Express News: Spurs' Mahinmi to miss part of camp

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Spurs' Mahinmi to miss part of camp
Mike Monroe

Spurs center Ian Mahinmi will miss at least the first several days of training camp, which begins Tuesday, as he continues recovery from a sprained right ankle he suffered recently in informal workouts at the team's practice facility.

Mahinmi, a 6-foot-11, 230-pound big man from France who is entering his second season with the Spurs, spent the bulk of the 2007-08 season with the Spurs' Development League team, the Austin Toros. He played only six regular-season games with the Spurs, averaging 3.5 points and 0.8 rebounds.

Mahinmi showed up Friday at the team's preseason benefit golf tournament sporting a walking boot on his right leg. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford acknowledged the ankle sprain.

“Everybody wishes he were fit and ready to go,” Buford said, “but he's not ready right now. We're trying to be preventive, as we always are. It's an ankle sprain and a boot, so it's something we're being careful with.”

The Spurs selected Mahinmi in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft (28th overall). He spent the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons in the French professional league before signing a rookie scale contract with the Spurs last summer.

Mahinmi played 45 games with the Toros, averaging 17.1 points and 9.2 rebounds, leading the Toros to the D-League Finals.

Mahinmi was a member of the Spurs' entry in both the Las Vegas Summer Pro League and the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league and had been expected to get significant playing time in preseason games before suffering the ankle sprain. Now his development as a potential backup to both All-Star power forward Tim Duncan and starting center Fabricio Oberto has suffered a temporary setback.