Spurs Not Seeking to sign Nikola Milutinov

[GusT15]

Nobody is going to back you up

lol, doofas

Robert Horry played 16 years in the NBA.

For the whole 16 years of his career he was part of Houston (4 years),Lakers (7 years),Spurs (5 years).

So,he was part of 3 contending teams for the championship for multiple years.

A ring chaser is a player who has never won anything,is nearing the end of his career and wants a team he can leech a ring off.He joins a team he was never a part of and hopes for the best.

A doofus is a dude who has no idea what he is talking about but presents his opinion as knowledgeable.

So i wouldn't necessarily say you're a doofus.I'd say you're a troll or an idiotic moron.Which one is it?

[GusT15]

You undercut your whole argument by listing Pau here. Dude already one two rings as a key piece (more key than Ariza for damned sure). You can chase rings no matter how many you've won.

Pssst,Chinook,i meant Pau on this years Bucks.Not when he joined the Spurs.

[BackHome]

He's a good player, but not a good fit and too expensive for the role (3rd big). Drafted before poetle, became too good to sign cheaply. Not really a wiff of a pick.

My only issue is why did we not use him in a trade to move up in the draft he is a very good player and teams still need at least one good traditional center.

[Seventyniner]

Not too terribly surprising. C with LMA/Poeltl/Eubanks is just not a pressing need at the moment. I wouldn’t be mad if they used the MLE for Milu but it’s not priority 1 imo.

I think this means that the Spurs are trying to use the full MLE on one player. Even if Milutinov would have taken only part of it, there would be little reason to use the rest because it isn't worth clogging the rotation more with a ~$4M player.

Milutinov is always in the team's back pocket in case Poeltl gets a big offer or demands more than the Spurs are willing to pay. That decision comes next summer, right?

[GusT15]

Ring chasing is the Hill GusT15 is dying on Chinook

Do i really have to point at the exception that proves the rule?

For every Salley there are 10 players that follow the rule.

For example,Shaq was ring chasing.He is the exception.Not the rule.

Horry was not ring chasing.

And Ariza has not ring chased.YET.

If anything,he seems to care about $$$ nowadays.

[timvp]

That's the tweet the report is based on.

I don't see how that is any sort of evidence. The Spurs don't have to contact Olympiacos about signing Milutinov. In fact, I'm not even sure they're allowed to right now. Olympiacos would only get involved late in the process after contract discussions were underway with Milutinov. If Milutinov has a clear and inexpensive buyout, the Spurs might not have to contact them at all.

In the big picture, I don't really see the value of bringing over Milutinov. I haven't finished watching him this season but from I've seen, the only thing he might do conclusively better than Poeltl is shoot free throws and do better work on the defensive glass. Otherwise, Poeltl is more mobile, a better offensive rebounder, a better passer, better hands, better perimeter defender, etc. Spending $4-5 million on Milutinov to be a third center isn't the wisest use of money, IMO.

[GusT15]

That's the tweet the report is based on.

I don't see how that is any sort of evidence. The Spurs don't have to contact Olympiacos about signing Milutinov. In fact, I'm not even sure they're allowed to right now. Olympiacos would only get involved late in the process after contract discussions were underway with Milutinov. If Milutinov has a clear and inexpensive buyout, the Spurs might not have to contact them at all.

In the big picture, I don't really see the value of bringing over Milutinov. I haven't finished watching him this season but from I've seen, the only thing he might do conclusively better than Poeltl is shoot free throws and do better work on the defensive glass. Otherwise, Poeltl is more mobile, a better offensive rebounder, a better passer, better hands, better perimeter defender, etc. Spending $4-5 million on Milutinov to be a third center isn't the wisest use of money, IMO.

His buyout was definitely 900k last summer.I think it's at 1.5M right now after the new contract.

[ZeusWillJudge]

That's the tweet the report is based on.

I don't see how that is any sort of evidence. The Spurs don't have to contact Olympiacos about signing Milutinov. In fact, I'm not even sure they're allowed to right now. Olympiacos would only get involved late in the process after contract discussions were underway with Milutinov. If Milutinov has a clear and inexpensive buyout, the Spurs might not have to contact them at all.

In the big picture, I don't really see the value of bringing over Milutinov. I haven't finished watching him this season but from I've seen, the only thing he might do conclusively better than Poeltl is shoot free throws and do better work on the defensive glass. Otherwise, Poeltl is more mobile, a better offensive rebounder, a better passer, better hands, better perimeter defender, etc. Spending $4-5 million on Milutinov to be a third center isn't the wisest use of money, IMO.

I posted part of this above, and I know rumors are worth what you pay for them. I've got a couple of friends who are Euro fanatics, and both had insisted that Milutinov really wanted to come over last year. I passed a couple of emails with one of them yesterday, and he said that the word is that Milutinov's agent is insisting on a full-MLE deal for three years. Sounded like they were a little bent out of shape that the Spurs didn't bring him over last season. All I can say is that he is one of those guys that everyone loves, and he throws epic parties that lots of different people come to. Doesn't mean the rumor is true, but he probably heard it from someone connected. And it fits.

His current contract was signed in 2017. The Spurs could have signed him cheap that summer, instead of giving 3/$48M to Pau. But at that point, he was the third option off the bench for Olympiacos. I don't blame them for not bring him over then. But last year his buyout was pretty cheap, and he'd had a pretty good year.

If there's any truth to it, the full MLE is steep. But three years guaranteed, when the Spurs are looking at finally having some cap freedom next year, is a bridge too far.

His buyout was definitely 900k last summer.I think it's at 1.5M right now after the new contract.

