I think that's true in a vacuum. But Spurs would gain more flexibility by trading Bonner for a player making $6 Million than they would by releasing him. If that's part of the Spurs' plan, or if Bonner plays well this post-season (one of which needs to happen anyway for keeping Bonner to make sense), then that could well be in the plan they pitch to Ginobili. It's unlikely that the Spurs will spend $16 Million on one player, so getting a $12 Million player through free agency and a $6 Million player through trade may be better than getting a $12 Million player and only having $4 Million to sign someone else.
Recalling how the Spurs have often signed D-leaguers for trials at the end of the season, which have turned into bigger chances with the team in the next season, if T-mac doesn't the bed in his (limited hopefully) post-season minutes, does he stick. He could fit really nicely into that backup 3 hole - can shoot, handle the ball and pass, BB-IQ. If he puts his heart into it, he can probably defend. His physical profile, even in his old age, is damn good for a spurs signing...
O.J. Mayo opted to become a free agent
He sucks.
Chase Budinger?
Most places have him listed as a restricted free agent, but Sham doesn't have a qualifying offer down for him. I'm assuming it's a typo (or I'm reading it wrong).
http://data.shamsports.com/content/p...mberwolves.jsp
Anyway, if he were unrestricted, he'd be one of my top choices for backup SF, but I think he's restricted and Minnesota will pay to keep him. They traded the 18th pick for him a year ago, so I don't think they'll let him walk.
Budinger should be a UFA. He's a non-first-round pick in his fourth season. So he's passed his restricted years. Minnesota may well try to keep him, but they've also shown a willingness to let go of underperforming draft picks. If they dumped fourth-overall pick Wes Johnson for nothing, then they certainly may just let Chase walk.
I think you're right. Espn still has him listed as restricted, but his Spurstalk 2013 Free Agent thread has removed the RFA listing, so that's good enough for me.
I know he didn't play great, but he played ok considering he was coming back from an injury. I think Minnesota will make him an offer, but since he's unrestricted, he'd be a pretty good target for the Spurs in my opinion. Thanks to ace3g for bringing him up.
Over Casspi?
Easily.
I know I'm forgetting players and it will all depend on other roster moves, but for backup small forward, I think I have this order at the moment:
Dorrell Wright
Budinger
Kyle Korver
Casspi
For me, the backup SF has to be able to hit 3 pointers. After that, defense would be nice, but having both might be asking too much.
Who am I forgetting?
Who are you forgetting.
At least 2 vet possibles:
Dunleavy
T-Mac
The FO likes long-service vets with a wide variety of skills... They may already have "gotten over themselves".
I had forgotten about Dunleavy. Thanks. I kind of think McGrady is done, personally. Hope I'm wrong. I was going to try to rank them, but I failed, so I tried putting them in tiers:
Tier 1
Dorrell Wright
Budinger
Dunleavy
Korver
Tier 2:
Casspi
Tier 3:
Luke Babbitt
Xavier Henry
Any others?
I wouldn't write off McGrady. The FO thought enough of him to bring him in for this playoff run. Which gives him a leg up on the other candidates: he can demonstrate the ability to fit into the locker room. Even if he spends this whole run sitting in a suit, if he's a good team guy, that will count in his favor with the FO in the summer.
Fair enough. I don't really know what he's capable of right now. I'm just basing my opinion on the fact that he had two minimum deals in a row and then nobody signed him at all until the last week of this season. It doesn't seem like his current ability is regarded very highly around the league.
Then he'll come cheap. Another thing the FO likes...
Sean Marks was on the roster for years...
There are too Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster, Anthony Morrow, Matt Barnes...
At the end, it will also depend on what kind of money Spurs are ready to spend on their backup SF: min salary, room exception, MLE, cap space..
Henry and Morrow (he should be utilized exclusively at SG, unless the opposition is playing some whacky lineup with three small guards) aren't SF's.
Wesbter, Budinger and Barnes, are most likely re-signing, while Wright and Korver, probably aren't, but with the exception of Barnes, all figure to exceed the room exception and I don't see the Spurs going beyond that for a position that requires approximately 12 meaningful mpg. Dunleavy's the one who might check off both boxes, but considering the lack of athleticism and wing defense off the bench, he shouldn't be a candidate.
Touché
I hadn't thought of Johnson or Webster. Thanks. Hard to believe Barnes would come to the Spurs. He hasn't been interested in the past, if I remember correctly. He likes California. I hope they don't target Morrow.
And yeah. I'm assuming they will target a big first and the backup SF will get the leftovers, but guessing what the Spurs will do is an exercise in futility. It's fun though
I think several of the players discussed will be available for the room exception. I guess we'll see.
I'd rather see the Spurs pick up Wes Johnson. It'd be nice to have more talent to develop instead of just getting a care-taker. If Johnson were to work out, he could compete with Green for playing time, or (my dream here) form a solid three-wing rotation with Leonard and Green in a couple of years. If the Spurs could get him for around the minimum like TD 21 suggested a while back, then that's like getting a free draft pick.
What about going after Luis Scola ? He`s 33, 2yrs @4,5mln each. He`s still decent player for such amount, and probably avaible as salary dump move.
I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of their fallback options (if not the fallback option), if they miss on Millsap and they're committed to finding a starting PF and moving Splitter back to the bench. Though less athletic and a worse defender, he provides the majority of what Millsap does, only at a fraction of the cost. Plus, on and off court, you know he'd be a great fit chemistry wise.
What a letdown it'll be if they use their cap space on Scola and Casspi, though. Granted, they'd still have a good amount of flexibility and they would balance the roster better from a positional standpoint, but still. For a team in need of athleticism and defense in these spots, neither fits the bill.
I agree that the Spurs could really use some athleticism. We've talked at length in this thread about athletic threes, but are there any fours out there that you like on the free-agent or potential trade market? With Leonard, Green and Ginobili almost guaranteed to soak up most of the wing minutes, there's only so much impact an athletic wing can have. I agree about having Ginobili insurance, but I'd still prioritize a big other that.
I`d go after Gerald Henderson. He could be avaible for part of MLE.
Earl Clark is interesting.
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