Good news. If Diaw is bought out officially today, he will be able to sign with his news team Saturday.
IMO, Spurs want him and they have even some guarantee coming from him that he will join them. Spurs and Diaw are just a great match.
There are simply too many questions surrounding Diaw - and they're not good. I admit that he may be somewhat use to the Spurs for the balance of this season and a playoff run. However, I wouldn't count him on this team beyond this season. The Spurs can and should try and get a real big this offseason.
Good news. If Diaw is bought out officially today, he will be able to sign with his news team Saturday.
IMO, Spurs want him and they have even some guarantee coming from him that he will join them. Spurs and Diaw are just a great match.
A healthy, in-shape Diaw would be an intriguing addition to the Spurs. However, I'm not sure the FO is interested in pursuing him. I know that people think Tony Parker has the kind of clout to bring him in here, but if RC and Pop don't want him, its not happening.
I think it's too late in the game for him to make an impact on this team. The other concern is that if he does get burn, he eats up Tiago's minutes.
But the major issue I have is to hand minutes to another softie after just getting rid of one. Playoff basketball is very physical. It's not the type of basketball that lazy people want to play.
Boris, much like Bonner, is a big that doesn't want to be one. His game is pass-first and he feels more comfortable away from the basket.
Lorbek should be the target.
Would rather have Pop start playing Splitter 28-32 MPG-- that would be the best addition the Spurs can make.
He needs to sign by Friday to make the playoff roster doesn't he ?
Por favor Diosito, make this happen.
Disagree..Tiago is the only other inside presence for the the spurs besides TD and I believe it is blairs minutes who will falter if Diaw is signed. I have no problem if he signs with the spurs cause this will address the big man depth problem which seems to be one of the few weakness with spurs currently.
Boris is not a center, he should not be taking minutes from Tiago. I know Pop likes to pair the turd towers together but it's been less frequent this season. I think Pop knows Tiago has earned his spot in the rotation and isn't going to put a 6'9" PF ahead of him...but then again, it's Pop, so who knows![]()
I wouldn't be so sure. See Jackson Stephen. When you're not motivated...
He's absolutely not in the right position at the moment to negotiate a good contract. Thus making the best choice going forward is crucial for him.
As it stands, Boris is not a player of the future. He has now to be a complimentary player who has to prove he can mesh well with a good core like we have.
Hu, you really meant it?![]()
I agree that Splitter should get more burn but the Spurs are really thin in the front court and there's slim pickings when it comes to fortifying their front court depth.
If Diaw comes, I would hope that means less minutes for Playoff Bonner.
Nope, he needs to be waived by Friday. The deadline isn't about signing with a newt team, it's about being waived by a team. Diaw will still be playoffs eligible even if he signs in a couple of weeks with his new team.
Diaw would play alongside TD and Splitter not in place of them
Pop is not going to play TD and Splitter together much-- that's clear. Perhaps in POs against Memphis/LA he will be forced. clearly that is out the ordinary for his rotation-- he could be doing it now.
blair is the one who needs less minutes. preferably none. we can't have dejuan "MVP maker" blair on the court.
i think there's a greater chance of Boris having an impact this season than Pop playing Tiago 25+ mins. I wish he'd play Tiago more but Pop has shown no indication he'd do that even against big teams like the Grizz/Lakers.
This team needs a legit 3rd big very badly to take away mins from Blair or Bonner. Diaw and his skillset has the best chance of doing so out of anybody available.
Come playoff time, Tim's minutes won't be limited anymore. Getting his customary 35-37 mins, that leave about 10 for Tiago, and that's provided he doesn't want to run micro-ball, something he did do last playoffs.
That leaves Tim playing a lot, and you know Pop loves his stretch 4. So I see a lot of minutes for Bonner/Diaw, and the losers will be Tiago/Blair.
JMO.
