John Hollinger on Tiago in Chat

[vander]

Bonner and Ian are compared to McDyess of the last 10 games. He's been a rebouding animal, our best 1-1 bigman defender and hitting that midrange automatic.

I'd argue the truthfulness of that to begin with, but more important is the duration, he's only done it for a short time, and that time will be even shorter next year.

Bonner's 3 will be 40% again next year, his D will be solid and better than Dyess's next year. and Mahimni still has all that supposed potential, he's at least a promising athletic defender.

[Mel_13]

I don't see how a rational person can call Dice unreliable in comparison to Bonner. Bonner's chances of being a Spur next year are directly related to how much he can improve on these dismal numbers:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...stats_playoffs

[SenorSpur]

Like others, I'm on board with a frontcourt rotation of Duncan, Blair, Splitter, Dice and yes Mahinmi. Like most players, as long as Bonner is in the NBA, his price tag goes up. He's finally found a way to generate some offense on the move, but he's still too much of a liability that I wouldn't be hurt if he doesn't come back.

As for Ian, I don't get how anyone can call the guy a bust, when he hasn't gotten enough court time to earn any kind of label. He has, however, shown flashes of good skill. Skills that no other frontcourt player has. With his ability to rebound, block shots, run the floor, and generate some points around the basket, there's no reason he cannot be a rotation player next year. I think the Spurs would be big fools to allow him to go elsewhere and flourish. If they can can sign him to a cheap contract for next year, with an option for a second year, they should. If he doesn't pan out, then he's a tradeable asset.

[Old School 44]

If Tiago is on the team next year and starts along side Duncan, it will improve Duncan's game by taking a lot of the pressure off him. For the past couple years, Duncan really hasn't had any defensive post help. KT and Fabs were smart players, but one is at the tail end of his career and both weren't the most athletic. This year, McDyess is KT 2.0. Also, both him and Blair and Bonner are undersized in the post. And that other tall guy is nailed to the bench.

In recent years, Pop has tried to conserve Duncan by limiting his minutes and sitting him in back-to-backs. I always thought a better solution was to get him some young, athletic, defensive help - pair him with a young athletic big so when Tim did play, he didn't have to expend so much energy trying to do it all.

[TD 21]

I hope to see Tiago Splitter in a Spurs uniform next season, but I wonder if he actually would have as big of an impact as we are all hoping for. I've heard people compare him to an Anderson Varejao type player. Andy is a decent role player for LBJ @ co. but he's not a game changer that would put a team over the top. IMO, unless Tiago is significantly better than A.V. I think he definitely helps the front court, but everything still begins and ends with Tim. Hopefully Tiago comes over and like Blair & Hill, surprises everyone.

Actually, Varejao is enough to put a team over the top, but only if that team is relatively close to begin with and is sorely lacking that type of big man. Splitter is longer and more skilled than Varejao, but he's not the type of rebounder that Varejao is, nor is he as physical or as much of an all out hustle player (few are), from what I've seen/know.

That's the thing about Splitter, the Spurs wouldn't be quite as reliant on Duncan defensively as they have been/are. Offensively, they've already lessened the load on him, as well as on the boards. If they could just get another long rim protector, that would really ease the burden on him.

I still maintain that while ideal, I doubt that we see a Duncan, McDyess, Splitter, Blair front court. But if we do see it and Splitter lives up to expectations, then this team (health permitting) is a le contender. They've already got the best back court in the league, this would give them one of the best front courts. The only rotation spot/role that could still use an upgrade would be wing defender, but if the Spurs are that strong everywhere else, they may be able to get by with Bogans/Hill/Hairston filling that role. No team is perfect.

I doubt Bonner isn't re-signed. The Spurs are obsessed with having a stretch four in the rotation, plus he'll be cheaper than McDyess.