Javtokas - conflicting data

[Solid D]

Recently, ESPN's Marc Spears wrote an article stating the following regarding Lithuanian Center, Robertas Javtokas:
"While Javtokas could be a backup center with the Spurs now, he is under contract with Lithuania Lietuvos Rytas through next season."

This was news to many Spurs fans who thought that Javtokas had completed his contract in '03-'04.

Since that article was written last week, Eurobasket has updated it's information on Lietuvos Rytas. Robertas now shows up as inactive and as one of the team's departures.

Question: What is up?

Link:

www.eurobasket.com/LTUteam.asp?Team=683 (http://www.eurobasket.com/LTUteam.asp?Team=683)

[Solid D]

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51231966.jpg

[KoriEllis]

Since that article was written last week, Eurobasket has updated it's information on Lietuvos Rytas. Robertas now shows up as inactive and as one of the team's departures.

Maybe he's coming to Spurs' training camp?

[KoriEllis]

This old article when he signed with them says his contract expires in 2004.

www.eurobasket.com/events...atext8.htm (http://www.eurobasket.com/events/nebl/2000/atext8.htm)

[timvp]

Awesome find. Hopefully its not just a misprint. I want Javtokas in camp.

[ducks]

cool
I know timvp would rather have him in camp then mailman

[spurster]

Bring him over. It's a no-brainer. If they don't, then he'll be signing some multi-year, big buyout contract in Europe, and the Spurs will have to wait a few years for him.

[SequSpur]

Javtokas Granny > Rasho....

Bring him over!

[adonis50]

Question is would Javtockas make the jump for peanuts?
I'd leave him in Europe for a couple of years to earn some dough and get PT. Robertas had a serious injury and playing against NBA players on a daily basis is pretty challenging...

[Mark in Austin]

where would he improve / learn more from the Spurs perspective? Playing a different style game against smaller, weaker, slower opponents in Europe (but potentially starting and getting lots of game experience),

or against Tim Duncan in practice every day, but pretty much riding the bench or IR?

[ducks]

Javtokas could get rasho to be more aggressive

and it would not suprise me if he beat out rose

[spursfaninla]

of course having Jav would only be positive for the spurs. The question is, does he want to take change this year to play, rather than a guranteed contract with millions per?

After such a serious accident, if I were him, I would not chance it and would take the sure dough.

You never know how much more his body can take, and one more injury to his knees and he could be done...

[Mark in Austin]

I seriously doubt any euroleague team is going to offer him gaurenteed millions when most have a total payroll between 7 and 11 million for the whole team. This isn't Manu Ginobili coming off a Championship and MVP season, or Scola poised to have a dominant year after a great year and Olympic tournament. This is Javtokas, still recovering, still rough around the edges, who as I recall didn't even start for the Lith. team and had a couple decent games. His strongest performances were against the US and Spain, if I remember correctly - the two teams that play a style of ball least like Euroleague.

Javtokas might be better suited for the NBA than Euroleague.

Scola is another story. But the only way a team goes after Javtokas hard is to lock him up with a HUGE buyout because they know the Spurs drafted him and want to bring him over eventually.

IMO.

[ChumpDumper]

I think we have a terribly distorted idea of what Euro teams pay their players.

[timvp]

If they do bring Javtokas over, they must have been impressed with his Olympic play. I don't think they planned on having Rose, Horry, Massenburg, Marks and him as the backup bigs. It seems to me that one of them would get cut in training camp.

[ChumpDumper]

I think the 15th spot is still Malone's til he says otherwise, but they'll make sure Javtoka's buyout isn't so onerous next summer.

[KoriEllis]

I will stick to my prediction that Massenburg won't be with the Spurs all year.

[Solid D]

This may not be anything, ya'll. So let's not blow this out of proportion. It's off-season and we love anything Spurs. So many of us thought his contract was up now. It's just that when you see crumbs, you wonder who ate the cookie. :)

[KoriEllis]

It's probably nothing. And my comment about Massenburg isn't really about the Javtokas subject. I just don't see the place for him, Massenburg.

If Malik and Horry are going to combine for relatively the same amount of minutes they had last season, and Marks is going to get Willis-type minutes or more. Then what's the point of a bad attitude, complaining player like Massenburg being on the roster. I just don't see why he's on the team.

[Mark in Austin]

From an article Kori posted:


The Spanish daily claims the contract will be worth $6.5 million over a three-year period, a sum that would make the Lithuanian the highest paid player in Europe.

That means the highest paid player next year will make $2.16 million per year.

1. The Spurs shouldn't have any trouble signing either Javtokas or Scola next season with part of their exceptions, if they want to.

2. It might be possible to lure Javtokas away from Euroleage this year if he hasn't already signed.

3. Kinda puts Ginobili's new deal in perspective, don't it?

[afe7FATMAN]

Maybe the Spurs could bring Javtokas on board than in January they could cut Massenberg or Marks or and than sign the mailman some time before contracts become guaranteed.

I think Massenberg will go off on GS this year especially after getting left off of their playoff roster last year.