Bill Simmons ranks Tiago's contract 23-worst 2014 NBA contracts

[wildchild]

http://grantland.com/features/bill-simmons-breaks-down-the-2014-worst-nba-contracts/

“Every four years, all NBA teams have to overpay a role player like he’s a valuable starter.” Yup, that’s a rule. They all have to do it. And you wondered why San Antonio spent $36 million on Splitter (when it could have just stolen Robin Lopez for $5 million), or Cleveland lavished Jack with six times the money that Randy Foye would have cost. By the way, I always take it personally when San Antonio overpays someone. The Spurs are supposed to be the smartest team! Come on, R.C. Buford! You’re a role model!!! You gave $36 million to someone who couldn’t stay on the court in the 2013 Finals???? Not you, too! Why??????


Dan McCarney from San Antonio Express-News

Lopez isn’t a terrible comparison given that they both protect the rim at similar rates with comparable Player Efficiency Ratings. Ironically, it was Buford’s decisive move to give Splitter such a healthy deal that stymied Portland, among other potential suitors, from signing him to a restricted offer sheet. That, in turn, led to the Blazers adding Lopez, who has fit in almost perfectly.

As for Splitter, his minutes (24.7 per game to 21.5), shooting (56.6 percent to 54.4 percent), scoring (10.3 to 8.1) and PER (18.7 to 16.6) are all down this season. With injuries forcing him to miss 19 of 54 games — irritating his head coach in the process — it’s indisputable that Splitter has yet to justify the $10 million he’s making this season. Not even close, frankly.

And yet Splitter remains one of the league’s most effective rim protectors, a trait that made it almost essential that the Spurs bring him back even after a Finals that exposed his many shortcomings.


Opponents are shooting just 40.9 percent on shots he defends at the rim, fourth-best among 92 players who face at least four such attempts per game. (For comparison, Duncan is 36th at 48.6 percent.) Opponents score just 94.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court — eight fewer than Duncan’s court time, and more than six points below their overall average of 100.4. Opponents shoot 42.7 percent when he’s on the court, and 45.4 percent when he’s not.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2014/02/18/simmons-rates-splitters-contract-among-worst-in-nba/

You know, Tiago's disappointing season has hit a low point with his injuries- I wouldn't say he's exactly fragile, but he's becoming increasingly injury-prone-.

I still think Splitter is one of the best NBA bigman defender but now, he's worth his contract?

His last two years contract -$16.8 million- will affect the Spurs' flexibility next years?

[Mel_13]

What's amusing is the number of players in the top 22 that are coveted by some of the same ST posters who are so critical of Splitter.

[TheGoldStandard]

Robin is also 25 years old and is locked in for 5 years.. great deal at 5M each year.. Splitter not so much.. What sucks is that before the contract he was healthy or better yet played through shit.. now, even the slightest bruise and he's on the bench for 2 weeks.

[Chinook]

Simmons must have forgotten the WCF. I don't blame him since Splitter made him (and ESPN in general) look like a fool with his defense. The comparison to Lopez is terrible. Lopez is a decent starter and thus a good deal. But he's not the defensive presence Splitter is. Tiago is getting market value ... or at least he would be if he weren't injured.

Still for such a big contract, the 23rd ranking isn't that bad.

[exstatic]

Robin is also 25 years old and is locked in for 5 years.. great deal at 5M each year.. Splitter not so much.. What sucks is that before the contract he was healthy or better yet played through shit.. now, even the slightest bruise and he's on the bench for 2 weeks.

Uh, NO? He's always been an injury pussy.

[FireMicoHalili]

He carried the offense against an elite team like the Celtics last year so that means he's good I don't get your drift

[TheGoldStandard]

Uh, NO? He's always been an injury pussy.

Strictly going with 81 games played and 58 started last season.

[cjw]

His last two years contract -$16.8 million- will affect the Spurs' flexibility next years?

He has a contract that decreases in value each year, so that 2 / $17mm isn't all that bad. Think that's what the FO was targeting when structuring that deal - optional value to unload him if in full tank mode for a bad contract + picks if he's serviceable at that point. If not, the tanking will take care of itself.



Simmons must have forgotten the WCF.

It was over so quickly that he and Jalen probably spent more time eating in the two cities than watching the games.

[testies]

"Opponents are shooting just 40.9 percent on shots he defends at the rim, fourth-best among 92 players who face at least four such attempts per game. (For comparison, Duncan is 36th at 48.6 percent.) Opponents score just 94.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court — eight fewer than Duncan’s court time, and more than six points below their overall average of 100.4. Opponents shoot 42.7 percent when he’s on the court, and 45.4 percent when he’s not."


Ok, that shuts up the subject. We badly need his defence.. Prices are based on what we have scarcities on, not the actual value of the player.. Idiots

[Johnny RIngo]

He's a net negative when it come to offensive impact. His defense has been solid but he's killing the team on the other end of the court. This has forced Pop to start Diaw in his place.

[Baam]

You can't copy and paste articles, especially from saen...

And yes Tiago is easily one of the worst contracts and no no one forgot about the WCF where we could double and triple inside...

[KaiRMD1]

Splitter has had a bad year this year but last year, prior to ol' sport being blocked by Kang, Tiago was iron man and missed only a few games. I still believe Tiago is worth it but the ol' sport just needs to stop being soft. It's not impossible

[wildchild]

You can't copy and paste articles, especially from saen...

