why Van Exel

Ok, my sister-in-law asked about the Spurs acquisition of Van Exel. I will be interesting to read the Express News in the morning as the deal gets discussed. Here are my first thoughts.

1. He obviously came cheap if the Spurs did not have to reduce their offer to Finley. He must have come at the veteran's minimum's price.

2. He is hungry. The one thing about his play in Dallas two years ago is the cat wants a title. On a team full of players already with a ring, having someone hungry is huge.

3. Beno is going to the NBADL. First and second year players can be assigned there. The Spurs need Beno to improve his defense in particular, but it is tough to find him the minutes behind Parker without costing them games. So this way he can go play 30-36 minutes per game and hopefully develop.

4. What was the relationship like between Finley and Van Exel? If they were close in Dallas, is that something else the team can use to lure Finley. A friend saying, come on, man, we can win a title together might be just what the doctor ordered.

5. Finally, this cat can get Steve Kerr-hot. He can at any given moment throw down five threes in a quarter just because. That's the kind of thing that wins a play-off game. And the Spurs have won titles based in large part on guys who won one game. Think Danny Ferry (2003, game 2 against Phoenix down 0-1), Steve Kerr (game six against Dallas 2003), Horry (2005 game 5 against Detroit), and it seems like Kevin Willis had a big game for us also in the 2003 run while Robinson was ailing.

All that being said, this was a completely unexpected move here. I read the express spurs stuff everyday, and I hadn't even heard there had been talks between the team and Van Exel. So these are my first thoughts off the cuff.