Derrick Rose has been patiently waiting for an ankle on the mend. Against San Antonio, Derrick had to just put it out of his mind and play as hard as he could play for as long as he could go. Coach Vinny Del Negro wanted to keep a close eye on Derrick Rose’s minutes, but he ended up playing 33 minutes in what was his first game in almost a month’s time.

Chicago Bulls 92 San Antonio Spurs 85

This was a huge victory for Chicago and probably not too irritating of a loss for San Antonio, although San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich was not too happy with the effort. All Coach Popovich could do was admire the effort of the Chicago Bulls.

Deng got no argument from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who saw his team follow up Wednesday’s win against New Orleans with a dud. Except for Tim Duncan (28 points, 16 rebounds), the Spurs didn’t give much of a fight.

”Chicago just did a great job out there,” he said. ”They had more guys come to compete than we did. We had one. They deserved it, and I’m happy for Vinny.”

Deng (17 points, nine rebounds) led six Bulls in double figures. He shot 8-for-13 and was one of the few Bulls who had any sort of offensive rhythm throughout.

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Derrick Rose chases down a loose ball with a bad ankle

Luol Deng, by the way, was one of the walking wounded for Chicago as he was coming off of a lower stress fracture that had him sitting around for 6 months. If the Bulls are going to do anything at all this year it will involve Luol Deng putting together a potential All Star season. That is what Chicago has been hoping for since they drafted him. Maybe with Derrick Rose around to set him up, Luol can at least approach that level.

Tyrus Thomas Free Agent

Tyrus Thomas checked in with 10 points in the third quarter to help the Bulls winning cause. The Bulls have been unable to come to terms with Tyrus Thomas and he will become a free agent at the end of the year.

The Bulls will have significant salary-cap space available for the summer of 2010, and aren’t inclined to reward Thomas with an extension like his 2006 draft classmate, Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) (five years, $65 million). The Utah Jazz also signed forward Paul Millsap(notes), a second-round pick in 2006, to a new four-year, $32 million contract this summer.

Thomas, 23, was the fourth overall pick three years ago, and has steadily matured and begun to show signs of fulfilling his vast promise. Forman has maintained that Thomas, a 6-foot-9 power forward, is part of the franchise’s core group with Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.

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This move may anger many Bulls fans that yearn for the days of Michael Jordan and don’t like to see any young talent walk out the door. Tyrus was a key with Deng and Rose to the Bulls future.

On this night Bulls fans will just have to put it all aside and be happy with a victory over Tim Duncan and the powerful San Antonio Spurs.
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Tim Duncan has had an incredible career filled with winning that dates back to the David Robinson era. As Robinson grew older he was paired with Duncan to make a twin towers that dominated the court.

Now the time for Tim Duncan is growing short and he knows it. San Antonio’s management also knows it, so they took a desperate gamble.

The original thinking was to find a Super Star player in the up and coming free agency of 2010. Every team in the league wants to be involved in the 2010 free agent battle. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, maybe Dwyane Wade, and others will be available as free agents. San Antonio started to clear salary cap to prepare, but then realized that it may not do any good if Tim Duncan is no longer around.

Tim Duncan needs to win now!

Last year Dallas bounced Duncan and the Spurs out of the playoffs in 5 games in the very first series. That just does not happen to Duncan. The Spurs realized that and immediately decided to sign players right now. They signed Jefferson from the Bucks and free agent Antonio McDyess from the Pistons, and tried to sign Rasheed Wallace from the Pistons. The clock was ticking on the knees of Duncan.

So they elected not to wait. A few days before scoring DeJuan Blair with the 37th overall pick in what immediately was trumpeted as the steal of the draft, San Antonio traded three expiring contracts to Milwaukee — Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas and defensive mainstay Bruce Bowen — for the right to inherit the final two years and nearly $30 million left on Richard Jefferson’s contract. The Spurs then extended two guaranteed years at $9.4 million and a partially guaranteed third year to free-agent forward Antonio McDyess, who just turned 35.