Mean entire article? Thanks! I fixed it.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Oh so Splitter didn't play in the small ball/ wing dominated NBA finals, but perhaps Simmons would bother to know how the Spurs got there? I mean .. beating the Hollinger Grizzlies 4-0? Neutralising the Win Towers, Randolph & Gasol? Did Splitter stay on the bench in that series too?

[pgardn]

Don't matter. He is ours and we don't win a championship without him.

[Biernutz]

Bill Simmons has to be the #1 Spurs hater at ESPN....What a tool.....

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Robin is also 25 years old and is locked in for 5 years.. great deal at 5M each year.. Splitter not so much.. What sucks is that before the contract he was healthy or better yet played through shit.. now, even the slightest bruise and he's on the bench for 2 weeks.

Load of garbage. Robin Lopez's contract is 1 year with a team option on the 2nd (http://hoopshype.com/salaries/portland.htm), so Portland obviously didn't have much faith in him to start with. Sure, he's having a career year, but few teams saw it coming. Try doing some research rather than making things up. :rolleyes

For future reference, the longest standard contract under this CBA is 4 years. Teams each have the ability to issue ONE special 5 year contract to a franchise player, that's it.

[eyeh8u]

How I wish people would ignore this guy into oblivion, much to my chagrin, he just gets bigger. He has heavily contributed to the ever growing, no insight sports pop culture blogoverse that is dominating the sports corner of the internet.

[Chinook]

Load of garbage. Robin Lopez's contract is 1 year with a team option on the 2nd (http://hoopshype.com/salaries/portland.htm), so Portland obviously didn't have much faith in him to start with. Sure, he's having a career year, but few teams saw it coming. Try doing some research rather than making things up. :rolleyes

For future reference, the longest standard contract under this CBA is 4 years. Teams each have the ability to issue ONE special 5 year contract to a franchise player, that's it.

Actually, that's necessarily true. Teams can also re-sign (not extend) a player to a five-year deal if that player qualifies for full Bird rights. That's why Paul is locked up for five years. Lopez could have signed a five-year contract had he stayed in Phoenix, but he didn't, as you said.

Also, Lopez signed a three-year deal two off-seasons ago. His 'option" year was after last year with New Orleans. Next season is now fully guaranteed.

[TheGoldStandard]

Load of garbage. Robin Lopez's contract is 1 year with a team option on the 2nd (http://hoopshype.com/salaries/portland.htm), so Portland obviously didn't have much faith in him to start with. Sure, he's having a career year, but few teams saw it coming. Try doing some research rather than making things up. :rolleyes

For future reference, the longest standard contract under this CBA is 4 years. Teams each have the ability to issue ONE special 5 year contract to a franchise player, that's it.

Salary aside which was my mistake, even better deal only 2 years at that price tag but he had the same numbers with NO during his season there in 2012 when given actual starter minutes and played 82 games and started 82 games. 11 Points a game/ 5 rebounds, his per 36 was 15 and 7. So it's not like he just all of a sudden is benefiting from playing with Portland. At what he's offering for 5 million less, yeah that's a much better deal and has yet to be injured this season.

Instead of shitting on takes, how about you find something that supports Tiago's usefulness with his over priced contract. He's valuable but not at what we're paying him and not when he's all of a sudden injured, comes back from an injury and then sits again. We don't have time for that kind of shit on this team especially from some guy who's supposed to be anchoring the defense. Spurs have actually won games with him sitting on the bench grinning like a dumb fuck.

[Expert]

I'm sorry, I am no fan of Tiago Splitter however if you have to go all the way to the NBA Finals to find a flaw in a starting center, you don't have much to complain about.

[Texas_Ranger]

Well if splitter plays like he's playing this year then it is a bad cintract.

[Chinook]

Well if splitter plays like he's playing this year then it is a bad cintract.

Pretty much. He was more than worth it last season. But he needs to get healthy, and he and Duncan need to be able to play together for him to really be worth it.

[hater]

he's having a terrible season no doubt. But then again MVParker is too.

He'll have 1 more chance this season to turn it around, otherwise, I agree worst contract in the NBA

[james evans]

in the off season, i wanted the spurs to get al jefferson, but no, they put 16 million a season into ginobli and splitter. i still have no idea what kind of drugs bufford was on with that shit.

[kaji157]

All brazilian players die after they get their first big contract... Barbosa, Nene, Tiago...

[Mugen]

Bigs get paid tbh. Jeff hasn't learned the fundamental sports skill of catching a ball yet is stealing 2mil/season from the team.

[jimbo]

He's a net negative when it come to offensive impact. His defense has been solid but he's killing the team on the other end of the court. This has forced Pop to start Diaw in his place.

You could at least finish your thought. He's a net negative alongside Duncan because Duncan isn't hitting his jumper as well this year so the spacing between the two doesn't work. He's fine with the backup unit.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/splitti01/lineups/2014/

edit: and lol at any list that doesn't have Kobe's contract in the top 2. His and Amare's contracts are the only ones that are single-handedly killing franchises.

[pgardn]

in the off season, i wanted the spurs to get al jefferson, but no, they put 16 million a season into ginobli and splitter. i still have no idea what kind of drugs bufford was on with that shit.

The drugs are those that help one see if a player can play D.
Jefferson can't and hey, I must be on that drug as well.

[Obstructed_View]

His contract suddenly got "bad" when he and his teammates got hurt and the team got passed by OKC in the standings.

