Re: Tim Duncan....:::sigh:::

[Nault <rnault@ptialaska.net>]

Sounds to me like we can forget about Duncan coming to Boston.  Lets just
do what we can with the third and sixth picks, which is by no means a bad
situation.  Many people have argued that this years draft is "weak", I
disagree.  I guess we won't know until the end of next season though so
there really isn't much of a point arguing about it.

Tim

>From today's San Antonio Express-News.....
>
>(Read what Popovich sez about a trade towards the end of the article)
>___________________________________________________________
>
>Wake Forest star `very happy' about coming to San
>                   Antonio
>
>                   By Jerry Briggs , Express-News Staff Writer
>
>                   WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Students, parents and onlookers
>were encouraged to hold their applause until all the names had been
>called during graduation ceremonies Monday at Wake Forest.
>
>                   That didn't stop everyone from bursting into one last
>ovation for the greatest basketball player in school history. As soon as
>they announced the name of Timothy Theodore Duncan, the cheers went up
>from the cap-and-gown crowd.
>
>                   Duncan, towering over his classmates and beaming a
>broad smile in response to the yells and applause, took his last steps
>as a collegian.
>
>                   He is 21 and will be rich soon. He is 6-foot-10 and
>248 pounds of power and finesse. And on June 25 in Charlotte, N.C., he
>is  expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft by the Spurs.
>
>                   But here he was Monday morning, sauntering down a
>sidewalk and moving slowly with his family and friends toward a news
>conference. Still wearing his graduation gown in the muggy Carolina
>heat, he playfully joked with brother-in-law Rick Lowery about how good
>he looked.
>
>                   ``I like the long sleeves,'' said Duncan, the
>consensus 1997 player of the year in college basketball, illuminating
>his trademark goofy sense of humor.
>
>                   With much anticipation, Duncan watched Sunday's NBA
>draft lottery on television at his home in Winston-Salem. Word got out
>that night that Duncan was glad the Spurs won the right to choose him
>No. 1 in an upset over the team given the best odds of landing the top
>pick, the Boston Celtics.
>
>                   ``I was very happy, very happy,'' Duncan said. ``I
>know a little about the team. They've got David (Robinson) and Avery
>Johnson and Sean Elliott. They've got a great team and a great chance to
>win a lot of games that first year. So I'm very happy with that.
>
>                   ``Also, I hear it's a nice place (to live). It's just
>an opportunity (for me), a great opportunity.''
>
>                   In the sunny, outdoor setting on the Wake Forest
>University campus Monday, he received his diploma and made good on a
>promise to his late mother - to become a college graduate.
>
>                   Duncan, projected as the starting center-power
>forward for the Spurs next season, admitted the time seems to have flown
>by since he arrived on campus four years ago.
>
>                   ``It really has,'' said Duncan, who earned a degree
>in psychology. ``It seems like I walked in yesterday when I was a
>freshman.
>                   Now I'm walking out. It was a great experience. I
>have a lot of great memories.''
>
>                   Duncan, stating no preference for whether he would
>rather be an center or power forward in the NBA, thinks he and Robinson
>will be able to play as a tandem without much problem.
>
>                   ``I think the position is undefined,'' he said.
>``It's center-power forward. It's pretty much the same thing. I think
>we're both pretty agile and can play both positions. So I guess we'll go
>back and forth.''
>
>                   Already, talk is hot and heavy among Spurs fans. They
>are hoping their team, which fell an NBA record 39 games in the win
>column to a franchise- worst 20-62 last season, can bounce back quickly.
>
>                   Duncan and Robinson will be one of the most- watched
>and talked-about combinations in the league.
>
>                   ``I think it'll be great,'' Duncan said. ``I think
>I'll learn a lot from him (Robinson). It's a great opportunity to learn
>from someone who already knows the game, (someone) who already has
>experienced all there is to be experienced (as a professional).''
>
>                   Robinson, recovering from back and foot injuries that
>caused him to miss most of last season, has won a league MVP honor and a
>scoring title and has played in seven all-star games and three Olympics.
>
>                   ``I think he'll help me along a whole lot,'' Duncan
>said, ``and I hope I can just help out the best I can.''
>
>                   Lowery said the major reason Duncan wanted to play
>for the Spurs was for the chance to team up with Robinson.
>
>He wouldn't have objected to playing for the Celtics. Rather, he would
>have welcomed it. But his first preference was to be on a team that
>could be a winner immediately.
>
>                   Under that line of thinking, the family watched
>intently Sunday when the televised lottery showed the favored Celtics
>come up with the third and sixth picks.
>
>                   ``It got real quiet at No. 6 when Boston's first
>number came up,'' Lowery said. ``Then, five, four and Boston again at
>three. When they announced (No.) 2 (to Philadelphia) and then No. 1, the
>house just went crazy. Tim was jumping all around.''
>
>                   Admitting to an emotional release, Duncan said, ``I
>leaped a few couches.''
>
>                   Gregg Popovich, the Spurs' coach and general manager,
>said it would be highly unlikely that the team would trade Duncan. In
>fact, by league rules, they would have to draft him first, sign him and
>then trade him - a complicated process that would likely involve
>matching salaries of other players in the deal.
>
>                   All in all, it's not expected to happen.
>
>                   ``Coach Popovich ... sounded pretty positive,'' said
>Duncan, denying any knowledge that he was going elsewhere.
>
>                   Duncan apparently was impressed that Popovich called
>before the draft, just to talk.
>
>                   ``He just gave me a call a few days before the draft
>and said he hoped they had a chance to get the (pingpong) balls (to)
>come up,'' Duncan said. ``So I guess he was a little bit of a prophet.''
>
>                   At Spurs games next season, Popovich won't have to
>use his crystal-ball skills to predict an upswing in interest in the
>team. Unlike the Wake Forest commencement exercises, fans won't have to
>wait until the end of games to cheer for Duncan.
>
>                   They'll be able to yell for the newest franchise
>player any time they like.
>
>                   ``I'm just going to go out and give it my best,''
>Duncan said.


Nault
rnault@ptialaska.net

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