I think the numbers are right. The contract was signed in 2017, and had buyout clauses for 18-19 and 19-20. Pretty sure the buyout amounts were determined at the time of the contract.

[MarCowMar]

Which begs the question.....why did we waste a #1 draft pick on him?

I got the impression that draft night that he was far from our top option at the spot and that we had no takers for trading out of the pick at better value.

A lot of times you can tell RC and Pop are pretty happy with what they got, as they'll drop some sort of hint in interviews that they had the player ranked higher, or run up and grab the player like they did w/Blair.

With White, Murray, Hill, Anderson, I can recall them mentioning they had the player higher than where he was picked.

Unless the NBA changes their rules it doesn't make much sense to bring Milutinov over. I do wish they would consider doing something to make big guys desirable again. Something is really missing from the game when they can't be on the court any more. The league is wasting Boban's prime.

[pad300]

If they weren't going to sign him, they probably should have tried to move him for a 2nd or 2 on draft night..

[rjv]

He's a good player, but not a good fit and too expensive for the role (3rd big). Drafted before poetle, became too good to sign cheaply. Not really a wiff of a pick.

[FkLA]

Good. Hopefully it means the full MLE goes to a combo forward and more small ball with LMA at center.

[SAGirl]

No. Let's be clear here: stashing Miluntinov did not give them any more money to sign guys. LMA's max slot, Leonard's and Green's cap holds and Manu's room exception slot. That math was whatever it was no matter the scenario. Insofar as there was any, the fluidity came from the decision to trade Splitter instead of Diaw and Tim's contract. Once the Spurs decided to go with a Splitter trade, there wasn't any excuse for stashing a pick, because Tim was willing to leave enough on the table to sign Boban. Marjanovic's deal took a larger slice of cap space than the pick would have.

None of this is hindsight. I and other posters here went over the math extensively surrounding that summer. The only thing we didn't know was Tim's number. Now that we know that, we know it never made any sense to not just draft someone who'd've been in the US right away (like Harrell). You can go so far as to argue that that oversight directly led to the team getting screwed in the DeRozan trade, because they would not have valued Poeltl so highly had they already had a promising young big on their roster.

Plus overpaying for Pau, resigning him when they didn’t have any other big aside from LMA that could play center, it would have prevented experiments like Joffrey Lauvergne and they never were going to be able to pay to keep Boban (there was even some discussion about that at the time)... I just don’t understand what their rationale was with Milutinov at any point.

edit: would have prevented some turd towers combinations perhaps, just as well.

[Mugen]

I was fine with Eubanks being the 3rd string C last season and I'm still good with it this year. They can always pick up somebody like Montejunas off the scrap heap if LMA or Jakob goes down.

[SAGirl]

I think this means that the Spurs are trying to use the full MLE on one player. Even if Milutinov would have taken only part of it, there would be little reason to use the rest because it isn't worth clogging the rotation more with a ~$4M player.

Milutinov is always in the team's back pocket in case Poeltl gets a big offer or demands more than the Spurs are willing to pay. That decision comes next summer, right?

I think you are right.

[JeffDuncan]

We do not want him in a hat,
We do not want him with a cat;

We do not want him on a lake,
We do not want him in a cake;

We do not want him eating peas,
We do not want him shooting 3s;

We do not want him with a wrench,
We do not want him on the bench;

We do not want his pick and roll,
We do not want him near the goal;

We do not want him at the door,
We do not want him any more;

We do not want him on the court,
We do not want him in the sport;

We do not want him with the ball,
We do not want him here at all.

[duncan2150]

I was fine with Eubanks being the 3rd string C last season and I'm still good with it this year. They can always pick up somebody like Montejunas off the scrap heap if LMA or Jakob goes down.

You don’t think we need a real pf/c ? A good one, better than Eubanks.

Imo we need one, gay or Bertans will be in trouble, especially the second, against big PF.

[TheGreatYacht]

Euro big turns out to be a bust. Another Draft and stash fail for drunkford.

[Keepin' it real]

Milutinov is always in the team's back pocket in case Poeltl gets a big offer or demands more than the Spurs are willing to pay. That decision comes next summer, right?

I think you are right.

Then they should bring him over this year so he can get NBA experience. Do you really think if Poetl leaves that Malotov would get any playing time as an NBA newbie?? no.

[Drom John]

I believe the Spurs get the Standard MLE.
So, $9,246,000ish yearly for three years.
Fourth highest paid Spur, fifth if Gay signs.

[timtonymanu]

I was fine with Eubanks being the 3rd string C last season and I'm still good with it this year. They can always pick up somebody like Montejunas off the scrap heap if LMA or Jakob goes down.

or Pau Gasol

[Tyrone Jenkins]

I will never understand the continued obsession w/ slower Euro bigs who are decent offensive players but defensive liabilities on a team that saw the likes of Gasol, Bertans, Bellinelli and others blow right by them or not step out on the pick and roll and watch opposing PGs shoot 3s on them.

[K...]

I will never understand the continued obsession w/ slower Euro bigs who are decent offensive players but defensive liabilities on a team that saw the likes of Gasol, Bertans, Bellinelli and others blow right by them or not step out on the pick and roll and watch opposing PGs shoot 3s on them.

How long have you been alive? Gasol had good day and was a hall of fame lock, you forgot splitter the golden God, belli is no big, gobert is a monster, zaza altered history, gortat, mozgov etc.... We just got eliminated by jokic!

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

Eubanks kinda came out of nowhere last year and seemed pretty decent, wouldn't be surprised if he gets a bigger role this year.

[BackHome]

Yeah people are saying the Center position is dead yet the two teams battling for a ring both had big centers that impacted the game.