Wow, did not see that coming, but given the market for big men, not TOO surprising...but then again he got eviscerated in the playoffs...I guess we'll have to see...Spurs got a great track record, but they make mistakes every once in a while too JR, you're a beast bro, a beast, I don't even check the regular sports sites for updates anymore, I just come here
the point is that finding a better player than tiago isnt hard this offseason. i do understand that learning the offensive also takes time so maybe thats why spurs really wanted to give splitter that extension.
Splitter is older than Asik and has played more NBA seasons. We have a good idea of what he is by now. Also, PER is a great stat, but it doesn't fully reflect defensive impact. Morey just said Asik is a top five defensive big. I think he was one in Chicago too. Splitter's 18.7 PER this season far surpasses Asik's PER of 14.9, but I'd rather have Asik.
Splitter(28) is 2 years older than Asik(26)!? What a surprise. I thought it's the other way around especially because Asik often looks out of breathe. Spurs probably pay Splitter more than 8.3M because he is younger physically.
Splitter only really struggled vs. Miami. He was very good vs. Memphis and in earlier rounds. Miami going small ball by playing a 3 point shooter at the 4 at all times basically forced Spurs to match up. He is not that young, but still has ability to improve-- in fact, he improved this past year. You can't judge a player by one playoff series.
$7M for one year with a team option for year 2. Not exactly the same. What? He had averaged 8 & 8 the previous season in only 24 mpg, while also being a good shot blocker. Was only 30 years old.
Asik is a huge guy playing on a fast paced team (and wasn't used to the heavy minutes he was getting). Splitter plays fewer minutes than Asik.
I don't know why people get worked up when good money is offered to good players with excellent work ethic. just those 2 things alone guarantee you 7 mil a year. You can easily say, well, replace tiago with a rookie, but in their minds they're still in win mode. If the spurs think he deserves it, he deserves it. Unless, he is a cash cow and bringing in all that Brasilian booty.
If your the Spurs, why not? I can't imagine the Spurs are in it for deep playoff runs. They want to win it all. Do they anticipate playing someone other than the Heat in the Finals? Don't get me wrong, I like Splitter and can justify his price tag. I mean just the rest he can give Duncan is almost worth it. But the question remains, if your the Spurs, how do you get more productivity out of somebody you're paying that much money to in the most important playoff series? ... OR, do you have enough money left, to sign a different guy to replace Splitter for that series, which is of course the ideal situation. As an aside, this is where Josh Smith becomes so valuable. He can play inside and play outside / smallball, defensively.
1. The Eastern Conference Champs may well be the Pacers next year. Paul George is getting better, they may have Granger back and who knows where Wade's health is gonna be next season as he ages? Besides, you just never know about these things. A freak Russell Westbrook injury, for example, changed everything about the Western playoffs. 2. I agree with the Josh Smith being valuable observation. Can guard multiple positions; allowing you to "small ball" without actually being small.
