Sources: Splitter, Spurs agree to terms

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Via Ticket 760:

Ticket 760 has learned that the San Antonio Spurs have reached a contract agreement with Tiago Splitter. He is expected to sign the deal on Monday. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Well, it was about time this whole draft-and-stash strategy borne some fruit. As details emerge, we’ll continue to update you. We’ll also be along soon with further analysis on how Splitter’s long-awaited arrival affects the team’s ceiling next season.

Congratulations, Spurs fans. Despite having little-to-no financial flexibility, R.C. Buford and Co. were still able to acquire an impact player. Between Splitter and James Anderson, I think that this offseason, given expectations, has been a success.

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  • lvmainman

    @ duaneofly, @ bduran,

    I’m not advocating getting rid of Jefferson at the time Jackson was available. I’m saying the Spurs should have added Jackson and kept Jefferson!!

    I’m saying why stand pat after trading for Jefferson, drafting Blair, signing McDyess.

    I’m saying Jackson should have been added as an upgrade over Finley/Mason/Bonner/Bogans.

    Remember, he knows the system, he was off a season of being only 1 of 6 players in the NBA to avg 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 assts!! (The others? Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Chris Paul, Iguodala)

    Were any of the 6 expiring contracts expected to be effective contributors in the playoffs? NO!

    Has Jackson proven himself a playoff warrior? YES!
    He’s scored 5 - 3pt baskets in the 1st half of a road playoff win in Dallas with the Spurs. He’s scored 3 - 3 pt baskets in the 4TH QTR of an NBA finals game 6 with the Spurs!!! He was on an 8th seeded team that upset a #1 seed.

    The Spurs should have attempted to ADD Jackson and ditched a combination of those 6 expiring contracts, while KEEPING Jefferson.

    @ duaneofly, @ bduran,
    Let me know if you don’t think he would’ve been upgrade come playoff time because I believe he would have been.

  • Manou

    Wow that’s great news, I believe we are right back in contention! Honestly guys, you should show more support for RJ! He has been our 4th option on offense on a half-court game! I also thought he rotation on defense was decent! We need to make him get him more touches on fast break, I still believe he can deliver!
    Besides I don’t think we can find any SF on market nearly as capable as RJ, let’s have some faith!
    Addition of Anderson and Splitter will us a better team, I think the “gelling” problem will no longer be with our team next season.
    Of course we need 4,5 players perform at high level if we want to win championship, and this group is more than capable to do so!
    GO SPURS GO!

  • quincyscott

    Jim Henderson:

    “Boston was lucky in some ways that they had a team like Seattle, which was dumb enough to give the the #2 pick in 1986 (Bias) in a trade for just Gerald Henderson & a relatively small amount of cash.”

    True. Just as the Lakers were “lucky” enough to have a team willing to give them Gasol for peanuts. Really, this is not luck. If you are the Lakers, the Celtics or the Knicks, you have some extra leverage the rest of the teams in the league cannot match. I guess just now Miami might also have some pull, but the center of gravity in the NBA makes up a pretty small list.

    From the perspective of a San Antonio native, I can see that the bright lights of the Alamo City are not what most NBA stars think of when they dream of hitting the big time. The Spurs organization has gotten lucky in two pivotal lotteries. The rest of the luck they’ve had to make for themselves.

  • quincyscott

    bduran:

    I think the reason people see Jackson compare favorably is that he is fearless. When he was a Spur, he was a bit reckless and erratic, but he had no problems whatsoever with confidence. If he missed ten shots in a row, he would still shoot, and I really do mean that in a good way. Conversely, Jefferson had a pretty rough time of it in the confidence department, at least last season.

  • DNITCH

    So just curious, with Korver, Wright, Reddick, Morrow, and Matthews having already signed offers where does that leave the Spurs? There’s speculation that Cleveland is looking at RJ, so any ideas out there on what they are looking at doing to address our SF and 3 pt shooting after Splitter and Bonner are signed?

  • Jim Henderson

    Hobson13
    July 11th, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Although for Bonner, I would still gladly take Chandler, as long as we work to pick up another shooter, and another shot-blocking big as a role player. I think Chandler can still work to improve the accuracy and range on his jumper. And the Knick’s probably could use Bonner, though they could also use another low post defender with some size, unless Mozgov, the 7′ 1″, 270 lb. Russian they just signed from Europe, works out.

