The Hawks officially added Tiago Splitter to their roster - and gave up next to nothing.
The team announced the acquisition of the center in a trade with the Spurs on Thursday. The deal was agreed to last week during the NBA moratorium, which ended today.
The Hawks traded only the rights for 2007 second-round pick Georgios Printezis and a top-55 protected 2017 second-round pick. Printezis was obtained in the Thabo Sefolosha sign-and-trade with the Thunder last year. He plays for Olympiacos in Europe. The Hawks will only surrender the rights to the 2017 second-round pick if it falls from 56-60.
Moments after the trade was announced, Splitter reacted on social media. In a Twitter post, he wrote “whats up ATL!!! very excited to join the Hawks!”
Splitter has two years remaining on his contract and will earn $8.5 million next season. He will wear No. 11.
“We’re excited to bring Tiago to Atlanta,” Hawks president of basketball operations/head coach Mike Budenholzer said in a statement. “He’s played an important role in a winning environment, has a great understanding of our system and will add to our core character. Tiago also brings championship experience and we look forward to adding his interior presence to our team.”
Splitter, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound forward/center, spent his first five NBA seasons with the Spurs, averaging 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 19.8 minutes in 311 games (151 starts). Last season, he averaged 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19.8 minutes.
In 65 career postseason contests (40 starts), he has put up 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.2 minutes. He won an NBA championship ring with San Antonio in 2014.
Splitter was originally selected in the first round (28th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Spurs. The native of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil played eight years in Spain (Basket Bilbao Berri, Tau Ceramica, Caja Laboral Vitoria) prior to arrival in San Antonio.
The deal allowed the Spurs to sign their free agent Danny Green with the salary cap space.
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