2013 Free Agent: Al Jefferson

[Bruno]

http://www.nba.com/media/act_al_jefferson.jpg
Born: Jan 4, 1985
Height: 6-10 / 2.08
Weight: 289 lbs. / 131.1 kg.
Prior to NBA / Country: Prentiss HS (MS) / USA

Info (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al_jefferson/career_stats.html)

[Bruno]

Al Jefferson would be my first target this summer. I like more Gasol but it's far from a lock he will be amnestied. Having the capspace to sign him while keeping both Splitter and Ginobili seems difficult but not impossible if the circumstances are right.

[slick'81]

well we can dream

[CGD]

My preferred pick this summer too. Questions are whether he is after that last large contract of his career (likely), and whether he is willing to come off the bench. Would be a nice way to transition after Duncan leaves. Splitter-Al- Leonard front court would be great for years to come.

[Pop]

If Tiago walks then why not, I'm not convinced about pairing him with Tim defensively but to pound it inside vs a team like OKC or Miami on O you can't find anyone better in the league basically.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Al Jefferson reminds of his (sur)name sake a lot. Flawed defense (or the lack of it), uni-dimensional offensive game that sticks the ball to him too much... he is useful, but doesn't cut much as a winner or an important part in a championship team.

[ace3g]

more of a "thoughts out loud" article but Jefferson would be a good fit for 76ers now with Bynum having another knee surgery:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/198816581.html

[benefactor]

No thanks.

[Mal]

yes, please. but Tiago and Manu first

[timtonymanu]

Jefferson only makes sense if Tiago doesn't resign.

I would rather just roll with Tim/Tiago/Boris and give Baynes the summer league and training camp to get familiar with the system and make Baynes the 4th big.

[eDizzle20]

Jefferson only makes sense if Tiago doesn't resign.

I would rather just roll with Tim/Tiago/Boris and give Baynes the summer league and training camp to get familiar with the system and make Baynes the 4th big.


Agreed. Big Al's lack of defense is not something we need. I would be more willing to take a chance of Andrew Bynum than Big Al.

[Bruno]

If what Utah's coach has done lately, is an indication of what their GM will do this summer, Big Al seems more like a keeper than Millsap for them. Big All is playing heavy minutes while Millsap is now sometimes benched in the 4th quarter.

[Duncan2177]

i would rather have Millsap on the spurs then Big Al.

[Redshadows]

Al Jefferson would be my first target this summer. I like more Gasol but it's far from a lock he will be amnestied. Having the capspace to sign him while keeping both Splitter and Ginobili seems difficult but not impossible if the circumstances are right.
Bruno, do you think it possible that Diaw might option out or Spurs would trade him for nothing so Spurs could sign both Al Jefferson and Ginobili?

How much could Spurs offer Big Al at most?

[Bruno]

Bruno, do you think it possible that Diaw might option out or Spurs would trade him for nothing so Spurs could sign both Al Jefferson and Ginobili?

How much could Spurs offer Big Al at most?

I doubt Diaw opt out and I doubt you could trade him from nothing. Teams with cap space won't really be interested in a 31 years old Diaw averaging 5.8 ppg and 3.4 rpg with back issues and with a questionable motivation/work ethic.

Unless he had a great playoffs run, the only way I can see Diaw opting out is if Spurs do like with the other Jefferson and promise him a long term contract if he does it. A $10-12M/3 years contract sounds like a reasonable deal for both sides.

And at this stage at the playoffs, the question isn't really if Spurs would be fine with having Diaw on a $4.7M expiring contract, it's if they would be fine with paying Splitter what he will get in the FA market. Do you really want to give him something like $32M/4 years after what he is doing in these playoffs?

[Redshadows]

I doubt Diaw opt out and I doubt you could trade him from nothing. Teams with cap space won't really be interested in a 31 years old Diaw averaging 5.8 ppg and 3.4 rpg with back issues and with a questionable motivation/work ethic.

Unless he had a great playoffs run, the only way I can see Diaw opting out is if Spurs do like with the other Jefferson and promise him a long term contract if he does it. A $10-12M/3 years contract sounds like a reasonable deal for both sides.

And at this stage at the playoffs, the question isn't really if Spurs would be fine with having Diaw on a $4.7M expiring contract, it's if they would be fine with paying Splitter what he will get in the FA market. Do you really want to give him something like $32M/4 years after what he is doing in these playoffs?
No, damn it. That is why I kept wondering how Spurs could sign Al Jefferson.

I like Diaw a lot for a long long time, but I doubt Spurs could sign both Ginobili and Al Jefferson without trading someone for more cap space.

[Bruno]

No, damn it. That is why I kept wondering how Spurs could sign Al Jefferson.

I like Diaw a lot for a long long time, but I doubt Spurs could sign both Ginobili and Al Jefferson without trading someone for more cap space.

If you let Splitter go, signing both Al Jefferson and Ginobili should be doable. Spurs would have about $23M to split between them.

