The free agency period started on July 1st, and while the league is wheeling and dealing ($40 million for Anderson Varejao???), the Spurs seem to be content standing pat. Finley opted to exercise his player option early on, and over the last week the Spurs have resigned Jacque Vaugh and Fabricio Oberto, while agreeing to terms with free agent Matt Bonner today.
Contracts:
Fabricio Oberto – 3 years/$10.5 million. (Unofficial, verbal agreement). Oberto Reaches Agreement
Matt Bonner – 3 years/$9 million.
Bonner Resigns With Spurs
Jacque Vaughn – 2 years/$2.5 million
Vaughn Resigns
What do the signings tell us?
That the Spurs are playing it safe (and why the hell not?). Other than the departure of Melvin Ely, the 2008 Spurs will look very similar to the 2007 Spurs. But another indication of their plans may be that they got these deals done extremely quickly, signaling that they were committed to these 3 guys, or that they didn’t land one of the guys they were looking at (Matt Carroll was supposedly on their radar, but has reached a verbal agreement to remain in Charlotte).
Vaughn comes in at the veteran’s minimum, so it’s a no-brainer. He has the selflessness, hustle, and defensive prowess that symbolizes the Spurs. Plus, he found his jumper in the playoffs.
Bonner is probably the most surprising resigning, but he’s not overly expensive and should be coming into his prime. Plus, with Horry possibly in his last season, he’s the only other big that can spread the floor. Not a bank-breaker, and the organization loves him.
Possible Trades:
The Spurs don’t have many moveable assets at this point. They have been looking to deal Udrih for some time, but they may be content to let him play out the last year of his contract. Brent Barry is in the last year of his 4 year, $21 million dollar deal, and his expiring contract may be appealing to some teams. Jackie Butler has 2 years left on his deal, but the last is a team option (meaning he is, essentially, in the last year of his deal). He hasn’t fit in well with the Spurs, so he could get dealt if the right deal comes.
Current Spurs Contracts total to roughly $70 million, meaning the team is right on the cusp of the luxury tax. I’ll spare you the number crunching, but the result is simple: the Spurs probably won’t be spending any money unless they move someone. They have their full MLE (it’ll be around $5 million), but few players in the market warrant them at that price (have a look for yourself).
Marcus Williams probably will not be on the roster this year, and Tiago Splitter will spend the season in Spain (meaning neither player counts against the cap). Ian Mahinmi may join James White and Jackie Butler in summer league play, but won’t come to the NBA for a few more years.
As it stands, the Spurs have only one open roster spot. The constant variable is Luis Scola, who looks less and less likely to ever be a Spur. If the Spurs do choose to trade his rights (Chicago has recently expressed interest), they could fill that extra roster spot. Otherwise, they may sign a veteran for a one year deal (Grant Hill or a cheap big man) or use the extra spot for versatility in the trade market.
Final Verdict:
Don’t expect much to change in Spurs land (and that’s a good thing), but you’ll continue to hear Butler/Beno/Barry trade rumors until a deal is done.
No comments:
Post a Comment