General 2013 Free Agency Discussion

[jyra]

I hope the Spurs take a look at Delonte West. He just signed in the D-League with the Legends. Cuban already said that there's no chance that they sign him again.

He would bring some much needed playmaking and defense to the backup point guard position. Another plus is that he has played a lot of minutes as a shooting guard, so he should be comfortable playing off the ball too.

Unfortunately the Spurs have already passed on other head cases like Blatche/Martin showing that they are not inclined to take a gamble.
It is definitely a red flag that he managed to get himself kicked out by a reputable coach like Carlisle though.

[Chinook]

I hope the Spurs take a look at Delonte West. He just signed in the D-League with the Legends. Cuban already said that there's no chance that they sign him again.

He would bring some much needed playmaking and defense to the backup point guard position. Another plus is that he has played a lot of minutes as a shooting guard, so he should be comfortable playing off the ball too.

Unfortunately the Spurs have already passed on other head cases like Blatche/Martin showing that they are not inclined to take a gamble.
It is definitely a red flag that he managed to get himself kicked out by a reputable coach like Carlisle though.

I think Memphis just signed West.

[jyra]

Any confirmation on that? It looks like they went away from West recently.

[Mel_13]

West signed with the DLeague today:

http://www.nba.com/dleague/texas/leg...013_01_25.html

[Chinook]

I guess that changed. I don't know what the Grizzlies are doing anymore.

Remember, though, that the Spurs have no roster spots open unless they trade someone.

[intlspurshk]

Tony Allen deserved to be chased even for overpaying him. Say 6-7m. With him, you can let Neal and S Jax go and Manu may no longer be a necessarity

[elemento]

Tony Allen is a very good defender but he is not worth 7m/year. He won't solve SAS problems when we have to guard Durant, Lebron or Melo. He is a 6'4 guard with zero offensive game and he doesn't make Manu expandable. Manu's role in SA is very important and SA won't let him go for a guy like Tony Allen.

If SA wants a capable defender, they should make an offer for Moute, who happens to have great size to guard anyone in the league and makes only 4m/year. Full MLE is the most I see Allen getting in the FA.

[intlspurshk]

Tony Allen can't solve all problems of SPURS but at least he can guard CP3, Harden, Wade, Kobe, Westbrook etc and, with Green as a backup, opponent's team SG are properly covered throughout the game. KL can guard Leborn, Durant, Melo, etc. If Cojo's development is successful, SPURS can cover opponent's team PG throughout the game as well. Considering NBA teams' offense is mostly generated by SG/SF/PG nowadays, the combo of Tony Allen / KL / Green / Cojo can disrupt most first tier teams' offense and TP's defense duty can be relieved with more energy saved for generating scoring.

In addition, it is expected that Tony Allen's offense output could be slightly improved after joining the SPURS (like Bowen). And SPURS future offense will still rely on (1) outputs from TP, TD and another random player who shoots 3pts and, to a lesser extent, (2) Tiago's pick n roll game with TP or hopefully Nando. As such, what you need from Tony Allen on offense side is probably 8pts & 5rbs which is achieveable.

Regarding the salary, SPURS have to pay a premium over MLE at least to beat the offer from his existing team and this premium will be at least more than 1 million. Anyway, honestly speaking, first tier FA in 2013 like Josh Smith / Igou will not pick SA and SA's prime objective is to retain Tiago, which would take 8 to 10 million. Could SPURS sign AI Jefferson with the remaining capspace? I doubt so and there are other teams like Dallas which would not mind overpaying. Manu's current health status poses concern and hence it won't make sense to spend 8 million to resign him. So I think Tony Allen is a realistic and sound investment by SPURS

[elemento]

We will have to disagree here then

Manu himself is a very good defender and the punch defensively that Tony Allen offers, doesn't cover the massive downgrade offensively without Manu.

Not only that, but SA will need someone else to lead the 2nd unit while Parker is not on the floor. Who replaces Manu in that role? We're gonna bet on Cojo's development and won't re-sign Manu while Timmy is still playing? I very much doubt it.

Bowen had no offensive game but he could shoot corner 3s at 40%. Allen can't shoot at all from anywhere.

Manu's health status poses concerns, I agree with you, but not re-signing Manu to give 7m/year to Tony Allen makes no sense at all. Manu brings too much to the table and even with health concerns he is worth it.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Tony Allen deserved to be chased even for overpaying him. Say 6-7m. With him, you can let Neal and S Jax go and Manu may no longer be a necessarity

A one legged, one eyed Manu is still >>> Tony Allen. Tony is a good player, I like him, he's a glue guy and will probably find a GM stupid enough to wildly overpay for him, but he doesn't fit on the Spurs at all.

[SpursIndonesia]

Tony Allen type of player only works successfully for le challange if your team has a prime real deal superstar who can carry the team in the post season and be a total focal point in offense. That certainly is not the description of this Spurs team, who NEEDS real contribution offensively from its role players to be successfull in the playoff.

[Richie]

Bruno, if we trade Jackson can we re sign him as a free agent? I understand we can't re sign a traded player for up to 1 year after he is traded if he is waived by the recieving team, but is it the same if they do not waive him and his contract just expires?

[Bruno]

Bruno, if we trade Jackson can we re sign him as a free agent? I understand we can't re sign a traded player for up to 1 year after he is traded if he is waived by the recieving team, but is it the same if they do not waive him and his contract just expires?

Spurs could go after him in July even if the other team waives him. The restriction to re-acquire a player is the earliest between a year after the trade and when the initial contract end up.

[Paranoid Pop]

Read that Andre Miller is unhappy with the minutes he has been getting lately.

Too bad we probably couldn't play him more than Denver, would have been a nice target. Shooting 21% from three would make it extremely hard to have him play 30 min in a 3 guards rotation, same problem as Tyreke Evans... At least on paper.

