It'd probably be better than using Neal, but I'd rather Leonard stay at the three for all of his minutes. If Jack and Kawhi play together, I'd hope it'd be in small-ball only.
Saving money did nothing. With Ginobili, Blair and Neal expiring (and with Bonner pretty much expiring), the Spurs were going to be no where near the tax even if they had traded for a player making Jack's salary next season while re-signing Ginobili to a reasonable contract --they'd barely be going above the cap. As I said in my first post in this thread, not trading Jack will only be a good more teleologically speaking if the Spurs use the cap space they get this summer on a good player for whom they couldn't have worked out a trade this season.
And no one knows which players were really involved in any deals. So I don't know why people assume that teams were telling the Spurs Splitter was a necessary piece for them to deal. It's just idle speculation. There were players like Mbah a Moute that could have been had for Jack's deal. That would have been a tremendous defensive upgrade, and it may have been coupled with the Spurs getting a player like Dalembert back to make the numbers work. If you think that deal was unreasonable, consider that the Bucks had wanted to trade Luc in the Re deal, but the Magic didn't want his contract. It's possible that a trade could have been worked out that sent Jack to the Magic, Re to Milwaukee and Mbah a Moute to the Spurs. For this year and the future, that deal could have been big, and it wouldn't have involved Splitter or Leonard.
It'd probably be better than using Neal, but I'd rather Leonard stay at the three for all of his minutes. If Jack and Kawhi play together, I'd hope it'd be in small-ball only.
There's a chance some guys might get amnestied this off season that we could get with the cap space that Jack's contract creates. Guys like Pau Gasol and Carlos Boozer might get amnestied to avoid the super luxury taxes coming next year. Both guys could be viable "Plan B" guys in the even that Splitter signs an outrageous offer with another team that the Spurs aren't willing to match.
Jack will resign here and play out his last 2 seasons or so with the spurs. He's matured some, he's a good mentor to the young guys to help generate toughness and he'll be clutch in the playoffs from time to time. The Spurs have loyalty too.
Who was available at the wing for that price range? We really don't have another backup for Kawhi, so we would've definitely needed to use some of that money for another wing.
Unfortunately I think injuries have hampered SJax consistency
The Spurs never had any intention of trading S-jax and most trade rumors involving him were a fabrication of the media. Knowing how this front office works, it wouldn't surprise if the Spurs resigned him cheap and then went back overseas to find another backup wing because the Spurs are foreign to American born players and Buford won't want to risk a pretty penny signing one. Then the Spurs will supplant the rustic noob behind S-jax and develop him for the next two or three years.
And If I were the Spurs, I'd go after JJ Hickson and If Tiago is going to cost too much, let him go. Hickson is better and younger and he'll be a huge asset in the rebounding department and on the low block.
He's still a good defender and has the size and quickness to match up with a Durant or Lebron or mobile bigman. We just need to incorporate Baynes more because we are gonna get killed one of these playoff games due to lack of size and we can't run Duncan to the ground. Neal and Manu need to get going ASAP.
I don't think the Spurs wanted an $11 million player in return, which would have been essentially waving the white flag on re-signing Splitter this summer. Besides, Jackson will be nice to bring back on a minimum contract next season (doubt he could get much more) to be a physical defender off the bench.
No way, no one wanted him anyway
You think that Spurs had good deal, not involving Tiago and/or Leonard, and simply didnt pool the trigger ?
His reputation and fans' expectations from the 2003 Championship (when rep was "he helps teams on both ends of the floor") far exceeds his contributions.
I'm also glad the Spurs didn't trade Jackson. However, they have a bit of dilemma this offseason. With Manu oft-injured most of the time and playing like crap the rest of the time, the Spurs bench will be weaker if the elect not to bring back Jack. Personally, I hope they resign Jack to a cheap 2-yr deal. Perhaps they even look at bringing over Adam Hanga to bolster the wing position off the bench. However, it's more likely that this doesn't happen until Manu retires.
As for the Splitter situation, it took him a while, but he has integrated himself into the Spurs scheme in a wonderful way and while he fits the Spurs pick-n-roll offense beautifully, he's shown penchant for being somewhat passive around the rim - especially against more athletic bigs. If he does elect to leave, I like the idea someone suggested earlier in the thread of going after J.J. Hickson. He's young, athletic, is a rebounding phenom and he attacks the rim on both ends of the court. He plays with the type of aggression and ferocity that the Spurs really need. Personally, if I"m being greedy, I'd like to see the Spurs to resign Splitter and sign Hickson as a free agent too this offseason, while in the process ridding the roster of both Blair and Bonner and whatever else required to make it happen. That's probably unlikely, but I can dream for a moment.
Well I for one am glad he is still on the team.
Yeah they did. I think they could've brought back something halfway decent in return. I'm not a Jack hater, but being a realist, he clearly has not produced. He is the worst player on the team who's not considered a scrub imo.
I can understand why they didn't trade him though; Manu's health is questionable, Kawhi had knee tendonitis, Neal was banged up (and still plays terrible defense), and even Danny Green had a hamstring injury at one point this year. Luckily, Green seems to be a durable guy and recovered fast, plus Kawhi has taken the next step to being a very reliable player. . .but that all seemed to become apparent after the trade deadline.
But yes, I definitely thought they should have utilized Jackson's contract to pull back something to help us get over the top, even if it wasn't for another wing. Hopefully it won't be a mistake that we'll pay for later. If Manu can play properly, and Jackson produces for even a few games where it matters, then it won't have been a real loss.![]()
I don't know about the quickness, but he has the size. And at his age we call it leadership instead of towel waiver. He gives us the tenacity and nastiness that we need in the playoffs, hopefully along with Baynes, to push, shove, intimidate people and so we don't look like choir boys that athletic teams are just itching to dunk on. I think he'll sign reasonably cheap with us for next two years.
If the Spurs could have gotten Paul Pierce for Jack, I'd have been for it. Otherwise, I'll take my chances that Jack will step up in the playoffs and contribute.
Except that he was the only player that didn't look scared against OKC last year. On both ends of the floor.
This.
Bad math.
Get Josh Smith and play Manu and Neal as wings off the bench.
I said this when the Spurs got Jackson. That he was not going to make a big difference anymore at his age.
Don't count on Jackson, Manu or Splitter in the playoffs.
Forgot about Hickson. The Spurs never go after these type of young players.
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