DeJuan Blair Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Poll: Will Blair Finish The Season With Spurs?

September 29th, 2012 at 7:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford confirmed that he worked to oblige DeJuan Blair's trade wishes and shopped the forward around the league earlier this summer. However, the GM says that he was unable to find a suitable deal for the former Pitt standout and reaffirmed that he believes Blair will continue to help the club win games. However, Blair's issue with San Antonio and coach Gregg Popovich doesn't stem from his role in helping to win during the regular season – it comes from his lack of burn in last year's playoffs, where he saw a total of 76 minutes of action in 10 games.

Blair is far from a superstar, but he has proven that he is deserving of significant minutes for a contender. Averaging roughly 20 minutes per contest for the Spurs over the last three years, Blair has given San Antonio major toughness and rebounding ability on the inside. And at just over $1MM for the 2012/13 season, it's hard to imagine that Buford won't be able to find a taker for the forward at some point. The question is, will that return be worthwhile enough for the Spurs to let him go? Furthermore, if Blair sees his minutes dip between now and March, will he be enough of a team player to make the atmosphere-conscious Spurs want to hold on to him?

Spurs Plan To Keep DeJuan Blair

September 29th, 2012 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Over the summer it was widely reported that Spurs forward DeJuan Blair was frustrated with his lack of playing time in last year's playoffs and would be open to a trade. The Spurs tried shopping the 23-year-old, but General Manager R.C. Buford says that the club has been unable to find anything suitable in return, writes Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.

“We understand the way he feels,” the GM said. “If we were in his shoes we may feel similar. Having said that, DeJuan helped us win a lot of games and we have not had anything presented to us that puts our team in a better position than moving forward with DeJuan.”

Blair unquestionably helped the Spurs win games last season as he started 62 games and saw 21.3 minutes per contest. However, he was effectively squeezed out of the rotation during the postseason and averaged just 7.6 minutes in 10 games. The former Pitt star is entering his walk year and will earn just a shade over $1MM.

Trade Candidate: DeJuan Blair

September 16th, 2012 at 7:09pm CST by Zachary Links

DeJuan Blair was a regular in the Spurs rotation last season, averaging 21.3 minutes per contest and starting 62 of 64 games. However, once the Spurs reached the postseason, the forward’s minutes greatly diminished. Blair saw just 7.6 minutes per contest in the Spurs’ ten playoff games and as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News wrote, he was less-than-thrilled with his reduced playing time.

“I love the Spurs, but they’ve got a lot of ‘bigs,’ and they’re bringing somebody else from overseas, so where am I going to fall at?” Blair said in July. “I was out of the rotation at the end of the season, so imagine next year…. That’s something I really don’t want to go through again, because it tore me down.“

Blair really appeared to be on the outs in San Antonio as Erazem Lorbek was widely rumored to be making the jump to the NBA, but the center wound up re-signing with Spanish club Regal Barcelona. While the 6’11” Slovenian won’t be in the states to take minutes away from Blair, offseason acquistion Boris Diaw should see a good amount of time after inking a two-year, $9MM deal. Matt Bonner will also return in 2012/13 after averaging more than 20 minutes per contest across the last two seasons.

For now, Blair still figures to be a key part of the Spurs’ rotation to open the season. What remains to be seen is if he’ll continue to get major minutes as the season wears on and if he’ll also see the same kind of burn in the postseason. If Blair is not seeing significant time to start the season, the forward will very likely look to force the trade issue again. The former Pitt start will earn just a shade over $1MM in his final year under contract and could be extremely attractive to a team looking to pick up a cheap – and highly motivated – rebounder off the bench.

Popovich On Leonard, Mills, Team Goals

August 30th, 2012 at 6:25pm CST by Ryan Raroque

About to enter his 17th season with the Spurs, Gregg Popovich has already amassed four NBA championships and two "Coach of the Year" awards, with his last and only losing season having occurred during 1996-97 as a first-year head coach. After falling just two wins short of an NBA Finals berth in June, Popovich appears determined to regroup for next season. Here are a few noteworthy tidbits from his Q&A with fans on Spurs.com:

Regarding Kawhi Leonard and his future in the NBA:

"I think he’s going to be a star. And as time goes on, he’ll be the face of the Spurs I think. At both ends of the court, he is really a special player. And what makes me be so confident about him is that he wants it so badly. He wants to be a good player, I mean a great player. He comes early, he stays late, and he’s coachable, he’s just like a sponge. When you consider he’s only had one year of college and no training camp yet, you can see that he’s going to be something else."

When asked about Patty Mills' role on the Spurs after his performance in the Olympics:

"Well, I didn’t need to see his Olympic performance to know what he can bring, it’s just that he came to us so late last year it was really hard to incorporate him into what we were doing. But he’s an aggressive, fiery, offensive player. He can shoot the three and really score, and that’s what he looks to do when he comes in the game. So he’ll be a game-changer in that sense, at the offensive end. And defensively he’s kind of like a pest—he’s not very big but he’s really a game. He’s got great courage and he gets into people, trying to really bother them and get them off their game. So his competitiveness and offensive skills are what we’re looking forward to mostly."

