.png&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "By the numbers: A quick look at the Grizzlies")
Diaw gets bought out, now a free agent
We've known all season long that the San Antonio Spurs are a little thin up front. Earlier this week we looked at a couple of available bigs who 
are close to not being available anymore. Yesterday, reports emerged that forward J.J. Hickson was on the verge of signing with the Golden State Warriors and today Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Heat are finalizing a deal with back up center Ronny Turiaf.
Alas, a new but familiar name has emerged. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer was the first to report that the Bobcats and Boris Diaw have come to an agreement on a buy out.
Early rumors are that the Spurs are front runners for Diaw in part thanks to this comment from Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
"He's in shape. I'm the first to make fun of him when he gains too much weight but right now it's not the case. We're very interested to get him but New York is interested too. We'll see'."
It's pretty well known that Diaw and Parker are really close so if the Spurs are serious about bringing Diaw in, they do have an early advantage. Parker also mentioned that the Knicks were interested in Diaw, but that was the Mike D'Antoni led Knicks. Who's to say if the Mike Woodson coached Knicks have any interest?
I would again contend that this would be a good move for the Spurs.
Despite his size (he's only 6'8" or 6'9"), ESPN's John Hollinger notes that Diaw is a good defender who is strong and moves well. You're worried about him being out of shape? I'm with you on that one, but we're also not asking the guy to play 35 minutes a game. He probably wouldn't start and also probably wouldn't play more than 25 minutes in any game. His versatile game also lends itself to being able to play with Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner (he's probably a little too short to play with Blair). Also, the Spurs have two guys who can defend the post, they need more mobile guys to defend the pick and roll. I noted in an earlier post that Diaw ranks 23rd in the league in defending the pick and roll according to Synergy Sports.
The Spurs have a back to back to back coming up next week and another next month. The Spurs could use the depth for the stretch run, especially a guy with Diaw's unique skill set. So Tony, get the griddle going, get the French Toast cooking and get Boris Diaw in a Spurs uniform.
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supposedly he put on weight over the offseason so he could guard centers better like the bobcats were asking him to do... there may be a little truth to it but he definitely let it go overboard. the guy is really versatile and would automatically become one of our best pick and roll defenders. hes not a 7 footer but he compliments the system better than anyone thats been on the market so might as well use tony to lure him. he would definitely increase the chances of making a run and i dont see anyone better being available
Boris Diaw happens to be the shortest of the 3 available players. The spurs are fun of "short" guys so, maybe he will be signed. Bur don't count on it. The spurs is being avoided by agents for being a stingy spender. Am sure other fans will argue that our spurs is a small market, too expensive or does not fit. Well, one can dream. Hope springs eternal.
@rtesoro440 I don't think we are stingy spenders, we just don't have room to pay more. We have the big 3 locked up in contracts and I don't want to spend big on Diaw. I wouldn't mind having him for a low price and on a short term deal becaue then it woudl be a low risk. In Charlotte, he clashed with the coach and his work ethic was not very good. Personally, I think Tiago and Blair play much better D than Diaw. Blair is undersized but goes all out. Sometimes it looks as if Diaw isn't even trying out there. If the player of your dreams is Diaw, I woudl say wake up.
@Coxcr20 @rtesoro440 Hard to speak for this season, since the guy is out of shape. However, I remember when boris diaw was on the suns, he was a very good defender both in the post and on the perimeter. Advanced statistics show that he is among the best post defenders in the league this season as well. Also, not sure if you watched that suns series, but remember how well he defended tony? Anyways, if we sign him, it is hard to expect much because he might be still out of shape and lazy. Blair has much more hustle than diaw, but the fact that you said blair is a better defender is such a joke though. Anyway, I have not watched a lot of bobcats games this year, just telling it as it is.
