San Antonio Spurs: Grading The Offseason
Trading Tiago Splitter
Taking a draft-and-stash player is one thing, but having to give up a useful defensive presence like Tiago Splitter was easily the roughest move the Spurs had to make this summer in order to clear out enough room in the boat for the trophy fish they were chasing.
Despite being injury prone last season (he missed 30 games) and his seemingly mundane averages of 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, Splitter is a skilled big who fit in perfectly with San Antonio’s excellent ball movement and imposing interior defense on the other end.
Best of luck to Splitter in ATL. Did a lot of dirty work in SA that wasn't always appreciated. A thinking person's player.
— Dan McCarney (@danmccarneyNBA) July 9, 2015
By trading him to the Atlanta Hawks, the Spurs received the rights to a protected 2017 second round draft pick and the draft rights to Georgios Printezis, but the most important aspect of the deal was clearing out $8.5 million in cap space to pave the way for unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge.
Had the Spurs missed out on Aldridge, a move such as this would’ve been a serious blow to the team’s depth, continuity and defense, even with the cap room to find a Splitter replacement. A frontcourt of Duncan and Aldridge just won’t be as good defensively now that Splitter is gone, but since San Antonio’s offense was so vastly upgraded, this was a necessary evil for the betterment of the Spurs’ 2016 title hopes.
Grade: B-
Next: A Big Fundamental Move