Haislip’s Contract

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Jeff McDonald provides Spurs fans with a noteworthy piece of information. Up to this point most of us had been operating under the assumption that Marcus Haislip signed for the Bi-Annual Exception. This is not the case. He signed for the vet minimum. More specifically, $825, 497.

Two things: 1) His contract is a good deal for the Spurs, and makes much more sense than the BAE. Haislip is an accomplished international star. He could command more elsewhere. 2) This leaves the Spurs with their BAE, which could come in handy should their young hopefuls underwhelm during summer league.

For those of you keeping score at home, the Spurs roster is crowded but they do have a little money to spend. The BAE comes in just shy of 2 million.

(HT: Sydneylla)

  • Robby

    Nice, work by the Spurs F.O., now we still have a little money to spend on getting another SF or PG… i really thought they signed Haislip for the BAE… for $825, 497, i think he’s a bargain

    Go Spurs Go!

  • Robby

    Or if we think about it, maybe they have to keep the BAE so they have cash… we are over the tax limit as it is. Maybe a trade is forthcoming who knows…..

  • g7997

    Also, I believe if a player signs for vet minimum, their contract doesn’t count against the salary cap or luxury tax. I could be wrong. Anyone know??

  • Robby
  • Robby

    Guys these is a good read

    Go Spurs! Go!

  • drew

    So, in light of the possibility that San Antonio is not done, and may have something in the works in the realm of trades, I have a scenario to propose.

    Michael Finley and Matt Bonner to Houston for Shane Battier.

    It’s obvious why San Antonio would do this. This immediately would give us an elite perimeter defender.

    But why would Houston do it? Well, there are only two contracts on the book next year for Houston: Yao and Battier. (Not counting Ariza, who hasn’t officially signed yet)

    Without Battier, Houston could be huge spenders in the glorious summer of 2010. Houston, boasting the fourth biggest population in the nation, appeals because of its large market (its gigantic if you factor all the fans in China), and because TX has no income tax. Possibly they could lure Texas native Chris Bosh.

    So, I ask the wise Tim and wise Graydon, could this happen? I know the chances are miniscule, but do you think the FO could have their eye on Battier?

  • drew

    oh wait - maybe Ariza has already signed. Still, doesn’t matter either way, because Ariza will be a rocket regardless of when he signs.

  • Robby

    drew,

    i like the idea of Battier coming to San Antonio, but think Houston will not do this he has been a valuable piece in their playoff run last year plus
    Finley has an upcoming Bird right that means he can refuse a possible trade…

  • Robby

    A trade of Matt Bonner for Thabo Sefolosha makes sense for the Spurs… (just don’t if Pop can talk Sam Presti into this :) )

    The spurs get a young perimeter defender while the thunder get a veteran big man who has a decent outside shooting…. just a though impossible it may seem…

  • Robby

    * (just don’t know if Pop can talk Sam Presti into this :) )

  • Tydus

    Hey Tim,

    I was looking that the rumored Boozer to Bulls deal and was thinking that the Spurs could possibly get into that.

    Portland recieves - Kirk Hinrich (CHI)

    Utah recieves - Tyrus Thomas (CHI), Marcus Williams (SAS)

    Chicago recieves - Carlos Boozer (UTAH), Michael Finley (SAS)

    San Antonio recieves - Either Rudy Fernandez or Travis Outlaw (POR)

    Some cash would also be exchanged as well and possibly draft picks, but this works well. I know Finley has the Bird Rights but he would be going back to his home state and playing on the team that he grew up watching. Any thoughts on that?

  • LiverSpursFan

    I just want to throw my hat in the Shane Battier ring. This is a player I feel that the Spurs should be targeting and have felt that for quite some time. It’s nice to see that other Spurs fans have felt the same way. Now, how do the Spurs go about landing this player . . . . . . . who knows, but that is for us to speculate.

    On another thought, does anyone else have any fears that our draft picks and new young signings don’t pan out the way we thought they would? Or am I just feeling typical San Antonio Spurs second guessing syndrome? Which is common if you’re from San Antonio . . . . . .

  • Robby

    Nice one Tydus, i was also one of the spurs fan that likes to see Travis Outlaw in a spurs uniform… maybe giving up Bonner instead of Finley would be better….

  • John

    I’ve been thinking, what if the Spurs trade Roger Mason, Jr. and Matt Bonner for Raja Bell and Alexis Ajinca? The Spurs could instantly cut Ajinca and use his roster spot on someone else from Austin, to keep inactive.

