Spurs reach agreement with Jeff Pendergraph (Report: 2 Year, ~$4 million)

[DPG21920]

Well hopefully the Spurs FA contract numbers get reported this year

[Vic Petro]

The timing makes me think this contract is NOT a minimum deal. Young players never sign minimum deals this early in the offseason. Unless Pendergraph is in love with Boylen and just wanted to follow him, I think the more likely scenario is the Spurs gave him the rest of the MLE.

Maybe a two year fully guaranteed minimum deal was enough ..... but any bigman who has shown a pulse gets paid more than the minimum.

So, yeah, if this is a minimum deal in which the Spurs view him as a Bonner replacement = Great move

If they gave him MLE money =

Francisco Garcia just re-signed with Houston for the minimum. Not a big man but I don't think we can draw definitive conclusions based on the timing of the deal. As you mentioned it could just be the guy is hitching his wagons to Boylen. Having a team truly invested in a player's development is half the battle.

[fleggy2k2]

If by CA you mean California then yes correct -- NOT Canada

I said "Cali" meaning California

what's the vector, Victor

damn. roger, Roger. My mistake

[DesignatedT]

Minimum contract please. If so, it looks like a solid signing.

[Mnky]

It's great to have another role-player with upside rather than just a vet like Kenyon Martin. It's rare to find a big that has his athleticism that is also a good fit for the Spurs' system. Let's hope they've got one here.

Exactly. We need Role-Players that compliment the system. We got a strong starting 5 already. How many times did you hear during the playoffs, "With this unit out there, spurs fans are just holding their breath until the starters get back out there." Too many times. I'm not saying this guy is the answer, but it's the right direction. Our second unit was our biggest weakness. I think this off-season has been all about improving that second unit and so far I'm happy. Our First unit took us to the Finals. We're good there. Our second unit needs to improve to allow our boys rest so maybe Timmy has the energy left to make a 5 ft. shot and Tony doesn't pass away the ball every time he touches it in the final 3 minutes.

[Chinook]

The timing makes me think this contract is NOT a minimum deal. Young players never sign minimum deals this early in the offseason. Unless Pendergraph is in love with Boylen and just wanted to follow him, I think the more likely scenario is the Spurs gave him the rest of the MLE.

Maybe a two year fully guaranteed minimum deal was enough ..... but any bigman who has shown a pulse gets paid more than the minimum.

So, yeah, if this is a minimum deal in which the Spurs view him as a Bonner replacement = Great move

If they gave him MLE money =

On the other hand, if they gave him part of the MLE, then they must REALLY like him. That means he could be in the plans for next season, not just as depth. That would suggest Bonner or Diaw is on the move. They'd only move them to acquire another player like Kirilenko. Maybe a straight trade is coming.

[Jumi]

Like him as a reserve big. He obviously has good strength, toughness and athleticism. For a change, the Spurs have a young, legit backup PF, who isn't undersized. I applaud Boylen for drumming up interest in this kid. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him stick with this team, as part of their future. I can see him playing alongside of Baynes, giving the Spurs a tenacious backup PF/C duo, perhaps taking lobs from Cory Joseph. Along with Pendergraph being an unofficial Blair replacement, I guess this would signal the end of any Kenyon Martin interest. Spurs are better off for having gone younger anyway. I hope he eventually pushes Bonner of this roster.

Is the door still ajar for AK7? Did the Spurs get him cheaply or did they have to use part of their MLE?

If this works out like I think it will, our second unit will be great! Think of the looks Manu gets for Splitter and Blair! This kid can do more! So a second unit of Cojo, Marco, Manu, Pendergraph and Baynes doesn't look to bad.

[mudyez]

I like him

[Darkwaters]

Interesting. He's a decent player who fits as a Blair replacement. His per minute numbers are pretty damn good: 14.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per 36 minutes. If that assistant coach coming over from Indiana is high on him and the Spurs signed him for the minimum, it's a great deal. If the Spurs used the other half of the MLE on him ........ that'll be disappointing.

I've been saying for a couple of days that the Spurs will need to acquire another big somewhere. I figured a league minimum signing was the most likely.

Based on this guy's statistics and games played I can't see this being anything but a minimum signing.

If they did use part of the MLE on him though then this signing has Jackie Butler-like potential. Heres hoping they learned their lesson the first damn time.

