NBA Free Agents 2014: Boris Diaw Stays With Spurs! He Was Called ‘Air France’ Because He Was Athletic! Now, He’s A Champion! French Big Man More Effective On Good Teams!
The NBA Free Agents are getting signed off one by one. A smart and efficient team like the San Antonio Spurs will quietly take care of business while everyone waits for the big dominoes to fall. True to their word of keeping their championship core, the Spurs signed Boris Diaw to a big payday after they signed Patty Mills.
The revived star of the Spurs, who played a big role in San Antonio's drubbing of the Miami Heat in the recently concluded NBA Finals finally got his due. He confirmed it via Twitter.
Hey spurs fans, Good news i stay in san antonio for a few more years. Lets win it again #gospursgo https://t.co/dqkftfLuN1
— Boris Diaw (@theborisdiaw) July 6, 2014
The terms of the agreement were not yet disclosed but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reported it was $ 22 million for 3 years.
Diaw was often teased because of his weight. But when he came into the league, he was sleek and athletic! ESPN recounts:
"When we acquired Boris in 2006, he was probably the fastest guy on the team from end to end. He could also really leap. Yet somehow he doesn't rely on his athleticism to get things done. It's almost like he uses it as a last resort."
As shown in the recent Finals, he does not need to outjump his opponent. He went up against more athletic players like LeBron James and Chris Bosh. He used his bulk to gain good position.
He was always a cerebral player, even before he got heavier and slower.
David Griffin, new GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers who was part of the Phoenix Suns front office recounts this tale:
"Boris walks into the gym one day wearing flip-flops and holding his customary cappuccino, which was a staple for him every morning. It was during pre-draft workouts, so he sees the Vertec [machine] and asks what it is.
"We tell him it measures your vertical leap by determining how many of the bars you can touch. He asks what's the highest anyone has ever gone, and we tell him Amare' [Stoudemire] cleared the entire rack.
Boris puts down the cappuccino, takes off his flip-flops and clears the entire rack on the first try. Then he calmly puts his flip-flops back on, picks up his cappuccino and walks away, saying, 'That was not difficult.'"
Diaw's career was stalled when the Phoenix Suns traded him after the Nash era. That's because he plays off his teammates. He is great when he plays on a good team-he makes everyone better. From former Suns teammate Raja Bell: "His skill set and his value, quite frankly, get lost on bad teams. I think after a while he shuts down on them."
He's now on the best team. The perfect fit for San Antonio. For everyone who thought the San Antonio Spurs is a cheap team, it's obviously not true after they gave Patty Mills and now Boris Diaw their big pay days. The Spurs are just more adept at choosing who's worthy to be paid.