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They are well over the luxury tax threshold now and no longer involved in the chase for Chris Bosh, but that does not matter, because the Spurs feel they can win right now!
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They did not pick Joe Dumars as number 1.

So lets step through some of the highlights.
How about Pat Riley at number 8. He built a team in his image, always ready, always tough. He has rebuilt the Heat several times.

But he’s also rebuilt his Heat a few times, he’s been in the playoffs seven times during the last decade, and while his moves during the summer of 2005 may have been pound-foolish, it won the man and his superstar (Dwyane Wade) a ring. Something you can’t say for LeBron James general manager.

Mitch Kupchak at number 6. Hey, its the Lakers, you have to be good or you are gone.

But smart lower-round draft picks, luck (other teams had better packages in place for Pau Gasol, but Memphis didn’t want to deal; by the time Mitch came calling with his package, the Grizzlies were desperate to unload), and the help of Jim Buss (who pushed to draft and then keep Bynum) have had the Lakers in the Finals in consecutive years, with a win in 2009.

You have to like Danny Ainge at number 4. He brought the Celtics back from oblivion all the way to a title. Getting Kevin Garnett was a sweetheart deal that drew other good players.

But this is a decade-long list, and while some of the men at the top of this page may have better futures (and won’t have to pay Kevin Garnett over $21 million in 2011-12), Ainge’s drafting acumen and willingness to take chances make him a winner in my book. If not one in the standings, from 2003 until 2007.

Joe Dumars only checked in at number 2, in spite of living in the Eastern Conference finals.

Dumars started by playing it smart, working with teams in cap hell, leaving things flexible, sometimes acting as if Bird Rights didn’t matter and he had an NFL-styled hard cap to work with. The Pistons were in the Eastern Conference finals every year between 2003 and 2008, and it was only the players’ fault they didn’t win more titles.

Tim Duncan helps R. C. Buford look good!

And the Number one is R. C. Buford of the San Antonio Spurs. It does not hurt to have Tim Duncan, but he always does a good job of surrounding him with unselfish talent.

We don’t know how much impact Gregg Popovich has had on Buford’s wheelings and dealings, and R.C. has had help (current Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti was on his payroll for years). Buford also had nothing to do with the acquisitions of David Robinson (1987) or Tim Duncan (1997).

But there’s no denying Buford’s impact on the Spurs’ rise to power this decade. Even though he technically wasn’t the team’s personnel boss (that would be Popovich) when the Spurs drafted Manu Ginobili (2000) or Tony Parker (2001), he was the man who recommended the franchise take both future All-Stars.

Still for my money, it is Joe Dumars. He made all the moves himself and has never had a Tim Duncan to work into the mix. Make Joe Dumars the number one GM in my book!

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And the winner is…
But first a word from our sponsor…You! Hey, you, click on some of those ads off to the side and keep this blog a rolling. Rolling, Rolling, Rolling.
Now back to Billie Crystal as he announces the best player pickup in the off season…
Drum roll ta ta ta ta tata.
Richard Jefferson by the San Antonio Spurs.
Come on up Richard.

Congratulations and guess why you were number 1?

Jefferson (14 votes)
The first big move of the offseason will prove to be the best move, more than one-quarter of our voters said. RJ is the piece that will get the Spurs back into the West’s elite. Jefferson’s shooting numbers were down last season with the Bucks, but he shot 40 percent from beyond the arc and still knows how to score. Playing in a winning atmosphere certainly will help matters, too.

Most important, perhaps, is that RJ has been healthy for the past two years — something the Spurs’ big three has not been — and he’s still on the right side of 30. If he proves to be the perfect fit, the Spurs could push the Lakers for the Western Conference crown.

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Duncan will have Richard Jefferson to help him to the NBA Title

Squibster take: This one stood out for me, because Richard Jefferson has been a quality player on a couple of confused teams. Now he won’t have to be the team leader. The Spurs have plenty of those guys. He can do what he does best and slash to the basket. Spurs may be once again looking at NBA title contention.

