Aron Baynes to sign with the Spurs

[NickiRasgo]

Wow nice! Hopefully they're not done yet doing move.

[Russ]

Just another Euro for Pop to abuse?

Or, how could this affect the rotation from 5 on down? More or less of anyone? Bonner? Green?

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Can't imagine the Spurs having a full 15 man roster post the trade deadline and miss out on potential bought out targets. Neither do I expect them to go over the lux tax threshold. There must be another move coming up.

[Bruno]

Who the is this guy? Never heard of him...

[timtonymanu]

The Aussie population is about to increase on this site.

Good pickup. We at least have a 4th big that isn't named Bonner or Blair.

And yes, this is it for Blair.

[Fabbs]

Isn't the important thing that he be a good citizen off the court and run the correct plays in the *system*?

[spurspokesman]

This should be interesting and make for good drama here on spurstalk lmao.

[Mel_13]

Yeah, but probably NOT the one people are thinking.

Am I REALLY the only one that sees this as Tiago backstop insurance, instead of a Blair replacement? If you look at what Asik got last year, you'll realize that if T hits the open market, he's gone. Methinks that if they can't extend him by the deadline, he'll be flipped to avoid losing him for nothing.

Splitter can't be extended. He will be a free agent on July 1st. The Spurs will almost certainly extend the necessary qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent and will have the option to match any offer he receives. They'll certainly match Asik money (3yrs/25M). Personally, I believe they'll reach an agreement before he ever talks to another team.

Baynes takes Blair's spot on the payroll as the minimum salary reserve big.

[szkorhetz]

Splitter can't be extended. He will be a free agent on July 1st. The Spurs will almost certainly extend the necessary qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent and will have the option to match any offer he receives. They'll certainly match Asik money (3yrs/25M). Personally, I believe they'll reach an agreement before he ever talks to another team.

Baynes takes Blair's spot on the payroll as the minimum salary reserve big.

Aren't minimum contracts restricted to one year?

[Strategic]

Hope this turns into our Malik for Nazr moment this season...

That's a big hope, and I hope you are right. Maybe he's someone that can guard the Bosh, Gasol and Ibaka types in the 15 feet mid range zone with out being on his heels, with Ibaka being the main one. If he can cut Ibaka's wide open jump shots in half that would be something special.

[Paranoid Pop]

Who the is this guy? Never heard of him...

Well done! There's zero doubt the FO is reading the spurstalk tbh.

[Bruno]

First, before celebrating, I will wait for a serious source to report it.

If it's true, it's a damn good signing. Byanes isn't very talented but he is big, strong, quite mobile and plays hard. A true blue collar (not like Tiago is). A great fit for that 15th spot, Spurs needed a center and Baynes was likely the best option available.

[Mel_13]

They don't really need a trade now even tho one could be nice.

As a back up center he was the best choice as he provides some much needed rebounding, will be a great fit next to Boris, Boris + Tiago is a bad combination, too soft, doesn't rebound well enough.

The only thing left is to figure out the backup point guard situation.

I'd start Manu and give the second unit playmaking duties to De Colo / Boris but as long as they come up with something that works...

Barring injury, I see him as the 3rd string center who only plays in garbage time, in case of foul trouble, or in tank games. Blair's current role.

Good to add him to the roster now and get that part of his development out of the way this season. Should be ready to contribute to the limits of his abilities right out of camp next season.

[Mel_13]

Aren't minimum contracts restricted to one year?

3 years. Gary Neal is on the 3rd year of a 3yr minimum deal.

[Paranoid Pop]

Barring injury, I see him as the 3rd string center who only plays in garbage time, in case of foul trouble, or in tank games. Blair's current role.

Good to add him to the roster now and get that part of his development out of the way this season. Should be ready to contribute to the limits of his abilities right out of camp next season.

Yeah I completely disagree, Tiago 3 rebounds games makes it impossible to play him 30+ minutes for the sake of it, he's just not good enough.

[Mel_13]

Yeah I completely disagree, Tiago 3 rebounds games makes it impossible to play him 30+ minutes for the sake of it, he's just not good enough.

Noted.

[Bruno]

3 years. Gary Neal is on the 3rd year of a 3yr minimum deal.

Neal was signed with a part of the MLE.

Spurs can sign Baynes with a min contract exception or the rest of the LLE for up to 1 and a half years.
Spurs can sign Baynes with the rest of their MLE for up to 3 and a half years.

[DapDaGenius]

Can someone tell me how tall this guy is? I've seen him listed at 6'9, 6'10 and 7'0...

[td4mvp2k]

Bonner and Baynes 2 for1.

[Mel_13]

Neal was signed with a part of the MLE.

Spurs can sign Baynes with a min contract exception or the rest of the LLE for up to 1 and a half years.
Spurs can sign Baynes with the rest of their MLE for up to 3 and a half years.

Thanks. I was just about to ask about the possibility of using the remainder of the MLE.

Under that scenario, he would get a pro-rated portion of the 500K remaining on the MLE for this season and then the vet minimum salary for the remainder of the deal? Is that how it would work?

[Raven]

Awesome!!!
Seen him plenty of times, and while I understand the hype and excitement (especially since he comes in for Blair), i'm thinking people may be putting the bar a little too high, he showed a lot of flawes in his game at the rim and I had the feeling the euroleague games were a bit fluky. Still, when one experiment fails it is time to move on and start another one, so I'm happy. Also, he should be very very cheap, he earned 70k a year at Olimpija. the 2+2 contract seems just perfect.

[Raven]

Can someone tell me how tall this guy is? I've seen him listed at 6'9, 6'10 and 7'0...

he's 6-8 tbh, 208cm to be more precise.. And here starts the suicidal part of the thread

[Bruno]

Under that scenario, he would get a pro-rated portion of the 500K remaining on the MLE for this season and then the vet minimum salary for the remainder of the deal? Is that how it would work?

Yep, that's how it would work but the MLE pro-ration isn't like the minimum salary pro-ration. The rest of the available MLE will decrease by 1/170th each day starting January 10th. If he can sign today he will get the full $500K and his salary will decrease by $3K with each day.

[jiggy_55]

Is it for sure he's joining this season? I read it's possible he will join next year. Any videos?

[benefactor]

Yeah, but probably NOT the one people are thinking.

Am I REALLY the only one that sees this as Tiago backstop insurance, instead of a Blair replacement? If you look at what Asik got last year, you'll realize that if T hits the open market, he's gone. Methinks that if they can't extend him by the deadline, he'll be flipped to avoid losing him for nothing.

Blair has already shown his ability to go emo when he doesn't get playing time. Bringing in yet another big that is similar to him and will play in front of him will likely cause more of the same...which is why I see the Spurs moving Blair sooner than later.