I bet if Orlando drops Dwight, you could get Big Baby for Splitter+Neal+Blair.

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I bet if Orlando drops Dwight, you could get Big Baby for Splitter+Neal+Blair.

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lol

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Neal/Bonner/Blair package for a decent Big and i will be a very happy camper.

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this sounds like every poster on spurstalk.com always thinking the Spurs can trade a sack of crap for something "decent".

Go read a Rockets thread. We're not talking 7 spares for Dwight Howard, more like Splitter (backup C) plus Neal (6th man/potential starter at SG depending on the team) for an upgrade at backup C.

Big Baby is an expensive Dejuan Blair. No thanks.

Why give up Splitter for a backup C? That's the role he already fills fairly decently. It's not like there's a bunch of decent backup centers out there anyway.

As of today, the Spurs have agreed to sign:

Green
Duncan
Diaw
De Colo


Get Mills back for cheap and they are pretty much set, although he's less of a need now that De Colo is on board. They really don't have money to do anything else, so barring a multi-player trade, they are pretty well done for the offseason.

Spurs can still offer a 2 year contract with 2.8M total.

Kenyon Martin is a guy who's a FA that the Spurs showed interest in last season. If he is unable to get more $ then he's definitely a player I would want the Spurs to take a chance on. He is a underrated defensive player who can guard 4s and 5s and has a decent mid range game.

Just a thought.

I was just thinking how we needed guys that didn't show up in the playoffs. KMart will be a perfect fit.

I'd be for that. We need the defense.

[This message has been edited by ItalAggie (edited 7/10/2012 10:06p).]

We are talking about the same Kenyon Martin, right? Why in the hell would anyone think that is a good idea? Defense? Kenyon moves around like an old freakin' man. He makes Duncan look 24.

Martin isn't afraid of the big stage and brings a certain toughness and attitude that the rest of the Spurs bigs don't have.

Not to mention that him and popovich get along very well and he would definitely buy into what the Spurs are doing.

All the Spurs have is 1.4M a year to hand out over 2 years. It's not like there's a huge pool of guys that can help but give me an old k-mart over shriveled up Bonner and 6'5'' Blair everyday of the week in the playoffs. Not to mention that he gave the Clippers some great help inside last season once they signed him. He defends the post well.

Better than any player we have not named Tim Duncan.

That's right. He went 5-31 in games 5 and 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals. Him sucking didn't keep him from shooting. That's the kinda swaggar we need.

Are you serious right now? I'm talking about him being the 4th or 5th big in the rotation. I'm not talking about him putting up 31 shots in two games.

You'd rather role with the same big men as last season? Blair and Bonner eatin up the minutes?

I'm talking about defense. We don't need help in the scoring department.

[This message has been edited by ItalAggie (edited 7/10/2012 10:38p).]

I've never read Spurstalk once in my life.

We're also talking about what is practically a minimum contract here. Not some huge investment lol

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Some of you need to stop reading SpursTalk and listening to those retards to come up with prospects.

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While SpursTalk does have it's retarded fans who understand nothing about how the NBA works, there are some very good posters and information that comes from that site.

Even the SA Express News cites SpursTalk.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/07/05/spurs-talk-show-green-the-green/

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Go read a Rockets thread. We're not talking 7 spares for Dwight Howard, more like Splitter (backup C) plus Neal (6th man/potential starter at SG depending on the team) for an upgrade at backup C.

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see that's what I'm saying.

Why on earth would a team trade their backup C for your backup C + filler? Is Splitter so much of an upgrade that they're willing to take him in? If he's an upgrade, why are the Spurs so willing to deal him? Same thing with Neal. If Neal is so great (6th man/potential starter at SG) why are you trying to get rid of him?

Neal and Blair are both on the last years of some cheap contracts. Combined they'll make less than New Guy de Euro. That's the kind of players you want on your roster, definitely not overpaid overaged veterans like K-Mart.

If a team is blowing up, they often want to get rid of long-term commitments. When you can slightly downgrade at C and get a serviceable wing + cash + draft picks + save cash + drop future commitments + create more future cap space, it is often worth giving up the better player in the trade. They can make the decision later about whether to drop or keep the two cheap players or use them as S&Ts next year.

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Is Splitter so much of an upgrade that they're willing to take him in? If he's an upgrade, why are the Spurs so willing to deal him? Same thing with Neal. If Neal is so great (6th man/potential starter at SG) why are you trying to get rid of him?

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Many teams in the league would kill to have Splitter. Omar Asik (a very similar player) just got $8M / per season this off-season.

Why would the Spurs consider getting rid of him? Well the answer is in what I just typed. The Spurs are already handicapped by many big salaries and are not going to want to overpay to keep Splitter (which is what's going to have to happen next off-season). He is in a contract year and it's very probable that he will get a deal that is similar to what Omar Asik just received. While he's a good center, which are hard to find these days, the Spurs might not want to spend that type of money on him.

Now onto Neal. Nobody is saying Neal is a great player. Haven't heard that one time. Neal is an undersized SG who is good offensively and a liability defensively. Neal has a great shot which can make him a valuable piece in a lot of systems.

Why would the Spurs want to get rid of Neal? He, like Splitter is in a contract year and will be more expensive to keep after this season. Also, The Spurs are loaded at the G position with Parker,Ginobili,Green,Neal,De Colo and Mills.

