Rumor: Bulls interested in Blair?
DeJuan's Blair season has been frustrating, to put it lightly.
The third year power forward hasn't seen too many minutes this season with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 14mpg in 37 appearances. The majority of his minutes have came when Tim Duncan has been out of the lineup or there's been a blowout.
Those "insignificant" minutes have bothered the forward and he's occasionally let Twitter and his followers know that. You can sympathize with Blair as he'll be a free agent this summer and wants to raise his stock as much as he can to sign with another team above the minimum.
It's been rumored that he's been wanting a trade and that the Spurs have been actively seeking a trade for him and there may be a taker for him. As reported on Twitter, the Chicago Bulls have expressed some interest in acquiring the Spurs' forward.
@ChicagoBullsBot Chicago Bulls have expressed interest in San Antonio Spurs F Dejuan Blair. (Source: Rumor Press)
It's a tricky situation for the Spurs in trading Blair because of his skills and his contract. Blair having a low salary means the Spurs will likely trade him for a draft pick. A bad team wouldn't want to give a bad pick for Blair, who's pick will be higher in the draft if the forward can walk away after the season. The other scenario would be San Antonio trading him to a good team, like the Bulls, who has an interest in him. The Bulls will likely offer a low second rounder in return for Blair to help them chase an NBA title with Derrick Rose's return getting closer. Another point to consider is the possibility of Chicago (4th overall in the East) meeting San Antonio in the NBA Finals if the Spurs were to win the Western Conference. The last thing the Spurs would want to see is a Blair motivated to beat them while looking for a payday in the biggest stage of the NBA.
Blair in a Bulls uniform would be an interesting sight. He doesn't seem to fit next to Joakim Noah since they both don't have reliable outside jumpers, but his energy and hustle may be what the Bulls need to improve their 93.7ppg (26th overall in the league). With the attention Rose garners, he'd be a perfect pick and roll partner for him and a guy who moves around the court off the ball.
What do you think Spurs fans? Should the Spurs consider trading Blair to a contender or should they keep him at the end of the bench until the season ends where he doesn't have a chance to hurt the team?
its not like we're sending rodman to the bulls...trading a little used player for an extra pick and cash to help us in the off season makes a lot of sense.
I thought if you stay under the cap you get a mid level. is that correct? So we might be able to convince manu or whoever to stay for a mid level deal.
Trading Blair is nothing more then a money saving proposition. Spurs are right at the tax line so trading Blair for cash/pick is all about $$$$. We will not get anything back of value to winning a title UNLESS he is part of a package. I don't see that happening as it is not the spurs way of business. A mid to late 2nd rounder and a little $$$ for Blair IMO is a best case!
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well if the Bulls want to suffer considerably on the defensive end, they should definitely give Blair "significant" minutes.
@Spursforever69 Splitter isn't doing any better. Should we stop giving him significant minutes?
So in the end, no matter when Blair goes, if he gets dealt, what;s the best trade/deal can the SAS get for him?
I think we missed the window of maximizing Blair's value. He dropped in the draft due to his knee, then when he had a solid and injury-free rookie year we should have traded him.
@Ironwill71 Why? He was who helped us get the #1 record in our conference two years in a row. If saying that then we definitely should trade Tiago Splitter while he has value. Blair's numbers in 4 seasons are slightly better than Splitter's 3. Blair is undersized while Splitter is almost 7 ft and somehow still manages to out rebound him. Had we traded Blair a while back we would have been stuck with Splitter before now. That would not have been good. Blair really didn't have much value, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway. His knees have always been an issue. If anything his value is higher now as teams have seen him play and stay pretty healthy during his time with the Spurs.
