# Hollinger: Spurs, Offseason Winners



## Ben

> I put the Spurs here because they got under the luxury tax while signing the best free-agent contract of the summer, Brazilian big man Tiago Splitter's three-year, $10 million deal. Splitter could start at center for a good chunk of the league's teams right now, but in a summer in which Brendan Haywood got $55 million, San Antonio got Splitter to cross the pond for relative chump change.
> 
> On the other hand, they got under the tax solely because Richard Jefferson opted out of a final year on his deal that would have paid him $15 million. This one raised eyebrows in front offices around the league, many of which suspected that there was a prearranged deal between the two parties.
> 
> This isn't an outlandish premise, given that:
> 
> • Jefferson told reporters in April that it might be worth it to opt out if he could get a four-year, $40 million deal (he said it right here on April 11).
> 
> 
> • That's almost to the dollar the deal he received in July.
> 
> • Doing so got the Spurs out of the luxury tax and allowed them to sign Splitter at a discount.
> 
> • There didn't appear to be any kind of serious bid from another team to drive up Jefferson's price.
> 
> That said, we have no smoking gun that there was any kind of prearranged deal between the Spurs and Jefferson. We don't even have a smokeless gun. All we have is the circumstantial evidence above, as well as two other pieces of information:
> 
> 
> 1. The Spurs don't sign bad contracts.
> 
> 2. This is the worst contract of the summer.
> 
> Seriously, four years and $39 million for Richard Jefferson? Did Isiah Thomas take over the franchise and not tell anybody? Wings who depend on athleticism have a rough time in their late 20s and early 30s; Jefferson just turned 30. He wasn't a $10 million per year player two years ago, and sure as heck isn't going to be one two years down the road.
> 
> Follow the money, however. Jefferson's opt-out and lower-salaried return means the Spurs will save about $17 million in salary, luxury tax and tax distributions this year (if one presumes Splitter was coming regardless). Jefferson's new deal cost $31 million after this season, which is all we care about since the Spurs were paying him in 2010-11 either way. Subtract $17 million from $31 million and you end up with Jefferson's deal as a three-year, $14 million extension, which seems eminently reasonable … if you were going to prearrange such a thing.
> 
> 
> So the Spurs ended up with both the best and worst contracts of this offseason. But on balance, they're paying $13 million a year for the next three years for a Splitter-Jefferson combination. I'd take that deal any day, and between it and drafting James Anderson, I think the Spurs are in much better shape for next season than many people realize.


*Insider Link*

I don't think Jefferson's was the worst contract of the summer, Joe Johnson takes that cake, but still, I don't see why it was given.


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## Basel

I've literally see no highlights of this Splitter kid; I know nothing about him but I keep hearing great things. I'm interested in seeing what he's all about.


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## Ben

Ditto. No idea about the kid, but after all this hype, I'm expecting big things.


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