:lol Al Jefferson

[ElNono]

:lol Al Jefferson

[james evans]

i'm still waiting to see this great defensive stopper tiago splitter is. this guy is slower than molasses in the winter time and totally non existent on the offensive end. if u think splitter is a better player than jefferson, then i won't argue with u. we'll just agree to disagree

[Chomag]

Spurs off season:
Signing Splitter and Manu to high mil $ contacts and both hardly playing.
Adding Ayers and Beli. Ayers earning the nickname errors and Beli although a good edition they did lose Neal.

Trade Deadline: (cricket sounds)

Yep, best FO ever.

[RD2191]

Spurs off season:
Signing Splitter and Manu to high mil $ contacts and both hardly playing.
Adding Ayers and Beli. Ayers earning the nickname errors and Beli although a good edition they did lose Neal.

Trade Deadline: (cricket sounds)

Yep, best FO ever.

[Mikeanaro]

Funny thing is I dont remember him saying shit against Pau Gasol´s contract, that dude is a slightly better Tiago and got 3 times more money.

[TheChillFactor]

Funny thing is I dont remember him saying shit against Pau Gasol´s contract, that dude is a slightly better Tiago and got 3 times more money.

are you kidding? Gasol's 10x the player tiago is. Splitter can't score beyond 3 feet from the basket!

[Mikeanaro]

are you kidding? Gasol's 10x the player tiago is. Splitter can't score beyond 3 feet from the basket!
Not kidding, I remember Jack Nicholson grabbing his head because Pau couldn´t make a simple layup , he always was a wuss but a decent player and all Kobe needed to win, if Tiago played with Kobe instead Pau he would look 10 times better too.

[look_at_g_shred]

Bill Simmons: Worst analyst ever!

[cd98]

Bill Simmons: Worst analyst ever!

I used to enjoy listening and reading his commentary. But ever since he started working with Jalen Rose, and especially his work on ESPN pregame shows, I've gotten sick of him. I think his popularity is fading. It will be interesting to see if he is with the ESPN halftime show after this season.

[slick'81]

Unless splitter gets healthy and can start repeating last seasons performance that 10+ mil a year is gonna b tough to swallow

[tholdren]

Claiming Fair market value is shit you hear from democrats Who overpay and sleazy ass Republican car salesman. Tiago Sucks Dick on offense and is avg defender Who spurs fans overrated. Blair is out playing Splitter this year and makes over 8 million mess... Fuck all you Who wanted Splitter. Hes not helping us sin regular season, not doing shit in playoffs.. there is no counter argument here

[Man In Black]

Tiago's contract is still better than Kobe's and Nash :)

The Lakers are practically paying DEAD MONEY right now for those dudes.

Does Tiago seems like a $10M player? Well... let's see:

One guy in this comparison makes $14M and one guy makes $10M, I don't think Tiago's playing that bad. He's just a tougher Rasho...y'all should be used to this by now.


2013-14 Stats
PPG 8.2
RPG 10.7
APG 1.6
SPG 0.8
BPG 1.9
FG% 0.636
FT% 0.346
3P% 0.000
MPG 27.5

2013-14 Stats
PPG 8.1
RPG 6.3
APG 1.1
SPG 0.4
BPG 0.5
FG% 0.544
FT% 0.691
3P% 0.000
MPG 21.5

[TheGoldStandard]

Tiago's contract is still better than Kobe's and Nash :)

The Lakers are practically paying DEAD MONEY right now for those dudes.

Does Tiago seems like a $10M player? Well... let's see:

One guy in this comparison makes $14M and one guy makes $10M, I don't think Tiago's playing that bad. He's just a tougher Rasho...y'all should be used to this by now.


2013-14 Stats
PPG 8.2
RPG 10.7
APG 1.6
SPG 0.8
BPG 1.9
FG% 0.636
FT% 0.346
3P% 0.000
MPG 27.5

2013-14 Stats
PPG 8.1
RPG 6.3
APG 1.1
SPG 0.4
BPG 0.5
FG% 0.544
FT% 0.691
3P% 0.000
MPG 21.5

Boguts contract is pretty bad too

[heyheymymy]

who cares it's bill simmons the guy who ranked an unproven bulls with a injury prone star above pacers heat and spurs in the off season rankings.

[Baam]

I was on the Robin Lopez wagon last summer, can't believe they overpaid for a situational player who arguably cost us a title... Now we're stuck with this scrub... RJeff 2.0...

[tholdren]

I was on the Robin Lopez wagon last summer, can't belme ieve they overpaid for a situational player who arguably cost us a title... Now we're stuck with this scrub... RJeff 2.0...

This... My whole thing was Splitter wont put us over the top or, if released he wouldnt hurt us playing against, so why overpay? You could have had the same production for a tenth of the cost, landed a good Sf, pf, and or pg... Wtf

[cjw]

This... My whole thing was Splitter wont put us over the top or, if released he wouldnt hurt us playing against, so why overpay? You could have had the same production for a tenth of the cost, landed a good Sf, pf, and or pg... Wtf

If you're referring to Lopez, in case you failed to check he's not signed at "a tenth" the cost. More like 60%+ the annual cost, though only for two years.

There was no guarantee they would have gotten any of the available bigs, so they paid a bit too much for the one they had control over. Yes, it would have been nice to have another couple of million to throw at a non-Ayres big, but it's not like they overpaid by $8 million a year.

