Tony Parker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Tony Parker Wants Five More Seasons With Spurs

August 18th, 2016 at 6:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tony Parker wants to play five more seasons and hopes he can finish his career with the Spurs, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports.

Parker relayed those sentiments after France was eliminated during the quarterfinal round of the Rio Olympics. “I want to end my Spurs career on a high note,” Parker said. “I want to play five more years.”

Parker was expecting to outlast the other members of San Antonio’s longtime Big Three but it’s somewhat surprising that he wants to continue his career through the 2020/21 season. By that stage, he would be 39 years old — ancient by NBA standards, especially for a point guard.

Parker’s longtime teammates are at or near the end of their careers. Big man Tim Duncan retired this summer while shooting guard Manu Ginobili will play at least one more season. He signed a one-year, $14MM contract in mid-July after entering the month as an unrestricted free agent.

Parker has two years and approximately $29.9MM remaining on his contract. Parker averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 assists in 25.7 minutes last season while posting a slightly above average 16.2 PER.

His minutes per game were the lowest of his career and his scoring average was the lowest since his rookie season in 2001/02 . His shooting percentage remained solid at 49.3, right around his career average. He averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 assists in 10 postseason games as the Spurs were eliminated by the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

San Antonio drafted combo guard Dejounte Murray, who could eventually replace Parker at the point. The Spurs reportedly were interested this summer in the top free agent point guard on the market, Mike Conley, who wound up re-signing with the Grizzlies.

Western Notes: Parker, Ginobili, Henry, Karl

August 17th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Longtime Spurs stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili both wrapped up their international careers with Olympic losses today in Rio de Janeiro. Parker confirmed that this afternoon’s defeat to Spain was his “last game” for the French team, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 34-year-old Parker, whose playing time was limited during this Olympics, added that he’s “not gonna change his mind like that.”

Ginobili, 39, also acknowledged his retirement from international basketball after his Argentinian team was soundly defeated by the United States. He got more of a sendoff than he was expecting, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. “It was emotional,” Ginobili said. “I didn’t want it to be. I was hoping to sneak out and go to the locker room and do what I had to do there, but everybody conspired against it. The coach put me back in to play together one last time, somebody gave me the ball and brought me back in, somebody threw me a shirt. Then my teammates — it got emotional.” Ginobili has already signed with the Spurs for next season, and Parker is under contract until 2017/18.

There’s more news tonight from the Western Conference:

Former Laker Xavier Henry is optimistic as he continues the long road back from a ruptured left Achilles tendon, writes Joey Ramirez of NBA.com. Henry, who was one of several NBA veterans at L.A.’s mini-camp today, spent last season with the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors and credits their coaching and training staffs for helping with his comeback. “I’ve been doing a lot of workouts this summer with a lot of different teams and getting feedback and seeing how I feel,” Henry said. “I’ve been feeling really good. I’m feeling blessed that I can even play basketball again.”
The Lakers will hire Coby Karl, son of former NBA coach George Karl, to be head coach of their D-League affiliate, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. Karl was an assistant with the D-League’s Westchester Knicks last season.
The Grizzlies have made the final two additions to new head coach David Fizdale’s staff, the team announced today. Bob Bender, who worked as a scout for the Nets last season, was hired as an assistant coach, and former Clippers and Nets shooting coach Bob Thate will fill that role in Memphis.

Southwest Rumors: Grizzlies, Mavs, Terry, Parker

June 2nd, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

After a solid showing as the head coach of the D-League’s Texas Legends, Nick Van Exel appears poised to join the Grizzlies‘ coaching staff as an assistant under new coach David Fizdale, reports Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). ESPN’s Marc Stein confirms (via Twitter) that Memphis is attempting to close deals with both Van Exel and J.B. Bickerstaff, as the team looks to fill out Fizdale’s staff.

According to Stein (Twitter links), the Grizzlies are also “aggressively pursuing” former Cavs and Lakers head coach Mike Brown, who has also drawn interest from the Warriors. Stein suggests that Brown is more likely to head to Memphis than Golden State, but Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link) hears from Brown’s agent that the former head coach is no lock to join the Grizzlies.

As we wait for Memphis to officially name its assistant coaches, let’s check in some other items from around the Southwest division….

Even as he inches closer to age 40, Dirk Nowitzki remains the face of the Mavericks, but the team will attempt to infuse more youth into its roster around the longtime star, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Veteran guard Jason Terry suggested on SiriusXM NBA Radio (SoundCloud link) that he doesn’t expect to return to Dallas as a free agent, with the team focused on getting younger.
Despite Terry’s pessimism about signing with the Mavericks this summer, Sefko includes the veteran in a list of five free agent shooting guards who he believes would be fits for Dallas.
Spurs guard Tony Parker aspires to become an NBA general manager once his playing days are done, and as he tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the NBA’s 2011 lockout provided him an opportunity to get a head start on his training for such a job. “The best thing was to be in the office every day during the lockout and see the everyday operations,” Parker said. “I looked at everything. How to manage a team, marketing, ticket sales, sponsors. It was a great learning experience for me. It’s getting me ready to work in an NBA front office.”