  • bduran

    quincyscott,

    “If he missed ten shots in a row, he would still shoot, and I really do mean that in a good way”

    This is good if overall he’s an efficient scorer. He, however, is not.

    ldhl89,

    You’re right, he is an upgrade as a defender, but he’s no Bowen. He’s a downgrade in efficient scoring and rebounding. So even if he’s a net positive I don’t think replacing RJ with him makes much of a difference.

  • Ed

    Now some RELIABLE 3 pt. shooters and the Spurs are competitive. All you can ask.

  • Maverick1948

    why does everyone want to trade away young players for some OLD timers. The best example is Raja Bell. If Duncan is getting old and slowing down, so is Bell. He will be 34 when the season starts, same a TIM. Matt Barnes, 7 teams in 7 years, would last with a team if he was that good. Trading TP is just plain dumb. Almost everyone on here puts down Bonner and says Tony has lost a step. You also forget that last season, both broke a bone in their shooting hand. It took Bonner longer to get back his shot than TP because he takes the long 3. He did add the little runner that should make him better. His defense is always going to be lacking but he does a good job of forcing the game to TD or Blair. Hairston was out near the end of the season with a bum ankle. He should return to some form.

    Now for our offseason. 1st We resigned Manu. 2nd We drafted Anderson, the Player of the year in the Big 12. 3rd Signing Splitter on Monday brings us a player with the Euro MVP and Championship. Age 25 with 10 years of Pro experience. 4th We signed Alonzo Gee, the Rookie of the Year in the NDBL in 2009-2010. I dont know how that will translate to the NBA but he had 11 games with Washington and avg 7.4 with 3 rebs, after putting up 21.0 and6.6 rebs.

    Signing Manu kept the even with the 50 win mark. Getting Anderson at SG/SF gives us a scoring wing. 1 first round pick. Signing Splitter gives us a big. 2nd 1st round pick. Crossing my fingers, Gee could be something for us on the SF wing. Could it be like signing a 3rd first round pick?

  • bigtee34
  • bigtee34

    I think we should get brewer with the lle
    great d-fense

  • Jim Henderson

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-pistons-wallace

    Well, there goes Wallace, a guy that actually might have been able to contribute to improving our defense AND shot-blocking for 15 mpg. in our front court rotation. Instead, we’d rather have Bonner & McDyess for twice the money. Maybe we did inquire about him, and he just wanted to stay in Detroit, but I never heard that we even made a real effort.

    We need to improve our DEFENSE more than our OFFENSE!

  • Jim Henderson

    bigtee34
    July 11th, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    “I think we should get brewer with the lle
    great d-fense”

    I like him, but I doubt he signs for LLE money. I’d be surprised if the Bulls don’t make a strong move for him next week.

  • Hobson13

    bigtee34
    July 11th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
    I think we should get brewer with the lle
    great d-fense.

    I would totally be down with that. In fact, I’m surprised he hasn’t gone before Morrow, Matthews, and Wright. People forget that unlike the three players I mentioned, Brewer started two straight years for playoff bound Utah teams. He is not the pure scorer and shooter that many SFs are, but he is a much better defender and athlete than many of the FA’s that have already been signed. Right now, it appears that most players available are signing 3 year $12mil deals. Perhaps we could use Bonner or McDyess’ contract in a sign and trade for Brewer. While Brewer is not a great shooter (and never will be) our teams problem last season was not offense, but the lack of both a shot blocking big and a good perimeter defender. I sure hope we can at least pick up one nice young piece via Free Agency before the summer is over.

  • stanleyb.white

    Go spurs go

  • bigtee34

    brewer made 2.7 mill last year and im pretty sure the lle is 3 mill. Not sure about that tho. I also think we could give him the bruce bowen treatment he didnt have a corner three when he showed up either.

  • Hoopster

    This just in Suns doing a sign and trade with Hawks for Childress and also sending Barbosa to Toronto for Hedo! Childress is 5yrs-34mil and locks up their SF spot for when Grant Hill retires.
    Nice moves in my opinion.
    @td4life
    The reason the FO has not spent some or all of the 15 mill that Jefferson walked away from is simple they are not allowed to. Since there always seems to be confusion on certain things about the cap i will summerize the most common misconceptions. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
    1. You cannot combine any of the exceptions allowed for signing FA’s.
    2. You cannot go above the cap to sign FA’s with the exception of resigning your own FA’s. Or to sign one yr deals at vet min. You can go as far past the cap you wish as long as you are willing to pay the luxury tax.
    So even though Jefferson walked away from his contract we still could not sign other FA’s.
    This is also another reason why we probably figured better to resign Bonner than nothing. My only problem with it is he should not have received 4yrs @4 mill per. He just is not worth that contract.
    The only way we change our roster from here forward will be through a trade of some sort and also signing someone to the LLE or vet min.

