The Splitter situation is still uncertain

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In recent weeks, many have painted the Spurs as optimists regarding their chances of signing Tiago Splitter this summer. Although, Gregg Popovich does his best to quiet the crazies in the Splitter section. Getting a judgement from Splitter for or against the Spurs would be a great help to the Spurs, and the sooner the better. Much of their offseason maneuvering could fall into line around the Spanish League MVP’s decision.

The most recent news on Splitter is not encouraging, although Splitter has not given any official indication as to his thinking on the issue.

Reports suggest that Ettore Messina and Real Madrid are preparing to offer Splitter a contract in the range of 8 to 10 million euros. (Retraction: Bruno, of SpursTalk, correctly points out that the 8 to 10 million Euro figure is not from a reliable source. I should have caught this prior to publication. My blunder.)

If true, this certainly complicates San Antonio’s pursuit of Splitter.

Splitter is, seemingly, a pefect match for the Spurs. In a recent email exchange, Os Davis of BallinEurope piled praises on Brazilian big man’s head.

Speaking totally empirically, Tiago is just a wonderful player who displays that European skill set that makes such players so coveted when successful: He’s a seven-footer who can hit from a variety of places on the floor, is capable of the devastating pass out of the post, and at 15 feet, he’s deadly.

In terms of stats, Splitter is currently the no. 1 overall-ranked player in ACB: He’s 5th in scoring (16.2), 8th in rebounds (6.8), shoots at 58.9%. He also has the most field goal attempts per game, though it should be said his percentage doesn’t rank top 10. He’s third in free-throw attempts, shooting 79%, no. 1 at drawing fouls (an interesting stat that most European domestic leagues track), and third in defensive rebounds (4.92).

Potential downsides to Splitter: He did suffer a mysterious ankle injury that was originally reported as keeping him out day-to-day, but missed an entire month; there are some injuries in Splitter’s past, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Like so *so* many Euros, weight and conditioning may be an issue. At 7’0”, he’s just 245 pounds, meaning he gives up 20 pounds to the Mehmet Okurs and Dwight Howards, and 40 to the Andrew Bynums – so odds are most any team will need some complimentary muscle when putting Splitter in the 4 or 5 spot. And despite his height, Splitter has had 26 shots blocked in the ACB (another bizarro Euro-stat), or basically one per game.

In short, you’re potentially looking at lanky sharpshooting center somewhere in the Pau Gasol/Tim Duncan sphere.

Davis’ final sentence is very generous. If Splitter is able to operate in the Marcin Gortat sphere, the Spurs will have scored big.

But first the Spurs have to convince Splitter to cross the Atlantic.

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  • spursfanbayarea

    @Trade Tp
    My comments do not claim that Tiago fills any of our voids. The discussion is about the principality of the matter. You are right, that splitter has a choice of who he wants to work for. He was not forced to enter the draft. He could have kept his name out of the nba draft and played over seas for his whole career. But when you enter the nba draft, you are chosing to work for the NBA. You and Jim Henderson neglect the fact that he was not forced to apply to the draft. I do not recall a gun being placed next to his head when he applied for the draft. Applying for the draft is not similar as interviewing for a job. What would the spurs be without their first round picks. Imagine if Robinson and Duncan wanted no part of playing in S.A? How does the NBA keep competitive balance if the draft is rendered meaningless? So anytime a team drafts a pick they must assume a risk that the player will not sign? Teams need to infuse talent every year. The method for that is the NBA draft. No one makes you enter the NBA draft. That is the key point. When you chose to enter the draft, teams own your rights. If you want to play for another team, you can play out your contract, and there is a thing called free agency. The player can then go and play for whoever and whatever salary he can achieve. First round picks are paid a handsome salary that most people would never ever achieve. How do you and Jim propose that teams replenish talent that is affordable? You can not fill a team with all free agents. First off the cap doesnt allow for it, secondly only a few teams could even afford it. Also with your analogy of interviewing for jobs, companies can replace you with someone else if you chose not to take the job. In the NBA draft, the team is left without a player. Hardly the same, or fair. What would the spurs roster look like if our last ten first round picks did not want to play? What is left of the team?

  • Jim Henderson

    “when you enter the draft you are stating an intention to play here…..”

