Spurs reach agreement with Jeff Pendergraph (Report: 2 Year, ~$4 million)

[DPG21920]

The spurs only addition last summer was Nando de colo and things went pretty well. Of course when a rumor like AK got thrown out there we all got excited, and it's naturally a letdown. We're likely still the class of the west

Sure, when the dust settles, Spurs can reasonably be argued to be atop the West at the moment. However, that does not make the off season a success. No matter how you slice, Spurs spent some money on redundant players where they already had depth and it makes little sense at the moment. Also, Spurs are the team in the West with the least margin for error by far. They will be relying on Manu, who is always injured and whom still has a sizable deal, to stay healthy. They have to hope a 37 year old Duncan can have the type of year he did with no injuries as well. They have to win games by limiting minutes to the extreme because of their health issues and if anything goes wrong it can derail a season quite quickly which is why it was important to do as much as possible to insulate the team from those risks.

But, again, when it's all said and done, Spurs should be right in the mix for the WCF.

[tesseractive]

This is not like any other off season because the spurs really had a legit chance of cementing themselves in the west. Paying a scrub 2 Million dollars.

I guess this means we're running Kawhi Leonard to the ground. Hope his knees are ok. The spurs still is the best team in the west anyway. We just gotta hope Green develops a somewhat sufficient dribble game enough to score a floater, Splitter learns to board against smaller defender and Cojo develop as a good back-up.

4/10 offseason considering the chances.

I don't think anyone is cliff jumping here. They could still win the championship even with the current squad, that doesn't take away the fact that it was a bad offseason.

A year ago, the Spurs ran out of gas in the WCFs and had chances to get better and really contend. Instead, all we did was resign Danny and Boris and bring over Nando. So what happened? We got even better, because we kept developing our young players.

The front office is once again betting on our young guys. They're gambling that CoJo or Nando will step up and own the backup point position. They're being on Kawhi, Danny, and Tiago to continue making further strides. They're betting on Ginobili being able to rein things in next time, and on Tim and Tony holding it together for a couple more years.And they've brought in a couple of young players that they think can grow into roles.

I'd still like to see us make another move for a forward, but we have useful contracts (starting with Bonner's) that should continue to give us options up to the trade deadline. So I can't say I feel too terrible about this off-season.

[TheGoldStandard]

I really wonder what the front office will do when the inevitable happens and Tim/Manu walks away. I know Kawhi will be there and Tony will be getting up there in age, wonder if there draft strategy changes and there FO changes how they do business or they continue to underwhelm.

The reason why these lackluster off season moves don't seem like a big deal is because Parker, Tim and Manu. With these guys there they can mask any situation and make players better. All of our role players wouldn't have this success on other teams.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Pendergraph is a good Blair replacement but I still would have wanted the Spurs to blow their cash on a true SF back up that can D up.

[stephen jackson]

so who would we go after in 2015?

[TheGoldStandard]

Sure, when the dust settles, Spurs can reasonably be argued to be atop the West at the moment. However, that does not make the off season a success. No matter how you slice, Spurs spent some money on redundant players where they already had depth and it makes little sense at the moment. Also, Spurs are the team in the West with the least margin for error by far. They will be relying on Manu, who is always injured and whom still has a sizable deal, to stay healthy. They have to hope a 37 year old Duncan can have the type of year he did with no injuries as well. They have to win games by limiting minutes to the extreme because of their health issues and if anything goes wrong it can derail a season quite quickly which is why it was important to do as much as possible to insulate the team from those risks.

But, again, when it's all said and done, Spurs should be right in the mix for the WCF.

No plan B

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

I have some faith in Splitter, I think he can play better and perform at that level in the playoffs if given the minutes. This was his first year starting and he helped turn the defense around, he started wearing down because he wasn't used to the minutes and the gruelling NBA season.

So while it was kind of disappointing that the Spurs couldn't land a big free agent, I don't think the Spurs will take a big step back next season. Kawhi is emerging. Belli is a bigger, younger, and worse shooting version of Neal. Pendergraph isn't a 6'6 center. I'm pretty excited.

[TheGoldStandard]

so who would we go after in 2015?

Someone foreign

[Vic Petro]

so who would we go after in 2015?

I'd think Hibbert or Kevin Love (if he's in one piece) would be near the top of the list.