  • Jim Henderson

    Is it Memphis that owns Brewer’s bird rights? Could the Grizzlies use Bonner or McDyess? Can we sign a good three-point shooter with the LLE if we let Bonner go for Brewer? Can we get a 5th shot-blocking big with the LLE if we let McDyess go for Brewer? Can we find both of these types of players with the vet minimum. What is the status of Tim Thomas? Is he worth looking at for the vet minimum or LLE?

    The Heat need CHEAP defensive “bigs” and perimeter players, & shooters. How about sending the Heat RMJ (S&T) & Hairston for Q. Rich (S&T), at about 4 million per? Most of the wings left over are signing in that area, and eventually it will go lower. I haven’t heard Q Rich’s name mentioned much in terms of teams looking to sign him. The Heat would get TWO for ONE, and let’s face it, they only have about 7-8 million to sign NINE players. Even after last season, Mason still shoots 38% career from three. He very well could revive his career with a change of venue on a team like the Heat. Hairston could play a small role for them off the bench with his perimeter “D”, and he’s a good scorer in the open court in transition. We could use Q. Rich’s 3-point shooting & “D” to help fortify our SF position.

  • Jim Henderson

    bigtee34
    July 11th, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    The LLE is right about 2 million. Unlikely Brewer sign’s for that. Chicago or Utah will pay him more.

    Hoopster
    July 11th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    “This is also another reason why we probably figured better to resign Bonner than nothing. My only problem with it is he should not have received 4yrs @4 mill per. He just is not worth that contract.”

    Yes, but I still would have done everything possible NOT to re-sign Bonner (replace his shooting through trades, LLE, vet minimum signings). I would have worked to improve our perimeter & interior “D”, & shot-blocking, instead or re-signing Bonner. He is essentially a wasted roster spot in terms of what we need to contend. It might be different if at least he could be counted on to hit big three’s in the playoffs, but he’s demonstrated over the last 3 years that he is not.

  • Zach R.

    Via Wojnarowski: Wizards, Jazz, and SPURS tried to get involved with the Childress deal.

    ARRGH, SARVER!!!

  • td4life

    Hoopster-
    I am aware of how the salary cap works and have explained much the same info on these pages more than once this summer.

    My comments on this page were are in response to
    the FO’s apparent complacency as they seemed to ignore attainable players that addressed our areas of weakness, while sticking with guys like Bonner (for 4 freaking years?!).

    We could have traded RJ (and to an up-tempo team, which he has stated better suits him, and increases his market value) this summer before he opted out, or we could have S&T him. We also had many smaller expirings which apparently we are doing nothing with, because the FO apparently thinks we are better than we are. I have repeatedly posted optimistic views of Tiago Splitter, and am hopeful that we develop Anderson and Blair substantially throughout the coming season, but we needed to do more to contend in the TD & Manu window.

    Extending the failed Bonner experiment is particularly disheartening. As one poster said in the previous thread, “Signing Matt Bonner says to the team and the league: ‘We aren’t serious about winning anymore. We’re soft and we have no ideas left.'” Which I don’t really believe, but it does kind of send that message.

    I have stated where a better priced and more comfortable and familiar RJ ranks (toward the top) of SFs available to the Spurs, but given how far our defense has slipped, and how real our need for 3point shooting, not trading RJ is regrettable.

    All is not completely lost. We haven’t signed him yet, and no one has picked up our other FAs. So a meaningful trade may yet happen. Fingers crossed.

  • Phife

    Not to be all conspiracy-theorist but, Lon Babby is going to be the Suns new GM. Lon Babby is Tim Duncan’s agent with Tim expiring in 2 seasons..

  • td4life

    Hobson13 has referred to the notion that James Anderson is very similar to James Harden. Since he won’t be playing in the summer league, I would like to read such an assessment. When I was reading scouting reports prior to the draft and ranking Anderson 3rd on my list of appealing candidates (and I may be wrong, he may prove better than either Paul George or Larry Sanders) I pondered if he could be just that, a James Harden type. Who knows what kind of career either of those guys will have, but Harden appears to be much more alert, intelligent, confident, mature, and savvy. He has presence and as much leadership and star-quality as you would ever want in future starter. Our young James displays very few of those qualities in interviews, but hopefully he proves to be something of a savant on the court. I like the kid a lot, and love his humility. I hope it translates into exceptional coachability and a very strong work ethic. Obviously I am really rooting for the guy.