@Coxcr20 No, I am not putting too much hope on boris diaw. But come on, I have seen a lot of spurs games this season, and blair, who I like a lot, is really not working very well on defense to put it mildly. the irony is that the several bobcats games I have watched were games where diaw was rather impressive, such as the knicks games. Not to hate on blair, but he has been awful on defense this season. I agree that Tiago or tim might be the best thing to throw at a great front court like memphis. I highly doubt that diaw would get a lot of money should he sign with the spurs, but an extra big can only help. I was not by any means trying to say your opinion sucked, but I am more optimistic than you that something would work out.
The advanced statistics thing: I am pretty certain I did not pull that out of my ass, since I read an article somewhere a while before the all star break, but a plain google search is not giving me much luck. I might post it later should I read the article again.
If Diaw is out of shape, he may still come around. Besides, he will not play minutes and a part of contingency plan for the spurs. Diaw is a misunderstood player. It takes motivation to prod him to play better basketball. Maybe under Pops will perform to our satisfaction.
Ok, you are comparing Boris Diaw from the Suns back in what, 2008-2009 season to Blair today? Yes, Diaw back then was better. Unless he or the Spurs have a flux capaciter, we would not be getting that Diaw. Diaw has put on a lot of weight....a lot.. I have DJ Augistine on my fantasy team so I have watched a few Bobcats games (very painful to watch by the way) and Diaw looked awful. If we signed him, he might get motivated playing for a contender/playoff team, but don't expect the player that played for the suns and don't expect him to guard any point guards like Tony. So yes, you are telling it how it is, Diaw was good when he played for the suns. Congratulations on telling it how it is. I hate how you pull a random stat from the past to say how great he is. Don't want to argue with other spurs fans, but his is just not a "dream" player. If we can get him cheap and short term, I am all for it as the upside could be worth the low risk. I thnk the 3 spot is more of a natural position fo him as he is only 6 ft 8 so I am not sure who you want him to guard in the low block, but Tiago will do a beter job on a Gasol or Randolph type then Diaw. Neither Blair, nor Bonner, nor Diaw is the answer there and there just aren't many available bigs out there. Diaw may be the best FA available now, but I don't want a long term deal or to spend big money on him.
PS - Please send me link to "advanced statistics" site.
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@rtesoro440 Which taller players are you talking about? Turiaf? Oh yeah he plays for the heat. Hickson? Oh yeah he got picked up off waivers by the blazers so the spurs never had a chance of signing him
Unfortunately. The spurs were outrun by other teams. It seems its like ok corral - fastest draw. Yeah, it could have been better to have Turiaf and maybe Hickson. Their only recourse is sign Diaw if he is fit or if Kaman comes along.
@antarescrane The kid has so much room to grow to which is the scary thing. But he is just a kid so mistakes are going to happen. If he develops consistency on his shot and learns players' tendencies as he gains experience he is going to be an absolute beast. Even that night Lebron hung like 32 on them Kawhi was playing excellent defense. If anyone else had been guarding him he prolly would have scored over 50.
@JimmyPriour Yeah, Kawhi has already exceeded my expectations by a lot though, especially having watched him guard durant, but I just want to tamper them a little bit and not get upset if he screws up tbh lol....
@antarescrane Kawhi's defensive intensity will always be there. he may not hit shots due to some jitters in the playoffs, but he is a guy who thrives on defense and brings it 100% every night. I agree completely about Turiaf, he has never stood out at any area, and definitely not denfensively. For Hickson to develop and want to play he would have to go somewhere where he will get 30+ minutes a night, which would simply not happen in a spurs uniform. Pop simply doesn't play developing players who struggle to play defense that many minutes. Which is why Blairs minutes suffer
@JimmyPriour Thing about turiaf is that he is much worse than blair at anything except shot blocking and size. People say he is a good defender, but I have never seen anything that resembles that from him. Hickson is a super athletic big, but he is not very polished right now, and like you stated, he plays virtually no defense. Although not the ideal pick up, I would take boris diaw even if the other guys were available. I have not seen captain jack play much since the time when he kicked dirk's ass a while back, but I hope you guys are right about him. I like what I saw in the game last night. Seems like he can still shoot. Not too sure about Kawhi though. Hard to expect too much from a rookie come playoff time.