[Chinook]

This Splitter debate is so stupid. It's literally the Green debate lagging a year behind.

[TJastal]

Funny thing is I dont remember him saying shit against Pau Gasol´s contract, that dude is a slightly better Tiago and got 3 times more money.

Gasol is not even close to the defender Splitter is and id a highly ovverrated offensive player. I'd take Splitter's P@R game over Gasol's "post game" any day of the week.

[Baam]

This Splitter debate is so stupid. It's literally the Green debate lagging a year behind.

Green didn't fit with the starters anymore?

Splitter is a combination of Bonner (situational player) and RJeff (way overpaid and prevents us to make a move that put us over the top).

[Baam]

Gasol is not even close to the defender Splitter is and id a highly ovverrated offensive player. I'd take Splitter's P@R game over Gasol's "post game" any day of the week.

Gasol was triple teamed by team USA not so long ago... Lol at taking Splitter's offense over the post game of a legendary player like Gasol... Even a tosb Gasol destroys Splitter...

The problem is being a good fit with Duncan and Splitter no long has the edge there so it's moot...

[tholdren]

If you're referring to Lopez, in case you failed to check he's not signed at "a tenth" the cost. More like 60%+ the annual cost, though only for two years.

There was no guarantee they would have gotten any of the available bigs, so they paid a bit too much for the one they had control over. Yes, it would have been nice to have another couple of million to throw at a non-Ayres big, but it's not like they overpaid by $8 million a year.

Im alluding to Blair

[Mikeanaro]

Gasol was triple teamed by team USA not so long ago... Lol at taking Splitter's offense over the post game of a legendary player like Gasol... Even a tosb Gasol destroys Splitter...

The problem is being a good fit with Duncan and Splitter no long has the edge there so it's moot...
Gasol a legendary player? are you kidding? even before his prime he was a clunky SOB, Ive seen him playing against Shaq, Garnett, Chandler, Rasheed and he was kissing his asses.
He is decent, before his days as a laker he never went further than the 1rst round, Kobe needed a decent big and Pau scoring was a pain in the ass but it worked, Contrary to popular belief in this site Kobe was the alpha and Pau just a piece like Fisher, they say KOBE IS A RAPIST like that makes every accomplishment on court no longer relevant.

[Baam]

Gasol a legendary player? are you kidding? even before his prime he was a clunky SOB, Ive seen him playing against Shaq, Garnett, Chandler, Rasheed and he was kissing his asses.
He is decent, before his days as a laker he never went further than the 1rst round, Kobe needed a decent big and Pau scoring was a pain in the ass but it worked, Contrary to popular belief in this site Kobe was the alpha and Pau just a piece like Fisher, they say KOBE IS A RAPIST like that makes every accomplishment on court no more valid.

Ok sure... Spain has been dominant when Pau played but it has nothing to do with him... Even Gastrong who is in his prime is far less dominant than prime Pau since he's happy shooting jumpers instead of dominating in the post...

Pau imo is right there with Dirk, only difference is Dirk actually go the credit he deserved unlike Pau tho...

[Mikeanaro]

Ok sure... Spain has been dominant when Pau played but it has nothing to do with him... Even Gastrong who is in his prime is far less dominant than prime Pau since he's happy shooting jumpers instead of dominating in the post...

Pau imo is right there with Dirk, only difference is Dirk actually go the credit he deserved unlike Pau tho...
Then why the Grizz sucked so much?
Spain has/had a great team, Navarro, Calderon, Rudy Fernandez, Marc Gasol all those guys play great team ball is not just Pau and they were lame by ducking team USA on the Olympics until the finals to finish 2nd place.
Argentina National team is not just Manu, there are lots of good team players than in the NBA are scrubs like Delfino or Nocioni and they played great for the National Team.
I think they are very different players but Dirk never ran from Dallas not even now and they stink really bad.

[Chinook]

Green didn't fit with the starters anymore?

Splitter is a combination of Bonner (situational player) and RJeff (way overpaid and prevents us to make a move that put us over the top).

People (like you, if you recall) didn't think Green fit in the SL at all. And they always wanted him replaced by a two-guard who can dribble and make plays, even one who can't defend well. They thought this because they underrated Green's impact on both sides. They kept proposing trades for all types of average to below-average SGs and were completely willing to trade Green for an "upgrade". That faction was strong all the way up until they got their wish with Beli.

So here we are with Splitter. People want him replace by average-at-best players like Lopez or Sanders, or by horrible defenders like Boozer or Big Al. They don't understand how much he impacts the team, and they think a replacement-level impact would be good enough. The contract itself is a red herring, since the Spurs' flexibility isn't affected at all by it. It's just a way to justify underrating him. I bet they don't fully appreciate how good Tiago was defensively last night.

By the way, agree on Gasol. He was awesome in his prime. He's a HoFer. I'd take him as the third big now, but not over Splitter really. Tiago/Tim has a chance to work again so long as they can both space the floor a bit.

[Baam]

People (like you, if you recall) didn't think Green fit in the SL at all. And they always wanted him replaced by a two-guard who can dribble and make plays, even one who can't defend well. They thought this because they underrated Green's impact on both sides. They kept proposing trades for all types of average to below-average SGs and were completely willing to trade Green for an "upgrade". That faction was strong all the way up until they got their wish with Beli.

