Oberto is a Spur- VIDEOS

[DarkDukeII]

Scola, a 2002 second-round pick of the Spurs, is five years younger than Oberto and considered a more-skilled player. The Spurs had hoped to sign Scola this summer but became fearful of losing Oberto and other free agents if they waited any longer for Scola to reach an agreement on a buyout with his Spanish team, Tau Ceramica.



The NBA buyout in Scola's initial contract with Tau was a staggering 12 million euros or $14.5million. The team later revised the contract to give Scola a much more affordable buyout based on where he was drafted in the first round. Yet because the deal never specified anything about being selected in the second round, Tau officials claim Scola must pay the original buyout if he wants to leave for the NBA or wait until his contract expires in three years when the buyout is reduced to $1 million.



The Spurs, who are limited by NBA rules to contributing no more than $350,000 to the buyout, have spent more than two years trying to resolve the matter. While Scola's agents tried to convince the Spurs they eventually will strike a deal with Tau — the issue could end up in the hands of an arbitrator — team officials decided they couldn't risk waiting.



Tau already has lost its head coach this summer, and two of the team's top players, Jose Calderon and Arvydas Macijauskas, could depart. As a result, Tau's owners might be hesitant about letting Scola also leave.





I wonder if Scola could win his arbitration case and be SUBSTANCIALLY CHEAPER.

[lazarus ats]

How about if we keep Big Dog with the remainder of the MLE, or a portion thereof, resign Wilks or another backup PG with the LLE, and re-sign Devin?



The thing is, I can't think of any obvious holes the Spurs have. Even the PG situation was dealt with nicely in the Finals by having Manu/Brent take over at the point and shifting TP to a sort of shooting guard.



I really like the way Pop is changing the entire game of basketball back to the old days. I remember when you had backcourt and frontcourt players. That was it. No overspecialisation. Most of our players can play at least two slots, and many can play three. That allows for greater flexibility, putting the best matchup problems on the floor for us.

[Lepramaniac]

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The NBA buyout in Scola's initial contract with Tau was a staggering 12 million euros or $14.5million

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I'm not completely sure about that. I haven't ever seen in the Argentinean media such a high figure. I always read that the buyout was from 2 to 3M (depending on which source).

Also, there's confusion on how many years of contract Luis has left. I've read 1, 2, 3 and 5.



If I were Scola, I'd tank the season. The guy has been busting his ass off for Tau since he was 17 years old, putting Tau on the spotlight as one of Europe's best team. Now that he has the chance of fulfilling his dream to join the NBA, Tau's president Querejeta wants to exploit a hole in his contract to make him stay there for several more years, missing the chance to play in the world's top basketball league and winning big bucks, all at the cost of less than 1M euros per year?.



I'd be freaking MAD if I were Scola.



But this is no surprise to me, Tau has been doing this for years. They sign minors to extremely long contracts (Luis signed a 10 year contract when he was 17) with astronomical buyouts and unfair salaries.



I'm a Tau fan and all, but the team's president is just SH*T.

[GrandeDavid]

^Lep, you make a good point. And that might not be such a bad option. I mean, does he REALLY want to play three more critical years of his prime in Spain? I don't think so. I think that Tau's owner needs an ass kicking, although I'd probably do the same thing if I were him. I'd want to get PAAAAAAID in full to let a talent like Scola walk.

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Pop drinks win, D'Antoni makes whine.

[gameFACE sa]

From the Chad Ford article:

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Oberto is a warrior in the paint with polished moves around the post. He's a good scorer, rebounder and defender who has the toughness and aggressiveness to be an excellent role player in the league.

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I have a question for those who have seen him play. Can this guy really bang in the post? How tough is he? He looks slim in a few photos i've seen but a little muscular in the photo above with the orange uni. I remember Scola more than I do Oberto from last summers Olympic games.

[ManuFanAndrea]

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Walter Herrmann is the Fabio look-alike, not Fabrico Oberto. Oberto looks like . . nobody other than Oberto.

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Mmmmmm, Walter Hermann.



But, I wouldn't say he's a Fabio lookalike because I don't find Fabio attractive AT ALL.

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[Blondie]

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Walter Herrmann is the Fabio look-alike, not Fabrico Oberto. Oberto looks like . . nobody other than Oberto.

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Dang it I thought we were getting the hot one

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[Samr]

www.fabrioberto.com



Go to "multimedia" on the top bar, once you skip the intro (site is in Spanish). There are a bunch of videos there.

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I love.....Championships

[Zan the Fan]

Man, how CREEPY is that picture that actually has him BLINKING!?

When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

-Jacob August Riis (1849-1914)

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"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best."
-- Tim Duncan

[Blondie]

I take it back! We DID get the hot one!

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[Blondie]

Is it me or does he look like Grande David?

Edited by: Blondie4Spurs  at: 7/17/05 6:13 pm

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[Blondie]

Another great Fabio pic - his new name per me

Edited by: Blondie4Spurs  at: 7/17/05 6:19 pm

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