San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Sign Keita Bates-Diop To Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29, 1:20pm: The Spurs have officially announced the signing of Bates-Diop to a two-way contract.

NOVEMBER 23, 8:20am: The Nuggets officially waived Bates-Diop on Sunday, per the NBA’s transactions log. Assuming he clears waivers on Tuesday, he’ll be free to sign with San Antonio at that point.

NOVEMBER 22, 9:54pm: The Spurs and forward Keita Bates-Diop have agreed to a two-way deal, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Bates-Diop is technically still a member of the Nuggets. However, Mike Singer of The Denver Post has reported that the club intends to waive the 24-year-old before his salary for 2020/21 becomes fully guaranteed this week in order to clear a spot on the 15-man roster for Bol Bol.

Denver likely gave Bates-Diop and his reps a chance to seek out a new opportunity before that move becomes official. He’ll still have to clear waivers, but I don’t expect any team will make a surprise claim.

The 48th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bates-Diop began his career with the Timberwolves before being tradd to Denver at last season’s deadline. In 74 career games as a pro, he has averaged 5.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .426/.303/.699 shooting.

Quinndary Weatherspoon is expected to fill San Antonio’s other two-way contract slot.

Quinndary Weatherspoon Back With Spurs On Two-Way Contract

November 22nd, 2020 at 12:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 24: The Spurs have officially announced Weatherspoon’s two-way deal, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.

NOVEMBER 22: The Spurs will sign second-year shooting guard Quinndary Weatherspoon to another two-way contract with the team, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

The 6’3″ guard, an All-SEC honoree for his last three years with Mississippi State, was drafted by the Spurs with the 49th pick last season, who signed him to his initial two-way contract at the time. He received a qualifying offer earlier this week to run things back. As a two-way player, such a deal typically signifies that Weatherspoon will net at least $50K from San Antonio.

The 24-year-old appeared in 11 games with San Antonio during his rookie season, averaging 1.1 PPG and 1.0 APG in 7.1 minutes per contest. Weatherspoon averaged 14.8 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 3.8 RPG across 36 games (including 35 starts) for the Spurs’ G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, during 2019/20.

Cameron Reynolds Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Spurs

November 21st, 2020 at 5:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 29: The Spurs have officially signed Reynolds, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 21: The Spurs will sign shooting guard Cameron Reynolds to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Reynolds, 25, played 19 games for the Timberwolves during the 2018/19 season. He signed a two-way contract with the Bucks in July of 2019, but didn’t appear in any NBA games for Milwaukee. He averaged 14.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the G League’s Wisconsin Herd.

Reynolds will be in training camp with San Antonio and can receive a guarantee of up to $50K if he’s waived and joins the organization’s G League affiliate.

Spurs Re-Sign Jakob Poeltl To Three-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: The Spurs have officially re-signed Poeltl, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 20: The Spurs are finalizing a three-year agreement with big man Jakob Poeltl, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The deal will be worth approximately $27MM, Charania adds.

Poeltl was a restricted free agent, since the Spurs extended a qualifying offer of $4.6MM. That was a signal that San Antonio intended to keep him on a multi-year deal.

Poeltl began his career with Toronto and has spent the last two seasons in San Antonio. Last season, he averaged 5.6 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 17.7 MPG while appearing in 66 games, including 18 starts.

Although he’s not a major offensive weapon, the 25-year-old has shown promising rim-protecting ability (1.4 BPG) and brings effort and energy off the bench. He ranked 21st on our list of 2020’s top free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs Waive Metu, Re-Sign Eubanks

November 20th, 2020 at 5:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: The Spurs have officially re-signed Eubanks, per the NBA’s transactions log. According to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), only the first year of the big man’s three-year, minimum-salary contract is guaranteed. The second year has a partial $500K guarantee and the third year is non-guaranteed.

NOVEMBER 20: The Spurs have waived forward Chimezie Metu, according to a team press release. They’re re-signing big man Drew Eubanks on a three-year contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The three-year deal for Eubanks is worth $5.29MM, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. That makes the deal a minimum-salary contract.

Metu, a 2018 second-round pick, was never able to establish consistent playing time in San Antonio. He appeared in 47 games over the last two seasons, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 5.3 MPG.

Eubanks passed Metu in the pecking order by the end of last season, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. The undrafted Eubanks, 23, appeared in 22 games last season, averaging 4.9 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 12.4 MPG. He also flashed some shot-blocking ability, swatting 11 shots in San Antonio’s last seven games during the restart.

Eubanks, a two-way player last season, received a qualifying offer from the Spurs this week.

Chimezie Metu Changes Agents

November 19th, 2020 at 9:49am CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs center Chimezie Metu has changed agents, signing with Wasserman’s Darren Matsubara, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Suns’ Saric, Spurs’ Poeltl Among Players Receiving QOs

November 18th, 2020 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

A series of players have received qualifying offers from their respective teams, making them restricted free agents this fall, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Those players include Suns forward Dario Saric, Suns guard Jevon Carter, Grizzlies two-way guard John Konchar, Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl, and Spurs two-way players Quinndary Weatherspoon and Drew Eubanks.

Saric and Poeltl are the most notable names in the group and were also the most likely to receive qualifying offers, since Phoenix and San Antonio will want to retain the ability to match offer sheets on those players. Saric’s QO is worth about $5.1MM, while Poeltl’s is for approximately $4.6MM.