After the Thunder series I actually wondered if he chocked or if more likely he was just limited by his skillset that didn't leave with any plan B when he decently defended. Turns out he can still be effective that way even tho the end of the Finals was reminiscing of that Thunder series. I did want to trade him and he proved me wrong :toast.

But let's be real Green's contract doesn't prevent us to do anything and he's been way better in the postseason.


So here we are with Splitter. People want him replace by average-at-best players like Lopez or Sanders, or by horrible defenders like Boozer or Big Al. They don't understand how much he impacts the team, and they think a replacement-level impact would be good enough. The contract itself is a red herring, since the Spurs' flexibility isn't affected at all by it. It's just a way to justify underrating him. I bet they don't fully appreciate how good Tiago was defensively last night.

He's a negative when playing with Kawhi and Duncan and was the worst player of the Finals (and arguably the WCF the previous year) and got rewarded with 40M for it, I understand his impact just fine both on the court and cap wise... The truth is that the core of your argument came from Duncan incredible year last season in a relatively low sample size with Splitter, you should acknowledge that if he can't fit with Duncan and Kawhi then he's not worth his deal, not even half of it...

[cjw]

Im alluding to Blair

This isn't baseball, you don't have a designated hitter rule. Everyone has to play defense.

[Chinook]

After the Thunder series I actually wondered if he chocked or if more likely he was just limited by his skillset that didn't leave with any plan B when he decently defended. Turns out he can still be effective that way even tho the end of the Finals was reminiscing of that Thunder series. I did want to trade him and he proved me wrong :toast.

But let's be real Green's contract doesn't prevent us to do anything and he's been way better in the postseason.



He's a negative when playing with Kawhi and Duncan and was the worst player of the Finals (and arguably the WCF the previous year) and got rewarded with 40M for it, I understand his impact just fine both on the court and cap wise... The truth is that the core of your argument came from Duncan incredible year last season in a relatively low sample size with Splitter, you should acknowledge that if he can't fit with Duncan and Kawhi then he's not worth his deal, not even half of it...

Nah, $9 Million isn't bad even for a bench big. Look at Gibson's contract. Or Asik's. Elite defensive bigs get paid. And even some non-elite ones like Dalembert do.

Anyway, Duncan had a great year last season in large part do to Splitter. It's been really evident this season that Tim needs the Medium Three to be the player we expect him to be consistently. Even if Splitter added no stats, being able to rest Duncan and having someone to take on post bigs and PnR players at the same time is worth the money.

Anyway, I think he is going to be a better fit in the SL with Tim, Kawhi and even Splitter himself showing improvement from range. If Leonard comes back and shows he can hit the three, Pop can scheme around Duncan's decline from mid-range by giving Splitter more PnP attempts. Not to mention Duncan looks a lot better physically on jump shots now than he did in the first month of the season.

[Knoxxx]

Splitter is not much different than the average overpaid big except for his below average production. What were we going to do though, throw the same money at Kirilenko? Splitter's declining annual salary was a shrewd/subtle move that I think will pay us dividends one way or the other.

As far as Bill Simmons and Rose, has there ever been a pairing of two such whiny-voiced announcers? Rose is like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard to me, and not sure I can rate BS any better. At least he has not admitted (that I am aware of) to disliking the Spurs as Rose has. Even if Rose were a huge Spurs fan I'd dislike him though. I can't believe guys like him with ZERO TALENT FOR IT get announcing jobs.

[Drom John]

Spurs 2013-2014 WS/48
.188 Patrick Mills
.165 Manu Ginobili
.162 Kawhi Leonard
.160 Tiago Splitter
.159 Tim Duncan

Splitter rates are just fine for the contract.
Playing time is another matter.

WS
4.9 Tim Duncan
4.5 Tony Parker
4.0 Kawhi Leonard
3.9 Patrick Mills
3.8 Marco Belinelli
3.5 Manu Ginobili
3.5 Boris Diaw
2.5 Tiago Splitter
2.3 Danny Green
1.8 Cory Joseph
1.5 Jeff Ayres
1.2 Matt Bonner
0.6 Nando De Colo
0.3 Aron Baynes
0.1 Othyus Jeffers
0.0 Malcolm Thomas
-0.2 Shannon Brown

That's not enough cumulative production for the contract.
May a healthy second half improved the situation to a slightly bad contract this season, and not enough evidence to dis it for the entire contract.

I'd disagree with Simmons on the issue that acute problems in a half season of basketball aren't enough to project chronic problems in the future.

[tholdren]

This isn't baseball, you don't have a designated hitter rule. Everyone has to play defense.

Get a clue, homers like you will Always use the defense as a trump card, since it doesnt have a difinitive value, unfortunately at the worst blair is even with tiago, so the salary tiago got was retarded.

[200 miles]

Get a clue, homers like you will Always use the defense as a trump card, since it doesnt have a difinitive value, unfortunately at the worst blair is even with tiago, so the salary tiago got was retarded.

So even disregarding one of the most important and basic fundamentals of the game in defense, Tiago scored 15 points with 6 rebounds on his first game back from injury last night. Goddamn it, what more do you want from him?

[cjw]

Get a clue, homers like you will Always use the defense as a trump card, since it doesnt have a difinitive value, unfortunately at the worst blair is even with tiago, so the salary tiago got was retarded.

If Blair were half as good as Tiago, he would have gotten an offer from a team for more than a mil a year. Tiago in the open market would have gotten at least $24 over 4 years and probably more.

