San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs, Lakers, Others Eyeing David Nwaba

July 13th, 2018 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

David Nwaba is no longer a restricted free agent, meaning he can sign outright with any NBA team, and interested clubs are checking in on the young shooting guard. According to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link), several teams have reached out to Nwaba, including the Spurs and Lakers. There’s no clear frontrunner at this point, Aldridge adds.

Nwaba, who was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, received a qualifying offer from the Bulls last month, giving the team the right of first refusal on any offer sheet he signed. However, Chicago withdrew that QO on Thursday, despite its modest price ($1.7MM), leading to speculation that the club is maximizing its cap room for a bigger move.

Despite making Nwaba an unrestricted free agent, the Bulls haven’t given up hope of re-signing him. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets that the Bulls have interest in using the room exception to bring back Nwaba after they use up their cap space. A source confirmed to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that the team hasn’t ruled out re-signing Nwaba once it completes other business.

In order to retain Nwaba though, the Bulls would have to count on the 25-year-old waiting out the team’s other move(s) and being willing to accept the $4.45MM room exception. Those aren’t unreasonable requests, but if Nwaba gets a comparable offer from another suitor, he may not want to wait on Chicago.

A former undrafted free agent, Nwaba had a solid season for the Bulls in 2017/18, averaging 7.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG while playing strong perimeter defense in 70 games (21 starts).

Ginobili Happy To See Belinelli Back In San Antonio

July 13th, 2018 at 10:16am CST by Arthur Hill

Manu Ginobili was among the first people to text congratulations to Marco Belinelli after he committed to return to the Spurs, notes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News. That doesn’t guarantee Ginobili will be back for another season, but he’s glad to see his former teammate return after winning a title together in 2014. “We didn’t talk about [Ginobili playing], but I can say he was really happy about me coming back,” Belinelli said. “Winning a championship with that great team was amazing. Nobody is going to take that away from me.”

Raptors Ready To Join The Pursuit For Kawhi Leonard?

July 12th, 2018 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors‘ potential pursuit of Kawhi Leonard is the hottest rumor making the rounds at summer league, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Toronto appears poised to join the Lakers, Sixers and Celtics as teams in the conversation for the Spurs’ star. With LeBron James out of the East, the addition of Leonard could tilt the balance of power in the race for the conference title.

Spurs Attend Rodney Stuckey's Workout

July 12th, 2018 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we noted that Rodney Stuckey was holding a private workout in Las Vegas as he seeks a new NBA home. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link), the Warriors, Nets, Grizzlies, Spurs, and Pacers had representatives at that session.

Spurs Sign First-Rounder Lonnie Walker

July 11th, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have officially signed first-round pick Lonnie Walker to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release. San Antonio has been formally finalizing many of its contract agreements today, having already confirmed new deals for Rudy Gay and Davis Bertans.

Walker, the 18th overall pick in this year’s draft, played his lone college season at Miami, averaging 11.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.9 APG for the Hurricanes. Though his numbers as a freshman weren’t great, the 6’4″ shooting guard always projected as a first-rounder due to his impressive upside and wingspan.

Like other first-round picks, Walker will get a rookie contract that features two guaranteed seasons, with team options on years three and four. Assuming he signed for the full 120% of the rookie scale, Walker will be in line for a first-year salary of approximately $2.36MM. His four-year deal will be worth about $12.46MM in total.

With Walker officially locked up, only one 2018 first-rounder – 29th overall pick Dzanan Musa (Nets) – remains unsigned.

Spurs Re-Sign Davis Bertans

July 11th, 2018 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11: The Spurs’ two-year, guaranteed deal with Bertans is now official, according to his agent Arturs Kalnitis (Twitter link).

JULY 10: According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, Bertans’ new deal with the Spurs is for $14.5MM over two seasons.

JULY 9: After declining to match Kyle Anderson‘s offer sheet with the Grizzlies, the Spurs won’t let a second restricted free agent get away. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, San Antonio has agreed to terms on a new contract with forward Davis Bertans. While it’s not official yet, the two sides are expected to complete a four-year, $20MM deal, per Carchia.

Bertans, 25, played regular minutes for the Spurs in 2017/18, averaging 5.9 PPG and 2.0 RPG with a .440/.373/.816 shooting line in 77 games (14.1 MPG). A 6’10” power forward, Bertans is capable of guarding frontcourt players on defense and stretching the floor on offense (1.2 threes per game).

Reports over the last week or two linked Bertans to the Jazz, Nets, and Timberwolves. However, Utah elected not to aggressively pursue outside free agents and the Wolves addressed their need for a stretch four by adding Anthony Tolliver. The Nets had cap room available to push the Spurs on Bertans, but appear to be biding their time and considering their options for their remaining space.

San Antonio will increase its team salary to approximately $110MM with Bertans back on the books. The team holds his Early Bird rights, so it can go over the cap to re-sign him without using another exception like the mid-level.

The Spurs entered the offseason with qualifying offers out to three restricted free agents. Although Anderson got away, the team appears poised to re-sign Bertans and is in a good position to retain Bryn Forbes as well.

Spurs Re-Sign Rudy Gay

July 11th, 2018 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11: The Spurs have officially re-signed Gay, the team announced today in a press release.

JUNE 30: Veteran forward Rudy Gay has committed to re-sign with the Spurs on a one-year, $10MM deal, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Gay winds up with a modest raise after opting out of a contract that would have paid him $8,826,300 next season. Factoring in a 20% raise from his $8,406,000 salary for 2017/18, the Spurs could go as high as $10,087,200 for Gay’s next deal using his Non-Bird rights.