[TheGoldStandard]

I have some faith in Splitter, I think he can play better and perform at that level in the playoffs if given the minutes. This was his first year starting and he helped turn the defense around, he started wearing down because he wasn't used to the minutes and the gruelling NBA season.

So while it was kind of disappointing that the Spurs couldn't land a big free agent, I don't think the Spurs will take a big step back next season. Kawhi is emerging. Belli is a bigger, younger, and worse shooting version of Neal. Pendergraph isn't a 6'6 center. I'm pretty excited.

Splitter averaged 20 minutes in the playoffs which was less than his regular season bid of 25. They're still going to keep it around 24/25 especially with all the bigs we're carrying. Unless he develops a post game he's useless on the offensive end and he needs to get stronger.

[SpursSerb]

My 2 wishes were: a big who could take some preassure of Tim's back and a true sf to back up Kawhi.Guess no one of this will happen.

[coyotes_geek]

I wonder how much having maximum cap space possible in '15 played into their decision to just split the MLE between 2-3 lesser role players. I hope not a lot, since the Spurs have a 2 year window, but I recall a predraft interview where RC was very upfront about (paraphrasing) "realizing this is all going to end someday" and finally making some decisions with a nod toward that day.

Its possible that conversations with outside free agents just didn't progress once there was a demand for more than 2 years which would disqualify AK, Ellis, Jack, or whoever else.

If the Spurs are holding the line that nobody besides Splitter (and Leonard next year) gets a contract that eats into 2015 capspace, then that certainly would take the Spurs out of the running for guys like AK. All signs thus far certainly point to that being the case.

[callo1]

So 4 Million to a guy who'll maybe play in 20 games? Spurs don't play a deep bench, Baynes was limited last year so I expect him to get some minutes.. not a lot of minutes to go around with 7 guards on the floor, 6 bigs and only 2 small forwards.. Ugh, this reeks.

Baynes wasn't an off-season addition, he had no training camp.

[DPG21920]

A year ago, the Spurs ran out of gas in the WCFs and had chances to get better and really contend. Instead, all we did was resign Danny and Boris and bring over Nando. So what happened? We got even better, because we kept developing our young players.

The front office is once again betting on our young guys. They're gambling that CoJo or Nando will step up and own the backup point position. They're being on Kawhi, Danny, and Tiago to continue making further strides. They're betting on Ginobili being able to rein things in next time, and on Tim and Tony holding it together for a couple more years.And they've brought in a couple of young players that they think can grow into roles.

I'd still like to see us make another move for a forward, but we have useful contracts (starting with Bonner's) that should continue to give us options up to the trade deadline. So I can't say I feel too terrible about this off-season.

That's not really true. What really happened is Duncan out of no where turned back the clock, stayed healthy and turned out one of the most unexpected seasons ever in the NBA.

Not only that, TP did something that most people don't do: Got better with age. He had what was close to, if not, his best season ever in the NBA.

Sure the young guys helped, but the real reason for success (on top of some other good fortunes) was what I mentioned in addition to Pop finally starting Tiago Splitter and that coming up aces.

[BackHome]

Don't know why people think we are going to get a huge free agent we never do.............

[DPG21920]

A year ago, the Spurs ran out of gas in the WCFs and had chances to get better and really contend. Instead, all we did was resign Danny and Boris and bring over Nando. So what happened? We got even better, because we kept developing our young players.

The front office is once again betting on our young guys. They're gambling that CoJo or Nando will step up and own the backup point position. They're being on Kawhi, Danny, and Tiago to continue making further strides. They're betting on Ginobili being able to rein things in next time, and on Tim and Tony holding it together for a couple more years.And they've brought in a couple of young players that they think can grow into roles.

I'd still like to see us make another move for a forward, but we have useful contracts (starting with Bonner's) that should continue to give us options up to the trade deadline. So I can't say I feel too terrible about this off-season.

Also, no matter what you think, I highly doubt the Spur see Pendergraph as "growing into a role" next season. He is in fact the 6th big on the depth chart with Bonner still in the fold. May he jump up in the rotation later? Sure he could. But for right now, he is the 6th big on the depth chart.

If Nando/CJ make jumps like you say the Spurs believe too, that even pushes Belinelli further back and makes that signing even more redundant.