And you say D is hard to measure? Spurs D is 8 points better this year while Tiago is on the court as opposed to off vs. Mavs (putrid) D being 1 point better when DeJuan's on the floor.

And for an apples to apples comparison we can look at last season, opposing teams were 6 points worse with Tiago on the floor last year whereas they were 3 points better with DeJuan in the game. 9 points per 100 possessions is kind of a lot ... basically the difference between the Bulls (#2 to Pacers) and the Jazz (worst in the league).

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/splitti01/on-off/2013/
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/blairde01/on-off/2013/

But I guess those stats don't matter.

[TheGoldStandard]

If Blair were half as good as Tiago, he would have gotten an offer from a team for more than a mil a year. Tiago in the open market would have gotten at least $24 over 4 years and probably more.

And you say D is hard to measure? Spurs D is 8 points better this year while Tiago is on the court as opposed to off vs. Mavs (putrid) D being 1 point better when DeJuan's on the floor.

And for an apples to apples comparison we can look at last season, opposing teams were 6 points worse with Tiago on the floor last year whereas they were 3 points better with DeJuan in the game. 9 points per 100 possessions is kind of a lot ... basically the difference between the Bulls (#2 to Pacers) and the Jazz (worst in the league).

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/splitti01/on-off/2013/
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/blairde01/on-off/2013/

But I guess those stats don't matter.

At 6 mil a year I would be okay with that. Cut back on manu and don't sign Ayres and that cash could have been put to getting a real backup wing

[cjw]

At 6 mil a year I would be okay with that. Cut back on manu and don't sign Ayres and that cash could have been put to getting a real backup wing

I'm fine with that. Even seven. I go back and forth as to whether they could have backloaded instead of frontloaded, particularly when the window is now and not three years out.

[TheGoldStandard]

I'm fine with that. Even seven. I go back and forth as to whether they could have backloaded instead of frontloaded, particularly when the window is now and not three years out.

Exactly which then would have been tough to unload unless he actually was worth it all and of course teams would be lining up to get him.

[Biernutz]

J. Gomez from the web site Pounding the Rock wrote a story about ESPN's Bill Simmons putdown
on the Spurs Tiago Splitter and R.C.Buford....Gomez is setting the record straight after the hatchet job.
I'm sure the Tiago haters and the Blair lovers will dismiss this story.... well "haters got to hate".

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/2/23/5423940/setting-record-straight-bill-simmons-hatchet-job-tiago-splitter

[Baam]

He got schooled in the comments tbh...

[Spur|n|Austin]

Bill Simmons is a cake eater.

[Mel_13]

He got schooled in the comments tbh...

If by schooled you mean supported by the overwhelming majority of the commenters, then yeah..

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Bill Simmons has to be the #1 Spurs hater at ESPN....What a tool.....
In general, don't take anything he says seriously. He is a joke.

[tholdren]

J. Gomez from the web site Pounding the Rock wrote a story about ESPN's Bill Simmons putdown
on the Spurs Tiago Splitter and R.C.Buford....Gomez is setting the record straight after the hatchet job.
I'm sure the Tiago haters and the Blair lovers will dismiss this story.... well "haters got to hate".

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/2/23/5423940/setting-record-straight-bill-simmons-hatchet-job-tiago-splitter
First, Gómez is a Dick, Who tried to sound smart by using stats and nevet brings up or refutes a counter-claim. Although i may agree that spurs signed, and overpaid, out of Need rather than want, his shit argument about points per when tiago is on the floor is the dumbest shit since plus minus. There are many variables unaccounted for in that situation. Sad really.

[hater]

he's having a terrible season no doubt. But then again MVParker is too.

He'll have 1 more chance this season to turn it around, otherwise, I agree worst contract in the NBA

:tu

seems to me his season is on the rebound (save another injury) IMO

[smaka]

DNP - Too soft

..............

[james evans]

The drugs are those that help one see if a player can play D.
Jefferson can't and hey, I must be on that drug as well.
just wanted to bump this quote

[TheGoldStandard]

Tim Duncan > Al Jefferson > Tiago Splitter ( At least tonight)

[james evans]

Tim Duncan > Al Jefferson > Tiago Splitter ( At least tonight)
you'll definitely get no arguments from me on this. it's just that some people actually think splitter is a good player. he's ass. popovich brings the best out of players that would be buried at the end of someone's bench(see danny green)

[TheGoldStandard]

you'll definitely get no arguments from me on this. it's just that some people actually think splitter is a good player. he's ass. popovich brings the best out of players that would be buried at the end of someone's bench(see danny green)

At only 3 million more for this season and next I'd have done that deal and if he sucked just try to dump the contract to a team that is tanking, as the rule of thumb goes.. people over pay for bigs. He's not great a great defender but his offensive game is light years ahead of Tiago and you can keep him out there beyond certain situations.

[james evans]

At only 3 million more for this season and next I'd have done that deal and if he sucked just try to dump the contract to a team that is tanking, as the rule of thumb goes.. people over pay for bigs. He's not great a great defender but his offensive game is light years ahead of Tiago and you can keep him out there beyond certain situations.
remind me again how much ginobli, splitter, and ayres are making combined again

[TheGoldStandard]

remind me again how much ginobli, splitter, and ayres are making combined again

18.5 this season combined.. Jefferson is on a 3 year deal at 13.5 and he took a little bit of a paycut from what he was getting at Utah. I think he was expecting more players for his services in the off-season and who knows maybe the Spurs did make a call but I doubt they did.. They might have been able to sell him on the same kind of deal as Tiago, 4 year deal at 10mil over the 4 years 40m over than the 36 that Tiago is getting.

