San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

White's Improvement Coming At Right Time For Spurs

February 9th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Spurs guard Derrick White returned on January 30 from his second major toe injury since August, he quickly returned to the impressive level he had been displaying during last summer’s restart in Orlando, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.

The Spurs have been the beneficiaries of White’s improvement. The club is 3-2 since White’s return, as of this writing, and has won three games in a row. At 14-10, San Antonio is the No. 5 seed in a crowded Western Conference field.

Luka Šamanić Returning To An Orlando Bubble, This Time For Austin Spurs

February 8th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spurs power forward Luka Šamanić, the No. 19 pick in the 2019 draft who continues to try to carve out a place in the NBA, is returning to an Orlando “bubble” campus. After playing for San Antonio during last year’s summer restart at Disney World, he’ll join the team’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, in the NBAGL bubble campus set to tip off on Wednesday, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details.

After COVID-19 Bout, Eubanks Stresses Safety Precautions

February 4th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spurs reserve forward Drew Eubanks recently went through an intense experience with COVID-19, and now seeks to caution others about the risks of the highly variable disease, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “It can really affect people, and you don’t know how it can affect you,” Eubanks said. The virus has limited the 24-year-old third-year big man to just six games this season.

And-Ones: Milutinov, Macon, G League, Dunk Contest

February 1st, 2021 at 9:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Serbian center and former Spurs first-round pick Nikola Milutinov has suffered a major shoulder injury playing for CSKA Moscow and will undergo surgery, Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. Milutinov, who suffered the injury last week against Bayern Munich, signed a three-year contract with the EuroLeague powerhouse last June. Milutinov was selected by the Spurs with the 26th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. However, he has yet to sign an NBA contract. He played five seasons with Olympiacos in Greece.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The G League will have 14 additional players on the Orlando campus as fill-ins in case of injuries, callups or other issues, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Rawle Alkins, Isaiah Briscoe and Malik Pope are among the players on the list.
Former NBA guard Daryl Macon has parted ways with Galatasaray Istanbul, the team tweets. He’s joining AEK Athens, Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas tweets. Macon began the 2019/20 season on a two-way deal with Miami and was waived last January. He also played for Dallas.
Reports surfaced last week that the All-Star Game, which originally was scheduled to be held in Indianapolis this season, could be held after all in Atlanta. Now, the NBA and the players’ union are discussing the addition of both a dunk and three-point contest there on the weekend of March 6-7, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Rival Execs Curious About Spurs' Plans For Aldridge, DeRozan

February 1st, 2021 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

People around the NBA are curious to see what the Spurs will do with veterans LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, who are both on expiring contracts, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Aldridge’s value is “declining quickly,” according to O’Connor, who believes that DeRozan might be the best player on the trade market if San Antonio were to make him available.

Spurs Assign Tre Jones To G League

January 31st, 2021 at 2:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spurs rookie guard Tre Jones has been assigned to San Antonio’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Jones will travel to Orlando to join the NBAGL “bubble” campus.

Gregg Popovich Gets COVID-19 Vaccine In NBA PSA

January 28th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who is celebrating his 72nd birthday today, received the COVID-19 vaccine as part of an NBA-sponsored PSA (YouTube link). The NBA has said it won’t jump the line for the vaccine, but Popovich’s age made him a higher priority to be vaccinated. Mark Medina of USA Today has more details.

Derrick White Close To Returning; Luka Samanic Headed To G League Bubble

January 27th, 2021 at 10:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs guard Derrick White is close to returning from a fractured toe and could be back in the lineup this weekend, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). White, who has played just one game this season, had surgery on the toe in August and reinjured it on New Year’s Day.
The Spurs have sent second-year forward Luka Samanic to the G League bubble in Orlando, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Samanic has seen limited playing time in four games this season.

Eubanks Removed From Protocols List

January 25th, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Prior to the postponement of the Pelicans-Spurs game on Monday, San Antonio’s Drew Eubanks was ironically removed from the league’s COVID-19 protocols list, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News tweets. The third-year big man has been out since January 7 due to those restrictions. He has appeared in three games this season.

Pelicans-Spurs Game Postponed

January 25th, 2021 at 6:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:55pm: The issue with the postponement concerns a potential coronavirus exposure to a non-team member of the traveling parties for both teams in recent days, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets.

6:34pm: The NBA postponed Monday’s scheduled game between the Spurs and Pelicans, according to a league press release.

What made this late postponement even more noteworthy was that both teams did not have the league-required eight available players due to COVID-19 contact tracing.

The Pelicans had a January 11 postponement due to coronavirus issues surrounding the Mavericks. This is the first game for which they have not had enough players due to COVID-19 positives and contact tracing. This is the first postponement of any kind for San Antonio.

It’s the 22nd game that the league has postponed due to health and safety protocols.