At this point, offering Bonner more than a $50 groupon to Specs is a generous offer.

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/1/5856020/nba-free-agents-2014-spurs-matt-bonner

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At this point, offering Bonner more than a $50 groupon to Jimmy John's is a generous offer.

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FIFY

Thabo Sefolosha(sp?) just got 3y / 12m from the Hawks. Yeah, the Spurs did the rest of the league dirty with the Mills deal.

Oh my!!! The Spurs made that guy look like a D-leager in comparison! Yeah, I'll take an injured Patty Mills all day compared to that.

Based on what I'm seeing so far in free agency, the rest of the league better hope San Antonio doesn't catch fire again and/or get hungry again at the end of next year.

Maybe Bonner can play as a graduate assistant. Great to have Mills back in the fold!

The Evolution of Kawhi Leonard

Here's a hypothetical: what kind of player would Kenneth Faried be if he had gone to the Spurs instead of Denver?

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The Spurs are among at least seven teams with a potential interesting in signing veteran combo forward Marvin Williams, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge.

Marvin Williams solidly on "next" line for threes after top four/five. Talking with Spurs, Heat, Wizards, Hornets, Clips, Magic, Suns.

Williams, 28, has failed to live up to his lofty draft status, when he was taken second overall in 2005 — in front of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, among others. But he’s generally been a solid pro, averaging 10.8 points with Atlanta and Utah during his nine-year career.

Williams, who is an unrestricted free agent after earning $7.5 million last season, would provide quality front court depth for the Spurs, particularly behind starting small forward Kawhi Leonard. The majority of his minutes with Utah last season came at power forward, where he averaged 9.1 points with 50 starts.

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http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2014/07/04/report-spurs-among-batch-of-teams-interested-in-williams/

Watchlisted

Marvin doesn't do much for me. Can't shoot, not a good scorer, doesn't rebound and not a good passer.

Eh not worried about his shooting. It's common knowledge that all players get a Riverwalk koozie, a Go Spurs Go keychain, and a three point shot as part of their "welcome to the Spurs" gift package.

[This message has been edited by Deputy Travis Junior (edited 7/5/2014 9:31p).]

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Eh not worried about his shooting. It's common knowledge that all players get a Riverwalk koozie, a Go Spurs Go keychain, and a three point shot as part of their "welcome to the Spurs" gift package.

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QFT.

Little known fact is that Richard Jefferson got really drunk with his signing bonus money, fell into the the river, and lost both his keychain and his three point shot. Obviously, his playmaking ability was never recovered, either.

Boris re-signs.

3 years 22M with partially guaranteed final year.

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Free-agent forward Boris Diaw has reached agreement on a three-year, $22.5 million contract to return to the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

With Diaw's return set, the Spurs will continue their pursuit of free agent Pau Gasol with an offer of their midlevel exception, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

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Boris

Chase for seis in full swing!!

Overpaid

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Overpaid

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Guess you didn't watch the playoffs.

Mag is the best. Dude keeps me laughing, that's for sure.

[This message has been edited by TheDino (edited 7/6/2014 8:33p).]

Good for Boris and the Spurs. Setting their sights on #6.

7.5 per year is a good value but maybe not in year three.

Gonna get interesting if Gasol decides to pull the trigger and sign with the Spurs.

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7.5 per year is a good value but maybe not in year three.

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Only partially guaranteed then. If the Spurs drop off, they can cut him and won't pay 7.5mm. Probably 1-2mm guaranteed.

Gasol would be such a great fit. He would have a lot of fun playing on this team. I really hope it happens.

Is magnolia a chick?! Mind=blown.

Huge news on Diaw, as the Spurs will now be brining back every single key player off their championship team

Sounds like a fair market price for both Diaw and Mills. The Spurs likely paid them close to what they would get elsewhere, but their role on this team and their willingness to be backups make those contract worth it even if they were paid on the high end.

