NBA Blog

I must admit, I was furious when I heard about the Spurs-Rockets trade.  Jackie Butler and Luis Scola for a European player that does not want to return to the U.S. and a future 2nd round pick?  That is terrible.  Today, the real reason for the deal will become evident.  Spanoulis does not want to return to the U.S. and the Spurs expect him to make a formal request to have his contract removed from the books.  He is in the final year of his rookie contract, and because the Spurs are over the luxury tax threshold, this would save them close to $4 million.  Butler was not going to get minutes this year for the Spurs, because he is too big, too out of shape and too weak defensively.  However, I am still not a fan of this trade.  I really like Luis Scola’s toughness, rebounding, and ability to do the little things on both ends of the floor.  He is also a better scorer than Fabulous Fabrico Oberto. 

Butler for Spanoulis is something of a wash because it saved the Spurs money and Butler may not even get much time for the Rockets this season.  But, I still do not like the deal.  The Rockets needed some help in the post, specifically at power forward, and the Spurs gave two post players away for a 2nd round pick.  They should have held out for more.  There is speculation that several other teams showed plenty of interest in Scola.  If that were the case, I am sure the Spurs could have at least pried one or two more 2nd round selections from some teams.  Many teams just throw their 2nd round picks around freely without ever considering the possibility of landing a talented player. 

For those of you that want to do a little more learning about front-loaded or back-loaded player contracts, and why they are used, take a look at this article from realgm.com