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Hickson was never even an option since he got claimed off waivers (If you dont know what that process is or how the salary cap/luxury tax work you should probably stop making so many posts about things you know nothing about.)... besides that he is a horrible shoot first 6'9" underachiever who CANNOT play defense. Turiaf is another guy who struggles to do anything except box out and get defensive rebounds, which are 2 of the 3 things Blair can actually do fairly well, so again, no need. Besides he went to the superfriends in Miami. Kaman IS NOT GETTING BOUGHT OUT. Get that through your head. The ONLY option worth even attempting to sign is Diaw, and that is ONLY if he comes cheap enough. Otherwise I'll take Dawson as the 5th big on the bench.
Kawhi and Jack can both guard quite a few of the better 4's in the league. This is a luxury we didn't have last year, and people seem to be overlooking it.
@JohnAbney @rtesoro440 Glad somebody else told him the same thing. Just cannot stand this guy. His posts barely make sense logically or grammatically. Also he says the exact same things every time. It's hard to believe that he is not some troll.
@JimmyPriour @rtesoro440 @JohnAbney Haha, I agree, but I think it is more hilarious that he is seemingly not a troll, oh well...Not gonna waste energy hating on peeps on the internet....
@antarescrane @rtesoro440 @JohnAbney I find it pretty hilarious he got all bent out of shape for being called an idiot, and then turns around and starts calling people "MORON" and "Blonehead". Ignorance is bliss.
@rtesoro440 @JohnAbney Well, I will be first to apologize dude. Perhaps I overreacted a little bit. Never intended to insult you, but you get on people's nerves because a lot of people don't exactly agree with what you are saying. I guess it is a bit not practical to get mad at somebody on the internet. I won't say that I agree with you, but you should see things the way other people see them as well. Reading through some of these comments, it seems that a lot of other people agree with many of the assertions that I am making. Regardless of what you think, I am going to not go on with this name calling or getting angry at your comments thing.
he also happens to be the best defender out of the three. You cannot overlook that. Turiaf sucks, and hickson, which he has the potential to be an amare, has no defensive skills, and definitely not ready for this season. Besides, he got claimed off waivers by portland, didn't you hear? There is nothing the spurs could have done about that, even if the spurs were to pay him 10 billion dollars a year. Also, I think boris diaw might end up being useless if he is out of shape. If he is in shape, he's much better than bonner or blair. Turiaf though, would have sucked. Also who else did you have in mind, I mean all you care about seems to be size. If you were the GM you would have signed hasheem thabeet. I would like a somebody like a dwight howard or tyson chandler too, but be realistic. RC has done a pretty good job with what he has, you cannot complain. Stop being the idiot that you have been for like year on this site.
Name calling won't get you anywhere MORON! What I am saying is the truth. The plasyers and agents are avoiding the spurs because of money. And it is true that Diaw is the shortest guy so why complain. Does truth hurts you bonehead? If the spurs want to contend they have to spend that's the name of the game.Quality players comes expensive. If the spurs settle for what they have, so be it but remember what happened against the grizzlies. Don't tell me Manu and TD were injured because all players are exposed to the same risks.
@rtesoro440 I never once said they'd get them for free smart guy. I'm simply telling you their are restrictions to signing players league wide that vary from team to team... this is a well known concept by anyone that actually follows basketball. The spurs have literally done everything they can. They are over the cap so they are very limited in what they can offer, yet they have been offering the max they can to every single free agent/bought out big that is worth it. You can't be this ignorant...
Ill use this as a simple and recent example. The Knicks this offseason ridiculously overpaid Tyson Chandler because they felt all they needed was a big with defensive presence to go along with Melo and Amare (sound familiar?). They offered him so much money even Mark Cuban scoffed at it. They have now fired one of the top 5 coaches in the league because they severely crippled their roster by overpaying (and this isn't even including the years it took them to get out of the multiple horrible contracts they gave out in the early 00's), and are fighting for the last playoff spot in the lowly eastern conference. Looks like spending big just to chase a ring works pretty good.... they will most likely be out of the playoffs in the first round.