O’Neal to the Cav’s – does Shaq have enough left in the tank?
Artest to the Lakers – can Phil Jackson handle this guy? If he does then Phil goes to the Hall of Fame without retiring.
Carter to Orlando – Plenty of O, but will he deliver the D?
Marion, Miller, Turkoglu, and Wallace round out the field with Rasheed to the Celtics maybe paying the biggest dividends.

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To the casual fan, the response will be Bruce Who?

The answer is Bruce in your face Bowen, that is who. For years Bruce played defense for the San Antonio Spurs and played it like few others in the league. He sacrificed his body and maybe a few rules in order to hold down a Kobe or a Paul Pierce, it didn’t matter to him.

After being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, he became a payroll casualty.

The Bucks shopped veteran F Bruce Bowen around the league before releasing him. One of the teams the Bucks had talked to was the Knicks. The Bucks were trying to package Bowen and free-agent G Ramon Sessions. Bowen was scheduled to make $4 million this season, but by releasing him, the Bucks only had to pay him $2 million.
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Bruce Bowen was a perimeter defender and, as such, did not ever win the defensive player of the year, but often finished second in the voting and always seemed to make all defensive player 1st team in the NBA. His defense was so tough that he was often accused of being a dirty player, not that he cared as long as he was shutting you down and helping his team win.

Did Bruce Bowen knock this player down?

Bruce may never have averaged in double figures, but he was a good enough 3 point shooter to keep the defense honest.

Truth is, Bowen did use some dirty tactics from time-to-time. That said, I can’t help but respect what the guy did night in and night out. He did the job so few NBA players in this generation were willing to do. He also did what he had to do to stick in the NBA for 13 years as an undrafted player out of Cal-State Fullerton

Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I’m going to miss watching Bowen harass a guy like Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Thing is, I think Kobe will actually miss him, too, because Bowen pushed him to elevate his game during the course of their many battles over the years.
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In the end, there is not an offensive player beating Bruce Bowen just age and money catching up to him.

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You sometimes wonder how management holds it together in the off season with players having time and money on their hands and using both to do who knows what. In Tony Parker’s case he is playing basketball and isn’t that what he is supposed to be doing?

Well, maybe or maybe not.

Tony has been playing for the French National team in a 3 team qualifier for the European Championships. That is not exactly just working out getting ready for the new season. Parker always plays games with complete abandon has he takes the ball and drives to the hole. That is the scary part for management of the San Antonio Spurs and in this case it appears justified as Tony hurt his ankle.

He collided with an Austrian player in a game in Strasbourg, France, on July 23, leaving the court on crutches after injuring both his right thigh and ankle. An MRI exam showed no ligament damage in the ankle, but, a week later, the Spurs requested Parker’s return so they could perform their own tests.

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford, responding by text message, said the Spurs were “being cautious” with the three-time NBA All-Star, who led the team in scoring in both the regular season (22.0 points per game) and playoffs (28.6).
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Tony Parker sprained his ankle

So, should the Spurs be bringing Tony back to the States to look at his ankle or not? Tony does not think so, but he does have that guaranteed 12.6 million dollar contract for next year and they do have a solid shot at the NBA title next year as well. So, yes, maybe they do have a reason to bring him back.

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Tim Duncan will once again have a team to write home about. There was serious talk that the Spurs had just grown too old and too complacent to be kings of the hill any more. Were they facing the same fate as the Pistons and heading into a slow destruction while still winning quite a few games, but not enough games?

It made for a very important off season for the San Antonio Spurs and future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

Tim Duncan is ready to challenge for the NBA title!

So how did the Spurs do? It appears a major upgrade took place and the Spurs can’t wait to start the season. Richard Jefferson, once one of the big three in New Jersey with Kidd and Carter, was added to the team along with veteran Antonio McDyess, a stand up guy and a stand out 15 foot jump shooter.

If it was only those two players you would have to be happy, but the Spurs appear to have some up and coming young talent including second round pick, the supposedly undersized DeJuan Blair.

