spurscenter
07-14-2007, 09:01 AM
The Spurs Won't Pay the Luxury Tax
Kelly Dwyer
I struggled with a way to take this post for a while, but things are starting to make sense now. The San Antonio Spurs, fat and sassy with their fourth title in nine years and their ability to make TV magic, passed on paying the luxury tax during the 2007-08 season. Why else would they trade the right to sign Luis Scola - considered the finest overseas prospect in these here hills - and an emerging pivot talent for a player who won't spend another minute in the NBA?
After signing Matt Bonner and Fabricio Oberto to extensions that will combine to add nearly six-million caucasoid clams to their payroll next season, the Spurs sought to trim payroll enough to eke their way below the tax threshold. Scola is essentially a free agent, but all signs pointed against this potential Loy Vaught-clone (that's a good thing, cats and kittens) staying away from the Spurs due to a toxic mix of lack of minutes and lack of funds being sent his way. Enter Houston; a desperate rival stuck inside the same division, but also one that boasts an unhappy Greek point guard who can't shoot and won't shave and had Jeff Van Gundy turn him off the whole stateside appearance.
Vassilis Spanoulis has absolutely zero leverage, his name sounds like a dish that would include pine nuts, and his agent actually told the Houston Chronicle last week that the Rockets could "trade him to San Antonio and he could be the starting point guard, and he would he would say, No, I cannot.'" So, no; he cannot, and the Spurs will buy him out. Jackie Butler's guaranteed contract will lope over to Houston-town and for some reason the Spurs decided to throw Scola's rights in as a sweetener.
From there, we ask questions; to the cat, because nobody else is in the house right now.
Was Scola's situation so dire that the Spurs were about to lose all leverage and they had to dump the guy? Jackie Butler for V-Span is already a huge steal for Houston - Butler is a darn good pivot prospect whose per-minute numbers (even at power forward, which surprised me) were quite encouraging even as a part of the New York Knick mess in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Isn't that deal, even with Bonner and Oberto's extensions, enough to miss the cap threshold once you buy Spanoulis out? Why throw in Scola? Was I wrong about RC Buford? I'd never seen him with sunnies on until that column was published. Should I have gone with Donnie Nelson? Nelson's signed Devean George - twice. The whole thing just shakes my faith.
Either way, the trade is an absolute home run for the Rockets. Scola's reps already told the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen that he's well on his way toward coming over for 2007-08. I only wish the Rockets could send Butler to a team that could use his touch in the pivot. Stuck behind Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo in Rick Adelman's rotation; that's not a good start. And yet, it hardly changes what looks on paper to be one of the more lopsided NBA deals in the last decade.
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desus32 (7/13/2007 at 8:59 AM)
I just don't understand why SA would throw in Scola on any deal. I thought this guy had value...I mean look at the Wiz and their shopping of JCN. These imports can play and should net you SOMETHING useful. Getting under the cap by dealing Butler is one thing. But they couldn't deal Scola in a separate trade to a different team? Not even for a future draft pick? Even just a 2nd rounder would make more sense than sending this guy to a division rival where he can team w/ Yao to put the clamps on Timmy. I know they got a pick from Houston, but do you really want to help them by giving them the size they need to help them stop you?
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king2247 (7/13/2007 at 9:18 AM)
your just a typical American gushing over some Euro import, these European guys are overrated, if they were so good they would have been in the NBA a long time ago. Jackie Butler is an overrated, overpaid dude who should have went to college, and im sick of people talking about potential, players with potential dont win you championships, they get coaches fired. As for v-span he is an average role players, and scola is overweight, lazy, and doesnt have the desire to be a legit big man in the paint.
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goodtimesproject (7/13/2007 at 9:20 AM)
it doesn't make any sense to me. the bulls could have sent them expiring contracts and players to buy out. Wait a couple of weeks and get paxson on the phone and you send Scola to a non-division rival. now if Scola is as good as claimed, you have a potential problem in your own division. even the smart nba gms are stupid.
