Update: July 5, 3:02 PM CST
Though the San Antonio Spurs were interested in Brandon Bass, Sherrod Blakely of CNNE.com is reporting the Celtics and Bass are “essentially” done with a deal that will bring Bass back to Boston.
Original Post
According to KABB Fox San Antonio, a league source has told Max Sports the San Antonio Spurs are interested in Boston Celtics free agent forward Brandon Bass.
Though he’s 6’8″, just like DeJuan Blair, Bass has an established outside jump shot (49% from mid-range) in his arsenal that Blair has yet to develop. Bass is also similar to Blair on offense in which he’s a tough body underneath the rim and plays a very physical style to make up for his small height.
This past season with the Celtics, Bass averaged 12.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and shot 48% from the field. He would still leave the Spurs’ frontcourt undersized on defense as he doesn’t have the size to be an effective shot blocker and is still a mismatch in defensive rebounding.
As far as finances go, it looks like it would be tough for the Spurs to afford Bass as he just opted out of a deal with the Celtics that was set to pay him 4.3 million this coming season. The Spurs meanwhile, are still in the process of re-signing Tim Duncan, possibly bringing in French guard Nando De Colo, while they still have Boris Diaw, Danny Green, and Patty Mills out on the free agent market, along with Euro big man Erazem Lorbek to negotiate whether or not he’ll make the jump overseas.
While it seems like the Spurs won’t have the salary Brass is seeking, there is the possibility of completing a sign-and-trade for him, as reports state the Celtics will be looking to sign-and-trade with any team that signs Brass if he chooses not to return to Boston. Reports had Blair being shopped around before the NBA draft, he could possibly be a trade chip in such a deal, and he’d be giving the Celtics something close to what they would be losing in Bass.
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