Spurs To Pursue Mike Conley

May 12th, 2016 at 9:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs will try to attract soon-to-be free agent Mike Conley this summer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). San Antonio would have to clear salary to create enough room for a max offer worth an estimated $26MM for next season. Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has pledged to re-sign the point guard, but Conley isn’t making any promises until he gets a sense of the direction the Memphis franchise will take in the offseason ahead.

Conley is expected to be the most sought-after point guard on the free agent market this summer, with the Knicks, Nets, Pacers and others believed to be interested. He has averaged 13.6 points and 5.6 assists in nine years with the Grizzlies and has a chance to more than double the $9,588,426 salary he earned this season.

Tony Parker, the Spurs’ current starting point guard, will turn 34 next week. He has two seasons and nearly $29.9MM left on his contract. Parker’s scoring average dipped to 11.9 points per game this season, the lowest since his rookie year, and his playing time fell to 27.5 minutes per night.

It’s conceivable that the Spurs will give Conley a chance to team with a center named Gasol just as the Grizzlies have done. Marc Gasol recently suggested brother Pau Gasol should sign with the Spurs, an idea Pau Gasol finds intriguing.

Southwest Notes: Harden, Durant, Howard, Spurs

April 3rd, 2016 at 11:52am CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden will play a key role in the Rockets‘ efforts to bring Kevin Durant to Houston, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Many teams will be chasing Durant in free agency, but the Rockets have several selling points. In addition to reuniting with his friend and former Thunder teammate, Durant will have the chance to go a state with no income tax and a large city with vast marketing opportunities. Watkins says the Rockets have talked to Harden about recruiting Durant and he has agreed to do his part. “In order to put yourself as an elite team, you always got to have talent, right?” Harden said. “You always got to get better and find ways to improve.” Houston will have plenty of cap space if Dwight Howard opts out as expected.

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

Howard’s role in the Rockets‘ offense continues to decline, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Howard has averaged 9.3 points on 5.8 field goal attempts over Houston’s last 12 games. It’s a significant dropoff from earlier in the season and has led many to speculate that the 30-year-old center will seek a new team in free agency. “His impact can be felt more and should be felt more,” said interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “… We have to get him the ball in his spots and he has to finish when he gets there.”
Free agent addition LaMarcus Aldridge has teamed with Kawhi Leonard to become the nucleus of a record-setting Spurs team, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. The two All-Stars have eased the burden on the aging Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. San Antonio picked up a franchise record 64th win Saturday and is two victories away from posting the first perfect home record in league history. “There’s not much we’re allowed to care about,” Danny Green said. “… Being healthy and winning games in the playoffs – those are the things we care about.”
James Ennis had little time to prepare for his first game with the Pelicans after being called up from the D-League this week, relays Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. “He just got here to the arena about 20 minutes ago,” coach Alvin Gentry said before Wednesday’s contest with the Spurs. “We’ll give him a quick overview of what we try to do, but he’ll definitely be in the game tonight.”

Texas Notes: Miller, Ginobili, Parsons, Lawson

March 2nd, 2016 at 12:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Spurs coach/president Gregg Popovich had no shortage of praise for new addition Andre Miller, who signed Monday with San Antonio following his buyout from the Timberwolves, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News relays. Miller is just as glad to be with the Spurs as Popovich is to have him, McDonald notes.

“He’s one of those players you look at and say, ‘Boy, I could figure out how to fit him in,’” Popovich said. “He has been such a great player for several teams, and he does the same thing (everywhere). He’s just a pro, the consummate pro.”

See more on the Spurs amid news from the Texas triangle:

Manu Ginobili is progressing much more quickly in his recovery from a testicular injury than the Spurs thought he would, Popovich said Tuesday, as Express-News scribe Melissa Rohlin chronicles. The Spurs expected Ginobili would miss at least a month when they announced that he underwent surgery February 4th, but Tony Parker hinted Tuesday that Ginobili could return next week. It’s unclear what that means for the team’s reported pursuit of fellow wing player Kevin Martin.
Chandler Parsons thinks he’s playing the best basketball of his career, and it’s clear that he’s moved past the early-season struggles he went through as he recovered from a knee injury that prematurely ended his playoff run last spring, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News examines. Parsons is set to turn down his player option this summer and entertain an aggressive pitch from the Magic, as well as interest from the Rockets, Heat, Lakers, Nets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Nuggets and possibly Thunder, but the Mavs remain the favorites for him, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reported Tuesday.
Ty Lawson‘s failure to produce for the Rockets was a product of lost confidence, people around the team told Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Houston waived Lawson in a buyout deal Tuesday.

