Aron Baynes to sign with the Spurs

[spurraider21]

Haven't read the full thread, so sorry if some of this has been covered.

We all knew the Spurs needed another big man to sure-up their rotation. Duncan/Splitter/Diaw + small ball wasn't going to cut it depth-wise heading into the playoffs, as an injury to one of those three would basically end the season. The major choices were:

1. Continue to start Duncan/Splitter, find a true 5 to pair with Diaw.
2. Go back to Duncan/Diaw, find an athletic 4 to pair with Splitter.

While I think the Spurs will continue to watch the trade market, I think this trade is a good sign that they've chosen option #1. Assuming Baynes pans out and can take on a solid 10-20 minutes, you can shop Blair and/or Bonner with more confidence.

as much as i like what i've seen from baynes, its not like pop to give a new guy much of a role, especially in the playoffs. look at what happened to Tiago year 1 and Patty last year

[TheSkeptic]

as much as i like what i've seen from baynes, its not like pop to give a new guy much of a role, especially in the playoffs. look at what happened to Tiago year 1 and Patty last year

But at the same time Diaw played last season. I'm guessing that this guy isn't on Diaw's level though.

[timtonymanu]

as much as i like what i've seen from baynes, its not like pop to give a new guy much of a role, especially in the playoffs. look at what happened to Tiago year 1 and Patty last year

I think Dex brought it up perfectly. Pop definitely has changed his tune the last few years. George Hill got a lot of burn in his rookie season, but he didn't get much time in the playoffs unfortunately. Blair was a key part of the rotation his rookie year. Neal too. Anderson was getting a lot of minutes before his injury. Leonard was a starter last year.

Tiago was hurt for majority of the training camp which is why Pop was so hesitant with him. Had Tiago been healthy for training camp, who knows how it would have played out?

Patty Mills wasn't a rookie last year, but the intent was for him to be a backup.

[TDMVPDPOY]

is this the aussie version javtokas?

[SpurPadre]

Intersting comment. I think Baynes will be a Collison type after a few years in the NBA, and if he's as good as Collison I'll be very happy.

Well, Collison started playing in the NBA at age 22 so if Baynes were to be that good, he would've been in the league already instead of not sniffing the pro level until he's 26. It's not like he played international ball all his life like Splitter and Manu and so, took a while to get to the NBA. Wouldn't this dude have been drafted in the NBA after college if he were to be of any use here?

[rapliketp]

Baynes is 6-9/10. He clearly isn't a 7 footer when standing next to those guys.

[ploto]

Why would Splitter take less money to play with the Spurs? It is not like he is taking less money to play with a prime Duncan and Ginobili.

[TDMVPDPOY]

looks like all the australian bigs mesh into one on roids....

[spurraider21]

Patty Mills wasn't a rookie last year, but the intent was for him to be a backup.

patty had been with the blazers before. i know he wasn't a rookie but he was a midseason acquisition and he didn't log any important minutes in the playoffs. this guy hasn't played an nba game and didn't have camp or anything like that. as of now he'll probably still be behind bonner in the rotation, but he might already be ahead of blair, which is a no brainer, since blair brings nothing to the table these days

[spurraider21]

But at the same time Diaw played last season. I'm guessing that this guy isn't on Diaw's level though.

diaw has been around the league for a while and his game is known. he was a big part of those suns teams that we faced. he had seen big playoff minutes. thats why jax got burn last year too. but tiago didn't get playoff burn his first year, neither did george hill. kawhi was an exception though

[timtonymanu]

patty had been with the blazers before. i know he wasn't a rookie but he was a midseason acquisition and he didn't log any important minutes in the playoffs. this guy hasn't played an nba game and didn't have camp or anything like that. as of now he'll probably still be behind bonner in the rotation, but he might already be ahead of blair, which is a no brainer, since blair brings nothing to the table these days

Yeah I'm just saying Patty probably didn't get any burn because he was the 3rd string PG - TJ Ford's replacement.

Guys like Diaw and Jack got a lot of playing time though because they fulfilled a need - starting PF and backup SF.

[TDMVPDPOY]

diaw has been around the league for a while and his game is known. he was a big part of those suns teams that we faced. he had seen big playoff minutes. thats why jax got burn last year too. but tiago didn't get playoff burn his first year, neither did george hill. kawhi was an exception though

this is where the problem is, the rookie seasons...the players held their own when given the assignments, only to see them not get any minutes in the playoffs against the same player assignments they contained....

[Brazil]

Why would Splitter take less money to play with the Spurs? It is not like he is taking less money to play with a prime Duncan and Ginobili.

Cauz we are class

[spurraider21]

this is where the problem is, the rookie seasons...the players held their own when given the assignments, only to see them not get any minutes in the playoffs against the same player assignments they contained....

true. i'm just the messenger though lol

[TD 21]

When was that? When the Spurs signed him, they were offering him more money than any other team in the world. Sure, he didn't get every last drop of what the Spurs could offer but he was still being offered the most from the Spurs, so his leverage to get it all was extremely limited.