[Redshadows]

If you let Splitter go, signing both Al Jefferson and Ginobili should be doable. Spurs would have about $23M to split between them.
Thanks.

I would wait and see what Spurs would do this summer.

[eDizzle20]

Would you guys let Splitter go to sign Big Al? Each year more and more Tim's scoring is coming from pick-and-pop's and to me Big Al is the best low-post player in the league right now. Is his price tag going to be too high and his defense going to be too big of a liability to even look at?

[100%duncan]

No.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Would you guys let Splitter go to sign Big Al? Each year more and more Tim's scoring is coming from pick-and-pop's and to me Big Al is the best low-post player in the league right now. Is his price tag going to be too high and his defense going to be too big of a liability to even look at?

Spurs offense is just fine, no need for Jefferson. However, with him and Duncan any decent PnR team would tore them apart. Warriors likely win the series if the Spurs had to rely on a Duncan/Jefferson front court.

He has his value to some teams. Maybe Chicago. But not worth it for the Spurs.

[Mal]

Spurs offense is just fine, no need for Jefferson. However, with him and Duncan any decent PnR team would tore them apart. Warriors likely win the series if the Spurs had to rely on a Duncan/Jefferson front court.

He has his value to some teams. Maybe Chicago. But not worth it for the Spurs.

Warriors staff and owners probably know that they wont win shit if they couldnt find a way to use Bogut and Lee frontcourt.

[elemento]

Do not want

One of the worst defenders in the NBA and probably the worst defender in terms of p&r defense.Offensively, his efficiency is really low for a post player simply because Al Jefferson can't draw fouls. Not to mention his contract, which will surpass 10m/year quite easily.

The only team that might be a good fit for him is OKC. I don't see him as a good fit in SA.

[SenorSpur]

Fantastic post game. Terrible defender.

Pass.

[Mr Bones]

It would be hard to find a worse defender. Someone will pay him much too much because he puts up good offensive numbers, but I think he's the classic over-rated guy. His +/- numbers were unbelievably bad last year, meaning the slightly better than average Jazz were actually better when he was off the floor than when he was on (http://www.82games.com/1213/1213UTA.HTM). That's an incredibly rare accomplishment for a leading scorer on a team with a winning record. I would much rather the Spurs go after the less glamorous but more effective Brandan Wright.

[DrunkTXLabrat]

the only reason to consider a failed splitter re-sign... a play for josh smith. unlikely. failed splitter re-sign for big al. slightly less unlikely. but still a snowballs chance in hell, imo.

[yavozerb]

http://tracking.si.com/2013/06/24/utah-jazz-al-jefferson-free-agent/

One of the hardest players to figure out. Top down low offensive scorer FA this summer and probably the worst defensive big man in NBA. Still only 28

[look_at_g_shred]

http://tracking.si.com/2013/06/24/utah-jazz-al-jefferson-free-agent/

One of the hardest players to figure out. Top down low offensive scorer FA this summer and probably the worst defensive big man in NBA. Still only 28
As long as he can take the scoring load off TD. I'm for it.

[Seventyniner]

Would be fantastic off the bench to eat up minutes during the regular season and against bad playoff teams. There are better options with the cap space, though.

[yavozerb]

I like Al cause there are not many big men who can defend him 1 on 1 downlow without help from somewhere which would allow the spurs 3pt shooters to be open. Again, have not watched AJ enough to even know if his passing is legit enough to thrive in the spurs offense. I think his defense would improve ALOT due to his surrounding players and he could easily play alongside TD cause his game is close to the basket as TD's has moved out a little these days. I dont like him enough to go all in at this point, but players like this do not come along very often at age 28. Would need to take a serious pay cut for my liking.

[spurraider21]

will be too expensive and doesn't play defense. thats enough for me

[DPG21920]

Call me odd, but he seems like the type of guy that would take less money to play for the Spurs. Not less in the sense it is ridiculous, but less in the sense if the Spurs came in within an offer of 2M per year less than other teams, I could see him taking it. He's in love with Duncan and the Spurs and has always been effusive in his praise for the Spurs/Duncan.

[DesignatedT]

This is a tough call. If Tiago is going to get overpayed and we can realistically grab Al Jeff for $2M-3M more per season then I'd rather go with Jeff.

I think he can improve defensively in the Spurs system and what we lose defensively with Tiago, Jeff more than makes up offensively.

[look_at_g_shred]

will be too expensive and doesn't play defense. thats enough for me

Don't be so sure now. Defense wise, he can get better by knowing where to pick and choose his spots. If we do anything this summer, we should definitely try and get AJ.

[8FOR!3]

Big Al's scoring and rebounding with Tim Duncan would give Miami and so many other teams a lot of problems. Right now you should be looking at how to beat Miami and Tiago Splitter's a poor matchup against them. Al Jefferson would be a huge signing for us if at all possible. Not too realistic, but if it's there you never know.