Southwest Notes: Parker, Anderson, Lawson, Mavs

October 9th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

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.

And-Ones: Pistons, Draft, Knicks

May 4th, 2015 at 10:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower are in Spain to evaluate potential lottery picks Mario Hezonja and Kristaps Porzingis, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. Detroit currently holds the No. 8 pick in the draft pending the results of the lottery and is seeking forwards who can stretch the floor, Foster continues. Hezonja could help the Pistons at small forward, a spot that was shared by aging veterans Tayshaun Prince and Caron Butler during the second half of the season. Porzingis has a good catch-and-shoot game, according to Foster, and could replace power forward Greg Monroe, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

In other news around the league:

The NBA will hold its draft at the Nets’ Barclays Center for the third consecutive year next month, league sources informed Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. The June 25th event has been hosted by the Nets for five consecutive years, including two years at the team’s previous home arena, the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The focus of the draft will be on Brooklyn’s crosstown rival, the Knicks, since they have the second-best chance to get the top pick through the lottery, Bontemps points out.
The Knicks will have anywhere from $19.1MM to $26.7MM in salary-cap space this summer, according to the latest projections by Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The disparity is mainly due to the cap hold on Alexey Shved, who could receive a qualifying offer of just over $4.1MM.
Tony Parker and Spurs teammate Boris Diaw are among 24 players named to France’s preliminary roster for EuroBasket 2015, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News writes. Parker and Diaw have indicated they plan to participate in the event, which will be held in September, McCarney adds.

Western Notes: Gasol, Parker, Nuggets

December 1st, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Gasol becomes eligible for a veteran extension next week, though it’s unlikely he’ll sign one, since free agency would be a much more lucrative proposition. Regardless, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is vowing to retain his star center, as he tells Billy Witz of The New York Times.

“Speculation really is not a concern of mine,” Wallace said. “The whole free-agency period is a long way off, but what we’ve obviously made known to him is, the first priority of the organization is to keep him. He’s extremely important to us, and we’re going to get him re-signed one way or another, regardless of when that occurs.”

The team’s track record of keeping its core players and Gasol’s ties to Memphis fuel Wallace’s confidence, as Witz notes, and there’s more from his piece on the No. 4 man in our 2015 Free Agent Power Rankings amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Just how strongly the team commits to winning will be the top consideration for Gasol as he decides whether to re-sign, as he tells Witz for the same piece. “That’s going to be huge for me,” Gasol said. “Because you’ve got to go to work every day and feel good about it, knowing that everyone is seeing the big picture, which is having the biggest chance to win a championship.”
Faith in the front office is a key for Tony Parker, too, coming off a summer in which he signed a three-year max extension with the Spurs, observes Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. “Even though one day I’ll be without Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and [Gregg Popovich],” Parker said, “we’re still going to try to compete and bring in good players and try to be a franchise that wins games . . . I trust the Spurs. I trust [GM] R.C. [Buford] and [owner] Peter [Holt], that we will still have a competitive team.”
Trade acquisition Arron Afflalo and extension recipient Kenneth Faried allowed the offseason activity to affect their games during the slow start for the Nuggets, as Ty Lawson tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The point guard credits coach Brian Shaw for helping set Afflalo and Faried straight amid Denver’s sudden turnaround.

Texas Notes: Ginobili, Parker, Nelson

August 2nd, 2014 at 3:42pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Spurs sent Manu Ginobili a letter prohibiting him from participating in the FIBA World Cup, but the veteran guard held out hope that he would be able to join Argentina at the tournament in Spain, writes Dan McCarney of the Express-News. It was only after Ginoboli started experiencing leg pains related to his fracture during workouts that he realized participation in the tournament wasn’t worth the risk of injury. Here’s more from the Lone Star State:

The recently extended Tony Parker is excited to remain a member of the Spurs, and he plans on finishing his career with San Antonio, passes along Jeff McDonald of the Express-News. “I’m very happy and I want to play for the Spurs my whole career and be a Spur for life,” said Parker, who will be 36 when his deal ends, “I love San Antonio and want to live here when my career is over. I love the city, I love the people and our great fans. I couldn’t be happier.”
Jameer Nelson told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that the Mavs’ shot at great success is what drew him to the team. “I’ve dealt with the process of rebuilding, and it’s tough,” said Nelson. “I want to win. I don’t want to sit back and develop anymore.”
Nelson also mentioned to Robbins that he wishes the Mavs could have worked out an agreement with unrestricted free agent Shawn Marion, implying it’s unlikely the two sides come to terms.
When asked if there was any truth that Dwight Howard, Nelson’s former teammate in Orlando, had tried to recruit Nelson to the Rockets, the veteran guard laughed and stopped short of addressing the question.