Kandi versus Kidd? Silencing Popovich

<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=211&xlc=912320" target="top">San ANtonio Express-News</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
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Gregg Popovich goes for his 300th win. It only took 3,000,000 predictable, tedious, dump-it-to-Duncan possessions.<br>
You hate it, Popovich's players hate it.<br>
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But there's a way to change even if the name of the coach doesn't, and it begins with the Spurs not buying what they will see tonight.<br>
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Michael Olowokandi.<br>
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If the Spurs sign him next summer, Popovich will direct another 3,000,000.<br>
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Olowokandi will get his millions either way. He is a decent guy with a decent jump-hook.<br>
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He's also 7-foot-1, the same as a notable private-school executive living in South Texas. If Olowokandi replaces David Robinson, Tim Duncan can stay happy as a power forward.<br>
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Everything indicates Olowokandi wants to be a Spur, too, and that's nothing to dismiss. Too many teams have gone into summers with piles of money to spend on the stars, only to be rejected. The Spurs have an option, at least.<br>
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But Olowokandi should be nothing more than Plan B, because Plan J is too real and too attractive. Jason Kidd, no matter his age or the existence of Tony Parker, should be the clear choice.<br>
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Duncan's choice matters, too, and the Spurs will seek his counsel. He perhaps could be talked into either player, but selling Kidd wouldn't take much work.<br>
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Duncan knows Kidd, and Duncan knows life will be easier with him.<br>
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Selling Kidd on the Spurs is attainable, too. He seems open to moving, even as the Nets remain near the top of the Eastern Conference, and one power shift in the NBA might mean something. The Lakers aren't as daunting as they were just a year ago, are they?<br>
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Kidd would finish his career in San Antonio at the age of 37, and, at the end, his $20 million salary won't make sense.<br>
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But age gives no guarantees. Olowokandi, after all, is questionable for tonight after missing the previous game. Inflammation in his left knee has bothered him all season.<br>
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Olowokandi would also want the ball on the block, where Duncan works, and he likely would balk at playing a Robinson-like role. There are veteran bangers, such as Kevin Willis, who could play the part effectively.<br>
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Kidd isn't a perfect fit. Parker would have to learn to play with Kidd or face a trade.<br>
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But forget the details. Give Kidd the ball, and the Spurs would be more fun than they've been since the Gervin days.<br>
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The Spurs wish they could run and move now, and privately they complain about Popovich's offense. They dislike playing it as much as you do watching it, and the recent road trip east highlighted the torture.<br>
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Weren't the Hawks and Wizards defending them?<br>
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To be fair to Popovich, this is not an athletic group. All the Spurs have to do to run is run; Popovich wouldn't stop them from creating fast-break layups. But they pull up to run plays for Duncan because, ultimately, he's the only consistent scorer on the team.<br>
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Kidd would change that within one practice. Just as Richard Jefferson prospers on the wing now with Kidd, Manu Ginobili and Stephen Jackson would. Kidd would put Duncan in the best position to score, too.<br>
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But the dramatic change would come from a coach who insists on calling plays with everything but a headset. Popovich, for the first time, would have to give up his authority.<br>
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The Spurs have tried to wrest it from him before. Avery Johnson confronted Popovich at least once every season, and occasionally Popovich would grant them more freedom.<br>
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Parker doesn't have the leverage. Popovich sometimes scolds him, sometimes pats him on the head — and always talks to him during play. Once, against the Wizards last month, Parker was stripped while listening for his next assignment.<br>
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Kidd wouldn't listen. Popovich would become what Jerry Sloan has been for more than a decade, deferring to John Stockton, admitting the point guard knows more than he does.<br>
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Popovich would likely call plays with one command. Inbound.<br>
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So Kidd over Kandi?<br>
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There are millions of reasons.<br>
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bharvey@express-news.net<br>
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P.S.<br>
Did y'all see that around the back pass Kidd dished out to Alvin Williams last night vs. Orlando?!?!!<br>
OMG!!!!<br>
That was one of the best plays I ever saw! <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://nl.msnusers.com/_Secure/0OwD7d!kUbmI41zzLQ6DPI*FYQ3ceK!EAGHsn7Ds1fk822dJP8FoQFBq5*nMDTPoFUQzLb73iIzUWLmz5RhMQODGBigU7lIPm/alamo50.jpg"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub61.ezboard.com/bsanantoniospurs62937.showUserPublicProfile?gid=blondie4spurs>Blondie4Spurs</A>  <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://homepage.eircom.net/~bray/em/orose.gif " BORDER=0> at: 1/5/03 1:13:39 pm<br></i>

Some good analogies Mo.........!<br>
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We here in CLIPPERDOM r screaming the same sentiment......Although KANDI has developed a goo turn around shot he is otherwise a liability.....Gentrys insistant game plan to dump it in to him has rendered our squad to nothing but a poor excuse of a team..... The ball movement by KANDI is also very suspect. Once he gets it everyone knows he is going to shoot it.......<br>
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Is this not what has finally happened to the LAKERS....?<br>
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And now the SPURS....?<br>
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U can have KANDI.....He has become our ball and chain.....We want to move up and down the court in the modern age.........! <p></p><i></i>

People think our offense is boring now... imagine the same offense with Kandi throwing up 15 righty hooks from 6 feet every game in addition to Tim's time on the block. <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.sahoops.net/"><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:purple;font-size:x-small;">"Shaq is getting married. Yeah the bad news is it'll be his only chance to get a 4th ring this year." -Jay Leno</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--></a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

Buck Harvey is an excellent columnist. <p></p><i></i>

I'd take Kidd over Kandi any day,with or without Tony...<br>
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I wouldn't mind trading Tony for a solid swingman... <p> <br>
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Buck Harvey is a knucklehead... <p></p><i></i>