[james evans]

yeah. it's depressing.

[ElNono]

Tiago had a poor game. It happens. Big Al wouldn't work next to Duncan, IMO. His offense is basically a poor-man's version of Tim, and unlike Splitter, he's not mobile and not a defensive banger.

You only have to go 3-4 seasons ago to see Tim couldn't anchor the defense and be effective on offense all by himself. Tiago is simply there to help reduce wear and tear on Tim on the defensive end so Tim has some legs left to be a factor on offense. It's somewhat a similar role that Rasho, Oberto, etc had, but much more important now because Timmy is older. Big Al couldn't play that role unless you give him all of TD's offense, which, well, it's a no-go.

[Chinook]

I thought Splitter was fine tonight.

[Baam]

I thought Splitter was fine tonight.

:lol

[Texas_Ranger]

Splitter sucked

[tholdren]

worse rebounding than mills

[rascal]

Splitter stinks. It was a typical spurs move to resign him for that lousy contract instead of making a big trade to get a quality big in here.

[Mel_13]

Splitter stinks. It was a typical spurs move to resign him for that lousy contract instead of making a big trade to get a quality big in here.

Yeah, they should have traded 4 draft picks for the privilege of paying 9m/yr to the corpse of Steve Nash like the "best FO in the NBA".

[TheGoldStandard]

Could have tested the market to see if they could have had something comparable for less or to see if Portland was going to offer him some astronomical deal before committing 36 to him where the bulk of that is when you're trying to get Duncan a ring and you have holes at positions

[Mel_13]

Could have tested the market to see if they could have had something comparable for less or to see if Portland was going to offer him some astronomical deal before committing 36 to him where the bulk of that is when you're trying to get Duncan a ring and you have holes at positions

Portland was ready to sign him to 4yr/36M offer sheet, that's how Splitter got that number. By resigning him before he signed the offer sheet, the Spurs were able to structure the contract with descending annual salaries. Otherwise, they would have had to accept whatever terms Portland included in the offer sheet. Whether or not the contract was too much is obviously up for debate, but the Spurs did let the market set Splitter's price.

[TheGoldStandard]

Portland was ready to sign him to 4yr/36M offer sheet, that's how Splitter got that number. By resigning him before he signed the offer sheet, the Spurs were able to structure the contract with descending annual salaries. Otherwise, they would have had to accept whatever terms Portland included in the offer sheet. Whether or not the contract was too much is obviously up for debate, but the Spurs did let the market set Splitter's price.

The structure of the contract should have been in reverse. You want to maximize as much space as you can during the Duncan era to make sure you have flexibility. Loading it upfront even by a few mil still hurts.

I question the deal because I havent seen a large enough sample size this season to know he will contribute enough come playoff time as pop doesn't play him consistently enough depending on matchups.

[Mel_13]

The structure of the contract should have been in reverse. You want to maximize as much space as you can during the Duncan era to make sure you have flexibility. Loading it upfront even by a few mil still hurts.

I question the deal because I havent seen a large enough sample size this season to know he will contribute enough come playoff time as pop doesn't play him consistently enough depending on matchups.

The descending contract makes sense for the Spurs. Loading it upfront only hurts if you plan to create a chunk of cap space greater than the MLE. The Spurs didn't do that. Now, Splitter's cap number will be smaller when Duncan and Manu retire and when Kawhi's extension kicks in.

[Johnny RIngo]

Portland ended up dodging a bullet when SA resigned Tiago. Robin Lopez at 6 mil/year is a hell of lot better than Tiago at 9 mil/year.

[TheGoldStandard]

The descending contract makes sense for the Spurs. Loading it upfront only hurts if you plan to create a chunk of cap space greater than the MLE. The Spurs didn't do that. Now, Splitter's cap number will be smaller when Duncan and Manu retire and when Kawhi's extension kicks in.

It makes sense down the line if they intend to stay competitive after Duncan and try to get into playoff mode which is possible and with the new CBA you'd think that it would be hard to unload Tiago at a higher rate but that's what I'd probably do once Duncan is done. Tiago compliments Duncan well but if he's gone I'm trying to drop him off for some kind of draft pick and cap relief so I can reload, at that point Tiago might make sense to a fringe team trying to get some kind of interior help. It will be curious to see what the Spurs offer Diaw this summer because he has been more instrumental than Splitter to the team overall with or without Duncan on the floor.

[TheGoldStandard]

Portland ended up dodging a bullet when SA resigned Tiago. Robin Lopez at 6 mil/year is a hell of lot better than Tiago at 9 mil/year.

Robin Lopez was a steal, the guy is built for the half-court set. He's young, durable and has improved his stats every year which is a sign that he's getting it especially with more playing time. Lopez would have fit nicely with the Spurs, he's quick enough to defend around the basket or move out and help on jump shooting bigs just long enough before Diaw gets into the game. He's also a bit tougher in the low block and he has some post moves not to mention he's been working on his actual outside shot.

I don't know if they tell Splitter not to take that 16 foot jumper but he could have that all day every day when he sets a pick and pops out rather than rolling which would force a big to come out and guard him at least show a little opening the lane up for parker or mills more or a slashing Kawhi.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Splitter was fine on defense but his shot was not falling. He hit yet another outside jumper though.