@Ironwill71 I'm pressing an untenable position with the smartest people in the room? Then how come they didn't do as you said and trade Blair after his rookie year? Splitter has been a pro since he was 15 years old. Blair has been a pro for 4 years and his numbers are slightly better than his. In 3 years with the Spurs Splitter has done what? I don't mind the Spurs trading Blair. I like him, but the Spurs don't use him and don't use him correctly. I believe I said Blair should be used at Forward rather than Center. I stick with my thoughts that Blair can help this team if they don't trade him. I don't see the reason to trade Blair if you can't get anything in return that can help this team now. His contract is up after this year. So either way he won't be a Spur much longer. I mentioned Baynes is foul prone. If Baynes get's into foul trouble like he has during his games with the Spurs and Austin Toros we will have the same problem we had with Blair. You said Baynes is a 7'ft youngster that needs to adapt to the NBA. "D-League". He's a banger with experiencing fouling and sitting on the bench. Get rid of Blair for a draft-pick and we will have Duncan, Splitter, Diaw, Bonner and Baynes. If Baynes get's into foul trouble prepare to see Bonner and Diaw more. Unless we make another trade after Blair, I don't see how you think we won't get outrebounded even more.
Ok DVSTS, he contributed. We agree on that. However, last season isn't what this conversation was about. Sure, Blair has gotten more regular season minutes at times than Splitter, but Splitter (7-footer) can be in our playoff future, not Blair (6'7). Blair's early success is the reason we should have traded him. Blair is foul prone, and simply not big enough to match with other bigs in the playoffs. The Spurs cannot win a Championship with a 6'7 guy playing meaningful playoff minutes at Center. It's not me saying this, its Spurs mgt.
The issue here was originally about my statement regarding when we should have traded him - after his rookie season (or maybe second season), when his value was highest. This season he's averaging 13.7 minutes/gm and were are obviously trying to find a trade partner.
You're pressing an untenable position with the smartest people in the room when you make some big argument for keeping Blair (especially over Splitter). We do agree Blair needs to be on a team that wants him. We agree Blair could thrive in the right system, it just isn't the Spurs'. Baynes is a youngster, but he's a 7-foot youngster, and a banger with experience. He just needs to adapt to the NBA. I like Blair, but we've kept him too long, both for his good and the Spurs'.
@Ironwill71 I didn't say he was the reason, I said he helped. You said look at his minutes from last season, right? He averaged 21.3 minutes and started 62 games and played 64. What are you trying to say, he didn't play? You must have forgotten we added Boris Diaw right before the trade deadline last year. You must have forgotten Tiago Splitter was not the full time starter these past 2 years. You must have forgotten that Blair was the starting Center. You must have forgotten Big and Smalls (the relationship between George Hill and DeJuan Blair). You must have forgotten that Blair beat out Tiago Splitter to get his starting minutes. You must have forgotten Blair started games before being pulled in the playoffs. Blair hurts himself by constantly getting into foul trouble. His minutes have dropped, but he's still shown at his size he can do some things better than Splitter. Splitter is a developing 7' footer aged 28, and Blair is a developing 6'7" footer aged 23 out rebounding him at his size. Blair just needs to be on a team that believes in him. A team that will use him the right way. Blair can play on a contender, he's shown it during his time with the Spurs. Look what Glen Davis did during his time in Boston. Blair should be used at Forward rather than Center. Splitter is not a true Center. He's a PF playing Center. Why should we have traded him after his rookie year? All we had was Duncan, Bonner, Mahinmi and McDyess. Mahinmi left after that year and then Splitter joined. Blair showed promise his rookie year and looked like he had potential to be a good player for our rotation. You must have forgotten his performance in the Rookie Challenge. Blair's value was highest after his 2nd year because he proved he could play without ACL's in his knees and still be effective on the court. It wasn't too many teams wanting him after his rookie year because it was still questions about his knees. He's using up a roster spot? I guess you forgot Baynes is foul prone too.
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@DifferentVSTSame - Apples and oranges. If you're arguing with my logic, then you're arguing with Spurs mgt. Everyone knows Blair isn't a true big. His rebounds and points usually come in garbage time. Most of the time he doesn't play important game time and playoff moments, challenging true bigs for an important rebound. True bigs can also shoot over him with ease, just watch the few minutes of game film from last night of him trying to guard Brook Lopez.
Blair wasn't the reason we got the #1 record in our conference. To suggest that is ridiculous. Look at his minutes last season. ..we could have done the same thing without him, though I doubt we could have without Splitter. Not a Splitter apologist, he has areas to work on - one of which is rebounding. However Splitter is a developing 7-footer, Blair is a developing 6-7. There's a reason Pop doesn't give a lot of minutes to Blair and we're talking bout trading him.
