Spurs Sign Drew Gooden

by Myles A. Mills on March 6th, 2009 at 10:00 am

According to RealGM:

 ”The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they signed forward/center Drew Gooden for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

 Gooden, 6-10, 250 pounds, was waived by the Sacramento Kings on March 1 after being acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a trade on Feb. 18. This season he has appeared in 32 games, averaging 13.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.5 minutes while shooting .460 (166-361) from the field and .869 (86-99) from the foul line. Gooden has posted 11 double-doubles and has scored in double figures in 22 games, including seven contests with 20 or more. In 31 games with Bulls, he averaged 13.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes, and in his only game with the Kings he posted 12 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes.”

 People are regarding this pick up nonchalantly.  I don’t think so.  Gooden is a versatile offensive big man who can really help out Tim Duncan in the post.  He can drain the 15-footer and he has one of the best baby hooks in the league.  He’s one of the better rebounders in the league.  He could be a misfit defensively, but Tim Duncan will guide him through.  Low risk, high reward pick up, and I think Gooden will thrive in San Antonio.  I think this gets them a lot closer to compete with the Lakers.  Gooden is as good as Odom, and Bynum’s never healthy.  Basically, the Spurs picked up a 13 and 9 guy for 1.5 million.  Great job by RC Buford, as always.

About Myles A. Mills

Myles is a sophomore at The Browning School, an all-boys private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He's been a Knick fan as long as he can remember, and 02-03 was the last season he could remember in entirety. He hopes to one day see the Knicks in the playoffs. Myles is also fond of the Mets, and follows them vehemently, but his the bulk of his time goes to the Knicks. Myles wants to be a radio hosts on WFAN or ESPN 1050 radio, and he hopes to write for theknicksblog.com for years to come. View all posts by Myles A. Mills →
  • bmathews77

    I agree that this is a steal for the Spurs. Gooden thrives in a defensive oriented system (remember his play in Cleveland). I think pairing him up with Tim Duncan is going to make them more competitive out there. Not to mention he’s 27 years old so they got some youth up front instead of using the aging Kurt Thomas. I think the Spurs can surprise alot of teams in the West if Ginobilli can come back healthy for the playoffs.

  • Where2010Happens

    This is a very good pickup, but Gooden is not nearly as good as Odom. Odom is a better rebounder, a better passer, a better defender, and is much more athletic.

  • bmathews77

    Actually I looked at their stats…they put up almost similar numbers in scoring and rebounding. But I do give the edge to Odom because he’s more versatile in terms of handling the basketball and guarding different positions.

    However I do believe IF healthy, the Spurs can give the Lakers a good series.

  • Myles A. Mills

    isn’t really a better passer. odom has much more potential, stats are identical.

  • Chris Alvino

    This was the perfect guy for the Spurs. Actually, Gooden, behind Marbury, is probably the second best mid-season signing of everyone. And even the debate between him and Marbury is up for debate. Gooden will step in and start next to Duncan. The Spurs needed an active big man, not necessarily a big time post player. Gooden fits the bill very, very well. Under the radar? Yes. Will it be in about two months? No.

  • Where2010Happens

    You obviously havent watched them play enough if you’re saying Odom isnt really a better passer. Odom can run the fast break and make the right decision(and I think he’s actually played the “Point Forward” at some points in his career). Gooden definitely can not. Gooden has never even averaged 2 assists in a season and Odom has never averaged under 3 assists in a season(until this season bc he wasnt getting as many minutes in the beginning).

    I’m shocked that Odom vs. Gooden is even a discussion. You wont find any team that would think twice about taking Odom before Gooden.

  • Where2010Happens

    I wasnt even going to bother checking the stats, just because I know by watching them play that Odom is on a different level than Gooden(no matter what the numbers say), but I did anyway and Im not sure how these stats can be considered “identical”:

    Odom: 15.2 points, 8.8 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 1.0 Blocks, 1.0 Steals

    Gooden: 12.1 points, 8.0 Rebounds, 1.2 Assists, 0.4 Blocks, 0.8 Steals