The case is stronger that Splitter will go to the highest bidder. First of all, just about every player in history goes to the highest bidder. Secondly, remember back to when Splitter was drafted. He said he was going to come over the next summer. However, when the time came, he decided to spurn San Antonio in order to take a contract in Europe that was more money than what the Spurs could offer. That is a clear example of Splitter picking money over the Spurs so I'm not sure why anyone would expect anything differently. In fact, Splitter has always gone with the team offering the most money.

If a team throws huge money at Splitter, he's going to take it.

He clearly signed for a surprisingly low number. His leverage was this: To stay in Europe. I know he said he wanted to come over, but he still had that in his back pocket if he were consumed with getting every last cent out of them.

That's overstating it. The vast majority do, but despite the perception, there's probably more guys in the NBA who have taken less than any other sport. Particularly those on or going to elite teams. Now I know he hasn't gotten his "big" contract yet, but I think he knows that he can't possibly find a better situation than this and I think he'll value that more than getting every last cent. Green was in a similar situation last summer, they got him signed at a very reasonable number and he's made less than Splitter's made. I know the demand for Splitter will be much greater, but still.

I know they technically can't sign him before July 1st, but they could easily agree in principal to something beforehand.

[swaggerjackson]

I don't know if this has been asked, but why is the signing taking place now? If I am not mistaken he is midseason over in Europe, just as we are now. Shouldn't he atleast been a training camp invite or something?

[TDMVPDPOY]

He clearly signed for a surprisingly low number. His leverage was this: To stay in Europe. I know he said he wanted to come over, but he still had that in his back pocket if he were consumed with getting every last cent out of them.

That's overstating it. The vast majority do, but despite the perception, there's probably more guys in the NBA who have taken less than any other sport. Particularly those on or going to elite teams. Now I know he hasn't gotten his "big" contract yet, but I think he knows that he can't possibly find a better situation than this and I think he'll value that more than getting every last cent. Green was in a similar situation last summer, they got him signed at a very reasonable number and he's made less than Splitter's made. I know the demand for Splitter will be much greater, but still.

I know they technically can't sign him before July 1st, but they could easily agree in principal to something beforehand.

its only a 1 year deal anyway, he looking to get a bigger pay day if everything works out for him

or else he can just return to europe or china if it doesnt workout, he can still earn more then nba minumum or whatever is offered in australia...

in australia the bush league, imports can earn max 1m, dunno about local players...dont think any local player is earnning 1m, all chose to go play overseas where the pay is better...

[TD 21]

its only a 1 year deal anyway, he looking to get a bigger pay day if everything works out for him

or else he can just return to europe or china if it doesnt workout, he can still earn more then nba minumum or whatever is offered in australia...

in australia the bush league, imports can earn max 1m, dunno about local players...dont think any local player is earnning 1m, all chose to go play overseas where the pay is better...

I was talking about Splitter, not Baynes.

Ultimately, if the Spurs lose Splitter, it'll be in part because he was in fact after every last cent, but more so because they were morally opposed to paying him more than any of the big three. This idea that he'll get an offer too rich for them to match though, is just typical Spurs fan panic. He's restricted and they'll have enough flexibility to match and avoid the tax even if he get's offered something astronomical.

[TDMVPDPOY]

I was talking about Splitter, not Baynes.

Ultimately, if the Spurs lose Splitter, it'll be in part because he was in fact after every last cent, but more so because they were morally opposed to paying him more than any of the big three. This idea that he'll get an offer too rich for them to match though, is just typical Spurs fan panic. He's restricted and they'll have enough flexibility to match and avoid the tax even if he get's offered something astronomical.

cause the spurs tend to low ball their own players when they hit FA....doesnt help when u have teams under the cap throwing out deals to players with no intention of signing just to stuff up other teams cap resigning the player over commitment...

this guy is nice insurance though if what said is true

[Chinook]

Ultimately, if the Spurs lose Splitter, it'll be in part because he was in fact after every last cent, but more so because they were morally opposed to paying him more than any of the big three.

I don't think Spurs have any problem with Splitter getting paid more than the Big Three. I feel that the reason why Duncan took so little money, and why I think Ginobili will do the same is so that the young players can get the contracts they deserve. I'm not sure Duncan would be too happy if the Spurs went away from Splitter after he (Duncan) took less so that they could keep the team together. This isn't a team like the Lakers where the stars have to eat first and have the biggest pieces. At this point all Duncan cares about is winning. If the Spurs think Splitter is necessary to helping them win and is worth $8.5 Million a year in a vacuum, then not signing him because he'd get paid a little more than Ginobili would be absurd.

[slick'81]

dont know anything about the dude but hes a big soo great

[RD2191]

[TDMVPDPOY]

did the spurs sign him so he can wave a towel with mills and brown on the bench?

[Buddy Holly]

Baynes is 6-9/10. He clearly isn't a 7 footer when standing next to those guys.

He was measured as 7 feet in shoes.

[Buddy Holly]

did the spurs sign him so he can wave a towel with mills and brown on the bench?

man. We get it. It's time to stop now.