    Plug Bell in the starting lineup instantly with Jefferson, and have Finley and Manu come off the bench with Georgie. Plus, Timmy would have another buddy from St. Croix…

  • John Carr

    If some of our rookies/summer leaguers don’t impress, how about making a run at Grant Hill with our BAE? He would be a great option off the bench behind RJ, and his quest for a ring (and the Spurs’ culture) may convince him to don the silver and black. Now is the time for pipe dreams!

  • BayAreaSpursFan

    I think the Spurs should use their BAE on a true big man. I would not send Mason anywhere. As much as I like Finley I would package him first with Bonner. If that fails then I would shop Mason around. “Offense wins games, Defense wins Championships.”

  • g7997

    It looks like Grant Hill is most likely headed to New York. From what I’ve been reading, he wants a starting job.

    I do like the propsed trade for Battier (and the Rockets owe us one for the Scola trade). I don’t think there is any way Finley would agree to a trade though unless it’s to a top contender(Lakers, Magic, Cavs, etc.). At this point of his career, it’s all about the ring to him, not money nor a starting position.

    What I would love to see is a sign and trade with us giving up Mason and Bonner for Battier and Von Wafer. That’ll free up the logjam we now have in the front court and gives us great back court depth. Also, it pushes Finley into that “Steve Kerr” role from the 2002-2003 season where we don’t have to rely on him too much but can be a spark at the right time.

  • SpursfanSteve

    i like the battier/von wafer trade G7. i had suggested just Battier, but if we throw in Mason, getting Von Wafer would be a huge plus.

  • rikiddo

    John, I like your thinking.

    I rather enjoy the idea of Raja Bell in a Spurs uniform. He’s a better defender than Battier(yes, you all read that right), and his contract is slightly more reasonable. His contract also expires after the 2009-10 season. As long as we’re talking trades with Charlotte, we might want to mention Diop as well. We really could use a legit 7-footer on the roster for some of the matchups we’ll have to face, and Diop is also a rather good defender at the 5. Bonner/Finley gets the salaries close enough, but Bonner/Mason would probably be the offer needed to make them bite(then CHA throws in Ajinca just like in your scenario).

  • duaneofly

    I think the Spurs should stand pat right now. We traded for RJ, drafted the guy we wanted in Blair, and signed Mcdyess. RJ and McDyess will command a lot of minutes, Blair will get a fair amount of burn and I also expect Pop will be playing Hill more. Not to mention Manu coming back.
    If we traded two guys like Finley and Bonner for someone used to starting, like Battier, where are his minutes going to come from?
    Also don’t be so fast to throw away Mason! Remember he made a handful of buzzer beaters last season and hopefully he’ll improve a bit during his second year with the Spurs.

    Unless a great trade option appears (like the Gasol trade), which is doubtful due to our elite cap management skills (no bloated contracts which are expiring) than we should stick with the team we have.

  • Robby

    I agree with duaneofly, i think the Spurs’ offseason make over is almost done… we only have to fill out the final roster spots, more importantly the backup 3 or 1? maybe we have to wait until the conclusion of summer league before it is finalized..
    Guys like Blair, McClinton, Gists and Hairston (signed a make good contract) might be the FO is looking for….

  • Kaveh

    Guys, why not just trade Bonner/Finley for Lebron/Wade in a three way trade. And also just ask the lakers to give up Kobe for a donut?

    That’s how likely it is to get Battier/Von Wafer for two scrubs like Bonner/Finley.

  • Rowrbazzle

    From yesterday’s chat…
    “Josh (Knoxville, TN)
    Marcus Haislip - what’s his potential ceiling for the Spurs?

    John Hollinger
    Ever watched “Being John Malkovich”?…

    Dave (MN)
    Assuming we’ve never seen “Being John Malkovich,” what do you really think of Haislip and how good he can be?

    John Hollinger
    Fifth big man at best. This year’s Anthony Tolliver.”

    I’m not sure what we folks expect from the signing, but Hollinger clearly doesn’t think it’ll do much for the Spurs. I found the response to be pretty funny, though.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Re: Hollinger.

    He swings and misses on the Spurs quite a bit. See Butler, Jackie. Or, if I remember correctly, last year he had his preseason doubts about the Spurs making the playoffs. Then they won 50+ games on half a roster.

