Southwest Notes: Parker, Anderson, Lawson, Mavs

Tony Parker has let the Spurs know that he wants another three-year deal when his three-year extension that kicks in for this season expires in 2018, as the point guard said to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. That would give him 20 years in the NBA, and after that he’d be ready to retire, Parker told Spears, adding that he’s confident he’ll have a bounceback season after struggling last year.

“It’s very rare for any player in any sport – soccer, football, baseball – to play their whole career with the same team,” Parker said. “So it would definitely mean a lot to me to do like David Robinson and Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili]. It would be great to be a part of the history of being with the same team. My time will come soon. But I definitely want to enjoy my last years in the NBA.”

Parker also mentioned to Spears that he sought advice from Steve Nash this summer about how to sustain his body. See more from around the Southwest Division:

• Ryan Anderson is entering a contract year and thinks the arrival of new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry will be beneficial for him, as the stretch four explained to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. “His up-tempo pace is perfect for this group, and it’s great for me personally,” Anderson said. “[We’re] able to spread the floor, play naturally and go with the flow of the game rather than being really precise and running specific plays or getting over-organized and over-thinking things. There are players that can do a lot of different things and we want to take advantage of that. I think I fit into that category, that there’s a lot of things that I can do in this offense. We’re pushing it up the floor and pushing the pace. That’s good for me.”
• James Harden finished second in MVP voting last season, but the Rockets traded for Ty Lawson in part to change Harden’s role in the offense in a way that Harden called for prior to the deal, as Jonathan Feigen writes for Bleacher Report. “With Ty, I think we can take the ball out of [Harden’s) hands, let him play off the catch, let him play a little more free, not having so much ball responsibilities. I think that will help him. I think he’s harder to guard like that,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “We talked about that. That was kind of our goal.”
• The Mavericks are at a potential turning point for their franchise as they slip farther from the elite, and even Dirk Nowitzki admits, as he enters his age-37 season, that the team doesn’t have a superstar anymore, observes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.