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As if the first day of free agency was going to go down without a trade to shake things up.
The San Antonio Spurs have dealt center Tiago Splitter to the Atlanta Hawks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
While the return headed back to San Antonio is unclear, the endgame is not: the Spurs unloaded $8.5 million in salary, and can enter their meeting with free agent LaMarcus Aldridge armed with the space to sign him to a maximum contract, and with Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green both re-signed.
The Spurs were already believed to be the front-runners for Aldridge. Their ability to lock in Leonard and Green, while creating cap space, literally minutes ahead of their meeting should stand to impress, in addition to a championship pedigree, multiple Hall of Famers, and residence in Aldridge's home state.
Because no moves can be made official until July 9, the Spurs can sequence their transactions - possibly including new deals for Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili - such that Aldridge is absorbed into cap space and the others retained through exceptions afterward.
Splitter is a nice piece for the Hawks, particularly on the defensive end. But with an $8.5-million salary and a $2.5-million trade kicker, it almost certainly signals that one of Paul Millsap or DeMarre Carroll won't return to Atlanta, as Splitter's salary pushes the Hawks too close to the cap to re-sign both at market prices.
Carroll reportedly signed with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Splitter averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds this season while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor. He's also a strong finisher at the rim, a quality rebounder, and an effective, versatile defender.