    John Hollinger is extremely reliable, and in general I commend him to others. I cite his work all the time. But I think his approach fails the Spurs because stats don’t account for the nuances of system. The Spurs sign system people. His calculator doesn’t know the Spurs offense features a shooting 4, for example. Nor does it know that the Spurs defense has not had a long, mobile 4 to guard the likes of Dirk Nowitzki for a couple seasons. At the vet minimum, Haislip is more than worth the gamble.

  • Trey

    I think the last couple commenters got it right. The Spurs are pretty much done with their offseason. I don’t know why people keep throwing trade ideas out there that don’t make any sense. The Spurs had one kick ass offseason, but it seems like people always want more.

    The Spurs are making their last stand, going all in, circling the wagons, etc. This next season is going to be fun to watch. If the Spurs, with this influx of youth and athleticism, can gain back some of their defensive dominance, watch out.

  • Bryan

    I’m with you on Hollinger with respect to the Spurs, Tim. According to his PER system, Bruce Bowen was always well below the average PER for the league. He consistently ranked behind bench players among SF’s. However, none of us need to see stats to know how much Bowen contributed to the team over the years.

  • Bryan

    I somewhat agree with you, Trey. I do think the major overhaul of the team is done. I think the Spurs may make a minor trade, but I think it will be a money saving issue at this point. We definitely won’t be landing any more impact players this offseason. However, I’m stoked with what they’ve done. This is going to be an exciting season.

  • Nick (Italy)

    Mr. Varner,

    Sorry to correct you, but I think Hollinger predicted that the Spurs would probably not make the playoffs in January…

    I think he tries a little bit to follow Thorpe’s style, but I find his evaluation on single players awful at times, notably when he tries to deliver short and sharp judgements.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Nick

    Was it January? Yikes!

  • Greg

    I agree with Kaveh. I would love for the Spurs to keep making moves, but there is no way that the Rockets trade Battier/Wafer, or just Battier. They already lost Yao and maybe McGrady, they would basically just be putting up a sign that said, “Waiting for next year” on this season, and I doubt Morley wants to do that to his fans. A lineup of Brooks, Finley, Ariza, Scola and Bonner? What, that wins 15 games?

    I think the FO making all of these trades has gotten us a little out of the realm of realism on what might happen next. Look at how drastically the roster has been made over at this point. None of us expected it. I think that any move that is made from this point forward will be pretty minor, or one to clear some players. While it’s fun to think of these possibilities, I doubt many players are realistic shots for us. Although I think on PTR, they had a good post about possible trades the Spurs could make and most were for role players.

    One thing that was also mentioned on PTR was the fact that McDyess brought some much needed toughness to the Spurs. For a few years, I’ve always felt the Spurs needed to be a little tougher and more physical. We seemed to get pushed around a lot lately. When you watch a Spurs game and Parker gets knocked down in the lane 50 times a game and players like Dampier are saying they are going to take him out, who steps up for us and sends a message back. Was Bonner or Oberto or Duncan going to commit a hard foul and stand up for Parker? Who wanted to work hard down low to get a tough rebound? I think McDyess’ attitude and toughness helps out our team and especially young guys like Blair. The Spurs got younger and more athletic, but I also think they got a little tougher/physical inside.

  • BlaseE

    Tydus, I love that trade scenario. My only concern is that if we trade Bonner and/or Finley, then we basically have Tim, Tony, and Manu as the only players with more than a season with Pop. I think there is value in having those guys who know what its like to start the majority of a season for Pop and were there for the ’07 chip. If we dominate with only 3 carry overs from 2 years ago, Pop for coach of the year.

    BAE for Bowen if he doesn’t want league minimum for the reason I just stated above.

    I really love that trade though.

  • Nick (Italy)

    Tim,

    I found out, it was the “PER Diem: Dec. 31, 2008”

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Perdiem-081231

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Nick,

    We should make a collage. We’d have to include his glowing predictions about Jackie Butler too. And his Spurs-Hornets playoff preview.

    Ah, we’re being too hard on him, though. He really is good at what he does, and he might be right. Maybe Haislip does flop. But I stand by my comment about his appoach’s relative strengths and weaknesses. He’s never suggested that we take his predictions in a vacuum. The stat geek is one of a few important voices at the table. He knows that as well as anyone.

  • BlaseE

    Even if Hollinger is right, the Spurs signed a roster spot at a position of need at the vet minimum that is a somewhat unknown quantity (opposed to washed-up vet, never-could-be-anything player, or another no experience rookie). As RC said, Haislip has a chip to prove to everyone that he belongs. A guy doesn’t sacrifice money to ride the bench and give half effort.

