Countdown to 2010: Day 566

Over the last several weeks a handful of our posts have been tagged Countdown to 2010. You can expect this trend to continue, along with a plentiful amount of fan-crazed present moment scrutinizing. The Spurs are one of a dozen or so teams in the league that have managed their cap with a clear view toward the 2010 free agent season. You can bet that much of their inter-office personnel discussions include some thought toward how such and such players skills and contract would fit into the 2010 puzzle. Some fans are annoyed at the amount of press the 2010 free agent season is already receiving, but their cries of annoyance ring hollow against the facts: several teams are in full-on positioning mode. Smart cap-management is the sport within the sport of professional basketball.

In the space below, I've adapted the Spurs salary chart from shamsports.com. (Not familiar with Sham? If you're into intelligent basketball coverage from a British bloke with a potty mouth and wry sense of humor, he's your chap.) As you'll see, there are a number of 2010 conversation starters in the table. As things progress, we'll deal with many of them in a piecemeal fashion.

Player	08/9	09/10	10/11	11/12	12/13
Tim Duncan	$20,598,704	$22,183,220	$18,700,000	$21,300,000	N/A
Tony Parker	$11,550,000	$12,600,000	$13,650,000	N/A	N/A
ManuGinobili	$9,905,248	$10,728,130	N/A	N/A	N/A
Kurt Thomas	$4,200,000	$3,800,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bruce Bowen	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
FabricioOberto	$3,600,000	$3,800,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Roger Mason	$3,500,000	$3,780,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Matt Bonner	$2,978,000	$3,256,500	N/A	N/A	N/A
Michael Finley	$2,500,000	$2,500,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jacque Vaughn	$1,262,275	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ime Udoka	$1,080,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
George Hill	$1,006,200	$1,081,680	$771,440	$1,390,906	$2,052,978
Ian Mahinmi	$841,000	$899,700	$1,623,959	$2,419,698	N/A
DesmonFarmer	$797,581	$855,189	N/A	N/A	N/A
AnthonyTolliver	$711,517	$825,497	N/A	N/A	N/A
SalimStoudamire	$200,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Darryl Watkins	$20,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Blue - team option; Green - player option; Red - Qualifying offer; Grey - non-guaranteed; Mauve - Early termination

Since this chart was last updated, the Spurs signed Blake Ahearn to a 2 year non-guaranteed contract. According to ESPN, the first year of the contract is worth $631,995, which should put the second year of the deal at approximately $700,000. All together:

	2008/9	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12
Salary	$69, 382, 520	$71, 009, 916	$34, 745, 399	$22, 690, 906
...w/o Options	$69, 382, 520	$68, 509, 916	$32, 350, 000	$21, 300, 000

Looking at the chart, here are some of the story lines that jump out at me:

2009

• Will Finley pick up his option?
• How much of Oberto's contract is guaranteed?
• Would Ime Udoka be agreeable to a higher-than-market-value 1 year contract instead of a multi-year deal? Would the Spurs do this for his Bird Rights?
• If the Spurs extend Ginobili, are they kissing this 2010 business good-bye?
• How much exception money should the Spurs spend, and on whom?
  

2010

• Ginobili's market value in 2010? Fantastic player, but old, injury-prone and plays a relatively low amount of minutes for a big dollar guy? In short, what's the value of his Manu-ness?
  
• Is it possible for the Spurs to re-sign Roger Mason?
• Hill will take a pay cut in 2010, making him one of the best deals in the league.
• How will the Spurs fill out the rest of their roster?
• The improbable signing of Tiago Splitter to a rookie contract would be an absolute home run, despite the long odds.
  
• Would Peter Holt be willing/able to take a one or two year tax hit in exchange for extending the championship window by several seasons--in other words, would long-term playoff revenue and merchandise sales offset immediate tax losses?

We'll continue to think through the Spurs salary structure as events unfold.