Former University of Pittsburgh star DeJuan Blair, once considered a lottery pick, slipped all the way to 37th overall, where the Spurs gobbled him up like Homer Simpson would a doughnut. After a standout college career, Blair entered the 2009 draft following his sophomore season. In his second season at Pitt, Blair, who averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds (a whopping 5.6 of which were offensive) per game, led the Panthers to the team’s first ever No. 1 national ranking before falling to Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Spurs fans everywhere have to be excited about this team!

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Look out Lakers.
Look out Celtics.
Look out Cavaliers.
Can we say Look out Nuggets? We are saying it. Look out Nuggets.
The Spurs are coming back with a vengeance.

First they picked up Richard Jefferson. They gave up Bruce Bowen, among others, but may get him back.
Jefferson will give them more scoring from the forward position.

Tim Duncan will be back with new friends

Now there are rumors of talks with Rasheed Wallace to increase the front line size and Rasheed still has plenty of game left.

The draft may present them with the possibility of getting Taj Gibson, the super junior big man from USC. Even with USC’s tall guards, the offense and defense still ran through Taj Gibson.

This could give the Spurs another NBA title.

If Wallace were to sign with the Spurs, San Antonio would have one of the best starting fives in the NBA with Duncan, Jefferson, Ginobili and Parker, catapulting the team into the upper-echelon of the league.
Should Wallace sign elsewhere or decide to walk away from the game altogether there are a few available options on the free agent market that could benefit the Spurs on the cheap… at least, compared to the money Wallace is expecting.

Former Denver Nugget Chris Andersen averaged over six rebounds and 2.4 blocks (second in the NBA to Dwight Howard) despite playing just 20 minutes per game could be available for a relative bargain and 13-year veteran Antonio McDyess, who is chasing an NBA title, is a possibility as well.

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Manu Ginobili is out. There is nothing the Spurs can do about that and it is a hard loss to take. Manu is often the X-factor that spells doom for the other teams. If they bully Parker and double Duncan then Manu kills them with his outside game or slashes to the basket for repeated layups.

Now the Spurs have faced injured players before and if that was all there was then they would not be so worried. Sure the Lakers are the odds on favorites to win the West, but the Spurs have triumphed before when the odds were not in their favor.

The real worry for the Spurs is age. Tim Duncan only has so many big games left in him. He already complains about knee problems and gets rested during back to backs.

When will Tim Duncan just walk away from the NBA?

Hey, you can shrug it off if you want, but we saw age finally conquer the Shaq and recently the Pistons.

But deep down, the Spurs know something else: At some point, there won’t be a next season. Not for Tim Duncan. If the past few months have proven anything, it’s that the clock has finally begun to tick for the Spurs and their greatest player.

For all the concern about Ginobili’s ankles, the Spurs’ success in these playoffs was always hinged to Duncan’s health. For weeks, Duncan has told friends how much his knees have bothered him, and that’s telling for one reason: He never complains about his injuries. The Spurs gave Duncan three games off to rest at the end of February, but he has continued to labor.

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Takes more than 2 Lakers to guard Dwight Howard

Give credit where due. Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes the Power Rankings for the NBA and it is like a sugary cereal to fans.

This week Orlando is Number 1! Dwight Howard rules.

They swept their season series with the Lakers and the Spurs. They’re 17-5 on the road and 18-4 against the West. And they just beat three division leaders (Spurs, Lakers and Nuggets) on their last trip. Any questions?
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Orlando has an 8 game lead over Atlanta in the Southeast Division.

The Magic are followed by the Cavs, Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, and Nuggets. No surprises there. They all lead their Divisions in the NBA.

By the way, these rankings came out before the Cav’s lost in Laker land Monday night, Kobe playing with a dislocated finger. Ever get one of those? They hurt.

The Hawks are a 2nd place team in 15th (injuries) and the Pistons are a 2nd place team in 18th (confusion).

Big Games

The Magic play Boston Thursday night.
Next Thursday the Cavs and LeBron James visit Orlando for a slugfest.

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