ATLANTA — The San Antonio Spurs have traded Tiago Splitter to the Atlanta Hawks, as first reported by Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowksi. CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger confirmed the deal, which will see the Hawks simply absorbing Splitter’s contract into their cap space.

First, the basketball reasons for this move: Atlanta is acquiring a talented two-way player who perfectly fits its system. Hawks president and head coach Mike Budenholzer worked with Splitter for three years in San Antonio, so he’s very familiar with his ability to score on the inside, move the ball and play solid defense. Atlanta needed a bit more bulk on the inside, and a trio of Al Horford, Paul Millsap (if he re-signs) and Splitter would be an extremely imposing one.

If Millsap leaves — he has a four-year, $80 million deal on the table from the Orlando Magic — then Splitter is a worthy starter. The idea, though, is to keep the All-Star forward. Given that DeMarre Carroll just agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal with the Toronto Raptors, and Splitter is owed only $8.5 million next season, the Hawks just acquired the ability to offer Millsap more money.

The biggest domino here is obvious, though. The Spurs did this because they’re chasing LaMarcus Aldridge. It allowed them to walk into a meeting with him on Wednesday and tell him that they had agreed to sign both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green long-term, and had created the necessary space to give him to a maximum contract. This was San Antonio’s plan all along, and it just might work.

CBS Sports