    An “intention” is NOT the same as a guarantee, not by a long shot. And thus, the Spurs knew there was more of a risk involved in signing him. Granted, the risk is normally a relatively small one, but it is more of a risk that they (foreign-based stars) come over during your perceived time frame than it is for a state-side player (and you’re right, Rubio is another example). And that is the legal reality, whether you or anyone likes it or not.

    “By your reasoning the NBA draft is a joke. Why have a draft if players do not have to commit to signing.”

    It’s not MY reasoning! THOSE ARE THE RULES. If your contention is that the rules should be changes for any future draftees, foreign or not, fine, I might agree. But the point is you can’t hold a foreign player mostly responsible for staying in Europe, if that is his choice under the rules. The Spurs took what is normally a small risk, and thus far have lost.

    “You seem to forget that no one forced Splitter to enter the NBA draft. If he had no choice about entering the draft, then your points are valid. Unfotunatly he volunteered his name into the NBA draft.”

    No, I don’t forget anything. And again, UNDER NBA DRAFT RULES, a player that “voluntarily enters” the draft, and is drafted, DOES NOT have to come to terms on a CONTRACT with the team that drafted him. That is a simple fact, that apparently you and others still need to come to terms with.

    Trade Tp
    May 23rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    “Although I think Tiago is a dick since I am a SPURS fan, you cant blame the guy.”

    That is a blunt way of putting it, but is acceptable and understandable.

  • Jim Henderson

    Hey Tim, Jesse, Andrew, etc.:

    I’ve been trying to make a post on this thread, and I’m getting this error message:

    “‘Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!’”

    For one, I don’t see the comment in question in the comment section anywhere. And two, I’ve seen duplicate posts numerous times in the comment section on this blog before. Any explanations, or a way to solve the problem? Thanks.

  • Trade Tp

    SpursfanBay=

    My comments do not claim that Tiago fills any of our voids. The discussion is about the principality of the matter

    I was only addressing the issue with the draft. If you go to a second or a final interview for a job do you HAVE to take the job? No. And thats my point. Again, I agree with you on some points about loyalty, shady dealings (somewhat). But the fact remains Splitter had not ever told anyone he WOULD 100% play for the league.

    I dont understand how this is different than college kids not hiring an agent?

  • spursfanbayarea

    @Jim
    You are correct that a player does not HAVE to sign with a team. The point I am making is that the Spurs drafted Splitter in good faith believing he wanted to play in the NBA. If Splitter did not want to come and play, he was not required to enter the draft. They invested a first round pick in the guy. If he were to never come over, the spurs lose a first rounder and thus are SCREWED out of a pick. The intention of the draft is meant to help teams replenish their rosters. Obviously they can not make someone sign a contract if they do not want to. But that doesn’t change the fact that said player screwed the team out of a pick. When a player enters the draft to only play for the team of his choice or based on a high draft pick for money, then they are circumventing the intention of the draft. The NBA rules do not dictate that a player must sign. But with recent problems rubio, splitter, the nba will need to consider making draft entree binding(for first rounders). If the NBA honors overseas contracts, over sea players and teams should honor players draft commitments.

    So Jim, how are teams supposed to replenish rosters without first round picks?

    Is every draft pick a lotto ticket? Do you pray that they hope to sign?

    How can a team then invest in a pick when they can not negotiate contracts until the player is drafted?

    So the Spurs Front Office shouldn’t draft the best player for the team, they should draft a player who they pray will sign a contract and play for them? If the spurs only drafted players who they knew who they could sign, they would end up drafting me and you. Unfortunately our drafting would not help the Spurs Franchise. But at least they knew for sure they could sign us! The NBA has not encountered problem with players signing with teams. Therefore there was no need for letter of the law statements. But when this occurs more often, there will need to be a change.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @TradeTP
    A player who does not hire an agent can go back to college only if he pulls his name out of the draft prior to the actual draft. Once you keep your name by draft deadline, doesn’t matter if you have agent or not. Splitter did not pull out his name prior to the draft deadline. That is the difference.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @TradeTP
    College players do not hire agents if they are unsure of their draft status. They can return to college prior to the draft by the allowed deadline. After the deadline to remove your name it doesn’t matter if you have an agent or not. You are not allowed to go back to college. College players who go undrafted can not go back to college.

    They have made a decision on their future. They have given their intention to try and play in the NBA. They have then given up their amatuer status. You have brought up a great point that illustrates my point. If a state side player has to make a decision, why do you believe that Euro players are exempt to this.