My last post was playing devil's advocate. Everything points to Diaw being a good fit -- both on the court and in terms of being best friends with Parker. But if Diaw decides to sign with another team, it will be for one of those five reasons. I'm not saying those five reasons are necessarily legit, especially since I think he's going to end up signing with the Spurs.
Think of it as my way to soften the blow of the forthcoming ST meltdown if Diaw doesn't sign . . .
ok, Diaw would find himself as the #3 in the Celtics FC rotation by default, what means about 25 MPG.
in SA he could grab the #3 spot as well, but he might still only get the #5 spot and end up with 10 MPG.
if he plays for his next NBA contract, he would be smart to choose the Celtics. (and his agent doesn't have any relations to the Spurs, as far as I can tell)
if his focus is on the 2012 olympics, he will prefer the Spurs. extra practice time with Tony and even only 10MPG alongside him are still a lot, when thinking about the preparation effect for the Olympics. playing some months with the Spurs alongside Tony might result in a more important role with the national team this summer.
I assume he puts quite some pride in the National team and the 2012 Olympics will be the biggest stage he will ever see with team France, so this point might become the deal maker.
Pop isn't foolish enough to run Diaw/Bonner lineups, or at least I hope not..
A healthy and motivated Diaw is a legit #3 big man..he'll provide offensive versatility and he's not a defensive liability, which is quite the contrast from Dejuan Blair, one of the worst defensive bigs I've ever seen..
If Diaw is taking Blair's minutes, and some of Bonner's(when he's inevitably struggling in the playoffs..they're both stretch 4s, so Pop would finally have a good backup option), then it's a good signing that the Spurs must make..
I can't envision Diaw taking Splitter's minutes, they're completely different players..
1. Duncan
2. Splitter
3. Healthy, motivated Diaw
4. Bonner
That's a sufficient rotation for a le run IMO, assuming(and hoping) the rotation ultimately molds into the order above..
Do yal really think pop and them our going after guys like this? I don't.
Maybe he already knows a team will get him off waivers, but I find that highly unlikely.
One thing to remember is that nobody gets bought out for the fun of it. Might as well enforce your contract and be paid doing nothing. So I'm quite sure he already knows where he is going (assuming he clears waivers), for how much, etc.
Only need to be waived by Friday. So it's all good.
Quite sure Diaw doesn't care at all about that.
Compare "tanking Bobcats" Diaw and "playing for a contract with the Suns" Diaw. Effort is relative. Plus it's hard to berate a player for not doing much on a team in obvious tanking mode.2. Doesn't want to work hard.
That's a legit issue. But he must see that his best years are past him, and that actually signing a long contract for $9 million a year was already better than anything he might have envisioned. At this stage I can only think it's not about money.3. Not likely to sign a long-term contract.
Don't think so. He wants to go to the Olympics first and foremost, and (although I'm not 100% sure) I think if he's going to go, it's as a 4 (no way he competes with e.g. Batum for a spot at 3).4. Wants to play small forward.
Not sure how well he would do as a spot-up shooter. I actually don't think we'll ever know anyway, since he's more likely to make the extra pass even when wide open. He'll probably be taking long 2s and getting a few touches at the rim.5. Offensive fit.
And I'm not sure about you say re: d'Antoni giving him a lot of touches. One thing that stay constant with Diaw is coaches wishing he would shoot more, including d'Antoni. He's just not a shooter at heart, which is all good since that's not what the Spurs need (we got SJax already). I think what d'Antoni liked was to have a big who played like a big with superior ballhandling skills.
In short, he could solve a lot of the current issues we have at 4. There's no question about that in my mind.
They signed Drew Gooden after a buyout and he was a much worse defender and had been on several different teams before.
Jax was a problem child in MIL and the Spurs still took em back.
Diaw is the type of player that i think the FO is willing to take a risk for.
Don't think Pop would play Diaw at SF... We are stacked at that position with Jax, who is just as big as Diaw and Leonard. Green can also play it, so Tim, another big and Diaw at the same time would really surprise me. I think Diaw would steal minutes from Blair which would be great.
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