[Paranoid Pop]

Another player who'd be a very intriguing option is Austin Rivers, I know I know, but as much as he sucks right now he has probably better handles than Mills and De Colo. He shoots worse than both the upside could be great. Play him backup PG for now and develop him in the mold of TP the next few years.

Problem is what do we have that the Hornet would like? Not much, Green and Tiago are the only ones that can draw any interest, Tiago is probably already kinda old to be part of their core of the future...

Maybe something like Green + Mills + first round picks for Henry + Rivers

They'd never want to sell low anyway, not that early, but just throwing that out there.

[Chinook]

Maybe something like Green + Mills + first round picks for Henry + Rivers.

Man, I have to give it to you. You've managed to come up with the worst trade for Danny Green that I've ever heard of. You deserve a spur for that on.

[Paranoid Pop]

Oops wrong thread, was used to the trade thread being on top.

But yeah I should try to come up with trades that don't Green once in a while.

[Bruno]

Now, a list of players who have a legit shot at being amnestied:
CHARLOTTE – Tyrus Thomas
CHICAGO – Carlos Boozer
DETROIT – Charlie Villanueva
LA LAKERS – Steve Blake or Metta World Peace (likely Steve Blake)
MIAMI – Mike Miller
MILWAUKEE – Drew Gooden
OKLAHOMA CITY – Kendrick Perkins (long shot)
SACRAMENTO – John Salmons
TORONTO – Andrea Bargnani or Amir Johnson or Linas Kleiza (not sure what they will do)

Right now, it looks like the player that will be amnestied by Toronto will be Bargnani. At $2M per year, he would be a reasonable gamble.

The Lakers situation is also noteworthy. Amnestying Blake will save them $12M, Artest will save $25M and Gasol will save $70M. Amnesty Gasol could be a legit option. D'Antoni can't make him work alongside Howard and Jordan Hill will be back next season to back up Howard. If Lakers amnesty Gasol, Spurs should throw all their cap space on a claim for him. If Spurs keep Splitter, and offer Ginobili $8M per year, they should have $8M left in cap space. They could be outbid but it's worth a try with most of the teams with cap space being in rebuilding mode and looking at younger players.

[pad300]

One guy I would like to see us go after is Mike Dunleavy (formerly of Milwaukee). He's a UFA, and given they traded for Red , I doubt they fight to keep him. His skill set is Barry-ish... He'd make a very nice Neal replacement (I don't think we are keeping Gary - some team will offer him $3 or 4 million a season...). Dunleavy's making $3.75 million this season, and will be expecting a smaller contract...he might even leave some money on the table to be on a contender (which he has never really been).

[elemento]

If LA amnesty Pau it's a no brainner for SA. I would offer pretty much everything left in cap space to get him. Can you imagine SA going to the next season with a front-court rotation of Timmy/Pau/Splitter/Diaw/Baynes ? WOW

I like Dunleavy as well, but he is more of a Jack replacement if we sign him. SA doesn't really need to replace Neal. He is too good to be a 3rd string SG and as a backup PG he is not very good.

[bluebellmaniac]

Bruno, I'm not up on all the players league-wide. Of the Players you mention as possibly being amnestied, which do you think would work best from a chemistry perspective? It looks like you already focused on the 4/5 need?

[Bruno]

Bruno, I'm not up on all the players league-wide. Of the Players you mention as possibly being amnestied, which do you think would work best from a chemistry perspective? It looks like you already focused on the 4/5 need?

Gasol is the best option, and by far. Boozer is also a damn nice player but I have some doubts he will be amnestied. Chicago might be fine with paying a little tax.

I'm not really focusing on 4/5, it's just than most of the players susceptible to be amnestied are playing these spots.

Aside of Gasol and Boozer, Villanueva/Bargnani/Thomas are talented but highly flawed bigmen. They could be worth a gamble with a very low offer. Mike Miller could be a fine backup SF if he is healthy enough.

Claiming amnestying players isn't the only way for Spurs to improve this summer, they might just sign a free agent with their cap space.

[timvp]

JJ Re has to be considered since the Spurs were supposedly trying to trade for him and Re supposedly was rooting for the Spurs to win the bidding war. Him having a home in Austin probably helps the Spurs chances.

That said, is anyone really that comfortable paying him the $7-8M it's gonna cost to sign him? I think it's a highly questionable investment given that he'll be 29 and whatever athleticism he has will be gone soon. It'd be great to having his shooting but, man, that'd be a gamble.

Re obviously makes more sense if Ginobili retires and/or Green sucks in the playoffs. IMO, as of this typing, I'd rather the Spurs just re-sign Neal than pay more than two times more for Re .

(Speaking of Neal, his leg injuries this year probably have torpedoed his market value. If he doesn't improve, I'm not sure he's going to get $2.5M per season.)

[elemento]

Quite honestly, I pass on Re . I agree with everything tim said (bit old and very expensive) and I will add one more thing. Re is a massive playoff choker. His numbers in the playoffs are terrible, Bonner-esque.

As for Neal, I don't know how the FO feels tbh. Do you guys see Buford making him a RFA or SA will simply let him walk because of the massive glut at the G position ?

I would be ok if the FO re-signs Neal (2-3m/year would be ok IMO) and the meltdown among Neal haters in ST would be funny.

[bluebellmaniac]

Thanks Bruno! I don't see Gasol getting amnestied. The cable deal the Lakers have make the luxury tax pretty much a nonissue. That plus the statement Gasol made the other week, it brought tears to Laker fans, that Kobe had told him that he missed him. I have to believe they'll keep him.

It'll be interesting what they do with Neal. We do have quite the glut at the 2.