Saric, Poeltl, and the other players who received qualifying offers could accept those one-year contract offers, but will likely try to negotiate new, longer-term deals, either with their own teams or with rival suitors.

The Pistons won’t be extending a qualifying offer to two-way player Jordan Bone, so he’ll become an unrestricted free agent, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster confirmed this week that the club will be making its annual qualifying offer to EuroLeague guard Nando De Colo, per Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link). Currently a member of Fenerbahce in Turkey, De Colo hasn’t played in the NBA since 2014, but would be a Raptors RFA if he wants to return, since Toronto has issued a QO each year since then.

Draft Rumors: Hayes, Nesmith, Anthony, Okongwu, Hawks, More

November 18th, 2020 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

In his latest mock draft in advance of tonight’s event, Jeremy Woo of SI.com shares several interesting tidbits, writing that Killian Hayes is “strongly in play” for the Pistons at No. 7 and suggesting there’s some concern about Aaron Nesmith‘s injured foot, which ended his season at Vanderbilt.

Woo also hears from sources that Cole Anthony has interviewed in recent days with multiple teams outside the top 20 and that the Celtics and Spurs would be among the teams with interest in Onyeka Okongwu if he slides out of the top 10 due to his foot injury.

Woo reports that there’s “significant traction” for Devin Vassell within the Knicks‘ front office, making him a viable option at No. 8 if the team stays put. Finally, Woo says the Celtics have shown interest in Duke big man Vernon Carey Jr., who could be an option at No. 26 or No. 30.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

The Hawks are currently planning to keep and use the No. 6 pick tonight, a source tells Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). That could change if Atlanta gets a surprise last-minute offer, Wasserman cautions, but for the time being, it sounds as if the team is comfortable staying put.
We still don’t know with any certainty which player the Timberwolves will select with the No. 1 pick tonight, but Georgia guard Anthony Edwards has emerged as the betting favorite at Las Vegas sportsbooks, writes David Purdum of ESPN.com.
While USC big man Onyeka Okongwu may not be ready for training camp due to a foot injury, it sounds like the issue shouldn’t impact his draft stock too significantly. One source who spoke to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) predicted that Okongwu will still likely come off the board before the Wizards pick at No. 9.

O’Connor’s Latest: Hornets, Knicks, Toppin, Spurs, Harris, More

November 17th, 2020 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

League sources have long said that the Hornets‘ preference on draft night would be adding a big man, either by trading up for James Wiseman or by picking Onyeka Okongwu, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. However, according to O’Connor, there are some people in Charlotte’s front office who like the idea of drafting LaMelo Ball if he’s available.

As O’Connor notes, one potential avenue for the Hornets if Wiseman is off the board at No. 3 and Ball is available would be to trade down with a team like Chicago or Detroit that might be eyeing Ball. In that scenario, Charlotte could theoretically pick up an extra asset or two while still having the opportunity to select Okongwu.

Here are a few more of the most interesting tidbits from O’Connor’s latest mock draft at The Ringer:

O’Connor’s sources believe the Knicks will select Obi Toppin if he’s available at No. 8. If the Dayton forward makes it past Cleveland at No. 5, there’s a chance he’ll still be on the board for New York.
The Spurs “love” Villanova forward Saddiq Bey, according to O’Connor, who says San Antonio is also one of multiple teams with interest in trading up for Florida State’s Patrick Williams.
“Everyone around the league” thinks that the Thunder will look to trade up to land seven-footer Aleksej Pokusevski, who has been frequently linked to Oklahoma City in large part due to his agent’s connection to general manager Sam Presti. Agent Jason Ranne used to work in the Thunder’s front office.
Within his note on the Nets‘ potential pick at No. 19, O’Connor cites sources who say that Brooklyn is likely to re-sign free agent sharpshooter Joe Harris.
The Nuggets are thought to be targeting a frontcourt player at No. 22, league sources tell O’Connor, who identifies Isaiah Stewart and Zeke Nnaji as a couple possibilities.

DeMar DeRozan To Exercise 2020/21 Player Option

November 16th, 2020 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs wing DeMar DeRozan will exercise his player option for 2020/21, putting off free agency for another year, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The move will guarantee DeRozan’s $27,739,975 salary.

DeRozan, 31, had a strong season for San Antonio in 2019/20, averaging 22.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 5.5 RPG with an impressive .531 FG% in 68 games (34.1 MPG).

Back in March, before the season went on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, one report suggested that DeRozan would likely opt out if he didn’t receive an extension from the Spurs, while a separate report indicated the veteran scorer wasn’t thrilled with his situation in San Antonio.

The financial impact of the pandemic made DeRozan’s decision to opt in a fairly simple one, however. Only two or three teams will have the cap room necessary to have matched his option salary, and those teams finished in the lottery and may not have made DeRozan a top priority. He’ll be better off trying his luck on the open market in 2021, when more clubs will have cap flexibility.

Of course, just because DeRozan is under contract for one more year, that doesn’t mean he’ll spend the entire season with the Spurs. San Antonio is believed to be shopping some of its veterans, including DeRozan, who reportedly drew interest from the Lakers before they agreed to acquire Dennis Schröder. We’ll see if any other suitors pop up in the coming days for the former Raptor.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.