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urucub (7/13/2007 at 9:21 AM)
This is going to be remembered as one of the worst moves of the Spurs FO in years... if Scola teamed up with the spurs to cheat Houston and he remains in Spain... this was a masterful move... BUT... if the kid comes over... Get ready.. his fire is same as Ginobili.. and he has been for years the second best argentine player... the Spurs knew all this.. it doesn;t make sense that they didn;t ship him east when the Cavs might have jumped in to get him... they have just made the West even stronger.. and i rememebr a note with Nocioni asked who will be the next Argentine Star in the NBA... guess who he said? Luis ALberto Scola... he is more than Oberto, More Than Hermann and more than Noce himself... They better start praying in SA for Tau to make a HUGE offer to keep the kid... but you know what... he wants to prove himself he is a Ginobili Caliber star in the NBA... can;t wait for the season to begin... my take? he may contend for the ROY award... and his summer league play... against Team USA and the brazilian all stars...
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BigBlueStompinCrew (7/13/2007 at 9:43 AM)
On paper it looks like a dumb move. Trading a future "star" to a division rival for crap but maybe buford knows something that we don't. I think he's hustlin'
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rpombrio (7/13/2007 at 9:56 AM)
I'm just praying Buford knows something I don't - like Scola had both of his achilles slashed over the weekend, and has an enlarged heart. Otherwise you guys are right - even if Scola is decent (not great), trading for a 2nd rounder and another guy to keep in Europe seems ridiculous. Get some value out of James White or Beno and bring in Scola.
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dibpal (7/13/2007 at 10:15 AM)
i think the Spurs just weren't prepared to sign him, and he'd been in limbo for so many years, that they did the right thing and traded him to a team that would.
If his buyout is only 3 million, that's far from excessive, but it's not like the Spurs have a lot of incentive to take financial risks to improve.
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meskous (7/13/2007 at 10:40 AM)
This is a stupid move. You just teamed up Scola with Yao and you gave division rivals backup PF in Butler. Spurs just solved all Houstons problems in return for some crap. As a Spurs fan I don't like it at all. I was hoping that Scola will come and get some oportunity to prove himself. He is better forward then Mat B will ever be. If you don't belive me just watch first season game against Rockets. I am so f...... mad.
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iliketaffy (7/13/2007 at 1:15 PM)
Apparently King2247 just arrived here from 1995. His next post will bash those young'uns that leave school before exhausting all four years of eligibility.
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Cmfoxes (7/13/2007 at 1:20 PM)
How about using the trade as a springboard for signing Udoku (sp.?) from Portland as an eventual replacement for Bowen, who clearly lost a step last year (even though he is still truly the best perimeter defender in the league), and then eventually dumping Udrich and Barry to try to get someone like Mahinmi to develop close in? Scola was never going to sign with the Spurs, and the Spurs know (knew)it...had t get something for him. It is now up to Adelman to make him worthwhile...he hasn't shown yet that he is up to the task.
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kichcha (7/13/2007 at 1:21 PM)
Here is what went into the decision making
1. Spurs are already heavy at PF/C - with Timmy, Fab, Elson, Horry, ####
2. They have rights to Ian Mahinmi and Splitter - essentially meaning they dont have to worry down the line
3. Scola had to indicate by Saturday to his Spanish club whether he would return with them
4. Their roster does not have any vacancies from 1-12
If Scola was tied for another term in Spain, they may not have had any takers - so they had to get it done now. They tried sending him to Cleveland, but could not work out a deal.
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yynnaot (7/13/2007 at 10:21 PM)
I agree in principal that:
1) it was dumb to help a division rival. Especially one from Texas.
2) Trading for the bulls would seem to make more sense.
3) Vassilis Spanoulis will prob not help SA, and that is if he isn't bought out
but... few things to note:
1) They did not need Butler and his contract.
- Oberto and Elson has proven to be more than capable backup/starters for them in the pivot
2) We are all bashing the trade by including Scola ad if they were going to sign him
- Spurs knew they weren't going to sign him. Essentially they traded something that did not belong to them to someone else.
