The Spurs have two key free agents: Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter. Ginobili will likely re-sign at a remarkably reduced cost than the $14 million he made last season, but Splitter will have other suitors bidding for him. Though Splitter is a restricted free agent, the Spurs have the flexibility to let him walk if he signs an offer sheet higher than their liking.
That’s because, if it weren’t for the cap holds of Ginobili and Splitter, the Spurs would have plenty of cap space. With Ginobili counting against the cap at an amount lower than his cap hold and Splitter signed elsewhere, San Antonio could pursue other free agents.
sources close to the situation tell ESPN.com that the Spurs are seriously interested in free-agent forward Andrei Kirilenko
Splitter (28) is considerably younger than Kirilenko (32), but if the window to win around Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili is closing, that might not matter much to San Antonio. Kirilenko could have been paid more than $10 million this season, but he opted out of his contract to seek a long-term deal. If the Spurs let Splitter walk, they might even be able to get Kirilenko and a second quality player in Splitter’s place.
While negotiating with Kirilenko, San Antonio can also gauge whether he’d sign for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.15 million). The Spurs might even get the best-case scenario of keeping Ginobili and Splitter and signing Kirilenko.
