Blazers Had Agreed to Contract Terms with Tiago Splitter

[Chinook]

Well I don't think he sucks, he has quick feet for his size so he's good at defending the PnR I agree with that much.

I think it's a bit weird to bring up his Finals, I also don't remember his limited minutes in that series in details but I remember Bosh being left open a lot on purpose...

He was good against Memphis yeah and indeed made the best play of his Spurs career on Conley but still...

Ultimately I think they're paying for not disrupting a good thing and not having to find someone else at this stage of Tim's career more than for how good he really is on his own.

Is it worth it? Who knows, I don't really like it but it might turn out to be.

Bosh was left open in the sense that they wanted him to shoot rather than let James get to the basket. But Splitter was able to close out better on him than Duncan, and so he was able to force Bosh to miss a lot more often than Duncan was, especially after Bosh moved inside the arch after Game 1.

I agree that Tiago has his problems. Despite everything I've been saying, I agree that Splitter not adjusting during the Finals is worrisome. He can't be expected to be the guy if he can't do a better job at handling that type of pressure. He also need to get stronger post moves. Hook shots and up-and-unders are cool tricks, but he needs to be able to go up strong and get dunks or at least uncontested short layups. As it stands right now, he can only score in the post on a good shooting night.

But the fact remains that he's top-15 in both offensive and defensive rating and top-10 in WS/48. His importance to the team is pretty apparent. He certainly has an impact beyond simply being propped up by Duncan. The Spurs' task now is to make that impact more explicit. If they can, then his contract will be considered a steal like Varejao's is. If they can't then he'll just be another overpaid big that won't really be that hard to move. He'll never be an albatross in the same way players like Brendan Haywood and Tyrus Thomas were.

[K-State Spur]

1. Houston isn't a top-3 team in the west until they prove it...and Howard was owned by Baynes for God sakes. Memphis is the only playoff team in the west with two competent bigs that must be defended together.

2. This "going rate" bull has to stop. I get it...teams overpay for size. That doesn't make it the right basketball decision for the Spurs to do it. What's worse is that Splitter got two years beyond Duncan's likely retirement. Without Duncan, I expect Tiago to be much less effective than he is now on both ends of the court.

3. Yes, Millsap is "undersized". He's also the complete threat offensively that Splitter is not. And it's not that he's terrible defensively either...just doesn't play the Center position and give the illusion of a "big" frontline. He also took a deal that would've ended along with the big 3 and provided maximum cap flexibility that offseason.

Look, I'll admit that losing Splitter would've been a hit to the defense played by the first unit...but they had options to stay relevant (e.g. Millsap, trade exception from S&T) and not overpay.

1) They may well prove it this year. On paper, they're certainly one of the top 3 compe ors. This edition of Miami became the class of the East before they proved it.

2) The Spurs have almost a completely wide open cap after 2 years - one deal currently extending into it isn't going to kill anything.. And if they come to your way of thinking, Tiago's deal is VERY tradeable. As you yourself admit - teams overpay size. Especially size that can defend & play efficient offense.

3) Why do you quote "undersized"? He is undersized. Now, a "complete" offensive threat - no. He's got jumpshooter range that Tiago doesn't. But he's got little/no low post game. He's essentially a better rebounding version of Carl Landry, but those rebounding numbers are trending in the wrong direction - his rate has dropped by over 20% compared to when he was a high energy guy as a rookie. At this point, Splitter is a better player on both O & D glass, in addition to defending both P&R and low post significantly better. And undersized bigs don't tend to age as well as players with legit size.

*) Not trying to stay relevant, trying to win a le.

**) Again, I don't understand how they overpaid for Splitter, but should have paid same rate for Millsap??? From a statistical measure, they're essentially equivalent - Millsap slightly better PER, Splitter better in win-shares. Then Tiago has legit size, "corporate knowledge", and is almost unanimously considered a better defender.

[Raven]

never had a problem with it, manu could have recieved a little less and the two signings shouldn't have happened.

[therealtruth]

But the fact remains that he's top-15 in both offensive and defensive rating and top-10 in WS/48. His importance to the team is pretty apparent. He certainly has an impact beyond simply being propped up by Duncan. The Spurs' task now is to make that impact more explicit. If they can, then his contract will be considered a steal like Varejao's is. If they can't then he'll just be another overpaid big that won't really be that hard to move. He'll never be an albatross in the same way players like Brendan Haywood and Tyrus Thomas were.

It's not that difficult. Put him in the post and run the offense out of him. It will force him to develop there. And it's not that hasn't shown the ability to work there. It's just that the team hasn't stuck with it enough. They've preferred to just only run pick and roll with him. They need to be able to give different looks on offense and I think initiating more offense with Kawhi, Tiago, and possibly Green will help that.