By Mike Monroe - Express-News
Sitting in his home in Joinville, Brazil, on June 29, 2007, Tiago Splitter tuned in to the telecast of the NBA draft and waited to hear his name called.
And waited ... and waited.
Finally, with only three teams left in the first round, commissioner David Stern at last intoned: “With the 28th selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Tiago Splitter, of Brazil.”
Thousands of miles away, Splitter let loose a string of invective, in both his native Portuguese and his adopted Spanish.
“San Antonio chose me, and I was so mad,” Splitter said Monday at the Spurs’ basketball complex, where he signed a three-year, $11.016 million contract that will put him alongside Spurs captain Tim Duncan, the player he idolized as a gangly teenager in Brazil, next season.
The 6-foot-11 center’s draft-night anger derived not from antipathy toward the Spurs. Rather, he was annoyed that advisors and friends had led him to believe he would be among the top 10 players selected in a draft class that included Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.
Certainly, he had been assured, he would not slide past the 14 teams that had been in the draft lottery.
His emotion given post-selection vent, Splitter chose reflection over fury. Ultimately, his eventual NBA destination won the day, and he now believes San Antonio is the perfect place for a 25-year-old with 10 pro seasons under his belt to make a move to the NBA.
“I realize where you have the opportunity to be — on a team that is international and a team that won titles with such good players, Manu (Ginobili) and Tim Duncan and Tony Parker,” Splitter said. “Then I realized that I’m in good hands, and the team who had my rights was great for me.”
It was Splitter’s contract with Baskonia, the team in Vitoria, the capitol of Spain’s Basque country, that complicated the decision making for NBA teams in 2007. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford, who has plucked All-Stars from the lower reaches of the first round and into the second round, understood it was Splitter’s very contractual obligation to continue playing in Spain that allowed him to drop to No. 28.
On Monday, the waiting seemed worth it. “This is a very exciting day for the Spurs,” Buford said. “We’re very fortunate to be adding to our program one of the best players not currently playing in the NBA.” That he was able to bring Splitter from Spain for a first-year salary of just $3.4 million was a bonus for Buford and the Spurs. The club now has the remaining $2.365 million of the mid-level exception to the league’s salary cap rules to offer to another free agent. “It’s always been about building a team,” Buford said, “and not about just one player.” That the player added Monday was considered the best big man in Europe figures to help the Spurs immediately. Though he isn’t likely to join Duncan in the Spurs’ starting lineup — both are low post players, and Splitter will need to learn the Spurs’ offensive and defensive systems — he does figure to be a member of the team’s regular playing rotation. That will allow coach Gregg Popovich to further limit Duncan’s regular season workload. Parts of Splitter’s game may look a lot like Duncan’s. He has been copying Duncan’s moves since he was a teenage star who idolized the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and wore his No. 21 every season he played for Baskonia. As a Spur, he will wear No. 22. “I told Pop and R.C., when I start to wear the No. 21 was because I love the way Tim Duncan played,” he said. “He was one of my idols since I played basketball. It’s a pleasure to play here at his side. “So changing my number? I don’t care.”
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