    The situation of not hiring an agent is completely different than keeping your name in and then not wanting to play for the team that drafted you.

  • Jim Henderson

    spursfanbayarea
    May 23rd, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    The point is, there is always more of a chance that foreign-based players will not agree to a contract with the team that drafts them than state-side players. The Spurs knew that, but felt that the risk was small enough that they would decide to draft Splitter anyway. There’s a variety of reasons for why Splitter has not yet been willing to come to terms with the Spurs as of yet, but none of them, in my opinion, involve Splitter deliberately attempting to “screw” the Spurs. Obviously, the Spurs would rather have signed him by now, and I can understand them feeling disappointed that it hasn’t yet happened. That said, the obligations of players and teams are obviously not left to “gentleman’s agreements”. RULES do exist, and they are there for a reason, to serve a particular purpose that the LEAGUE (NBA) deems appropriate for the overall health of the league. You may have a good argument that the league rules in these types of situations should be revisited at this point. However, according to existing league rules, Splitter is operating in an acceptable fashion, as a business person acting in his own self-interests, regardless of whether the Spurs are happy with the situation.

  • Daniel

    Send Splitter to Minnesota for the #4. Done and done.

  • Jim Henderson

    Why would the T-Wolves do that?

  • AP

    Talkbasket.net is a fully accredited European Union press website. Their blogs and writers have EU press credits. It is also a full partner of ULEB (Euroleague and Eurocup and all the European domestic leagues under it). Check it out if you don’t believe it.

    Go to Euroleague.net and click on media partners. You will see that talkbasket.net is fully registered as a full news media partner.

    I am sorry, but this website is taking some poster named “Bruno” from some talk board and saying he is more reliable than a fully accredited news media website with EU press passes that is an official news media partner of the Euroleague?

    That’s quite funny.

  • AP

    The guy Bruno from that message board is clearly making things up.

    Spanish media reported Real Madrid would seemingly pay any price for Splitter:

    http://www.noticiasdealava.com/2010/02/23/baskonia/el-madrid-abre-la-puja-por-splitter

    Obviously that guy Bruno is pulling your leg.

  • Sarge

    How is the situation with Splitter any different from putting out several resumes, interviewing with multiple employers, and then only picking one of those (and consequently turning down the rest)? He can do what he wants, which includes staying in Europe. View the draft as a job offer, and things don’t seem so strange.

  • Trade Tp

    Sarge,

    That was my original point in the comment to Spursfanbayarea.

    Maybe his family didnt want to move, maybe he knew he would blow in the NBA, maybe he didnt like POP or the Spurs.

    What people like bayarea need to understand is that our FO took a chance, just like everyone else does, in the draft. It didnt work out like expected. MOVE ON.

    Tiago wont SAVE OUR DYNASTY. Hell he probably wouldnt even make that big of an impact. The continual excuses for the coaching and the FO and the players is why we arent contenders.

  • gopolis

    I dont agree with the idea that the big 3 need to get broken up, Duncan is finished- everytime a player over thirty loses a game they say he looks old- Kobe “looked old” for the 2 games they lost in OKC. I like Jim Henderson’s idea of Manu playing for OKC…or even Denver but I just dont think we can recieve an adequate return for any of them. Manu is the kind of player who can blend in quickly to any situation so I think he would be extremely valuable to any contender. And no, the big 3 need to stay. They are all special players- If we need a scape goat for this year lets admit that Pop (one of the best ever) got out-coached this year. RJ did not fit in (noone other than Manu does at first) and with all the injuries the team did not gel. if we make any huge moves it will only delay that process.

    what about this scenario? Blair or Hill plus RJ in a 3-team sign and trade for a superstar FA using the third team for their cap space to help us get splitter signed. Is that even possible? RJ has the big contract and Blair/hill/splitter are good sweeteners. If, for example, James leaves CLE, a sign and trade is making the best of a bad situation for them. they can’t expect full value and lets be honest: James is not going to find anything better than CLE esp now w brown out. Anyone who has the cap space lack the talent- same as anyone who ponies up a decent trade for him…point is, we cannot offer splitter a decent contract so lets use his rights plus RJ’s contract to get another player.

