Spurs in Serious Talks with Belinelli (Edit: signed to 2 year/$6M)

[Brazil]

FWIW, I don't really mean to come off as negative against Belinelli. Neal is apparently getting offers higher than the Spurs are willing to pay him so they were forced to move on. They needed to find a reasonably priced shooting guard to provide depth and be able to step in when Ginobili misses his games. Under those cir stances, getting Belinelli is fine. He has his flaws (thus why he only got $2M last offseason and less than $3M this offeseason) but he's in his prime and has some upside. He has a chance to be a bust but he also has a chance to do better than expected. All in all, as relatively cheap SG depth, Belinelli is a good get.

But it's pretty dumb to think of this as a big improvement over Neal ... especially since it appears as if the Spurs attempted to sign Neal first and only moved on to Belinelli when they got priced out of the Neal race. Let's hope it works out but everything we're hearing so far is that he was a consolation prize.

If spurs system can transform Green in an elite SG of today's NBA weak in SG, I see no reason to think Belli won't benefit with playing with the Spurs.
I also believe Belli was bad against the Heat cauz he did play without Rose, offensively Bulls were terrible, Heat had no choose your poison situation against the Bulls. Offensively I believe he will be much better in the Spurs system.
And compared to Manu, Korver and co... the contract they signed with Marco is a bargain. This signature is nothing else than a solid deal.

[therealtruth]

Debatable. Not that it matters though. Debating Neal's D vs Belinelli's D is like trying to decide whether it's better to fall off a tall building or a tall bridge. The end result isn't going to be pretty no matter what the answer is.

Spurs are basically swapping Neal for a clone of Neal who will play for less money than Neal. So long as he's brought on board with the room exception and not a chunk of the MLE, I'm just fine with the swap.

The one thing that killed me about Neal's D is him getting lost in no man's land. Is it too much to ask to stay on a shooter?

[ace3g]

One thing I have noticed in game tape, he knows how to use a pump fake effectively.

[Mugen]

Beli > Neal tbh.

Solid pickup for dem Spurs.

[rjv]

i think belinelli is more consistent than neal. neal had periods where he could just be shooting quite poorly and then hit a hot streak. belinelli seems to be more capable of hitting the 3 on a more regular basis

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Just hope Beli won't sag in the paint off a 3 point shooter the way Neal would. He can't be any worse defensivley than Neal though.

[racm]

Just hope Beli won't sag in the paint off a 3 point shooter the way Neal would. He can't be any worse defensivley than Neal though.

Thibs played him a lot, tbh... you don't earn PT on the Bulls playing Neal-level team defense

[Mugen]

Gary Neal is one of the worst perimeter defenders in the league who didn't play for the Lakers last season.

If Beli can fight through a screen without getting completely lost then he's an upgrade tbh.

[look_at_g_shred]

Great under the radar pick-up by the Spurs. Would they have it any other way?

[Baam]

Gary Neal is one of the worst perimeter defenders in the league who didn't play for the Lakers last season.

If Beli can fight through a screen without getting completely lost then he's an upgrade tbh.

He's not much better and Neal is a better shooter, so much wishful thinking in this thread...

[Baam]

Also Neal was making 800k, making season saving shots as a rookie and all...

[coyotes_geek]

Thibs played him a lot, tbh... you don't earn PT on the Bulls playing Neal-level team defense

You do when Rip Hamilton and Kirk Hinrich spend a good chunk of the season injured and the only other SG alternative on the roster is Daquan Cook.

[spurman123]

I'm tired of this soft euro trash tbh. Tbh, we just need some blackness tbh

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Belinelli is a great shooter. Career 39% from three. He played in a horrible offensive system last year in Chicago and they were also dealing with major injuries all over the play including Rose.

Delfino is coming off a broken foot and he's 4 years older than Belinelli. He can shoot but that's about it at this stage of his career.

As for playing SF, the Spurs will add another forward to the roster. And I definitely don't want Delfino guarding Durant.

He had a groin injury last year and he reaggravated against the Heat in Game 3 I believe. That is why his minutes and numbers went down in game 4 and 5 of that series. He continued playing b/c the Bulls were already without Rose, Deng, and Hinrich and Hamilton in and out of the lineup with injuries as well.

Belinelli plays better defense that Delfino IMO, judging from the games I watched both the Bulls and Rockets played. Delfino is a better ball handler but Belinelli is a better spot shooter IMO and that was the Spurs were looking for. Spot up shooter like and a better defensive version of Neal.

[Interrohater]

I'm tired of this soft euro trash tbh. Tbh, we just need some blackness tbh

That's just stupid as well as ignorant. And no, that's not being redundant.

[spurman123]

The two pretty much have the same exact same stat lines, considering beli average more minutes why is everyone hyped on this guy? Will pop even give him decent minutes?

[Floyd Pacquiao]

tbh we need an athletic black alpha male who's 6'9, can shoot, has quick feet and plays elite defense. anybody know where we can get one?

[Baam]

tbh we need an athletic black alpha male who's 6'9, can shoot, has quick feet and plays elite defense. anybody know where we can get one?

Livio Jean Charles in a few years... Maybe.

[TheGoldStandard]

I took a day to think about it and digest the signing before I formulated an opinion. I like the signing, he's Gary Neal but a little bigger and for about the same amount that Gary would demand or was probably wanting more. He's just another cog, he'll be there to catch and shoot and create off dribble slightly since he's a better ball handler than Neal. Does he get the Spurs over the top? No, but I'm pretty sure judging by the signings this offseason or lack there of and sticking with the same crew that they're content with what they have and expect monster years again from key players. He'll get Gary Neal's role and most of his minutes.

[Spur|n|Austin]

tbh we need an athletic black alpha male who's 6'9, can shoot, has quick feet and plays elite defense. anybody know where we can get one?

From the Heat.

[elec99]

Still looking for the backup 3 though....

[milkyway21]

I wonder what BelliNEALit's Spurs jersey number might be ...

[Mel_13]

I wonder what BelliNEALit's Spurs jersey number might be ...

He wore 18 with Warriors.

[spurman123]

He should wear 10, in respect to the same amount of minutes pop is going to play him per game

[milkyway21]

He wore 18 with Warriors.

okay thanks.