Spurs withdraw qualifying offer to Neal

[coyotes_geek]

Interesting. The CBA FAQ says that the Spurs lose Neal's Bird rights by rescinding their offer. Had they not tendered him at all, they would have retained his Bird rights. If they had cap space, they could trade him (like Utah can will Mo Williams), but they can't do anything else.

That only applies after July 23rd. Teams retain Bird rights if they pull the QO on or before July 23.

It's buried in the footnotes on the FAQ.

On/before July 23rd: Team can pull QO without player's consent, team retains bird rights.

After July 23rd: Team must get player's consent to pull QO, team loses bird rights.

[Chinook]

That only applies after July 23rd. Teams retain Bird rights if they pull the QO on or before July 23.

It's buried in the footnotes on the FAQ.

On/before July 23rd: Team can pull QO without player's consent, team retains bird rights.

After July 23rd: Team must get player's consent to pull QO, team loses bird rights.

So they do retain his Bird Rights. Cool.

[tmtcsc]

That sucks. All the fans who are happy to see him go are going to regret it. He's instant office and a fearless shooter. He's a more explosive scorer than Beninelli. We may have gotten a little bit better defensively but it still sucks to see him go.

[Chinook]

Can Bruno confirm this? He's the most knowledgeable person here on ST when it comes to CBA rules.

EDIT: So I was right and just didn't read the CBA FAQ carefully enough the second time. They can still sign-and-trade Neal. You can thank coyotes_geek for catching that.

[Kingsly Alexander]

So we have the bird rights to Neal and Blair. Wonderful

These are players that teams covet for different reasons and have value.

I'm sure the FO are doing their best, but can we not get at least 2nd Rounders for these guys? Or at least swap our second rounder with the Wizards or a Utah?

[timvp]

Strange. As Bruno stated, RC appears to have been trying to bluff his way into a sign-and-trade. Once that didn't pan out, the Spurs were more interested in the open roster spot than bringing back a now redundant player (the only way he wasn't redundant is if the Spurs had simultaneously given up on Joseph, De Colo and Mills).

I'm still hopeful that the offseason isn't over yet but it has been an odd month.

From the outside, it looked like Neal's reps tried to bluff the Spurs with a big contract offer. The Spurs, instead of meeting the demands, simply went ahead and signed Belinelli for less than Neal was asking. Then Buford returned the favor and bluffed the NBA regarding Neal -- but nobody bit......

Now it'll be fascinating to see if he'll get more than Belinelli. I'm guessing not since most of the money around the league has been used up.





P.S.

This could have also been a going away present for Neal. By withdrawing the QO, that raised his value because now teams don't have to worry about the Spurs matching.

[Chinook]

Even a small trade exception would be a good thing to get. That would allow them to bid on players who get waived with small salaries.

[SpursRock20]

Going to miss you Neal. Will never forget these two plays...

[timtonymanu]

I would much rather have Neal than De Colo, but there isn't a situation that makes it realistic.

[Kingsly Alexander]

I like Neal as well but he will always be a situational player because he can't play defense.

Part of the reason our rotations have shortened the past 2 years in the WCF and Finals is because of too many situational players. We need more players that can play both sides of the court.

Unsure if Belinelli and our other acquisitions can be more than that, but we needed a change.

And it seems the only way were gonna get this player is if we package all our situational assets and projects and picks for an impact player.

Though its fair to mention we never have much leverage with these sort of things and the last two times we tried for this didn't work all too well i.e. Kurt Thomas and Richard Jefferson.

[DPG21920]

Strange. As Bruno stated, RC appears to have been trying to bluff his way into a sign-and-trade. Once that didn't pan out, the Spurs were more interested in the open roster spot than bringing back a now redundant player (the only way he wasn't redundant is if the Spurs had simultaneously given up on Joseph, De Colo and Mills).

I'm still hopeful that the offseason isn't over yet but it has been an odd month.

From the outside, it looked like Neal's reps tried to bluff the Spurs with a big contract offer. The Spurs, instead of meeting the demands, simply went ahead and signed Belinelli for less than Neal was asking. Then Buford returned the favor and bluffed the NBA regarding Neal -- but nobody bit......

Now it'll be fascinating to see if he'll get more than Belinelli. I'm guessing not since most of the money around the league has been used up.





P.S.

This could have also been a going away present for Neal. By withdrawing the QO, that raised his value because now teams don't have to worry about the Spurs matching.

Some people think that goodwill from team to player or vice versa does not exist.

[Baam]

Some people think that goodwill from team to player or vice versa does not exist.

Lol at goodwill when they signed Beli 5 minutes into the off season and backed themselves into a corner.

It's more like we're gonna do what it takes so that there's zero chance you remain on the team.

[coyotes_geek]

Strange. As Bruno stated, RC appears to have been trying to bluff his way into a sign-and-trade. Once that didn't pan out, the Spurs were more interested in the open roster spot than bringing back a now redundant player (the only way he wasn't redundant is if the Spurs had simultaneously given up on Joseph, De Colo and Mills).

I'm still hopeful that the offseason isn't over yet but it has been an odd month.