Since the Spurs are not going to trade Parker and Ginobili, they just signed Danny Green and De Colo, and Mills has no value in the trade market, that leaves Neal as a piece the Spurs can try to move who could have some value around the league. The Spurs still have a need for a big man so getting rid of one of their Guards to fill that need only makes sense. Even if that player is a good one.


Your logic doesn't make much sense tbqh, that's why there is a salary cap, so every team can't keep every good player that comes through their organization. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices.


[This message has been edited by Sher Thing (edited 7/11/2012 2:47p).]

Official press release from the Spurs:
http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/120711_spurs_sign_tim_duncan

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The 6-11 Duncan was selected by San Antonio with the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. In his 15 seasons, Duncan has led the Spurs to nine division titles and the playoffs every year, including four NBA Championships. Over the 15-year span San Antonio has posted an 830-352 regular season record, giving the team a winning percentage of .702, which is the best winning percentage in all of professional sports over that span and the best winning percentage over any 15-year span in NBA history.

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Why do you think trades ever happen? It's because different teams place different values on different players.

The Spurs run a different system than other teams and have more guard depth than most teams. The Spurs have more than 5 players who could start for at least one team in the league. That's what happens when you are a good, deep team like the Spurs.

Neal got 21 minutes, 8.7 FGA, and 10 points per game for the Spurs. There are other teams where he would play 30 minutes and get 12 shots per game. Neal shot 42% from 3, which would make him the best 3 point shooter for some teams. Not counting Diaw (61.5% on 13 attempts regular season attempts with the Spurs), the Spurs had 5 players over 40% and 3 of them shot a better percent than Neal.


The Spurs trade some guard depth for an upgrade at C. The trading partner trades a downgrade at C for more offensive production at G (and maybe C, since the Spurs want defense more than offense). Win/win trade.

The Spurs summer league kicks off on Sunday. Surprisingly, James Anderson is on the roster, as is Kawhi. Some players to watch include Ryan Richards and Alexis Ajinca.

Wasn't expecting Ajinca or Richards. Very nice.

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see that's what I'm saying.

Why on earth would a team trade their backup C for your backup C + filler? Is Splitter so much of an upgrade that they're willing to take him in? If he's an upgrade, why are the Spurs so willing to deal him? Same thing with Neal. If Neal is so great (6th man/potential starter at SG) why are you trying to get rid of him?

Neal and Blair are both on the last years of some cheap contracts. Combined they'll make less than New Guy de Euro. That's the kind of players you want on your roster, definitely not overpaid overaged veterans like K-Mart.

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Main reason I agree with the above post is that the Spurs aren't going to even be competing for top 4 in the conference in 2-3 years, so why not roll with the best team you can this year. There is no one they can get for Neal/Splitter that would be a significant upgrade or add depth. Just keep the guys in your system, and give it one last shot. They can blow up this team after next year, when it will be clear that they aren't competing for any more WCF appearances.

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Many teams would kill to have Splitter

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Yet, he's superfluous enough to ship out? And you agree, the Spurs need more quality depth in the frontcourt?

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The Spurs are already handicapped by many big salaries and are not going to want to overpay to keep Splitter (which is what's going to have to happen next off-season).

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This is a valid point...now you're getting somewhere. I don't know that I'd say the Spurs were loaded at G, considering De Colo is a mystery, and of those 5, Parker/Ginobili are the only ones who got any significant playing time after Game 2 of the WCF. If Pop sticks to the rotation he had for all but the last 4 games of the season, then yes, the Spurs' backcourt is stacked. If not, then it doesn't really matter.

Did Asik get overpaid? Probably, but that's the going rate for a center these days. Other than Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, who would you say is worth that kind of money? DeSagana Diop is making $7M+. Brook Lopez is about to sign a max deal. Andrew Bogut and Al Horford are around $12M. I'd say the market rate for a starting center is somewhere around $8-12M. Cheap, quality bigs are a rarity in the NBA.

I suppose the question to be asked is...are the Spurs really blowing it up? It doesn't appear that way to me. Competitively, it makes more sense to keep Splitter because you're not going to be able to replace him for cheaper. I think the FO is taking every season one at a time and while they've got a cautious eye on the future as always, I don't think they're quite ready to blow it up just yet.

Tell me how to upgrade at C without spending more money and without the ESPN Trade Machine (Greg Monroe for Matt Bonner! The salaries match!) style trades the folks at Spurstalk like to throw out.

And leave Robertas Javtokas and Viktor Sanikdze out of it.

This is what you don't seem to understand.

The market value for a starting center seems to be about 8-12M you say? I agree. Our starting Center is Tim Duncan who gets paid in that range. Tiago is not our starting center and averaged a mere 19 mpg last season. For whatever reason, Duncan and Splitter do not see the court together. This has already been proven the last 2 seasons.

So is 8-12M the market value for a backup C who gets 19mpg? Because that's what he is on the Spurs.

On to the next point. I am not saying we need an upgrade at Center. I think Duncan is a great Center. I do though think the Spurs need a more versatile big man who is able to play the 4 and 5. To play the 4 in Pops system you have to be able to score outside 15 feet. Tiago can't do this therefore he is regulated to being a pure backup C to Tim Duncan.

If somehow a combination of Tiago/Neal/Bonner/Blair whoever can bring back a more athletic big man who can play next to Duncan then I would be for it under the right circumstances. If not, then I would keep Tiago.

I'm not suggesting trading out Tiago for someone who has the same skill set.

and Trading Tiago wouldn't be "blowing it up".