In hindsight, should we have traded Diaw instead of Splitter?

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Originally Posted by benefactor

Did a resonator delete. Sounds bad ass now. I'm doing the Scat Pack upgrade eventually.

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Tight. I have 2014 charger se v6 (yeah i know :lol ) I converted her to dual exhaust. Two super 44's in the middle with resonator delete. Sounds good, but I want a deeper tone. I was looking at the super 10's maybe i'll go that route.

Splitter was once (it seems like a long time ago now) thought of as the best center in Europe, and Boban was thought of in the same way last year... so the Spurs got a younger & much less expensive center who probably hasn't even reached his prime yet, and in the process picked up a 6'11" Aldridge... I think they're fine. Shot blocking is generally overrated in my opinion-- solid D is better than flashy blocks, which is why guys like Dalembert, Camby, and many others have had great numbers but weren't necessarily defensive anchors. Bogut definitely helped Golden State against Memphis, but against Cleveland they were better with a 6'6" or 6'7" guy playing center... even Kawhi has more length than either Iggy or Draymond Green, so there's your 4th string center!

Diaw seems to become somewhat satisfied after the title, someone need to slap him in the face to refocus him...

Tiago is not really a rim protector anyways he was just a banger more positional defense. Besides in the 2nd unit Diaw and West is better than most outside of a few teams.

Since when Boris has no value other than Spurs ?

crazy talk here... Just for his versality I'm pretty sure lots of teams would love to have him

Remember those games Diaw sat out with an injury? Me neither. Splitter was unreliable.

I'm going to miss Splitter, but I trust Diaw so much more in playoff situations. He had some huge road games in 2014.

While Diaw and West have similar skill sets, they are an abundance of wealth. I believe LMA will start with Tim, but that Pop won't always be playing West and Diaw together. Can't wait to see the rotations...there will be many. I expect to see the big minutes mostly being split between Tim, LMA, West, and Diaw with Boban and Bonner filling in.

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Originally Posted by ElNono

Don't forget Tiago also had the bigger contract, tbh... there were also financial reasons to move him and open up more space for all the signings...

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This. The choice wasn't between trading Diaw or Splitter, it was likely Diaw + Mills or Splitter. I think the Spurs made the right choice. That and dumping Diaw might have cost a pick.

Diaw is our Robert Horry, tbh

The question is ultimately whether it was better for the Spurs to give up Splitter or Boris and (probably) Patty (given where things stood at the beginning of free agency).

I personally think that Tiago was more expendable than Boris for a number of reasons, mostly because (as others have pointed out) he's more versatile and can contribute against a lot of teams in a lot of circumstances in a lot of ways -- more than Tiago likely could, particularly given that Tiago became unplayable at times against certain types of teams.

But I don't think, at the time of the trade, that the question for the Spurs was simply Boris OR Tiago. It was Boris and Patty OR Tiago and in that instance, the decision the Spurs ultimately made is pretty clearly the better choice.

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Originally Posted by THE SAMOAN TD

Tiago is not really a rim protector anyways he was just a banger more positional defense. Besides in the 2nd unit Diaw and West is better than most outside of a few teams.

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Yes, he was. He was usually in the right spot between the offensive player and the rim to get vertical; raise his hands, and alter/make shots more difficult. In this regard, he was a very good rim protector. No, he didn't block a lot of shots at the rim, there wasn't a lot of flash. But, he was generally where he needed to be when he needed to be there, and his height alone was enough to make a difference. Boban won't be able to get into the right place in time in many situations to be as effective, is my initial guess. Tim's slowing. West, Diaw, etc don't have that kind of height. It all boils down to Aldridge needing to provide some rim protection as a center for us, hopefully.

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Originally Posted by Uriel

Again, this isn't a debate about who between Splitter and Diaw is the better player. It's a debate about who between the two fits better alongside David West in the 2nd unit.

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You're gonna trade away players based on who fits better alongside vet min's David West. Who knows if West will be around next year (especially if he wins a ring)? Diaw offers much more flexibility - being able to spell KL and occasionally guard Lebron. With the league moving toward more small ball, Diaw is the perfect answer to that. GSW and CLE will go to small ball to force Duncan/West off the floor - that's where Diaw comes in. As long as TP is playing, Diaw will be happy in SA although he seems like he's taking the Horry route and waking up only for the playoffs.

