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Has Splitter really been 'lost'?
Losing Splitter Stings, But Forget Not Mahinmi
Posted May 29th 2008 1:01AM by Tom Ziller
Filed under: Spurs, Euroleague
That Spurs draftee Tiago Splitter has reportedly decided to choose Spain over San Antonio qualified as a minor defeat in the face of last night's Game 4 failure. It has gotten attention -- notably from TrueHoop and The Sporting Blog -- but obviously takes a backseat to Barry/Fisher. But something's been ignored in all the frim-fram over the loss of Splitter: his would-be training camp compe ion, current Spur Ian Mahinmi.
By my watch, Mahinmi is a better Spur today, tomorrow, and in three years. Remember Amir Johnson? As a D-League youth, Amir set the midwest ablaze, creating a spectacle of brimstone and glory which had locals speaking in tongues. He graduated to the Pistons this year and in limited minutes proceeded to light up every player rating system known to Man, according to the awesome Count the Basket (via Shoals).
Why does this matter? Because Monsieur Mahinmi set the midwest ablaze as a D-League youth this season. He finished third in PER for his work with the Austin Toros, shooting extraordinarily well from the floor, drawing fouls and hitting FTs, racking up steals and blocks, all while offering 17 and 8.
Splitter played just fine in Spain this season, but he's a season behind on American/San Antonio integration (Mahinmi spent training camp, early November, and May with the big club) and a step back on adjusting to the NBA-style game (which is employed at some scale in the D-League). The Spurs would love to have both Tiago and Ian in the fold as Robert Horry retires (we can pray) and Tim Duncan walks closer to retirement (not too fast, Big Fun). But Splitter's resistance isn't the death of San Antonio big men of the future. Mahinmi will represent just fine.
Has Splitter really been 'lost'?
a ray of hope shines!!!
He appears lost. Guys, anyone who has seen these two guys play (Mahinmi, and Splitter) would realize they are 2 different players and would be GREAT to have both.
Mahinmi has little to no inside game, while Splitter is excellent inside. Mahinmi can hit the jumper and has a great hook shot from 10 ft or so.
Seriously, I think the spurs need to do whatever it takes to get Splitter, and if I absolutely had to pick one player it would be Splitter.
Mahinmi is not the asnwer... when will people realise that.
Hes 2 or 3 years away... Duncan will be 35 by the time Mahinmi becomes decent.
Splitter was our guy and we couldnt get him... and its gonna hurt us in the future..
why do u say that he is so far away from contributing next year.....
A 'ray of hope' is the guy already on the roster? The guy maybe two years away from rotation minutes?
Nah, losing Splitter is a disaster. Add the trade of Scola for nothing -- seemingly done because they thought they could bring Splitter in -- and this makes reconstructing this team extremely hard. I don't see how it can be done; getting Splitter in was key.
Yea but isn't Pop allergic to young blood?
ray of hope as in at least we have another big sticking around.
Losing Splitter is not pretty for the Spurs. They lost the best starting center they had lined up for next year. Ian might be a good bench player one day, but he's not nearly the quality of Splitter.
well i guess we are all ed
Oh yes. The savior of our franchise.
We are ed.
So far we have a blog posting claiming that Splitter has extended with Tau, an article from Vittoria's local paper saying he is contemplating an offer, and no official announcement.
So, uh, don't point the gun at your temple yet.
FYI...
Mahinmi will be better, regardless of where Splitter play next year and on.
Thank you. I do believe that the success of our offseason overhaul begins with getting Splitter here. They do that and the other pieces will fall into place. If the Splitter deal falls through and the Spurs will have too many holes to fill to make up for out our veteran fetish.
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