Houston with a GIGANTIC steal.

[mrhonline]

Getting Scola as the starting PF for what looks to be "pennies" (3 yrs, $10M) AND getting a promising young backup CR.

Wow.

[DJlaysitup]

Yes Mr.H....they did a heckuva job there. Thank heavens they aren't in our conference.

[beav]

It looks like SA was clearing cap space to sign Udoka?

Spurs: Scola Trade Explained; Udoka Signing Imminent

By Bill Ingram

for HOOPSWORLD.com

Jul 14, 2007, 14:12

San Antonio Spurs fans went through the roof when they heard about the trade. It's not official yet because Jackie Butler has to leave Las Vegas to fly to Houston and pass a physical with the Rockets, but pending that the Spurs have traded Butler and the rights to Luis Scola to Houston for Vassilis Spanoulis.

Spurs fans have been up in arms since hearing about the deal. Scola, after all, is an international powerhouse. He's been a big part of Olympic success and has built in chemistry with Spurs stars Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto, who play alongside him for Argentina. He's a 20 and ten guy, and those just don't come along every day. Why would the Spurs trade him for a point guard that didn't play in Houston last year?

No disrespect to V-Span. He's an international star in is own right, and was sold a bill of goods by the Rockets that was cancelled by Jeff Van Gundy. He wound up riding the bench after being told he's be in the rotation, and that's not entirely his fault. He didn't play well in preseason, and for Van Gundy that was enough to justify benching him . . .forever.

This trade wasn't about Spanoulis, any way. It was about finding the heir apparent to Bruce Bowen, and the word out of Portland is that the Spurs have done that. Jason Fleming, who covers the Trail Blazers for Basketball News feels Udoka is the next premier defender in the NBA and often compares him to Bowen. Udoka has a knack for hitting the three (41% in 2006-07), has long arms and the quickness to disrupt passing lanes, and - bonus - he's a decent free throw shooter. Having spent time as both a Laker and a Knick, Udoka didn't really hit his NBA stride until he joined Portland, where he became a regular rotation player and averaged 8.4 points per game last season. He's been getting plenty of love on the free agent market, but it seems the Spurs will be the ones to nab him, offering three years and $12 million.

Of course, the Spurs don't have any cap space, so a trade was needed. Spurs scouts were certain that Scola was never going to join San Antonio. He wants to start, and that just isn't going to happen on a team with Tim Duncan, the league's top power forward. In Houston Scola will start and he'll play a significant role in their success. The Rockets were in desperate need a four, and Scola is exactly what they needed at that position. As a trade off they also took Butler, who is unlikely to be a rotation guy for Houston but could come in and give up a few fouls here and there.

Whether or not Spanoulis comes back to the NBA is really beside the point. He swears he won't, having packed up and moved back to Greece within minutes of the Rockets' season coming to an end. His stance may change if the Spurs say the right things, but ultimately it's not what this deal was about. The Spurs got the cap room they needed to sign their top free agent prospect and they did it by giving up a piece that was never going to be part of the team.