Blair could be good, but he needs the right situation, he needs to get off a top contender competing with bigs, and got lots of minutes on a developing team.
Spurs mgt knows Blair has talent, and they've been trying to figure out what to do with him - but his value was highest after his rookie year when he proved his questioned durability. We should have traded him then. Now everyone and their dog knows we're wanting to move him. He's using up a roster spot, and we have flushed all the good reasons to keep him. Now everyone knows the could just wait until FA if they can string us along long enough to get past the trade deadline. I hope we can get something for him.
@JeffProjectSpurs Late 1st round pick would probably be the top end of Blair's value. I doubt we can get any player of consequence for him.
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Sending Blair to a contender is not a problem for me, as long as what's given in return can be beneficial to the team. Letting him go for nothing wouldn't help us. We need guys that can rebound, and one thing Blair can do is rebound. When Blair's not fouling, he's a pretty good player. Knowing Baynes has a similar issue is what makes this questionable for me. With Blair's contract up after this year, I think it's smart to consider different options. But if those options aren't that good, keep him.
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@DifferentVSTheSame Only issue is that Blair is good at the type of rebounding we don't need: offensive. His defensive rebounding is still just slightly above average and has been pretty much declining since his rookie season (4 drpg). Blair's post defense is also fairly dreadful to say the least. I would much rather have Baynes bang around down low than Blair. If we are able to trade Blair to anywhere but LA, OKC, or MIA for draft picks, we MUST do it.
@CraigThomas Actually, we do need offensive rebounds. Offensive rebounds are what give us second chance shots. We need both offensive and defensive rebounds to help us get shots, and lessen second chance shots for our opponent. But like I said before Baynes has the same problem as Blair. Both players have foul issues. If Baynes get's into foul trouble he won't be in the game. If he's not in the game we'll be stuck with Duncan, Splitter, Diaw and Bonner to rebound. Duncan is the only big we have averaging 9 or more rebounds a game. Against a rebounding team that can hurt us. Against the Pistons we were out rebounded (49-33) without Duncan, that's a sign. We need rebounds however we can get them. I wouldn't want to send Blair to those teams either. But what would a draft pick really do for us now? Duncan and Ginobili aren't getting any younger. In hopes of seeing those guys win while they're still here and playing together, we need to try to win now.
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@JohnBonilla - agree that Blair is expendable. Disagree in the Spurs need for a PG. Logjam is the commonly used keyword when it comes to the Spurs and the current PG/SG situation. We could use another big mobile banger, or decent draft pick.
Surprised there isn't more interest. While undersized, Blair can ball. He could be a small-ball star when teams try to counter a good team's bigs by going small, while also putting in quality minutes giving a rest to the big - especially against teams without a mobile big. Teams don't try to go small ball on the Spurs because they can't match our speed - instead the teams with quality bigs (which are few) try to beat us straight up, so Blair is less useful in our system. The right team is out there for Blair. When he puts up great numbers somewhere, some will think we shouldn't have let him go, but its all about the system for him. SA ain't it.
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With Baynes' addition, I think we're pretty solid at PF/C position. Blair becomes expendable. It's wise to get a reliable PG for him which is what the Spurs need, plus a 2nd round pick would be nice. Never mind meeting against him in the playoffs. Have Bonner guard him with a sandwich should do the trick.
@JohnBonilla Pretty solid? We are not pretty solid at PF/C. While it's not a bad idea to trade Blair, the Spurs are still in need of another big. Baynes is bigger, but like Blair he too finds himself in a lot of foul trouble. If Blair didn't get himself in foul trouble so much, he more than likely would play more. Splitter is not the answer. Splitter plays like a PF, but is our starting Center. His effort to rebound should be a lot better than it is. We don't need repeat rebounding performances like we had in our game against the Pistons. Rebounding is important and we need a Center that will rebound. If we don't rebound it can hurt us against teams that do. It would be wiser to get a SF or Center for Blair, not a PG.
