Web Posted: 07/10/2007 10:54 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
LAS VEGAS — Ian Mahinmi sat on the end of the Spurs’ bench, watching the team’s summer-league game go on without him. By late afternoon he would be on a flight back to San Antonio, another day of physical therapy ahead of him.
As the Spurs’ 2005 first-round draft pick, Mahinmi had hoped to use this summer to show team officials he was ready to transition to the NBA. While a chest injury he suffered during mini-camp two weeks ago likely will prevent him from playing in a single summer-league game, his goal hasn’t changed.
“That’s a tough issue, but summer league is not everything,” Mahinmi said. “I still have the rest of the summer to work out. It’s not the end of the world.”
Spurs officials said they have yet to decide whether to sign Mahinmi for next season. The coaches were encouraged by how he played during his brief time in camp before he tore a muscle in his chest while going up for a dunk.
“Before that,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, “we were starting to look for opportunities to get him in the program.”
Buford hasn’t ruled out signing Mahinmi. The Spurs have 14 players under contract — not including second-round draft pick Marcus Williams — but have looked at ways to thin their roster, including exploring trading center Jackie Butler.
Butler committed 15 fouls in the Spurs’ first two summer-league games, but has since played noticeably better. He had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the Spurs’ victory over Boston on Monday and 16 points and seven boards in Tuesday’s 90-80 victory over Golden State.
James White, whose defense was inconsistent in the first three summer-league games, will need to improve his play if he wants to avoid being cut before Aug. 1 — the date he picks up a $100,000 guarantee. After facing Minnesota today, the Spurs will fly to Salt Lake City to play five games in the Rocky Mountain Revue.
Mahinmi, who doesn’t turn 21 until November, might join the team in Utah, but he isn’t expected to play even though he said he feels good. He tore his right pectoralis minor, a muscle that helps stabilize the scapula, and strained the latissimus dorsi muscle.
“That was really frustrating because I was doing great,” Mahinmi said. “I went up, and I feel something in my chest. It was like, ‘Oh, I need to get this checked.’ It really hurt me.”
Mahinmi is expected to heal without problem, and the Spurs are hopeful he will be healthy enough to participate in the skills camp of longtime NBA assistant coach Tim Grgurich later this summer. Whether that gives them enough of opportunity to evaluate Mahinmi remains to be seen.
The Spurs know this much: Mahinmi’s body has improved. The 6-foot-11 French forward spent the past season in Pau, France, working with a strength coach, and he now looks thicker and stronger. When Mahinmi played in the Rocky Mountain Revue a year ago, he had trouble rebounding and establishing post position and was frequently in foul trouble.
“Last year when I think of what I did in the summer league and what I did in my season, I feel like I grew up a lot,” Mahinmi said. “I feel like I’m ready to play this kind of game. I feel really comfortable in my game right now.”
That said, Mahinmi is still raw. He’s extremely athletic and his instincts have improved, but he’s not fundamentally sound enough yet to be an everyday contributor. If the Spurs do sign him, he could spend much of the season playing in Austin in the NBA’s developmental league.
Mahinmi signed with Pau-Orthez last season with the hope that he would develop quicker playing in the Euroleague. But he didn’t get many minutes and said he didn’t settle into a rhythm until the second half of the season. In 33 games in the French League, he averaged 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. In 18 Euroleague games, he averaged 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds.
“I know I have a lot of work to do,” Mahinmi said, “and hopefully I can do that here (in the NBA).”
Done deals: Matt Bonner (three years, $9 million) and Jacque Vaughn (two years, $2.5 million) are expected to sign their new contracts today after the league lifts its free-agent moratorium. Because of the time it will take to getFabricio Oberto’s contract to Argentina, the Spurs don’t expect to re-sign their starting center until later in the week.
Staff addition: The Spurs are close to hiring former Indiana assistant Chad Forcier to join Gregg Popovich’s coaching staff.
Forcier, who spent the past four seasons on the staff of former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, will focus on player development. Brett Brown, the Spurs’ current director of player development, is expected to move to the bench to help fill the void created by the departure of P.J. Carlesimo, who left the team last week to become Seattle’s head coach.
Brown will join Mike Budenholzer and Don Newman as the Spurs’ bench coaches. Chip Engelland, who has helped Tony Parker, among others, improve his shooting, also will remain on staff.
While Carlesimo was considered the lead assistant, Popovich usually doesn’t rank his coaches, instead preferring to use a communal system. If Popovich decides to designate a lead, Budenholzer is expected to assume the role, given the 11 seasons he’s spent on the Spurs’ staff.
Trade winds: The Spurs continue to talk to a handful of teams, including Chicago, about trading the rights to Luis Scola, but have to yet to find an offer they like. NBA executives expect the Spurs to eventually trade Scola this summer rather than risk having him sign a long-term contract in Spain.
(PS:本来在下已经翻译得七七八八了…可是在提交主题时,网站却提示我没登陆…靠…我没登陆怎么能进入发表主题的页面呢!)