You tried to use Chicago as an example of spending big... Chicago is another team just like the spurs. They don't overpay players. They have had a massive hole at SG for the past 3 years and have been forced to settle with Bogans and a washed up Rip Hamilton. Salary cap is a bitch. Educate yourself
So you want players for free. Come on, the nba is a business. If you want what the spurs have, so be it but rfemember what happened against the grizzlies.
@JohnAbney @rtesoro440 @antarescrane
So what about Randolph are the gfrizzlies complaining? Are the wolves crying because Rubio is out? Rose is not playing but are the bulls saying anything? No, they keep on playing. Injury is p[art of the game.
@antarescraneMy apologies friend. Now that both TP and Bonner are out, whom shall the spurs turn to, Neal, Manu, Green? If today they have pg other than Joseph and a big man to take the place of Bonner, it would be far easier for the spurs. But no, you postulate that the spurs are self-sufficient. In basketball, nothing is a certtainty. Anybody could get injured. I am only being factual rather than a fanatic come what may. I say what exists..
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@rtesoro440 Your "truth" is just NOT true at all. You obviously don't get how the financial constraints of the system work, yet you keep trying to act like winning a championship is so easy. If spending won championships then the Knicks would've won the majority of the championships of the past 12 years as they have some of the largest pockets in the league, and have shown no remorse in going into the luxury tax. Your logic is just flawed
@rtesoro440 @antarescrane The spurs are not missing out on good players over money, or small realistic amounts. I mean the salary cap would not allow the spurs to sign butler, and how about guys like nene, he only wanted a max deal. Turiaf took vet minimum numbers but didn't want to play here even for more money. There is not a single case of the spurs not offering equal money, the players we want are either to expensive via salary cap, or they want to go play in the flavor of the month teams like the clippers. Your thought process is so far off reality of the sport and the salary constraints that it's not even funny any more. As for injured players, yes all players are subject to the same risk, the fact still remains that Tim and Manu where injured while the other players could have gotten injured. Where injured, could get injured.... You see the difference. It's like saying your wife could cheat on you or his wife DID cheat on him, the risk is there either way, just one did and the other didn't.
@rtesoro440 Rather than name calling, what I am saying is that nothing you ever post give meaning to anybody's life. You basically say the same thing"oh we need a big" in about 90% of your posts. Nothing new, just very obnoxious. Also I could barely understand most of your posts, such as this as the second half of this post. So instead of purposely trying to insult you, I am just speaking the truth. No hard feelings bro, but you get on people's nerves. What does money have to do with anything lately anyway? pretty moot argument to make regardless To answer your question, the truth does not hurt.
@growndhawgg Diaw averages 10ppg, 5rpg, and 4apg for his career. Bonner plays a very similar game and averages 7ppg, 3.5rpg and less then 1 assist for his career. Really the only thing Matt does better is shoot 3s about 5% better. That and I think diaw even eats sandwhiches better!
I'm for it also. I know there's going to be a lot of belly aching on here about it, but the question is who is available and who will sign with us? I would rather sign him than no one. We need to give Tim and the other bigs breaks so the don't break. Also, who can complain about extra depth?
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I've been on board since the 1st rumors and I still am. He isn't 7' tall but he is better then any player on the market now. It's kinda like the draft, do you take the best talent or draft for a specific need.
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@JohnAbney As long as he is in shape, he will be better than any of our bigs, or any that we could realistically sign besides tim and tiago. Otherwise, this is a low risk, high reward move regardless. We just need another big, as long as he is a good enought defender. Really, any smart big between 6'8 to 7'0+ is good.
I would only sign up for the rest of the season. I wouldn't want to commit to a guy who's not willing to commit to himself.
@Spursforever69 Yeah, I am pretty sure that is what they are doing if he is signed....No way I give him a huge contract, but he's the most talented player we could have gotten right now if he does end up in SA.
