Maybe this has been answered, but do the Spurs plan on taking the MLE they were offering Pau and using it on someone else who would be a 2nd unit type guy?

Nobody knows what the Spurs are going to do. Most the free agents the Spurs were rumored to be pursuing have signed elsewhere for above the MLE.

I personally think there is a better than 50/50 chance they just resign Bonner and Baynes and bring back the exact same team and don't use the MLE.

There just isn't much left out there in free agency that would make the Spurs better and at least you know what you are getting with Bonner and Baynes.

I think getting a competent backup in the post is a very long shot now as there isn't much left.

SF still has some value. I like Wes Johnson or Aminu if we go that route, but I am just not sure it's worth giving up one of Bonner or Baynes in order to spend more money to get a backup SF.

I would like to see the Spurs sign one of the Above SFs and then cut Ayers or Daye to have room to bring back both Bonner and Baynes. The Spurs would still be spending less than the full MLE that they would have used on Pau in that scenario.

I saw on pounding the rock that people might prefer we don't use the mle so we preserve money in case Duncan and Manu want to come back after their existing deals.

I don't think the Spurs will spend the MLE just because they have it.

I don't think the Spurs use the MLE simply because there is no one left in free agency that is worth using the MLE on….at least no one who is willing to come to San Antonio.

I still wish they'd throw a one year MLE deal at Ray Allen. He'd be nice to have around for the 30 games or so the Spurs will be without one of Tony or Manu. Then in the playoffs you bring him in for situational offense.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/13/2014 1:11p).]

Yeah. My guess is they prioritize re signing bonner and baynes next and roll with the same squad + Anderson. With Daye being the guy who could be waived.

I don't they have interest in a guy like Shawn Marion.

Personally, I still would like to see them go after Ed Davis and get rid of Ayres.

I would take Marion. He can play 3/4 and is a smart player. I just wouldn't want to give him more than one year. He still put up 10/6.5 last year and shot 36% from three.

I think a lot depends on how Cotton looks at the end of camp. If he shows a lot of promise, I don't see a lot of reason to keep Joseph around at the end of the year when Patty is back. (obviously we'll need him at the beginning for some minutes)

At the beginning of the year, if you bring back Bonner and Baynes, what reason is there to have Ayres? I think they need to decide between Baynes and Ayres, and for me that is an easy decision.


Tony-Patty-Cory-Cotton
Green-Manu-Marco
Kawhi-Anderson-Daye
Diaw-Bonner
Tim-Tiago-Baynes

If Diaw or Bonner are out, you can always roll with Anderson or Daye as your backup 4 for short stretches.

And they could also decide early that Cotton > Joseph as far as potential and just drop Joseph to keep Ayres, though I think that is less likely.

If Cotton is a dud in their eyes, then they would obviously drop him. But I think they'd be better off keeping an open roster spot for other guys they could bring in during the year on 10 day contracts, etc. For most the year, Ayres / Bonner / Baynes aren't going to give you very much, so I don't see the advantage in keeping all 3.

I and the other 45 or so Bonner fans are very happy at this point.

I turned on the summer league game here in the 4th. Not much going on offensively for anyone, but Cotton is lightning quick on D. He's guarding some scrub, but he sticks with him.

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I and the other 45 or so Bonner fans are very happy at this point.

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Red Rocket

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I turned on the summer league game here in the 4th. Not much going on offensively for anyone, but Cotton is lightning quick on D. He's guarding some scrub, but he sticks with him.

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I jinked him. He just got blown by.

1 year deal for the vet minimum for Bonner.

Next is Baynes.

Joseph probably doesn't have much of a future here and I suspect the spurs might see what his worth is around all star break this year. He will be counted on to play heavy minutes until January though. I expect good things from him in a contract year.

If the spurs waive someone it's likely going to be Daye at this point although I would like to see Daye and Ayres go at this point.

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And they could also decide early that Cotton > Joseph as far as potential and just drop Joseph to keep Ayres, though I think that is less likely.

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That's not going to happen. Joseph is going to be counted on this season to provide good minutes until Patty is back and healthy which could be until march. RC and Pop both like Cory also. I don't think they are at all disappointed in his growth. Patty just took his game (and most importantly his body) to another level this year though.

It wouldn't surprise me to see them keep cotton though and send him and Anderson back and forth between the spurs and toros. Having two pgs on the roster is pretty risky so cotton has a good chance to at least make the roster.