3) IT STILL SAVED THEM MOENY
- SA is not New York, it does not have a deep pocket like them. As unwilling as some of the small market teams will admit, MONEY CAN BE A FACTOR. In the finacial world of the NBA, this was just a smart financial move in terms of dollars saved.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-26-38/The-Spurs-Won-t-Pay-the-Luxury-Tax.html
Kelly Dwyer
I struggled with a way to take this post for a while, but things are starting to make sense now. The San Antonio Spurs, fat and sassy with their fourth title in nine years and their ability to make TV magic, passed on paying the luxury tax during the 2007-08 season. Why else would they trade the right to sign Luis Scola - considered the finest overseas prospect in these here hills - and an emerging pivot talent for a player who won't spend another minute in the NBA?
After signing Matt Bonner and Fabricio Oberto to extensions that will combine to add nearly six-million caucasoid clams to their payroll next season, the Spurs sought to trim payroll enough to eke their way below the tax threshold. Scola is essentially a free agent, but all signs pointed against this potential Loy Vaught-clone (that's a good thing, cats and kittens) staying away from the Spurs due to a toxic mix of lack of minutes and lack of funds being sent his way. Enter Houston; a desperate rival stuck inside the same division, but also one that boasts an unhappy Greek point guard who can't shoot and won't shave and had Jeff Van Gundy turn him off the whole stateside appearance.
Vassilis Spanoulis has absolutely zero leverage, his name sounds like a dish that would include pine nuts, and his agent actually told the Houston Chronicle last week that the Rockets could "trade him to San Antonio and he could be the starting point guard, and he would he would say, No, I cannot.'" So, no; he cannot, and the Spurs will buy him out. Jackie Butler's guaranteed contract will lope over to Houston-town and for some reason the Spurs decided to throw Scola's rights in as a sweetener.
From there, we ask questions; to the cat, because nobody else is in the house right now.
Was Scola's situation so dire that the Spurs were about to lose all leverage and they had to dump the guy? Jackie Butler for V-Span is already a huge steal for Houston - Butler is a darn good pivot prospect whose per-minute numbers (even at power forward, which surprised me) were quite encouraging even as a part of the New York Knick mess in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Isn't that deal, even with Bonner and Oberto's extensions, enough to miss the cap threshold once you buy Spanoulis out? Why throw in Scola? Was I wrong about RC Buford? I'd never seen him with sunnies on until that column was published. Should I have gone with Donnie Nelson? Nelson's signed Devean George - twice. The whole thing just shakes my faith.
Either way, the trade is an absolute home run for the Rockets. Scola's reps already told the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen that he's well on his way toward coming over for 2007-08. I only wish the Rockets could send Butler to a team that could use his touch in the pivot. Stuck behind Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo in Rick Adelman's rotation; that's not a good start. And yet, it hardly changes what looks on paper to be one of the more lopsided NBA deals in the last decade.
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desus32 (7/13/2007 at 8:59 AM)
I just don't understand why SA would throw in Scola on any deal. I thought this guy had value...I mean look at the Wiz and their shopping of JCN. These imports can play and should net you SOMETHING useful. Getting under the cap by dealing Butler is one thing. But they couldn't deal Scola in a separate trade to a different team? Not even for a future draft pick? Even just a 2nd rounder would make more sense than sending this guy to a division rival where he can team w/ Yao to put the clamps on Timmy. I know they got a pick from Houston, but do you really want to help them by giving them the size they need to help them stop you?
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king2247 (7/13/2007 at 9:18 AM)
your just a typical American gushing over some Euro import, these European guys are overrated, if they were so good they would have been in the NBA a long time ago. Jackie Butler is an overrated, overpaid dude who should have went to college, and im sick of people talking about potential, players with potential dont win you championships, they get coaches fired. As for v-span he is an average role players, and scola is overweight, lazy, and doesnt have the desire to be a legit big man in the paint.
Report Violation
goodtimesproject (7/13/2007 at 9:20 AM)
it doesn't make any sense to me. the bulls could have sent them expiring contracts and players to buy out. Wait a couple of weeks and get paxson on the phone and you send Scola to a non-division rival. now if Scola is as good as claimed, you have a potential problem in your own division. even the smart nba gms are stupid.