  • gopolis

    @spurs fan bay area

    i think the confusion here is in the meaning of draft rights. when you enter the draft you are committing to the idea of having 30 teams try to get exclusive rights TO TALK TO YOU. The analogy of the job interview describes free agency. Free agents can and will talk to every employer to try and get the best offer. when you enter the draft you give up the chance to talk to multiple teams. for the spurs to pick splitter (knowing full well it would be hard to sign him) they must have figured the exclusive rights to talk to this guy were more valuable (all things considered) than the rights to any of the other guys on the board. before the draft, all 30 teams had the right to talk to him and the other teams must not have felt it was a good pick…otherwise, he would not have fallen so low. another point: splitter had no control over when he was picked so I cant go along with a 1st/2nd rd distinction. splitter cant be like, “well they used their first rd pick knowing full well they did not have any cap space but I just fell obligated to take a huge pay cut cuz SA deserves a 5th ring.” he would need to be pretty naive or a really nice guy to do that…almost as nice as trading the rights to scola for…what was it? spanoulis’ slot and a half-eaten cheeseburger i believe.

  • annie

    I believe all this talk regarding Splitter is much ado about nothing.
    While his stats are impressive with a few exceptions, there is nothing to indicate that he is a future NBA player. He seems to be motivated by getting a big contract rather than becoming a part of a team and eventually transitioning into being the man iin the uSA.
    Perhaps the Spurs should trade his rights and in return get a big that can play with his back to the basket.
    Because if Slitter hasn’t come now ,I doubt he is coming this summer but I could be mistaken. If so it will be a pleasant surprise.

    any truth to the rumor Spurs are interested in Rudy Gay? But won’t he be asking for a max contract as well?
    as always thank you

  • spursfanbayarea

    @Sarge and TradeTP
    To go along with your analogy about interviews. As an example, if Mcdonalds interviews someone for a clerk position and they chose to work at burger king they are allowed to interview another person for the positions. If Mcdonalds was like the nba where they were penalized by chosing only one person to interview and then had to work short of a person, would you think that is fair? This interview analogy is not the same because they are not the same. Companies do not have salary caps and rules that are set in place like the NBA.

  • AP

    Some comments here make it clear that Spurs fans don’t understand how the NBA draft works. Splitter NEVER entered the draft and he NEVER declared for the draft.

    In fact, twice he was put in it by his agent and pulled out of it, saying he did not want to play in the NBA. He also made it clear he did not want to play in the NBA, nor be drafted in the first round (he specifically even told the Spurs NOT to draft him in the first round) and he was drafted.

    International players have no rights to be out of the NBA draft. The NBA automatically enters them in their 22 birth year and they can get drafted even if they ask to be removed from the draft. Even if the request to not be in the draft the NBA just puts them in there WITHOUT permission.

    It’s a bit odd that so many Spurs fans don’t even know this.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @AP
    Some comments here make it clear that spurs fans dont understand how the draft works. First thing a person has to do to enter the draft is email the league noting their intention to enter the draft. Then they are mailed an application. No one can be made to enter the draft. The NBA does not automatically enter players into the draft under current collective agreement.

  • AP

    You are wrong. International players are entered into the draft at their 22 birth year WITHOUT their permission and even if they specifically request NOT to be drafted, they can be drafted.

    You clearly do not know how the draft rules work.

  • Jim Henderson

    AP
    May 26th, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    “Splitter NEVER entered the draft and he NEVER declared for the draft.”

    “International players are entered into the draft at their 22 birth year WITHOUT their permission and even if they specifically request NOT to be drafted, they can be drafted.”

    Why don’t you just put the argument to rest by citing a source for your information?

  • AP

    About the draft…….it is stated right in NBA draft rules. Even the most novice of NBA fans knows this.

    About the article being fake, there is more proof that Bruno from Spurstalk is a liar. Not only did Spanish media confirm that Splitter was being offered just about whatever he wanted by Real Madrid, but just today Spanish media announced officially Spanoulis, Real Madrid, Spanoulis’ agent confirmed a 9 million euros net offer is his on the table from Real Madrid.

    http://www.solobasket.com/contenidos/vassilis/spanoulis/obsesion/madridista/c-24367.html

    So two articles now from Spanish media have confirmed what talkbasket said was true and that Bruno is a liar. This article needs to remove the retraction.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @AP
    Just because you make stuff up doesn’t make it true. I use actual sources to come to my conclusions.

