There is a lot of concern about his long-term potential due to his lack of ACLs. But when you look at it in terms of picking up a solid rotation player who rebounds like a beast for about as little money as possible, it's a no-brainer. Is he a long-term building block for our post-Duncan team? Maybe, maybe not. But can he contribute immediately these next few years? Of course.

I'm also pretty high on Jack McClinton, who is being billed as an Eddie House who can defend. I doubt he'll contribute right away, but maybe he'll surprise us and be a streak shooter off the bench for us. Lord knows we certainly need somebody on the bench who knows how to shoot.

But free agency is where the real juice is. For a supposed down year, there's been a lot of activity. A lot of teams are trying to clear cap space, either for the 2010 free agency class, or because they're bleeding money and would like to stop the hemmoraging. But there's a small group of teams who see a potential to steal a title while everyone else is cutting back or biding time. For these few teams, it's certainly a buyer's market. Luckily for Spurs' fans, we're one of those buyers.

Let's take a look at some of the interesting moves thus far:

--Shaq goes to Cleveland for a couple expiring contracts and a bag of balls. I'm indifferent on this move. I don't know what Shaq can do or how he'll fit in with "The King". I've always enjoyed Shaq's career as a nice counterpoint to Duncan's. While Shaq has been the floater, drifting from contender to contender, Duncan has been a rock, staying on one team for his whole career. While Shaq has been a media jokester, Duncan has eschewed any limelight. While Shaq has been inconsistent, perhaps lazy, usually coasting until the playoffs, Duncan has been the model of consistency, the Big Fundamental, the most reliable player for the last decade. And they both have 4 rings, each seeking to break the tie with the other one. I do think it's interesting that if Shaq gets a ring in Cleveland, he will have played with arguably the 3 best wing players of this generation in Kobe, Wade, and LeBron.

--Orlando trades for Vince Carter. Again, indifferent. I guess moves in the East don't really excite me as much because they have less bearing on the Spurs. Carter is tough player to get a handle on. He has all the skill in the world, and is seemingly a good guy. Yet he has a stigma on him that will probably never come off. He is perceived as lazy, as a quitter, as a choker, as selfish, as unable to make a team great. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But I will say I'm glad that we didn't trade for him. The interesting part of this move as it more or less guaranteed that the Magic we're going to lose Hedo and Gortat. Is Carter worth that? I'm not sure. I think both have great value to that team, especially Gortat. What little I saw him play in the playoffs really impressed me. Especially the way Howard picks up fouls, the back-up center might be one of the most important positions on that team.

--Artest goes to the Lakers; Ariza goes to Houston. This works out to essentially be a trade. At first blush, this looks like a steal for the Lakers, picking up one of the best players in the league and adding it to one of the most stacked teams out there. Upgrading from Ariza to Artest seems like a no-brainer. And ultimately, it is. But count me in the group who wonders how long the honeymoon will last in LA for Artest. Artest loves to have the ball, and he loves to freelance, and he loves to shoot. These are three things that do not fit in the triangle offense. When the Spurs are playing a team with Artest, I'm always happy when he makes a couple of shots, because that means he'll keep shooting. By all accounts, Artest is a great teammate, and he led Houston deep into the playoffs. But I don't know how he'll fit alongside Kobe, Pau, and (presumably) Odom.

Ariza leaving LA also makes me happy as a Spurs fan. He was the one defender they had that could really put the clamps on Parker. Now I don't see who on that team guards Parker. Kobe? The Lakers are still the team to beat in the West, but I'm no more scared of them then I was a few days ago.

--Turkoglu commits to Portland, reneges, agrees to terms with Toronto. This is hard to figure. I guess money talks, and Toronto was offering the most. Portland would be a good fit for Hedo, as they were desperately in need of a 3, and someone who could handle, shoot, and drive. He can do all of those very well. There's a lot to be confused about here: Why did Orlando let him go so easily, when he was arguably their most important player last year? Why did he commit to Portland only to back out? What does Portland do now? I'll be watching this story develop, as the Blazers are my #2 (and hometown) team.

There are still plenty of big free agent names out there. At the top of the list is Rasheed Wallace, who the Spurs are wooing, despite Boston throwing a parade in his honor the other day. Rasheed is a controversial figure, and comes with a big risk. But he is the prototype of what we need. A big, long post player who plays good defense, can stretch the offense, and doesn't mind playing a role. Look, I know the knocks on Rasheed, and I've seen him melt down more times than I care to remember. But when he's playing for a well-respected coach and on a winning team, he can be a great contributor. I watched him play for a few years here in Portland. He was always a fan favorite (still is), and always very active in the community (though he deliberately does his charitable work away from the cameras). He's a good person, a great player. He is passionate, and he loses his cool often. But he also values winning above all else, and this is at the core of what the Spurs look for. Find your three stars, then surround them with players who will run through a wall to win. Count me in the pro-Rasheed camp.

That's about it for now. I'll be very interested to see what the Spurs continue to do in the offseason. They've already made a big move and had a great draft. But there's still lots of work to be done to catch LA. But with a healthy Ginobili and a yet-to-be-determined big man, I like our chances.