Spurs in Serious Talks with Belinelli (Edit: signed to 2 year/$6M)

[Bruno]

If De Colo is traded, let's say for a draft pick, do we clear some cap?

Yes, "we" do save about $1M (his salary minus a roster cap hold).

[Spurs9]

Woo hoo

[kobyz]

Belli is not Gary Neal level, as a player he is much closer to roger mason, a little more athletic.

[TE]

All you Spurs fans that were hating on my boy Gary Neal throughout the playoffs because of his defense and shot selection, well you got your wishes handled to you. "You don't know what you have until you lose it." I've seen people hate on Danny Green yet he's making half the $$$ that Re , Kevin Martin, and Kyle Korver are. But you'll are ok with Manu getting over paid when he's way past his prime? Shame on you.

you love the role of forum contrarian tbh. Keep it going, you're making a name for yourself.

[Mel_13]

I'm more betting on Utah and Lindsey.

hawks have a lot of guards with Jeff Teague, Lou Williams, John Jenkins and Dennis Schröder.

Makes sense.

[spursince#99]

lol ing re

Okay dude that's been over. It's way too many people viewing this thread so just stop before you make me look bad.

[Chinook]

They needed the depth, because they didn't yet (and still don't) know whether Joseph and De Colo are legit NBA players or fringe players.

He's not good enough to be a rotation player for a championship caliber team. Again, maybe he will be down the line, but right now he's not and I don't see that changing by next season.

In general, I agree with you. But in this specific situation, you have to ask yourself what's more important: The development of two minimal prospects or trying to win a championship (with only two shots left at it)? Leonard and Green are poor examples since it was obvious immediately in both cases that they could be instant contributors.

Joseph's been a pretty good contributor outside of the Finals. He was scrappy and played hard. During the regular season, he was very good at getting his own shot and converting his attempts. And that was just with a couple of weeks with the big club. If he gets Pop's blessing, I think he'll be more consistent next season.

As I said before, I feel that the Spurs returned to contending status in large part because they stopped trying to prop the window open with stop-gaps. Getting Joseph to play the way it seems like he can consistently would pay a lot more dividends than bringing in a vet to replace him.

[polandprzem]

Spurs did not got better and I'm still waiting for a miracle after the Tiago and manu damn signings

[Leetonidas]

Okay dude that's been over. It's way too many people viewing this thread so just stop before you make me look bad.

room exception = 5.4 mil
5.6 mil = not room exception

do you get it now?

For Kirilenko, it depends if Belinelli is signed with the room exception ($5.4M/2 years) or a part of the MLE. If it's a part of the MLE, Kirilenko won't be a Spur. If it's the room exception, it likely means Spurs will still add a quality free agent with Kirilenko being the most logical one.

just trying to help the greys. bruno knows his

edit: i dont want to make you look bad

[Nathan89]

Even if you think Belinelli and Neal are close the willingness to accept half of what Cavs offered shows hunger for winning that many players in the NBA don't have.

[manufan10]

Okay dude that's been over. It's way too many people viewing this thread so just stop before you make me look bad.

[objective]

I can't believe the Spurs are blowing a big chunk of their MLE on a 6'5" Italian Neal. When they could just match on Neal and still have the MLE.

[dbestpro]

What's strange is that Belinelli signed for $2M last year with the Bulls. Then his stats drop from the previous year ... yet he lands a contract almost triple as large.

Weird.

I think many are under estimating how well he improved on defense. You just don't get to play in Chicago if you do not play defense, His ability to shoot was always there. His ability to play decent defense is new, and has made him quite a bit more valuable. Thus the reason Cleveland was willing to pay so much.

[HI-FI]

Definitive and unanimous.

thanks as well for those who posted it. i've been meaning to learn more about the ins and outs of the CBA.

[Baam]

Joseph's been a pretty good contributor outside of the Finals. He was scrappy and played hard. During the regular season, he was very good at getting his own shot and converting his attempts. And that was just with a couple of weeks with the big club. If he gets Pop's blessing, I think he'll be more consistent next season.

As I said before, I feel that the Spurs returned to contending status in large part because they stopped trying to prop the window open with stop-gaps. Getting Joseph to play the way it seems like he can consistently would pay a lot more dividends than bringing in a vet to replace him.

Boris was huge also, once he got here we went on that 20 games winning streak, it's not only young guys that turned the team around... If we're getting Kirilenko that'd be incredible as well...

[jestersmash]

I wonder if Belinelli's inside knowledge on Thibodeau's defensive schemes will come in handy for us.

[TheWriter]

I can't believe the Spurs are blowing a big chunk of their MLE on a 6'5" Italian Neal. When they could just match on Neal and still have the MLE.

You can't believe it? That's because it hasn't even been confirmed the source of the salary. Stop jumping the gun.

[TheGreatYacht]

I can't believe the Spurs are blowing a big chunk of their MLE on a 6'5" Italian Neal. When they could just match on Neal and still have the MLE.

Or Manu could have just taken the veteran's minimum. No use in tormenting yourself anymore buddy. Manu fuc*ed the Spurs once again.

[objective]

Cleveland was willing to spend because they have to spend a lot to get to the salary floor. If that report was even true, the overseas media could have been played with an exaggerated number.

And Belinelli taking less because of his hunger is great. Neal had a lot of hunger turning his back on more money in Europe to get his first shot with the Spurs too.

Doesn't change the roster enough though. Another small 2-guard.

[T Park]

I think many are under estimating how well he improved on defense. You just don't get to play in Chicago if you do not play defense, His ability to shoot was always there. His ability to play decent defense is new, and has made him quite a bit more valuable. Thus the reason Cleveland was willing to pay so much.

Exactly. Plus dude put dagger after dagger into Miami, Chicago just didn't have enough.

Belli was pretty damn good vs Miami.

[milkyway21]

I think the Spurs FA is not over yet.

AK47, is he still possible ?

[timvp]

I should clarify on the Neal comparison: If you're comparing Belinelli to the plantar fasciitis+calf strain+achilles tendinitis Neal that we saw a majority of last season, then yeah Belinelli is better. But if you're comparing Belinelli to the Neal of his first two seasons and the Neal that began last year, Neal is probably better. Belinelli has room to improve (Neal doesn't) so maybe Belinelli can surpass what a healthy Neal could provide but it's far from a lock.

[T Park]

yeah right.

He is.

[Chinook]

Boris was huge also, once he got here we went on that 20 games winning streak, it's not only young guys that turned the team around... If we're getting Kirilenko that'd be incredible as well...

Well, yeah. Getting vets to fill holes in the roster is one thing. Getting them over moving younger players up in the rotation is another.

[milkyway21]

Exactly. Plus dude put dagger after dagger into Miami, Chicago just didn't have enough.

Belli was pretty damn good vs Miami.

he really was good against Miami. He & Noah.

game 6 vs Miami

Playing for demanding Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, however, Belinelli has showed he can play defense as well as be effective at the point.

Belinelli had a game-high 22 points but also tied a career high with seven assists, most of those on pick-and-rolls.