The Spurs now have Mills, Diaw and Splitter all locked in through the 2016/2017 season to likely go with Green, Leonard and Parker. Add a scoring big somehow or keep Duncan healthy and that lineup should be making deep playoff runs or contending for championships for the next three years.

So who is the salary cap expert here? Does Diaw's contract now max out the Spurs cap room for next year and leaves them with the full MLE to sign one more player if they wish?

Any news on if they are offering Bonner the vet minumum?

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So who is the salary cap expert here? Does Diaw's contract now max out the Spurs cap room for next year and leaves them with the full MLE to sign one more player if they wish?

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The Spurs now have 13 guys on the roster (assuming Anderson signs) with Bonner being a UFA and Baynes being a RFA.

The Spurs are over the cap but still close to 11M under the Luxury Tax Line. MLE is 5.3mm annually for up to 4 years so the spurs can still comfortably use the exception while staying under the tax line.

Current roster:

PG: Parker, Mills, Joseph, Anderson (position TBD 1, 3, or 4)
SG: Green, Manu, Belenelli
SF: Leonard, Daye
PF: Duncan, Diaw, Ayers
C: Splitter

Unsigned so far from 2014: Baynes, Bonner

The free agent need is either a true backup SF back up center or backup strech four to sign with the MLE.

Free Agents linked to the Spurs:
C: Pau Gasol
Stretch 4: Josh McRoberts, Marvin Williams, Channing Frye
SF: Caron Butler
SG: Kent Bazemore

Other notes:

Spurs have the rights to Bryce Cotton as an undrafted rookie which was a great add as he can develop and be used as an insurance policy for Mills if the surgery isn't a success.

No international players appear close to being brought over.

MLE thoughts:
SF: The Spurs obviously have gotten by just fine without a true backup SF, but that appears to be the most glaring need. Of course, Manu and Belenelli can both fill in here a bit and Anderson may see some time here as well. The Spurs saw enough from Daye to keep him around. I still think if Leonard goes down with an injury then this is the most difficult skillset to replace.

C: Gasol would be nice and would be my top/only realistic choice. In reality Duncan, Splitter and Gasol can all play the 5. They can defend, set screens and rebound and provide a very similar skill set in this offense that is increasingly going small with a stetch four. Baynes knows the offense and would come cheap so I think this is a Pau Gasol or resign Baynes scenario.

After last seasons playoff success, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Spurs start Diaw next year and play big (Splitter and Duncan on the floor) much less. If Diaw ends up starting, then that leaves Duncan at the five and Splitter as his back-up. That means finding a backup stretch four to Diaw would be much more critical than adding a Center. McRoberts, Frye and Williams or even developing and beefing up Anderson would all be options as a Diaw backup in this scenario. Bonner can be an add here for a warm body if they go with a SF or a C with the vet minimum.

I think the Spurs have the luxury of just getting better with the best available player with the MLE at either SF or in the post.

None of the guys you named (and none of the FA that I can think of outside Luol Deng--who is not a realistic possibility for the Spurs) could replace what Kawhi brings if he gets injured.

So why even bother adding a body there? Like you stated, they already have Anderson and Daye who can fill in, or an option of giving Manu and Marco some of those minutes.

The Spurs have to get some more big bodies. They can't go into a season with just Duncan, Diaw, and Splitter. (I don't see any point in including Ayers in the conversation, he's not even serviceable as a primary backup--one of the few dud signings they've made in the past few years***not saying he's terrible, but you can't depend on him for important minutes) Even if they do bring back Baynes, they need another 4 or 5 that can step in and play 20-25 minutes in a close game without completely sucking.


[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/7/2014 8:42a).]

Is it really a dud signing when the guy doesn't even make $2mm/year? He wasn't ever really considered to be more than just another body.

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So why even bother adding a body there? They already have Anderson and Daye who can fill in, or an option of giving Manu and Marco some of those minutes.

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Rookie, never plays, 36 and often injured, undersized and not a good defender. Lots of bodies, but no real solutions. I'd still like to see an upgrade, although I agree that finding another decent post is a slightly higher priority.