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

[Interrohater]

This is a blatantly "glass-half-full" post, which completely ignores Ginobili's extreme regression, counts on last year's Duncan/Parker performance as status quo, and assumes player development for various players (including a 29yr old with a dozen years of professional experience).

Don't be a naive homer...Spurs had opportunity to change the status quo and put some different pieces in place, but they consciously chose not to do so. Would it have made them better? Fair question...but honestly the status quo has as many or more.

This is a blatantly "glass-half-empty" post, which completely ignores that Ginobili had already regressed last season and the team still got to game 7 of the Finals. Parker is in his prime and will, more than likely, retain his skills (I don't see him dropping off a cliff). Timmy is in incredible shape and has progressed in his last couple of seasons. Even if he does regress slightly, he's still better than most bigs in the post. It's his lack of athleticism and his intelligence on how to overcome it that has contributed to his renaissance.

Why do you so badly want to blow the team up when they only needed a couple of tweaks here or there to win it all? You cannot deny that one rebound, one better pass, one more made basket would have made all the difference. Why destroy half the team for an UNKNOWN variable, when you already have is pretty damn good?

Don't be a cynical Spurfan, they're not done winning basketball games yet.

[Chinook]

tbh we really have no leverage against him, any decent agent would get the max from us, anyone knows he is the future of the franchise, i'm sure there are other franchises that would offer him the max, if nothing else just to make us worse. I don't think Leonard is a , but when it's business ... Harden was the sixth man in okc and just came out of a chokejob in the finals..

Leonard's not the future of the franchise until he improves enough to be worthy of that le. He's in the same boat as Evans and Curry are, and not in the boat with Rose and Westbrook. I know people love talking about how Leonard is a star, but until he shows the ability to be the guy, he won't get paid like he is. As far as what other teams will pay, that's not likely to matter, as the Spurs will extend him a year early. As Mel_13 said above your post, players VERY rarely get extended for the max, as the security of getting big money guaranteed earlier almost always reduces the amount of money the player gets.

I'm not saying Leonard can't have a good enough year to get a max extension ( , he might even be able to get a Rose extension if he blows up), but I am saying that he's not very proven and isn't on track yet to get it.

[DPG21920]

Leonard's not the future of the franchise until he improves enough to be worthy of that le. He's in the same boat as Evans and Curry are, and not in the boat with Rose and Westbrook. I know people love talking about how Leonard is a star, but until he shows the ability to be the guy, he won't get paid like he is. As far as what other teams will pay, that's not likely to matter, as the Spurs will extend him a year early. As Mel_13 said above your post, players VERY rarely get extended for the max, as the security of getting big money guaranteed earlier almost always reduces the amount of money the player gets.

I'm not saying Leonard can't have a good enough year to get a max extension ( , he might even be able to get a Rose extension if he blows up), but I am saying that he's not very proven and isn't on track yet to get it.

One thing to consider is the Spurs system. It mutes many players. Its about what they likely can get in the market place a la Tiago. Tiago is not the man, not relied on offensively and only plays 25MPG and he got a bigger contract than ASIK who is asked to be a main cog for HOU. The reason is because of the system. Spurs know he would be asked to do that for other teams, but they don't need him to, so they cant argue a discount based on the role on the Spurs if that makes sense. Just something to consider.

[Chinook]

One thing to consider is the Spurs system. It mutes many players. Its about what they likely can get in the market place a la Tiago. Tiago is not the man, not relied on offensively and only plays 25MPG and he got a bigger contract than ASIK who is asked to be a main cog for HOU. The reason is because of the system. Spurs know he would be asked to do that for other teams, but they don't need him to, so they cant argue a discount based on the role on the Spurs if that makes sense. Just something to consider.

Two things: We're talking extensions here, and those have a different formula to value than re-signings do, since the latter is actually on the open market. Had Splitter been extendable, he'd probably have gotten something in the neighborhood of $6-7 Million a year. Even if Leonard is worth a max contract, he probably won't get a max extension. Those are actually pretty rare when compared to max free-agent signings.

Also I don't think Splitter's and Leonard's contract situations are all that similar. The difference between the value for bigs and the value for smalls played a bigger part in Splitter's contract than did the idea of Splitter being a role-player. Spliiter also has the advanced stats to suggest he'd be useful in an expanded role. While Leonard has those, too, he doesn't show much to warrant consideration as a premiere player. Kawhi has to show he can be the guy to earn a max deal (which, by the way, would be twice the size of Splitter's), not just that he has the stats to handle more minutes.

[dylankerouac]

Is Pendergraph going to be on the summer league team? He's been in the league too long, correct?

[Mel_13]

Is Pendergraph going to be on the summer league team? He's been in the league too long, correct?

4yr pro. No SL for Pendergraph.