    The collective bargaining agreement states “If the player is an “international player” (defined below), and
    notwithstanding anything contained in subsections (A) through (F)
    above:
    (1) The player is or will be twenty-two (22) years of
    age during the calendar year of the Draft; or
    (2) The player has signed a player contract with a
    “professional basketball team not in the NBA”
    (defined below) that is located in the United States,
    and has rendered services under such contract prior
    to the Draft; or
    (3) The player has expressed his desire to be selected in
    the Draft in a writing received by the NBA at least
    sixty (60) days prior to such Draft (an “Early Entry”
    player).
    I will make it simple for you since you can not understand the NBA draft process. Section 3 clearly shows that the player has to express his desire. No where in the CBA does it state a player is mandated to enter the draft without his permission. Automatic eligibility is not the same as mandatory entry.

    My source is the NBA players association webpage. Your source is poor interpretation of straightforward draft guidelines. http://www.nbpa.org.

    If you need anymore help regarding the CBA I will be happy to simplify it for you.

  • Trade Tp

    @Sarge and TradeTP
    To go along with your analogy about interviews. As an example, if Mcdonalds interviews someone for a clerk position and they chose to work at burger king they are allowed to interview another person for the positions

    BAYAREAFAN- TEAMS DO INTERVIEW AND WORKOUT DIFFERENT PLAYERS. IT ULTIMATELY COMES DOWN TO THEIR CHOICE BETWEEN DIFFERENT PLAYERS.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @Trade Tp
    I never stated that teams do not interview players. But interviewing someone is not the same as having a draft. If mcdonalds and burger king had to draft people and lose out on employees it would hurt their stores to not be able to fill that position. Same holds true for the NBA franchise that is short a player. If someone says no to mcdonalds, they can interview and hire the next guy. If you draft someone and they say no, you are short a player.

  • td4life

    It sounds to me like the NBA owners should seek to rewrite the draft guidelines… so that if a name is in the draft that player has the intention to go to the NBA as soon as his current contract is up. He could still change his mind, or sign a better deal in another league, but at least the players in the draft show intent. The current system can really cost you if you’re the Magic, Timberwolves, or Spurs… the owners need to refine this bs and protect themselves a little better; it’s a relic from when the NBA assumed everyone wanted to play for the only really legitimate league, and teams only competition for talent was each other.

  • Jim Henderson

    spursfanbayarea
    May 26th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    Thanks for going right the the NBA DRaft rule book. That said, do you see the word “or” as the last word in section ONE? As a result, it seems to me that the rules state that if ANY ONE of the the three sections are met, the player can be “entered” into the draft. I believe Splitter met the section one portion of the criteria. Do you read it differently?

    td4life
    May 27th, 2010 at 11:21 am

    You raise a valid point.

  • Trade Tp

    Spursfan- I understand that we are “down a player” but that is the RISK that the FO took when it knew the possible consequences. Its not like we had ZERO inclination it would happen.

    Similiar to Rubio.

    Do I think this is fair? No, because it happened to us. After Tiago being a giant douche and not really adding anything of value (11pts/4rpg 0blks) why do we, or you more specifically, care?

    Do you really want some 7′ tall puss to take a spot away from a HUNGRY player? Splitter isnt great, and shows signs of being a coward who shies away from confrontation (not playing NBA, shitty rebounding and defensive stats) so why would we want him, or even think him, to be some sort of star?

    I have a hard time thinking that he would make the Spurs legit.

  • AP

    spursfanbarea you apparently can’t read. Foreign players are put into the draft WITHOUT their permission. You might want to read what you posted again.

  • Jim Henderson

    Actually, the key is not foreign nationality, but simply age. Thus, in terms of Splitter, passing age 22 is apparently what made him “automatically” eligible. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Spurs just drafted him without talking to him, but legally they could have at the time that they did.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @Jim Henderson, AP, Trade TP
    No where in the whole CBA does it say players are made to enter. All of the rules are to determine if you are eligible to enter the draft. Just because you are automatically eligible to apply for the draft, doesnt mean you have to enter the draft. That being said you can automatically be eligible but you still have to put in writing your application. Also you can put your name in and remove it. Directly from CBA:

    (c) An Early Entry player who is eligible to be selected in the next NBA Draft
    pursuant to Section 1(b)(ii)(F) or (b)(ii)(G)(3) above shall be entitled to withdraw from such
    Draft by providing written notice that is received by the NBA ten (10) days prior to such Draft.
    A player shall not be entitled to withdraw from more than two (2) NBA Drafts.