Report Violation
urucub (7/13/2007 at 9:21 AM)
This is going to be remembered as one of the worst moves of the Spurs FO in years... if Scola teamed up with the spurs to cheat Houston and he remains in Spain... this was a masterful move... BUT... if the kid comes over... Get ready.. his fire is same as Ginobili.. and he has been for years the second best argentine player... the Spurs knew all this.. it doesn;t make sense that they didn;t ship him east when the Cavs might have jumped in to get him... they have just made the West even stronger.. and i rememebr a note with Nocioni asked who will be the next Argentine Star in the NBA... guess who he said? Luis ALberto Scola... he is more than Oberto, More Than Hermann and more than Noce himself... They better start praying in SA for Tau to make a HUGE offer to keep the kid... but you know what... he wants to prove himself he is a Ginobili Caliber star in the NBA... can;t wait for the season to begin... my take? he may contend for the ROY award... and his summer league play... against Team USA and the brazilian all stars...
Report Violation
BigBlueStompinCrew (7/13/2007 at 9:43 AM)
On paper it looks like a dumb move. Trading a future "star" to a division rival for crap but maybe buford knows something that we don't. I think he's hustlin'
Report Violation
rpombrio (7/13/2007 at 9:56 AM)
I'm just praying Buford knows something I don't - like Scola had both of his achilles slashed over the weekend, and has an enlarged heart. Otherwise you guys are right - even if Scola is decent (not great), trading for a 2nd rounder and another guy to keep in Europe seems ridiculous. Get some value out of James White or Beno and bring in Scola.
Report Violation
dibpal (7/13/2007 at 10:15 AM)
i think the Spurs just weren't prepared to sign him, and he'd been in limbo for so many years, that they did the right thing and traded him to a team that would.
If his buyout is only 3 million, that's far from excessive, but it's not like the Spurs have a lot of incentive to take financial risks to improve.
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meskous (7/13/2007 at 10:40 AM)
This is a stupid move. You just teamed up Scola with Yao and you gave division rivals backup PF in Butler. Spurs just solved all Houstons problems in return for some crap. As a Spurs fan I don't like it at all. I was hoping that Scola will come and get some oportunity to prove himself. He is better forward then Mat B will ever be. If you don't belive me just watch first season game against Rockets. I am so f...... mad.
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iliketaffy (7/13/2007 at 1:15 PM)
Apparently King2247 just arrived here from 1995. His next post will bash those young'uns that leave school before exhausting all four years of eligibility.
Report Violation
Cmfoxes (7/13/2007 at 1:20 PM)
How about using the trade as a springboard for signing Udoku (sp.?) from Portland as an eventual replacement for Bowen, who clearly lost a step last year (even though he is still truly the best perimeter defender in the league), and then eventually dumping Udrich and Barry to try to get someone like Mahinmi to develop close in? Scola was never going to sign with the Spurs, and the Spurs know (knew)it...had t get something for him. It is now up to Adelman to make him worthwhile...he hasn't shown yet that he is up to the task.
Report Violation
kichcha (7/13/2007 at 1:21 PM)
Here is what went into the decision making
1. Spurs are already heavy at PF/C - with Timmy, Fab, Elson, Horry, ####
2. They have rights to Ian Mahinmi and Splitter - essentially meaning they dont have to worry down the line
3. Scola had to indicate by Saturday to his Spanish club whether he would return with them
4. Their roster does not have any vacancies from 1-12
If Scola was tied for another term in Spain, they may not have had any takers - so they had to get it done now. They tried sending him to Cleveland, but could not work out a deal.
Report Violation
yynnaot (7/13/2007 at 10:21 PM)
I agree in principal that:
1) it was dumb to help a division rival. Especially one from Texas.
2) Trading for the bulls would seem to make more sense.
3) Vassilis Spanoulis will prob not help SA, and that is if he isn't bought out
but... few things to note:
1) They did not need Butler and his contract.
- Oberto and Elson has proven to be more than capable backup/starters for them in the pivot
2) We are all bashing the trade by including Scola ad if they were going to sign him
- Spurs knew they weren't going to sign him. Essentially they traded something that did not belong to them to someone else.
3) IT STILL SAVED THEM MOENY
- SA is not New York, it does not have a deep pocket like them. As unwilling as some of the small market teams will admit, MONEY CAN BE A FACTOR. In the finacial world of the NBA, this was just a smart financial move in terms of dollars saved.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-26-38/The-Spurs-Won-t-Pay-the-Luxury-Tax.html