[TheGoldStandard]

Kawhi is 21 and has taken leaps and bound strides in the 2 seasons he's played as a Spur, so yeah he's going to warrant near max money or max money and if we don't extend him to something like that or else we'll lose him if we go to free agency. Kawhi will have another great year and the spurs better start thinking about the future of that rather than think they can plug someone else into his role. Splitter in an expanded role will just be foolish, he's a cog in the wheel, gets his stats because he plays next to Tim Duncan. His averages are not far off from 11-12 to 12-13, most of his stuff is put backs and pick and roll with Manu. If Tiago is worth 4/36 then Kawhi is going to be 4/56 kinda cash.

[Baam]

The bottom line is Splitter got signed to a terrible contract, shouldn't be compared to Kawhi or anyone else on the team really... The only hope is to trade him well next summer or the summer after that.

[Mel_13]

Kawhi is 21 and has taken leaps and bound strides in the 2 seasons he's played as a Spur, so yeah he's going to warrant near max money or max money and if we don't extend him to something like that or else we'll lose him if we go to free agency. Kawhi will have another great year and the spurs better start thinking about the future of that rather than think they can plug someone else into his role. Splitter in an expanded role will just be foolish, he's a cog in the wheel, gets his stats because he plays next to Tim Duncan. His averages are not far off from 11-12 to 12-13, most of his stuff is put backs and pick and roll with Manu. If Tiago is worth 4/36 then Kawhi is going to be 4/56 kinda cash.

They won't lose him in restricted free agency.

[Chinook]

Kawhi is 21 and has taken leaps and bound strides in the 2 seasons he's played as a Spur, so yeah he's going to warrant near max money or max money and if we don't extend him to something like that or else we'll lose him if we go to free agency. Kawhi will have another great year and the spurs better start thinking about the future of that rather than think they can plug someone else into his role. Splitter in an expanded role will just be foolish, he's a cog in the wheel, gets his stats because he plays next to Tim Duncan. His averages are not far off from 11-12 to 12-13, most of his stuff is put backs and pick and roll with Manu. If Tiago is worth 4/36 then Kawhi is going to be 4/56 kinda cash.

See, this is the kind of mentality that leads people to be surprised at the contracts players get. Splitter has great per-minute numbers (16 and 10 per 36) and really good advanced stats (18.7 PER and .188 WS/48). Leonard has no where near that level of production yet (13 and 7 per 36 and a PER of 16.5 and .168 WS/48). The Spurs have every reason to think Splitter will excel in an expanded role, especially to the extent needed to be worthy of his contract. (He was great off the bench when Ginobili was healthy.) But outside some flashes that get massively overrated on this board, Leonard hasn't shown he can be a max player. If he does that next year, great. But it's going to take more than just remaining on this improvement curve to justify giving him more than $12-13 Million a year.

[Darkwaters]

Is Pendergraph going to be on the summer league team? He's been in the league too long, correct?

I don't think time in the league matters. Basically anyone can play.

I remember Amare Stoudemire playing the SL after his ACL injury (2007?). The guy was like a 5 or 6 year vet at that point. And considered a superstar no less. But he played SL to help with his rehab. Frankly, it wasn't a bad idea to help him get in the groove of 5x5 basketball again.

[cd98]

See, this is the kind of mentality that leads people to be surprised at the contracts players get. Splitter has great per-minute numbers (16 and 10 per 36) and really good advanced stats (18.7 PER and .188 WS/48). Leonard has no where near that level of production yet (13 and 7 per 36 and a PER of 16.5 and .168 WS/48). The Spurs have every reason to think Splitter will excel in an expanded role, especially to the extent needed to be worthy of his contract. (He was great off the bench when Ginobili was healthy.) But outside some flashes that get massively overrated on this board, Leonard hasn't shown he can be a max player. If he does that next year, great. But it's going to take more than just remaining on this improvement curve to justify giving him more than $12-13 Million a year.

I don't know about his advanced stats, but I saw Leonard getting big rebounds and scoring big buckets and playing stellar defense in every playoff series this past year. Can't say the same about Tiago. But I'm sure that is why people won't complain if Leonard gets the max.

[Darkwaters]

The bottom line is Splitter got signed to a terrible contract, shouldn't be compared to Kawhi or anyone else on the team really... The only hope is to trade him well next summer or the summer after that.

Not really. Bigmen are always overpaid. "You can't teach size" and you pay a premium for it.

Please have a look at Ian Mahinmi and Zaza Pachulia's contracts and tell me you're still pissed off about Splitter. Bigs are expensive, it's just how it is.

The only hope is to trade him well next summer or the summer after that.

Now that is legitimate crazy talk.

[Chinook]

I don't know about his advanced stats, but I saw Leonard getting big rebounds and scoring big buckets and playing stellar defense in every playoff series this past year. Can't say the same about Tiago. But I'm sure that is why people won't complain if Leonard gets the max.