That's why I said that was the most unlikely scenario. They need Cory for depth until Patty gets back. But by that point, if Cotton looks pretty solid, they might decide he's more worth keeping around to be the team's 3rd PG going forward.

I mean, they've got Tony locked up forever and Patty for the next 3 years. They have ZERO reason to overpay Joseph to be their 3rd PG after this year is over, regardless of what Cotton does.

I agree that Joseph may very well be trade bait by the time the ASB rolls around, especially if he has a decent year. I'd also like to see them get rid of the less helpful of Daye and Ayres.

I disagree about that. If Parker and Mills are healthy by that point and Joseph has value, why the hell wouldn't you dangle him out there to see what you get back?

You're not going to pay someone almost 4 million next year (his QO is over 3 mill) to be 3rd string point guard, and if he has a really good year, you might be able to get something decent for him in return, versus getting nothing for him if some team comes at him with a big offer.

I don't like the idea of wasting the MLE for a year. Duncan and Manu's days are numbered. Sure we all hope they keep playing forever but we have to be in win now mode. There are still a few backup SFs that could give Leonard a few minutes break. If Timmy and Manu want to stick around after next year then the Spurs will find the money. Holding the MLE for a year for the chance to for sign them next year is just not smart.

They need to cut Ayers or Daye which would give them the space for Baynes and a backup SF.

What happens if Mills is still hurt and Manu goes down? We are extremely thin at PG and SF then. What if Duncan misses some time? Right now we only have Splitter, Diaw and Bonner (I don't count Ayers). A big part of our championship was home court advantage. We need to position ourselves to have another dynamic regular season so we need more depth at SF or in the post.

One year MLE contract for Marion. Do it.

Whenever Marion shoots, there should be the not safe for tv blur. It makes me physically ill. Decent player, but how the hell did he ever develop that ugly shot.

Agree. Marion would be great in a backup SF role with the Spurs. He'd play pretty damn good defense if you could limit him to no more than 15mpg. He's a good rebounder too. He's not much of a 3 point shooter these days, but they would only need him to hit one once in a while.

Again, he'd be perfect in a backup SF role for them. Good guy, too.

edit--actually, looking at his stats, he had one of his best years from 3 point range last year...who knows, maybe he'd actually be decent in his backup role on offense...but I did see a few blurbs saying he doesn't want to be a backup? okay

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/13/2014 8:46p).]

It would be awesome though if Morey's incompetence this offseason landed Marion in the Spurs backup SF position.

Parsons option not taken, Parson to mavs along with Dick Jefferson, causing Marion to Spurs. Meanwhile Houston gets Ariza.

So basically he made his own team worse at SF and both the Spurs and Mavs better at SF. Awesome.

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I and the other 45 or so Bonner fans are very happy at this point.

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Sandwich Hunter

I like Wes Johnson or Aminu because I think the Spurs could develop them at their age but I also would be ok with a veteran like Marion or Caron Butler. You get more value at SF for MLE money than you do at the post.

As far as the Spurs offseason most our targets signed for more than the MLE so you can't really fault the Spurs. I still think McRoberts is the one big miss of an attainable free agent that signed for similar money elsewhere. I wonder if they could have had him if they didn't swing for the fences with Gasol or if Lebron had made his decision earlier.

Marion shot 36% from three last year. Not terrible. He could play stretch four for us, as well.


Splitter/Baynes
Duncan/Diaw/Anderson
Kawhi/Marion
Green/Manu/Marco
Parker/CoJo until Patty returns

That's your roster of 12. That works well.

If you go SF now though with the MLE you have to make room for Baynes by cutting someone and eating that salary. The Spurs rarely do that. That's why I think resigning Baynes and passing on using the MLE is the likely scenario.

If someone like Marion wanted to play backup SF for the Spurs, you take them in a heartbeat and still re-sign Baynes. Then you tell Jeff Ayres thank you for robbing us, and move on your way.

That's little price to pay for adding someone who would be that good in a backup role. Marion is one of the few guys in the league that can guard 4 positions. You don't pass on something like that.

But something tells me he won't have any interest in coming here. The Spurs never seem to generate serious interest from most of these savvy vets.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 7/13/2014 9:09p).]

I Doubt Marion would be willing to take a one year deal. Also doubt he'd be willing to come play 15 mpg. So it's not very likely.

I really liked the idea of Bazemore. I would feel better if we had another guard who could score with patty being out and Manu being old. Belinelli is solid but one more guy would be nice there. Cotton is pretty much a pure scorer much like patty but he's got some serious size issues.