    I like Hollinger’s numbers but not his logic.

  • BlaseE

    It also shows commitment that Haislip will be attending the summer league even though he is not on the roster. Part of our season’s fate is how the chemistry of all of our new pieces turns out.

    If no one has linked to it yet:
    http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Haislip_hungry_for_second_chance_in_NBA.html

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  • Rowrbazzle

    I think Stein was very high on the Jackie Butler move, too. They had me excited and we all know how that turned out. haha

    On the other hand, Hollinger’s team power rankings had the Spurs at #1 in 2007 and everyone was saying he was crazy. And we all know how that turned out. :)

    I agree that the Haislip deal is a good risk because it’s such a very small risk.

  • Alex

    I think the spurs are done making moves. Last year was painfull to see our season go down the drain because of an injury to Manu. This year should be different, we have more offensive power although our deffensive game is not as strong. Nevertheless, the spurs should not spend all their cap space before the season even starts. If we have the same bad luck and an injury strikes one of our key players, then the FO might want a little cap room to trade or sign a player before the deadline. Our team in paper is looking good as it is, lets see how it pans out during the regular season and then playoffs. And if bowen gets cut he may want some time off and come fresher than ever before the playoffs, he knows the system and he can practice his corner threes at any gym.

  • g7997

    The reason for the Battier/Wafer trade suggestion is because the Rockets are now in a lose/lose situation. McGrady is out to at least the all star break and Yao may never play again according to some reports. Would ii make this suggestion 3 weeks ago? No. But now it’s different. Wafer is a free agent and may not sign if he sees the Rockets as a lame duck team. With the suggested trade, the Rockets get something back for Wafer and salary relief next year to rebuild as oppossed to a few years from now. Also, I’m sure they would ask for a few draft picks, and with Spltter and de Colo coming over in the next couple of summer’s, I’m sure the Spurs could handle that. This is nWill it happen, probably not. But it is not as impossible as some may think. Hell, did we all think we could get RJ for scrubs or that the Lakers could get Gasol for a bunch of nobodies?

  • Will

    I try not to underestimate Hollinger because his scouting/predicting reports are usually pretty good (just find the prediction on what Parker stats would be last year and what really happened and it’s kind of scary how close he was), but I also agree with Tim that the “raw stats” approach doesn’t work well with such a pure system team as the Spurs. Also the Spurs don’t rely on the box score, or at least look at factors that aren’t reflected in the box score - Bowen is the perfect case, if there was something in the boxscore showing how poor an opponent has shot compared to usual Bowen would have shone much more. But simply relying on points, assists or rebounds doesn’t necessarily cut it - e.g. Simmons was making a good point when he said that Dwight Howard might rack in a lot of blocks, but most of them he sends outbounds, basically giving the other team another possession, so these blocks shouldn’t count for as much, etc.

    Basically there still is no shortcut to watching games.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    I want to echo the comments of BlaseE and Alex. The Spurs are probably done.

    If they do make a move, don’t expect a player like Shane Battier in return. True: he’d make a great fit. No doubt. But could the Spurs find minutes for him without subtracting due minutes elsewhere? There is such a thing as overkill.

    Let’s wait to see what happens in summer league. I’ll put up a post about this as a kind of viewer’s guide.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Amen to that, Will.

  • Sean

    There is no way Daryl Morey trades Shane Battier.. He is the entire inspiration for the Money Ball concept.. A guy doing the intangibles which are immeasurable.. Just because Houston’s title aspirations have weakened from the loss of Yao does not mean they are holding a fire sale.

    I agree with Blase that too many new guys might not be a good thing because of the complex system the Spurs play.

    Let’s enjoy what we’ve got and see how summer league goes.

  • BlaseE

    Sean, “A guy doing the intangibles which are immeasurable” sounds like Horry to me.

    Another way Hollinger mis-rates the Spurs is his emphasis on point differential. Has there ever been a coach quicker than Pop to throw in the towel to live to fight another day or pull out starters so early in blow outs teams almost always have enough time for a comeback run on the second team?

  • Tydus

    Robby,

    My first inclination was to put Bonner in, but I wouldn’t see Chicago or Utah taking him. Both of those teams are solid with big men (especially Chicago after the draft).

    I also agree with what most are saying here. The Spurs are pretty much done, unless they fall head over heals for a summer league kid and want to make room for him. My trade scenario was just something that fit into an actual possibility.

  • Sean

    BlaseE,
    sorry, I was including regular season efforts as well.. 😉