That's not the way basketball teams are run, which is why people are going to be surprised if Leonard doesn't get the max. He was great in the WCSF and the Finals, but he wasn't the star people think he was. He did have a great playoff PER, though 18.9, compared to a 13.5 PER for Splitter. That was an abnormally low year for Splitter, (he had PERs of 21.1 and 16.6 before that) but hopefully, a borderline-All-Star PER is what we can come to expect in the playoffs for Leonard (he had a 15.1 his rookie year).

[Darkwaters]

Still think we got ripped off with the Splitter signing?


Wolves Make Offer To Pekovic Believed To Be $12M Annually

Jul 08, 2013 8:42 AM EDT

The Minnesota Timberwolves have made a formal offer to Nikola Pekovic believed to be worth $12 million or more annually.

Pekovic is a restricted free agent.

Pekovic is not believed to have been offered a deal by a rival team and the number of teams with sufficient cap space has decreased to one or two.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/228730/Wolves-Make-Offer-To-Pekovic-Believed-To-Be-$12M-Annually

[elec99]

Any thoughts to the notion that Jeff IS the backup3, not a blair replacement?
He moves more like a 4 but who knows...

[dbestpro]

That's not the way basketball teams are run, which is why people are going to be surprised if Leonard doesn't get the max. He was great in the WCSF and the Finals, but he wasn't the star people think he was. He did have a great playoff PER, though 18.9, compared to a 13.5 PER for Splitter. That was an abnormally low year for Splitter, (he had PERs of 21.1 and 16.6 before that) but hopefully, a borderline-All-Star PER is what we can come to expect in the playoffs for Leonard (he had a 15.1 his rookie year).

Leonard's future depends upon how he performs when he now, and in particular, has plays called for him.

[Chinook]

Leonard's future depends upon how he performs when he now, and in particular, has plays called for him.

Exactly. He has to prove he can be the man in order to be paid like he is.

[Mel_13]

Any thoughts to the notion that Jeff IS the backup3, not a blair replacement?
He moves more like a 4 but who knows...

That was a bad notion. He's a 4/5, not a 3/4.

[Spurs9]

Still think we got ripped off with the Splitter signing?


Wolves Make Offer To Pekovic Believed To Be $12M Annually

Jul 08, 2013 8:42 AM EDT

The Minnesota Timberwolves have made a formal offer to Nikola Pekovic believed to be worth $12 million or more annually.

Pekovic is a restricted free agent.

Pekovic is not believed to have been offered a deal by a rival team and the number of teams with sufficient cap space has decreased to one or two.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/228730/Wolves-Make-Offer-To-Pekovic-Believed-To-Be-$12M-Annually

[Spur|n|Austin]

Exactly. He has to prove he can be the man in order to be paid like he is.

And this will be the season that hopefully happens. It's crazy to think not one play was called through him this past season, and he still managed to perform the way he did. Gotta love the kid.

[Darkwaters]

Any thoughts to the notion that Jeff IS the backup3, not a blair replacement?
He moves more like a 4 but who knows...

No.

Everyone that supports this idea is pulling pre-draft measurables and video. The guy has had ACL surgery since then. Any chance that this might have been true died when he had surgery a couple years ago.

[Baam]

Not really. Bigmen are always overpaid. "You can't teach size" and you pay a premium for it.

Please have a look at Ian Mahinmi and Zaza Pachulia's contracts and tell me you're still pissed off about Splitter. Bigs are expensive, it's just how it is.



Now that is legitimate crazy talk.

Who cares if he's a bigman since he can't rebound and has been in the POs for his first 3 years... Thank god for Kawhi being such a beast on the boards...

Look at Robin Lopez, Gortat, Asik, JJ Hickson's contracts and tell me you're fine with Splitter's contract...

[apalisoc_9]

That's not the way basketball teams are run, which is why people are going to be surprised if Leonard doesn't get the max. He was great in the WCSF and the Finals, but he wasn't the star people think he was. He did have a great playoff PER, though 18.9, compared to a 13.5 PER for Splitter. That was an abnormally low year for Splitter, (he had PERs of 21.1 and 16.6 before that) but hopefully, a borderline-All-Star PER is what we can come to expect in the playoffs for Leonard (he had a 15.1 his rookie year).

It is to early to tell if kawhi will get the max or not. For the most part, his new contract or his extension would be evaluated next season when he moves in as a legit 2-3 option. I trust the spurs to make the right decision, but you can bet money that a handful of teams would have evaluated his worth for what he did in the post season and possibly give him the max..It does not matter though since he is a RFA.

Solely based on his importance and playoff experience, kawhi is worth 11-13 million dollars a year IMO.

[Chinook]

He put up almost the exact same per-minute stats as Splitter did.