What doesn't really make sense to me is if the Spurs thought Langford > Williams, why didn't they just cut Williams when Langford was healthy?
I could tell Washington's stock had been plummeting for a while but to go from opening day backup point guard to cut in less than two months is pretty dramatic. Especially considering that he not too long ago put up a triple-double in the D-League and was leading the D-League in scoring.
It's true about Ager. I was distracted by a few things during the game (of all nights - shame on me), but I noticed in the second half that Ager had really done nothing while Sessions was keeping them in the game.
We had basically spotted them ten points in the first quarter by playing Pittsnogle on Fazekas.
Okay.....between you, timvp, and the DX article I think the picture is pretty clear.
Langford and Williams will be on the team until either Ginobili or Barry (or both) get back at which point the Spurs will keep either Langford or Williams.
Washington may or may not clear waivers. If he does, he might stick with the Toros or he might look to sign a bigger deal overseas.
Either way, this situation was brought on by the myriad of injuries suffered by the Spurs and it may or may not affect the future of any one of these guys with this team.
Hope I've got that right....
If so, I'm going to bed.
If all the salary numbers are right, the Spurs might have only one more game to make a decision between Langford or Williams. The Spurs are so close to the luxury tax threshold that whether they can keep both for one, two or three games comes down to a few hundred dollars.
Yeah, you understand it as we understand it.
Who knows if that's the truth though.
So did the Spurs sign Langford yet? I'm kinda out of it right now.
We understand that they did. But it hasn't officially come out from the Spurs yet. He may have signed late this evening and it not been processed by the league office yet.
Not sure it matters. I think that if they had picked up Langford before the Barry injury, they would've waived Washington and signed Williams anyways after the Barry injury.What doesn't really make sense to me is if the Spurs thought Langford > Williams, why didn't they just cut Williams when Langford was healthy?
I could tell Washington's stock had been plummeting for a while but to go from opening day backup point guard to cut in less than two months is pretty dramatic. Especially considering that he not too long ago put up a triple-double in the D-League and was leading the D-League in scoring.
Either way I think the situation is the same.
You might have to stay awake a bit longer
I don't think the Spurs can wait all the way until Barry is healthy. This decision (Langford vs. Williams vs. Washington) needs to be made within the week to stay under the luxury tax threshold.
Damn....so the Spurs are going to have to be short-handed after the New Year until either Ginobili or Barry get back?
Not that Williams would've gotten much burn (assume he's the guy who gets cut), but at least he was there for depth purposes.
Were there any other teams who were seriously looking to sign Langford in the immediate future?
I think you can count Washington out of it....at least in the short term.You might have to stay awake a bit longer
I don't think the Spurs can wait all the way until Barry is healthy. This decision (Langford vs. Williams vs. Washington) needs to be made within the week to stay under the luxury tax threshold.
Pop clearly didn't have enough confidence in him during the last stretch of games, often going with Barry over him to run the point. The fact that Langford was called up as the combo guard and Washington was waived even though he filled a similar role says something about Pop's comfort level with him.
Washington might be in training camp with the Spurs next year and could earn a spot on the club, but I'd say he's the longest shot to get back on this roster for the rest of the year.
It was said on these boards he did well in a workout for the Nuggets.
wwaii...wait what?
what's going on now?
Williams cut, Splitter signed....j/k
Maybe the specter of another team getting him forced RC's hand at this point in time. If they only have one game to decide who to keep, it's going to be interesting to see who gets minutes and when they get them tomorrow.
Should be a good indicator of who they'll decide to keep.
Both can bring the ball up the court, but Langford seems to be the more NBA-ready prospect and more lethal scorer.
I'd give the edge to Langford, but you never know.
WTH?
There ends that Cinderella Story.
That's lame...and I liked Washington. Just seems like they gave up on him too quickly or something...like they expected too much. He couldn't have really played much better in his first stint with the Toros.
Maybe, maybe not...
Spurs could target a PG in the draft or FA, but they could just as easily invite Washington to training camp (along with Watson and some others) to compete for the third-string spot next year.
Bottom Line: It may be past midnight, or the clock could be stuck at 11:59....we'll probably have to wait until next year to see if Washington is Cinderella.
I think we're getting a real taste of the way the Spurs ultimately want to use the Toros. All these moves seem drastic since they involve waiving players and giving up rights to them -- but just imagine if the it was three players shuttling between an MLB club and its AAA affiliate. I think the payroll issue is the overriding force making this all happen, but the Spurs are giving the NBA a lesson in what could be done with a single-affiliate D-League team.
Looking at the numbers, the Spurs might actually have five games to make the decision.
According to ESPN.com, the Spurs were $27,591 under the luxury tax threshold going into the game against the Chicago Bulls. Williams, Langford and Washington all make $427,163 per season. That comes out to $5,209 per game. Five games is $26,046. Leaving the Spurs $1,544.48 below the luxury tax threshold.
However, although the players $427,163 per year, the teams are charged a luxury tax hit of $770,610. Basically this rule is in place so that teams don't go with younger players making the minimum over older players making the minimum ... thus giving incentive to teams to waive veteran players. I'm not exactly sure how the rule works but it's possible that the $770,610 is used even if it's a per game basis. If that's the case, each player would cost $9,397 per game ... meaning the Spurs would be only able to squeeze out two games before going over the luxury tax threshold.
And this isn't even considering whether you have to pay a player while they are on waiver . . .
Basically, the Spurs will have to make a decision ASAP. At most they have five games to make a decision. At the least, they have one game to make a decision.
Last edited by timvp; 12-28-2007 at 03:24 AM.
With the way the D-League is currently configured I wonder if we'll see the Spurs raiding other D-League teams in a similar manner trying to find diamonds in the rough, at least until the D-League progresses to the point where each team has an affiliate and some sort of compesation must be paid to take their prospect.
Great take....
This is a wonderful display of how to use the D-league affiliate. A couple guys go down and you backfill with guys who know the system but are on non-guaranteed contracts and are more for depth purposes.
Unbelievably mind-bottling, but very cool.
Yeah, I don't really like this move. Langford to me is the type of player who can be great in the D-League or in Europe but will struggle in the NBA. He's not really a point guard and is too small to play shooting guard. He was also on the summer league team and didn't show much of anything. In fact, even when the Spurs got desperate for a point guard, they brought in Pooh Jeter from off the street instead of giving the job to Langford full-time.
I understand Langford over Williams, especially when there's a real chance that you'd have to actually play one of those players ... but Langford over Washington I can't agree with. Williams isn't good enough right now to play in a real NBA game. Langford can buy you minutes a la Dion Glover.
But I've never seen Langford as a legit NBA prospect. He's more fool's gold than anything because he has the skill set to tear up lower level compe ion. Washington I thought was a legit NBA prospect. 21-years-old and he was putting up better stats than almost anyone in the D-League before the Spurs called him up.
I'm going to have to give this flurry of moves a thumbs down.
There's a fair chance we would have raided the Mad Ants had Memphis not done it first -- unless Langford beat Jeremy Richardson out too.
The Spurs do have a lot of personnel watching the D-League. Seems like a pretty big deal to them.
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