Tiago a wanted man...

[elec99]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere.

http://fansided.com/2013/05/10/dallas-mavericks-atlanta-hawks-want-san-antonio-spurs-center-tiago-splitter/

[RD2191]

Splitter has yet to show he can step up when the going gets tough. Couldnt even score on festus or landry. Fukin joke.

[Budkin]

There aren't many talented big men in this league. We'd have to get something really good to give him up. I like Tiago despite his current struggles.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Anything more than $8M a year and they can have him, the way he's been playing.

[Brunodf]

Give him 7m/yr, no way Spurs gonna pay him more than Timmy...They paid 14 mil to RJ though..

[crc21209]

I think you gotta keep him, even if it means overpaying him a little. After TD and Splitter, we don't have much height in the middle...

[Austin_Toros]

I think resigning Splitter for about $7-8 mil might be a realistic figure. Spurs need him.

[rmt]

Splitter is tall, has good hands, defends the pick and roll well, is an elite pick 'n roller, good passer, high basketball IQ, hits FTs at 73%, is an unselfish, team player. DeAndre Jordan makes 10.5 million and McGee makes 10.75 million and neither of them can do half the things Splitter can. If you think that Splitter is going to go for $7 million, you're dreaming. Spurs need Splitter - Duncan is 37 years old, Diaw is 6'8", Bonner is useless and Blair is gone.

[Hoops Czar]

Tiago needs to be spoon fed on offense and his statuesque defense is vastly overrated. The Spurs need a player like Hickson. He's young, a monster on the boards and can create his own shot. I'm even willing to sacrifice the little advantage Splitter currently has on defense knowing that the Spurs coaching staff can mold Hickson into a better defender. The Spurs won't miss Splitter.

[mute]

Tiago isn't even that good. He shows up every 5th game, but when you consider our alternatives... we can't do much, so I guess we could just overpay him a bit.

[Hoops Czar]

Splitter is tall, has good hands, defends the pick and roll well, is an elite pick 'n roller, good passer, high basketball IQ, hits FTs at 73%, is an unselfish, team player. DeAndre Jordan makes 10.5 million and McGee makes 10.75 million and neither of them can do half the things Splitter can. If you think that Splitter is going to go for $7 million, you're dreaming. Spurs need Splitter - Duncan is 37 years old, Diaw is 6'8", Bonner is useless and Blair is gone.
His pick and roll defense hasn't been good for some time and Splitter isn't elite at anything.

[dbestpro]

At this point I think I would rather sign Al Jefferson and let Tiago walk.

[rmt]

His pick and roll defense hasn't been good for some time and Splitter isn't elite at anything.

Then please name some centers who are better at pick and roll than he is - much less any who are being paid $7 million.

[rmt]

Tiago needs to be spoon fed on offense and his statuesque defense is vastly overrated. The Spurs need a player like Hickson. He's young, a monster on the boards and can create his own shot. I'm even willing to sacrifice the little advantage Splitter currently has on defense knowing that the Spurs coaching staff can mold Hickson into a better defender. The Spurs won't miss Splitter.

All the Spurs need is another 6'9" (with defensive issues) player with Randolph/Gasol, Howard/Gasol, Bogut, Love, Pekovic, Asik, etc in the West.

[dbestpro]

All the Spurs need is another 6'9" (with defensive issues) player with Randolph/Gasol, Howard/Gasol, Bogut, Love, Pekovic, Asik, etc in the West.

FYI - Randolf is 6-9.

[AaronY]

They should match whatever offer he gets no matter how ridiculous then try to work out a sign and trade and then at least get something in returns even if its only a couple of second rounders..

[Hoops Czar]

Then please name some centers who are better at pick and roll than he is - much less any who are being paid $7 million.
Out of the 30 teams, there are about four or five that run the pick and roll with regularity and the Spurs are one of them. I'll take that loss. By the way, Splitter wasn't very good at the pick and roll when he entered the league. What makes you think the Spurs coaching can't teach another big to play the pick and roll? I think the issue is that some Spurs fans just become attached to certain players ( De Colo, Mahinmi, Hairston ect.) and they are blinded by all the deficiencies that player possesses. His overall defense has steadily declined since the start of the season and his defense of late has been pure shit.

[rmt]

FYI - Randolf is 6-9.

We all know that Zach Randolph plays a lot bigger than 6-9.

[TheGoldStandard]

There are certain small Centers that play above there height just because they're athletic and they can ball or they're monsters in the post. For what it's worth, Tiago is starting tonight so maybe we go big in the hopes to start forcing our will on them.

[Obstructed_View]

This will be a fun thread to bump in a year if Splitter ends up somewhere else.

[rmt]

Out of the 30 teams, there are about four or five that run the pick and roll with regularity and the Spurs are one of them. I'll take that loss. By the way, Splitter wasn't very good at the pick and roll when he entered the league. What makes you think the Spurs coaching can't teach another big to play the pick and roll? I think the issue is that some Spurs fans just become attached to certain players ( De Colo, Mahinmi, Hairston ect.) and they are blinded by all the deficiencies that player possesses. His overall defense has steadily declined since the start of the season and his defense of late has been pure shit.

So explain the improvement in defense this year with Duncan out 13 games and Leonard out 24 games.

And since you think Splitter wasn't very good at pick and roll when he entered and has certainly improved in that area and his free throw % has improved from 54.3% to 69.1% to 73%, what makes you think he can't improve in other areas. This is with the little play time he got the first 2 years: 12.3, 19, 24.7 minutes. In comparison, Hickson has played 11.4, 20.9, 28.2, 18.4, 31.6, 23, 29 mins per game in his 7 seasons. Yet you think Hickson can be taught to play pick and roll and defense and has more room for improvement than Splitter.

I'm not attached to Splitter at all. I just think it's unrealistic to think that other teams are only going to offer him $7 million/year. Look around you - big men get paid big bucks and most of them aren't as skilled as Splitter is.

I think we're all spoiled having watched Duncan all these years. Of course Splitter doesn't come off well when compared to the fundamentals of Duncan but when you watch the DeAndre Jordans and McGees of this league, even Splitter's skills look good. He will get paid by some team because there are so few good big men - supply and demand.

BTW, I do think that Splitter will remain a Spur (as long as another team doesn't offer him an outrageous amount). The international flavor of the Spurs suits him, he's good friends with Manu and both Manu and TP can pick and roll with him all of his minutes. That is, of course, if he isn't pissed off at Pop for leaving him on the bench for so long (especially in favor of Bonner and Blair).