[Samr.]

I'm a fan of anyone who gets a fan who calls himself "flo-rida" banned from the playoffs

[Vic Petro]

I would say this def closes the door on Oden, if the door was ever open in the first place.

[biziofromdowntown]

BTW, he has a solid shot but a terrible release

[raybies]

Is the door still ajar for AK7? Did the Spurs get him cheaply or did they have to use part of their MLE?

AK47 is a pipe dream imo. He's a SF that would command a starters salary, is 32, and can't spread the floor as a small ball 4 which is what is most valuable. Also we already have Marco and Manu. That's back up SG and SF. Plus we also have Diaw as a small ball four. If we did get Kirilenko, we would have to make alot of moves and then pay up, more than Diaw. So unless Pop plans on playing Manu as the back up 1, we don't really have space for him.

[Darkwaters]

The timing makes me think this contract is NOT a minimum deal. Young players never sign minimum deals this early in the offseason. Unless Pendergraph is in love with Boylen and just wanted to follow him, I think the more likely scenario is the Spurs gave him the rest of the MLE.

That's my guess.

I mean, we had a similar situation with Danny Green. We bring in Ferry and he talks up this D-Leaguer that he liked in Cleveland. Worked out pretty well.

Now, obviously the correlation isn't perfect. Green had basically no other suitors and was slumming it for the Reno Bighorns. One can assume that Pendergraph could have found a deal worth slightly more. But the Spurs do offer the Boylen connection which may be worth something. And a winning culture is desirable I'm sure. And coming away from a deep playoff run with Indiana he might not have been interested in shifting gears to a long career with the Bobcats or Raptors. Winning is fun.

All said, I think the minimum contract possibility is the most likely.

[Darkwaters]

I would say this def closes the door on Oden, if the door was ever open in the first place.

Ummm, that's a win. Oden is fool's gold, and I doubt the Spurs were ever genuinely interested.

[Mr. Body]

He was in the same draft as DeJuan Blair, right? He went 6 picks before. Not a big deal, I guess, just vaguely interesting.

[tomtom]

Poor-mans Darell Arthur? Hmm I hope Baynes gets more time before him tbh haha

[dallasmaverickslose]

Any particular reason why the Pacers didn't try herder to bring this guy back?

[ElNono]

Another two year deal....

[Prime Time]

Another two year deal....

Spurs going full-tank mode in 2015, tbh.

[Darkwaters]

Another two year deal....

The 2015 plan

[SenorSpur]

If this works out like I think it will, our second unit will be great! Think of the looks Manu gets for Splitter and Blair! This kid can do more! So a second unit of Cojo, Marco, Manu, Pendergraph and Baynes doesn't look to bad.

Amen!

The signing of Pendergraph certainly qualifies as an upgrade to both Bonner and Blair. He's also as good or better than any big that was available to the Spurs via the draft. He languished on a stacked roster in Portland for a couple of years and didn't appear to develop very much. Fortunately, he's still young enough where he can continue to develop and improve, with good coaching. The fact that he's smart, to go along with his already raw, physical skills, is yet another plus. The Spurs finally have a bonafide, legit backup PF. There's no question that he is an upgrade to the second unit. His presence will allow for more rest for the starters during the regular season. There is nothing but upside to this signing. I like it a lot.

[Spurs Brazil]

E-N writers could do some work this offseason and try to get this contract number

[timvp]

Pendergraph is 6-foot-8.75 without shoes so in the NBA world he's 6-foot-10. Add in his 250-pound bulk and he has a chance to play center in San Antonio.

If he pans out, he'll be useful. The Spurs could use a backup PF with bulk -- especially because it is proven Splitter can't rebound when he has smalls around him.

The more I research, the happier I am with this signing. He exhibited some nice perimeter ability last year, which is a big improvement from earlier in his career and will give him a shot to win a spot in the rotation with the Spurs.

Add in that he's a smart guy who is regarded as a good teammate and he looks like an ideal cheap backup bigman prospect.





Now the only question is cost. prayingdog.jpg @ two years at the minimum

[cjw]

wtf you talkin bout

born in Cali went to ASU http://www.thesundevils.com/auto_pdf...pendergraphbio

seems to have a brain in his head got his degree in economics at ASU in less than 4 years while playing ball

He was getting Ontario, CA confused with the Ontario north of us