  • td4life

    J-Chills was acquired for a 2012 2nd rounder and a trade exception… could we have attained a $7M trade exception? Arguably, yes, we could have, but we also could have given up a smaller exception along with Mahinmi and Bonner, guys which Atlanta could have used.
    The $3.8M trade with Miami for D Wright is even simpler to imagine.

    Surely we’ll make at least one trade?

  • doggydogworld

    @JimHenderson. Heat can’t S&T any of their free agents, they had to renounce them (ceding their Bird rights) to clear their cap holds.

    Your 49ers analogy actually argues we should trade Timmy. Which in fact makes a lot more sense than trading Tony.

    @td4life, we could have created a Childress-size exception by sign-and-trading RJ. The other team must either be under the cap or have their own exception. RJ must want to play for the other team and vice versa. And Childress must be willing to come here, where we freeze the small forward out, instead of Phoenix where he’ll get 15 shots per game.

  • rj

    so after we resign rj, what’s next?

    are we done?

    what are our biggest necesities? i know we’ve called for another shot-blocking big, but 6 bigs on our roster would be too much.

    i suppose another sf or shooter is in order.

  • rj

    looks like mahinmi to the mavs….*ralph*

  • bduran

    “@JimHenderson. Heat can’t S&T any of their free agents, they had to renounce them (ceding their Bird rights) to clear their cap holds.”

    Is this true? I had read that because Lebron and Bosh did S&T they still had bird rights but I haven’t looked into how any of that works.

  • duaneofly

    The Heat had to renounce their rights to all FAs to lower the cap holds those players had. This was the only way to free up enough cap space to sign two (near) max players plus Wade.

  • John

    Splitter that’s great but we need a shooter to take over Jefferson’s spot! I would trade Tony since he said he would take off at the end of the seasson. You can get a or two great shooters for him. He will not stay as a spur next year.

  • INVINCEABLE21

    NOW BRING SHAQ AND WE HAVE OR 5TH RING!!GO SPURS GO!!

  • doggydogworld

    S&T didn’t affect Miami’s cap situation because they didn’t send any salary away. In fact, they didn’t have any salary to send away except Chalmers. Anyway, they had to use cap space for LeBron and Bosh, and thus had to renounce.

  • marcos4303

    Unless it is for Chris Paul, why trade TP?
    Won-t get any better without him, on the contrary. He was injured last season. It is like all those people wanting to trade Manu when he was injured.

  • Jim Henderson

    doggydogworld
    July 12th, 2010 at 5:07 am

    “@JimHenderson. Heat can’t S&T any of their free agents, they had to renounce them (ceding their Bird rights) to clear their cap holds.”

    Why did they have to clear their cap holds?

    “Your 49ers analogy actually argues we should trade Timmy. Which in fact makes a lot more sense than trading Tony.”

    Actually, trading Manu for the right pieces makes the most sense to me, IF TP is going to extend with us (Hence the trade proposal I offered of Manu to OKC). Trading Timmy would require us to essential change the heart of our offense. The 49er’s did not have to change the heart of their offense to go with Young.

  • sydneylla

    It’s official- per AP:

    Spurs sign 2007 top pick Splitter

    ——————————————————————————-
    Associated Press

    SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs have signed Tiago Splitter, three years after drafting the heralded big man from Spain.

    The 6-foot-11 center has played in the Spanish League since being picked 28th overall by the Spurs in 2007. Bringing Splitter aboard was the main offseason target for San Antonio despite a loaded free agent market.

    Terms of the deal were not immediately available Monday.

    Splitter was the MVP of the Spanish League last season. The 25-year-old from Brazil is expected to immediately give depth alongside Tim Duncan in the frontcourt.

  • doggydogworld

    @JimHenderson: “Why did they have to clear their cap holds?”

    Because cap holds count the same as salaries. Miami had something like 90m in cap holds so they were way, way over the cap even with only one player under contract. Renouncing all their free agents, waiving James Jones and trading Beasley got them below 10m so they could sign the Huge 3, Mike Miller and Haslem. After that it’s pretty much vet min all the way.

  • Joe

    It’s about time. Welcome to SA, Tiago!

  • Jim Henderson

    doggydogworld
    July 12th, 2010 at 5:07 am

    “@JimHenderson. Heat can’t S&T any of their free agents, they had to renounce them (ceding their Bird rights) to clear their cap holds.”

    Why did they have to clear their cap holds? ”

    Sorry, I thought you were talking about the Spurs. Okay.

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