From the outside, it looked like Neal's reps tried to bluff the Spurs with a big contract offer. The Spurs, instead of meeting the demands, simply went ahead and signed Belinelli for less than Neal was asking. Then Buford returned the favor and bluffed the NBA regarding Neal -- but nobody bit......

Now it'll be fascinating to see if he'll get more than Belinelli. I'm guessing not since most of the money around the league has been used up.





P.S.

This could have also been a going away present for Neal. By withdrawing the QO, that raised his value because now teams don't have to worry about the Spurs matching.

Agree about Belinelli, but when it came to Neal's QO I thiknk the Spurs just didn't see a rush to make a decision on Neal's QO until they had to. Basically the Spurs just gave themselves a window of opportunity to see if some team liked Neal enough to talk offer sheet with him which would be an instant S&T conversation starter for them. No one bit, so the Spurs pull his QO which they knew they were going to do from the beginning. There was no downside to waiting, and a chance of there being an upside.

[DPG21920]

But what do you gain by pulling the QO? Unless you are really scared of him playing for 1 year, 1M?

[spurraider21]

I would much rather have Neal than De Colo, but there isn't a situation that makes it realistic.

[Chinook]

Lol at goodwill when they signed Beli 5 minutes into the off season and backed themselves into a corner.

I actually agree. If the Spurs signed Belinelli because they think he's an upgrade to Neal, that's one thing. But if they signed him simply because they thought Neal was going to be out of their price range, then that was poor judgment on their part. It's cool to be a patient franchise that doesn't rush into free agency and focuses on internal improvement, but if they jumped the gun with this situation, it sort of throws a wrench into any strategy.

[Chinook]

But what do you gain by pulling the QO? Unless you are really scared of him playing for 1 year, 1M?

It's kind of getting to that point. He may well not sign for too much more than that.

Also, perhaps this will get more teams to bid on him, which is mainly for Neal's benefit, but it could also help the Spurs out if they're willing to take a lopsided deal.

[DPG21920]

DPG not sure why you don't think it makes sense. 1 million is still a lot of money in the end to a small market team and to say that Neal would have been redundant on this team would have been putting it mildly. I thought it was far more surprising that RC said they might keep him.

Maybe if the Spurs had deep pockets it wouldn't make as much sense but the fact is they don't.

Well, tbh, nothing the Spurs have done this off season makes sense. While you might argue that 1M is a lot of money, the Spurs paid more than that to their 5th or 6th big man and Gary is a proven NBA-Level player. At that 1M he far exceeds his value and would cost about the same as any 15th person you could add to the team. The difference is he is proven and you know he is worth what you are paying.

[DPG21920]

It's kind of getting to that point. He may well not sign for too much more than that.

Also, perhaps this will get more teams to bid on him, which is mainly for Neal's benefit, but it could also help the Spurs out if they're willing to take a lopsided deal.

It makes it slightly better remembering they still have his BR's, but still does not make a ton of sense to me. I can't believe, that even with depth, they don't value Gary at 1M per year. But hey, the Spurs have had one unbelievably odd off season so who knows what they are thinking.

[coyotes_geek]

But what do you gain by pulling the QO? Unless you are really scared of him playing for 1 year, 1M?

It's not about being scared Neal would accept the QO, it's about pulling it when the Spurs could do so while retaining his Bird Rights which keeps the possibility of an S&T alive.

[TheGreatYacht]

I actually agree. If the Spurs signed Belinelli because they think he's an upgrade to Neal, that's one thing. But if they signed him simply because they thought Neal was going to be out of their price range, then that was poor judgment on their part. It's cool to be a patient franchise that doesn't rush into free agency and focuses on internal improvement, but if they jumped the gun with this situation, it sort of throws a wrench into any strategy.

I've been saying this for the longest time.

[DPG21920]

It's not about being scared Neal would accept the QO, it's about pulling it when the Spurs could do so while retaining his Bird Rights which keeps the possibility of an S&T alive.

If they didn't pull it, they would still have the S&T and the option of him signing for 1M. I don't see anything gained from it unless your mindset is:

1) You under no cir stance really want him to sign that QO
2) It's a good will gesture

Nothing else makes sense IMO

[coyotes_geek]

Neal is going to make more than the QO. There was no risk to the Spurs of him accepting it. This is all about the Spurs doing what they can to keep S&T possibilities alive.

[DPG21920]

Neal is going to make more than the QO. There was no risk to the Spurs of him accepting it. This is all about the Spurs doing what they can to keep S&T possibilities alive.

So if they don't revoke the QO, they still have the S&T option though, correct? They don't have to pull it. It's only that they have to pull it now if they want to in order to keep Bird Rights. If you arent concerned about him accepting, just keep the option there and keep the S&T alive that way.

[Chinook]

If they didn't pull it, they would still have the S&T and the option of him signing for 1M. I don't see anything gained from it unless your mindset is:

1) You under no cir stance really want him to sign that QO
2) It's a good will gesture

Nothing else makes sense IMO

It is notable that once Neal were to sign his QO, he is locked into staying on the Spurs for the whole season. He's virtually untradeable due to his one-year deal. The Spurs would essentially have to keep him for the season and then let him go for free next July.