[PingPong]

Splitter can hit some threes too. When he was Young, the brazilian under-anything teem wanted him to be like a brazilian Dirk, but when he gone to Spain, they made him play with the back to the basket...

[Spurs9]

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/1f/1f6c26c6dd639ffddb8023a8b9ba4598afa6abbf69f9c2ad92 285fb729257e70.jpg

[cjw]

The descending contract makes sense for the Spurs. Loading it upfront only hurts if you plan to create a chunk of cap space greater than the MLE. The Spurs didn't do that. Now, Splitter's cap number will be smaller when Duncan and Manu retire and when Kawhi's extension kicks in.

Exactly. Given the math going into the Manu deal, there was going to be limited cap space either way in the short-term. Best to maximize it come 2016, when Splitter's contract will be an attractive 2 year / $17 million deal. I imagine the team will look to give Kawhi a reasonable extension too next season and keep Parker around for similar money to his current deal.

Those three guys for $30 million would be a nice foundation going forward, with another $30 million to spread around on the rest of the roster - without having traded ANY first round picks and having guys in Europe that have a (small) chance to contribute in the future. Parker has been one of the most underpaid players in the league for some time now, just as Duncan has been. Not sure if that can be attributed to the character of the guys, or to them buying into what the front office has built ...


In retrospect, the Lopez deal is an absolute steal but as I've noted before there was no guarantee the team could have gotten him (Portland dealt for him in the Tyreke S&T). Worst case, they would have ended up with nobody. Lopez was NOT coming here without giving up another chip.

[ducks]

I would rather have splitter making 2 million less but it is not a very bad contract imo


had spurs faced pacers instead of heat in finals
splitter plays much more imo

[freetiago]

If Splitter plays more than 20 minutes and gets consistent playing time then he would produce
he would also be a better player on other teams since his coach wouldnt hate him and he would have more freedom to do things like take outside shots tbh..

whenever Duncans been out with injuries Splitter puts up like 15/8 type of stats in around 30 minutes when combined with his elite defense is worth more than 9 mil considering what other centers have gotten who arent at the same caliber as Splitter

and Lopez is a nice player but no one really saw him being the player he was right now
hes better offensively than Splitter finishing in traffic but hes not a good defender
Portland only has 1 bad defender on the roster in Lillard but theyre a bottom 10 defensive team that also is like top 5 in points they surrender in the paint last time I checked

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Thinking back at this, this contract is going to bite us these next two years. I think Splitter has already reached his peak and will be downhill, Oberto-style.

[slick'81]

Thinking back at this, this contract is going to bite us these next two years. I think Splitter has already reached his peak and will be downhill, Oberto-style.


Along with the Parker extension spurs could of been in a lot better shape this offseason

[tholdren]

Splitter blows. Thinking otherwise is like saying dick Jefferson is good

[Diego20]

Thinking back at this, this contract is going to bite us these next two years. I think Splitter has already reached his peak and will be downhill, Oberto-style.

Except that Oberto had shitty contracts with the Spurs.

[cd021]

Thinking back at this, this contract is going to bite us these next two years. I think Splitter has already reached his peak and will be downhill, Oberto-style.

His contract was good when they signed him to it and continues to look better and better. He signed it when the cap was $58 million its $67.1 now and his contract goes down instead of up while the cap continues to sky rocket. After next season he will make $8.25 million while the cap is $88 million. Paying a starter less than 10% of the cap is obviously a good thing.

Splitter is only 30, that's pretty young for a center. He has another five or six seasons at least. He is still an above average big (elite defensively). Even if he's peaked that's pretty good for a former 27th pick.

[eric365]

Splitter was key in the championship last year. Especially vs Portland

This is already enough to be worth that contract

[cjw]

I would rather have splitter making 2 million less but it is not a very bad contract imo

Splitter is a key reason the team has five and not four titles. End of bench bigs rarely make $2 million a year (just over the league minimum), let alone top quartile defensive bigs with a decent pick and roll game.

[cd98]

A healthy Splitter is worth every penny. An injured Splitter is grossly overpaid. His health will determine whether it was a good contract or not. But you can't get a big man with Splitter's skills for cheap.

[kaji157]

If he can grow a pair and stop getting injured come playoffs it´s a very good contract. If he is going to shit the bed and miss free throws everytime the other team has a shotblocker on the court we are fucked.

It´s always a matter if you are getting either Vagina or Splitter.

Spurs should ban him from playing for Brazil as they did to Manu the last world cup. He finished the season injured. Same for Tony.

[Malik Hairston]

Pretty good deal, overall, when you compare it to other bigs and their salaries for 2015-2016 IMO

Splitter at 8.5 mil next year
Gortat: 11.2 mil:lol
Carl Landry: 6.5 mil:lmao
Channing Frye: 8 mil:wow
Asik just got paid 8.2 mil(inferior player to Splitter)
Pekovic 12.1 mil:lmao
Larry Sanders 11 mil :(
Hibbert 15.5 mil:wow:wow:wow:lmao:lmao
Bogut 12 mil is fair
Javale Magee 12 mil:(
Joakim Noah 14 mil:lmao

If you're big, you get paid, not much has changed..

[timtonymanu]

Meh, Splitter was a big part of 5. He earned that contract.

[DMC]

How's Simmons' contract? oh that's right, he didn't get one.