Tiago Splitter, the athletic power forward from Brazil, was predicted to join the Spurs this offseason. Now, everyone isn't so sure. Based on an interview from this Spanish site, Splitter is publicly stating that he may resign with TAU Ceramica (his current team in Spain) if they can offer him more money. Which, yea, they probably will. TAU can offer him essentially whatever they want, while the Spurs are limited to offering him a rookie-scale contract. Keep in mind, Splitter will also be going from "main man" on TAU to a bench role player on the Spurs.
According to Truehoop, Spurs' representatives are in Spain trying to convince him otherwise.
UPDATE: Looks like Tiago opted for the big bucks, or so says ESPN Brazil. If San Antonio sees him, it won't be until 2010. Major blow to the Spurs. The deal appears to be in the 2-year/$8-10 million range, which is obviously more than the Spurs could offer under the collective bargaining agreement rules (read: rookie contact).
UPDATE No.2: One upbeat writer suggests that Ian Mahinmi is a better player right now than Splitter, and the Spurs will be fine. He's wrong (Ian will be on the roster, but he still has a lot to learn about the game) but it's a nice glass-half-full approach.
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