    @Trade TP,
    The spurs have won championships with much lower quality centers than splitter. Rasho Nesterovich and Nazr Mohammad were parts of championship teams. Splitter can at least contribute at a level equal to those guys.

  • Jim Henderson

    spursfanbayarea
    May 31st, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    “The spurs have won championships with much lower quality centers than splitter. Rasho Nesterovich and Nazr Mohammad were parts of championship teams. Splitter can at least contribute at a level equal to those guys.”

    Tim Duncan is not the same Tim Duncan that he was during those years.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @Jim Henderson
    You are correct that Duncan is not the same player he was then. Duncan has not slipped completely off the map. His PER this year was one of his best. He can not carry the team for 48 minutes any more. But I dont think we need him to be that guy. We have a lot of support but are lacking a big. We upset the number two seed. If we had some more size we would have been able to defeat the suns. The lack of a second big man who is a shot blocker was our downfall. The spurs system works well when you have one big who can block shots, and one who can rebound. Duncan can be the rebounding big, but we need a shot blocking big next to him. The lack of size is clearly our weakness. Just look at what the lakers did to suns in the paint. Splitter can at least deter some shots and get some follow up dunks. We have plenty of offense with parker, ginobilli hill. Also I think Jefferson will play much better in the second year of the offense. The spurs offense is complex, it takes even the most seasoned veterns a year to figure it out. Having another big who can finish strong at the rim will also help out duncan as teams will not be able to double team duncan as much. Hopefully Splitter comes over and we can draft a sharp shooter, or if they dont think he is coming then draft a big. It would be nice to think that we could fix our needs with a first round pick, but it seems like everyone here thinks that first round picks can go wherever they want.

  • Jim Henderson

    spursfanbayarea
    June 1st, 2010 at 8:54 am

    I’m just saying that Splitter will have to be better than Nesterovic & Muhammad for the Spurs to get anywhere close to true title contention. Getting more youth & size on our front line is obviously the most important factor, but it’s clearly not enough. We also need more three-point shooting (the “good ones” are not that easy to come by), and perimeter “D” (the “good ones” are not that easy to come by). We’ll need to make 3 significant pick-ups, with very little in cap space/resources (something I believe will be very difficult to accomplish without making a big trade), AND get impressive internal growth from our young players on the roster to get close to competing at the championship level.

  • spursfanbayarea

    @Jim Henderson
    I think Splitter will be better than Rasho and Muhammad. He was the MVP of his league and granted its not the NBA it still shows that he was the best player over there. He definetly can finish strong and has a decent mid range jump shot. I have never stated that Splitter was the answer to all of our problems. Rather he is one of the pieces we need. I agree with your points on adding a 3pt shooter and perimeter defender. But the most important piece we need is another big. Hopefully hairston can get some time to show he is the perimeter defender. Hill has improved dramatically and hopefully can become even more accurate and more polished. Temple also has been a nice little pickup. If we can get Splitter to sign that allows us to draft the best SF out there. This is a deep draft and spurs should be able to pick up a decent player who can contribute 15-20 minutes. We can agree to disagree how far away the spurs are from contenders. I feel that the spurs are pretty close in my humble opinion.

  • Martin

    It will be great if we can have Tiago here. He needs to improve his weight and muscles to be a real impact but he got the basketball IQ in defense. In addition, we need one good and consistent shooter (not RMJ plz….). If we run the plays and cannot make the final shot, it means nothing.

  • analyzed

    I have a question that keeps bugging me, given the importance of signing Splitter, what can the Spurs actually offer him in terms of a long term 3 year contract. I know the Spurs have the Mid – level exception of about $ 6 M for next year but given RJ and Tony’s combined $ 28 plus Million are off the book after next season. do the spurs have the option of offering a 3 year deal of say $ 6 M-1st yr, $ 8 M 2nd year, $ 10 M 3rd year. If so that seems to change the picture on the likelyhood of signing Splinter, I know signing Splinter long term reduces the possiblity of re-signing Tony or RJ, but maybe thats a call the Spurs have to make

  • RaiderEd

    We’ve been hearing about this guy forever (seems like). If he ever wants to play in the NBA it’s got to be soon. If it’s not next season then I’m afraid the Spurs will be a .500 team fighting for the 8 seed. Barring some fantastic trade deal to get another big on board.

  • BigJ
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