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Originally Posted by spursistan

No..not even considering Splitter hitherto frustrating health record which is going to get even more unreliable as he ages..I think the NBA has changed and been tending more versatility and small ball...Tiago would have been more untouchable if we still have to deal with prime Dirk and Zbo or the Lakers twin towers while another tough cover is joining pour ranks in LMA...As for Diaw, i could honestly see him retire in NBA as a Spurs..At this point, only Pop and this team environment can extract what's left in him game and effort wise..You think Boris will give a fuck if he gets traded to the Magic/Bucks next time? :lol

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I agree with all of this. Tiago barely played last year TBH. He appeared in about 50 games but only looked good in about 20, he was always in and out, on minutes restrictions, or playing poorly bc of lack of stamina. Heck Baynes dumped him to the bench and started for the team. Bonner started about 20 games playing over 20 minutes over the course of those games. etc. In contrast Boris was a stud, played a full 80 games and yea, sometimes he looked gassed and had no legs to shoot from range, but you could count on him. Boris also is HOrry like, he makes appearances in big games TBH. Tiago was fading. He may have a resurgence in his career if he can stay healthy, and he is still a very good player when he's healthy, but aren't those qualifiers already that ppl use for Parker (an everyone hates on him on a daily basis here).

Diaw, much better than Tiago for the team TBH.

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Originally Posted by Kikoluna

Tough. Splitter has upper hand on d, but boris is money on offense. With west and giant guy on board, I guess f.o. ...

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I just read FUCK OFF

...and your damn right!

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Originally Posted by spursistan

Let's not forget the health factor, tbh..I think Pop soured on him in the end..Missing a combined 53 games the past two seasons was not the way to go forward with Timmy pushing 40..Diaw, coasting and whatnot, still has been a real work horse or the team since he joined us only missing 11 games the past 3 seasons..

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:lol
lol I had to laugh at Diaw coasting and what not, so true. /rofl The guy coasted at times but boy Pop worked him a whole lot, no rest on B2B for Diaw. Play with 3r stringers in the bench Diaw!!!! I thin Pop wanted to keep him in shape. lol

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Originally Posted by Uriel

Again, this isn't a debate about who between Splitter and Diaw is the better player. It's a debate about who between the two fits better alongside David West in the 2nd unit.

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Someone already mentioned it early in the thread, but there was no knowing the future. Splitter's higher salary made more sense to move. Otherwise it would have been Diaw Mills, and Pop wanted Mills if at all possible (with good reason). Who knew West would end up coming here, not a guarantee. Diaw had the potential to be a bench leader together with Mills if Manu retired (also an unknown). There were too many unknowns at the time, hindsight is always 20/20.

I think the right decision was made, with versatility and health in mind.

You can play better around the player you can depend on. Not around injuries. We made the right choice.

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Originally Posted by littlecoyotecoin

Yes, he was. He was usually in the right spot between the offensive player and the rim to get vertical; raise his hands, and alter/make shots more difficult. In this regard, he was a very good rim protector. No, he didn't block a lot of shots at the rim, there wasn't a lot of flash. But, he was generally where he needed to be when he needed to be there, and his height alone was enough to make a difference. Boban won't be able to get into the right place in time in many situations to be as effective, is my initial guess. Tim's slowing. West, Diaw, etc don't have that kind of height. It all boils down to Aldridge needing to provide some rim protection as a center for us, hopefully.

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Tiago plays great position defense thats what I said, but hes not gonna block shots or scare any one from driving inside on the Spurs. Will we miss Tiago in some places, sure but West is no scrub and neither is Diaw Spurs will be fine on the defensive end.

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Originally Posted by Uriel

This isn't a debate about who between Splitter and Diaw is the better player. It's a debate about who fits better alongside David West in the second unit. In my view, Splitter on paper would seem to be the better fit.

Of course, as numerous people have pointed out, there were other considerations (e.g. length of the contract, health, etc). But I believe that the team ultimately would've been better off with a true center in the 2nd unit, rather than having 2 power forwards.

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Yeah that works in fantasy basketball sure.

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Originally Posted by Uriel

Well, it's not like we get anything of value out of Splitter anyway. It was essentially a salary dump. Besides, if we offered Atlanta Diaw for free (the way we did Splitter), I doubt Bud would refuse.

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Atlanta who has power forwards coming out of their ears, trades for Diaw instead of Splitter?

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Originally Posted by Brazil

Since when Boris has no value other than Spurs ?

crazy talk here... Just for his versality I'm pretty sure lots of teams would love to have him

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After what he pulled in Charlotte? Yeah his value is purely to the Spurs.

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Originally Posted by Uriel

Marvonovic is a classical C, but he's no rim protector.

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and how would you classify Splitter?

The spurs made the right move. I would rather have Bobo than Splitter on the Spurs.