The 31-year-old forward assumed a reduced role in his first year in San Antonio, but was able to bounce back from a torn left Achilles tendon he suffered in Sacramento. Gay managed 57 games for the Spurs, averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per night.

Another year removed from that Achilles injury, Gay could be in for a larger role in San Antonio for the 2018/19 season, particularly if trade candidate Kawhi Leonard doesn’t return. The Spurs’ other key small forward, Kyle Anderson, is also no lock to return, though the team is expected to make an effort to re-sign the restricted free agent.

Having presumably used Gay’s Non-Bird rights to strike a deal with the veteran forward, the Spurs will still have their mid-level exception available.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Kawhi Leonard

July 10th, 2018 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have “consistently remained atop the list of teams expected to land” Kawhi Leonard in a trade, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post writes in his latest look at the Leonard situation. In Bontemps’ view, Philadelphia’s ability to acquire Leonard may hinge on the team’s willingness to add Markelle Fultz to an offer. If Fultz is on the table, it’ll be hard for another team to top the 76ers’ offer, says Bontemps.

Keith Pompey of Philly.com also revisits the Sixers’ interest in Leonard, writing that the team is confident it could convince the star forward to stay in Philadelphia for longer than one year if he’s traded. However, the 76ers are willing to walk away from the Kawhi sweepstakes if the Spurs‘ asking price remains high, as principal owner Josh Harris hinted on Monday.

“If the right situation comes where we can acquire someone that can really add value to our program and the cost of it isn’t prohibitive, then we’ll move forward and do that,” Harris said, per Pompey. “But if that doesn’t come along for whatever reason, then we’ll keep moving forward with our program.”

As Pompey details, the Spurs keep trying to “raise the ante” in Leonard talks, telling clubs that another team is offering more for the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Pompey suggests that Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and Miami’s 2021 first-round pick would be a realistic package from the Sixers’ side, but notes that the Spurs are believed to be seeking three first-round picks in addition to those two players.

Here’s more on Leonard:

Within his look at the Leonard situation, Bontemps writes that the Raptors have “generated buzz” as a potential destination for the Spurs star. ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote last week about the possibility of Toronto being a wild-card team in the Kawhi sweepstakes, suggesting that they could offer a package centered around one of their All-Star guards, a young player, and a first-round pick.
One aspect of the Leonard saga that frustrated the Spurs during the 2017/18 season was repeatedly believing he was on the verge of returning to the court, only to be informed he wasn’t coming back after all, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays Wright’s comments on that subject from an appearance on the Back to Back podcast.
Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports rounds up several of the Leonard rumors from the last week or so in an informative article.

Latest On Sixers’ GM Search

July 10th, 2018 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

After working their way through the NBA draft and the first wave of 2018 free agency without a general manager, the Sixers figure to shift their focus to filling that open front office position in the coming weeks. However, principal owner Josh Harris cautions that the search may not be completed quickly, as Keith Pompey of Philly.com details.

“I think it’s going to take a while to find the right person,” Harris said on Monday. “I hate to keep talking about it, but we really need to find the right person who can develop the special culture. It’s very consensus-oriented.

As Pompey explains, the Sixers want to take a collaborative approach to key personnel and roster decisions, meaning any serious candidate for the GM opening will have to be willing to surrender total power on those decisions. The team’s goal is to find a candidate that will mesh with head coach Brett Brown, vice president of basketball operations Ned Cohen, and other front office executives like Alex Rucker and Sergi Oliva.

“Certainly there are other ways to do it, where there’s a big, strong leader,” Harris said. “He or she makes every decision, and there’s many roads to run. That’s just not the road we are going to take.”

The Sixers’ reluctance to give total decision-making control to their next GM may turn off some top candidates, but Pompey still identifies a handful of noteworthy names receiving consideration. Multiple sources tell Pompey that former Nets and Nuggets GM Kiki VanDeWeghe has expressed interest in the job. Spurs GM R.C. Buford has also been cited as a possible target, according to Pompey, who notes that it would be difficult to lure Buford out of San Antonio. Of the Sixers’ internal candidates, Cohen probably has the best case, Pompey adds.

Harris suggested that the Sixers would like to hire a general manager who has previous GM experience, adding that a proven “track record” is a plus, though he acknowledged that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker.

Philadelphia has been on the lookout for a new general manager since a scandal involving multiple burner Twitter accounts ultimately led to Bryan Colangelo‘s ouster. Brown is serving as the team’s interim GM.

Grizzlies Sign Swingman Kyle Anderson

July 9th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 9, 10:55pm: The signing is official, according to a Grizzlies press release, after the Spurs declined to match.

JULY 6, 8:27pm: Spurs swingman Kyle Anderson has signed a four-year, $37.2MM offer sheet with the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. San Antonio has 48 hours to match the offer, which includes a 15 percent trade kicker, on the restricted free agent.

The Grizzlies will use their full mid-level exception on Anderson and become hard-capped if San Antonio fails to match, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

The Grizzlies targeted Anderson in their quest to upgrade at small forward, Wojnarowski continues. Anderson averaged 7.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 26.7 MPG last season. He started 67 of 74 games with Kawhi Leonard sidelined for all but nine games with a quad injury.

The 6’9” Anderson is entering his fifth season in the league and the Spurs have been positive about retaining him, Wojnarowski adds. He’s been a rotation player the last three seasons but has never posted big numbers. He is considered a superior defender, which attracted Memphis’ attention as it tries to restore a defensive mindset.