[TheGoldStandard]

Baynes wasn't an off-season addition, he had no training camp.

Yes, true but that means Baynes will be eating up minutes now.

[TheGoldStandard]

Also, no matter what you think, I highly doubt the Spur see Pendergraph as "growing into a role" next season. He is in fact the 6th big on the depth chart with Bonner still in the fold. May he jump up in the rotation later? Sure he could. But for right now, he is the 6th big on the depth chart.

If Nando/CJ make jumps like you say the Spurs believe too, that even pushes Belinelli further back and makes that signing even more redundant.

This

[Vic Petro]

Don't know why people think we are going to get a huge free agent we never do.............

Never really had money to burn on this level though. The Kidd chase was the closest thing. Also many teams will blow their load in '14.

[Hoops Czar]

LOL!!!! The Spurs made the Finals and Western Conference Finals the past two seasons, clown. Our front office is the envy of the entire sports world and their skill at evaluating and bringing in the right championship talent has been proven and well chronicled over the past 15 years.

The Spurs got lucky in the draft. If that's something to envy, then by all means, have at it. I think any smart would say that the Spurs were trying to win championships, not find ways to lose them. You must think the NBA just picks up where it left off last season like some reality tv show, other teams won't improve in the offseason, the Spurs health and depth won't be an issue with an aging core, Ginobili will return to form, and rebounding won't be an issue because the Spurs will shoot lights out. I think someone's living in a fantasy world. You can take this same approach every offseason but at some point, teams are going to make adjustments and sure up weaknessess and If you're not up for a little change, then at some point, you'll be left in the dust.

[DPG21920]

The Spurs got lucky in the draft. If that's something to envy, then by all means, have at it. I think any smart would say that the Spurs were trying to win championships, not find ways to lose them. You must think the NBA just picks up where it left off last season like some reality tv show, other teams won't improve in the offseason, the Spurs health and depth won't be an issue with an aging core, Ginobili will return to form, and rebounding won't be an issue because the Spurs will shoot lights out. I think someone's living in a fantasy world. You can take this same approach every offseason but at some point, teams are going to make adjustments and sure up weaknessess and If you're not up for a little change, then at some point, you'll be left in the dust.

That's just dumb, no offense.

[DPG21920]

If the Spurs are holding the line that nobody besides Splitter (and Leonard next year) gets a contract that eats into 2015 capspace, then that certainly would take the Spurs out of the running for guys like AK. All signs thus far certainly point to that being the case.

Which makes sense, and like many have said the good news is that if healthy the Spurs are still a top team in the West so it's not terrible. Just evaluating this off season by itself though has made little sense outside of the strategy above being mentioned.

Everything else has made very, very little sense.

[TheGoldStandard]

The Spurs got lucky in the draft. If that's something to envy, then by all means, have at it. I think any smart would say that the Spurs were trying to win championships, not find ways to lose them. You must think the NBA just picks up where it left off last season like some reality tv show, other teams won't improve in the offseason, the Spurs health and depth won't be an issue with an aging core, Ginobili will return to form, and rebounding won't be an issue because the Spurs will shoot lights out. I think someone's living in a fantasy world. You can take this same approach every offseason but at some point, teams are going to make adjustments and sure up weaknessess and If you're not up for a little change, then at some point, you'll be left in the dust.

Tiago is developing his version of the Dream Shake as we type

[Mel_13]

Which makes sense, and like many have said the good news is that if healthy the Spurs are still a top team in the West so it's not terrible. Just evaluating this off season by itself though has made little sense outside of the strategy above being mentioned.

Everything else has made very, very little sense.

You really answered all your questions in this post. We really don't know the organization's priorities and self-imposed limitations.

[DPG21920]

If the Spurs are holding the line that nobody besides Splitter (and Leonard next year) gets a contract that eats into 2015 capspace, then that certainly would take the Spurs out of the running for guys like AK. All signs thus far certainly point to that being the case.

One thing on this though: Do you really think the Spurs, with how much it means to TD/TP to win another le, would sacrifice a legit shot at bettering themselves in order to win during TD's last years just for future cap space? Especially if the moves could be made without paying Luxury Tax?

It will be interesting to hear their mindset over the course of the next weeks.