On defense as a priority for upcoming training camp and how he plans to adjust against teams that have remarkably improved:

"You know (defense is) always a priority with us, but you know we’re never going to reach the level that we were at five, six years ago defensively. It’s just impossible to do that for a variety of reasons. But it still has to be an emphasis, we can get better and we have to if we want to compete with these guys that, as you said, added so many players to their team…What other teams do is not in our control, so we'll worry about, as I said, incorporating Kawhi into the program more since he wasn’t here very long. Boris, Patty Mills, look for improvement in Danny Green, work our big guys. Tiago and DeJuan Blair I think are going to have very good seasons for us. So we’ll concentrate on that and what we need to do as a group, and we’ll see how we stack up."

Kyler On Harrington, Thomas, Gibson, Calderon

August 30th, 2012 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

Sources close to the Magic deny that Al Harrington was included in this month's Dwight Howard blockbuster as a throw-in, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. However, Kyler still believes the Magic will explore the possibility of moving Harrington and his contract before the trade deadline. Harrington has three years remaining on his deal, but the last two are only partially guaranteed, and he's still a serviceable player, so Orlando could find a taker. Here are the rest of Kyler's Thursday morning updates on players that may be on the move prior to the trade deadline:

According to Kyler, the Bobcats are hoping new coach Mike Dunlap can reach Tyrus Thomas in a way that Paul Silas couldn't. Thomas' contract still looks like an albatross though, and the Bobcats would likely move it in a minute if they could find a taker.
While Kyler hears a handful of teams have been in contact with Cleveland about Daniel Gibson, the Cavs deny they're shopping the guard.
The Raptors haven't been able to find a deal they like for Jose Calderon to date, but as February's deadline approaches, the Spaniard may turn into a more viable trade chip, as his contract nears its end.
Larry Sanders could be on the trade block for the Bucks, who acquired Samuel Dalembert and Ekpe Udoh, re-signed Ersan Ilyasova, and drafted John Henson within the last few months.
Kevin Martin and the Rockets and Corey Maggette of the Pistons figure to be trade candidates this season, as veterans with $10MM+ expiring contracts.
The Spurs are expected to continue trying to find a trade partner for DeJuan Blair, but his health history raises some red flags for rival clubs.

Spurs Still Looking To Trade DeJuan Blair

August 7th, 2012 at 10:38am CST by Zachary Links

On draft day, the Spurs were reportedly looking to find a new home for forward DeJuan Blair. More than a month later, Blair remains in San Antonio but the big man told Douglas Farmer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is still being shopped.

“Hopefully, I stay a Spur, but if it doesn’t happen, life moves on,” Blair said. “They’ve got me on the trade market and they’ll do the best to get me in the greatest situation possible.“

Despite seeing more than 20 minutes per regular season game in his time with the Spurs, Blair has hardly seen the same kind of burn in the playoffs. The forward averaged just 7.6 minutes per game in last year’s playoffs, making him largely expendable for the perennial contenders. The Warriors have been said to have interest in Blair but are unwilling to give San Antonio the first-round pick that they seek in return.

Odds & Ends: Humphries, Pistons, Warriors, Celtics

July 13th, 2012 at 10:29pm CST by Michael Pina

Rick Bonnell from the Charlotte Observer tweets that the Nets may have offered Kris Humphries either a two-year, $20MM or a three-year, $26MM contract.

As summer league kicks off tonight in Las Vegas, here's some more news from around the league.

Kyler On Calderon, Howard, Blair, Augustin

July 12th, 2012 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

Jose Calderon's name has surfaced as a possible amnesty candidate a few times this offseason, but according to Raptors president Bryan Colangelo, the team doesn't expect to amnesty Calderon or anyone else this week. While Colangelo acknowledged that Calderon wasn't "thrilled" about the trade that brought Kyle Lowry to Toronto, he still views him as a valuable piece on the roster, as Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. Colangelo confirmed that a few teams have inquired on Calderon, and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes that a trade is much more likely than an amnesty. Here are a few more notes from Kyler's HoopsWorld piece:

DeJuan Blair Not Expecting To Return To Spurs

July 9th, 2012 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

Back on draft day, we heard that the Spurs were shopping DeJuan Blair, in hopes of clearing space on their roster. While it appears San Antonio has yet to find an acceptable trade for the big man, Blair is prepared not to return to the Spurs next season, as he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.

Spurs Shopping DeJuan Blair

June 28th, 2012 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Looking to clear space on their roster, the Spurs are shopping DeJuan Blair in trade talks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Blair fell out of the Spurs' rotation this season, and would be open to a move, Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet.