San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jeff Ayres Working Out With Spurs

September 14th, 2016 at 5:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Spurs center/power forward Jeff Ayres is working out with the team in advance of training camp, tweets international basketball writer David Pick.

The 29-year-old Ayres spent two seasons in San Antonio and was part of the 2014 championship team, but he wasn’t re-signed after the 2014/15 season. He was the first player selected in the 2015 D-League draft and spent much of the season in Idaho before joining the Clippers in January. After playing on two 10-day contracts, Ayres signed with the team for the remainder of the season. He appeared in 17 games for L.A., averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in limited playing time. Ayres has also played for the Trail Blazers and Pacers in his six-year NBA career.

The Spurs have just 13 players under contract, so they have flexibility if they decide to add Ayres. San Antonio has a need for front court depth after Tim Duncan retired, Boban Marjanovic signed with the Pistons and David West joined the Warriors.

Salary Cap Snapshot: San Antonio Spurs

September 13th, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Spurs’ team page accessible here.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Spurs currently stand financially:

Guaranteed Salary

LaMarcus Aldridge —$20,575,005 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker]
Kawhi Leonard —$17,638,063 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker]
Pau Gasol —$15,500,000
Tony Parker —$14,445,313
Manu Ginobili —$14,000,000
Danny Green —$10,000,000
Patty Mills —$3,578,948
Dewayne Dedmon —$2,898,000
Tim Duncan —$1,881,250 [Waived via stretch provision]
David Lee —$1,551,659 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker]
Kyle Anderson —$1,192,080
Dejounte Murray —$1,180,080
Livio Jean-Charles —$1,122,792 [Waived by team]
Jonathon Simmons —$874,636
Davis Bertans —$543,471
Bryn Forbes —$543,471
Joel Anthony —$346,034 [Actual salary — $497,856]
Nicolas Laprovittola —$210,995 [Waived by team]
Patricio Garino —$100,000 [Waived by team]
Ryan Arcidiacono —$75,000 [Waived by team]
Joel Anthony —$57,672 [10-day contract (Jan 23); actual salary — $82,976]
Joel Anthony —$57,672 [10-day contract (Feb 2); actual salary — $82,976]

Total Guaranteed Salary= $108,372,141

Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Payroll Exceptions Available

Room Exception — $0 [Used to sign Dewayne Dedmon]

Total Projected Payroll: $108,372,141

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: –$14,229,141

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $4,914,859

Last Updated: 4/6/17

The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.

Tibor Pleiss To Play In Turkey

September 12th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Less than two weeks after being waived by the Sixers, German big man Tibor Pleiss has found a new home for the upcoming season. Pleiss will head to Turkey for the 2016/17 campaign, having signed a one-year contract with Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul. The team issued a press release announcing the deal, with Pleiss confirming it on his Facebook page as well.

Pleiss, a former second-round pick who signed with the Jazz last summer, barely saw any action in his first and only NBA season, playing just 82 total minutes for Utah in 2015/16. The German big man was assigned to the D-League for a good chunk of the year, and he performed well for the Idaho Stampede, averaging 12.3 PPG and 10.4 RPG in 28 contests.

In August, the Jazz sent Pleiss to the Sixers in exchange for Kendall Marshall in a cost-cutting trade. Philadelphia, armed with a ton of cap room, had the flexibility to take on Pleiss’ $3MM guaranteed salary even though he wasn’t in the club’s plans, picking up a couple second-round picks in the process. The 76ers waived the 26-year-old less than a week after acquiring him.

Over the weekend, international basketball reporter David Pick indicated that the Nets had invited Pleiss to come to training camp with them, but that the free agent center turned down that offer, with an eye toward playing in Turkey. According to NetsDaily.com (via Twitter), Brooklyn had interest in bringing in Pleiss for a workout, and so did the Spurs, but he passed on both invitations.

Ryan Richards Agrees To Camp Deal With Spurs

September 9th, 2016 at 11:16am CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs will sign 2010 second-round draft choice Ryan Richards to a training camp deal, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The 7’0″ British native played with teams in Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain last season.

Richards, a forward, was the 49th player drafted in 2010. He has also played in Poland, Austria, China and several other countries.

The Spurs are already above the salary cap for the upcoming season, so Richards will probably receive a minimum deal.

Argentinian Pipeline Still Productive

September 7th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

This summer’s signings of Nicolas Laprovittola and Patricio Garino show that the Spurs‘ Argentinian pipeline is still active, according to Trevor Magnotti of Upside and Motor. Magnotti says the 26-year-old Laprovittola, who at 6’4″ primarily plays point guard, is probably the better player right now, but adds that Garino has a better shot at making San Antonio’s roster out of training camp. A “power guard,” Garino is only 23 and the author thinks he may be in the Spurs’ D-League plans.

NBA Teams In Or Near Tax Territory For 2016/17

September 6th, 2016 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap’s enormous, unprecedented jump from $70MM in 2015/16 to $94.143MM in 2016/17 has received a ton of attention this summer, as free agents signed massive contracts that reflected the league’s new financial reality. In addition to allowing teams extra flexibility to sign and acquire players, that cap jump also significantly increased the luxury tax threshold for NBA franchises.

A year ago, clubs exceeding $84.74MM in total team salary were subject to tax penalties, but this year, that threshold has increased by nearly $30MM, to $113.287MM. The result? It has become a little more difficult for teams to spend so much that they surpass that threshold and get into tax territory. Still, a few clubs have managed to do it so far, and several others are getting close.

Those teams over or near the luxury tax line will surely keep a careful eye on their spending going forward, since tax penalties under the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement can be severe, particularly for repeat offenders. Our glossary entry on the subject features details on the specifics.

Here’s the full breakdown on teams over the tax threshold, or close to it:

Teams currently in the tax:

Cleveland Cavaliers

Total team salary: $116,494,181
Total guaranteed salary: $114,628,849
There are avenues for the Cavaliers to get out of tax territory if they really want to, but the team doesn’t yet have a full roster and still expects to re-sign J.R. Smith, so odds are Cleveland’s tax bills will only get larger as the club’s payroll gets even higher.

Los Angeles Clippers

Total team salary: $114,740,032
Total guaranteed salary: $114,740,032
The Clippers have a full 15-man roster, so they shouldn’t have to add much more salary before the season — perhaps just modest partial guarantees for a few camp invitees. Assuming they stay within $2MM or so of the tax line, it will be interesting to see how the Clips approach the 2017 trade deadline. A cost-cutting deal or two could could the club out of the tax, but if L.A. is competing for a top spot in the West, it may be necessary to add a little salary to acquire another impact player.

Portland Trail Blazers

Total team salary: $114,678,517
Total guaranteed salary: $112,354,979
No team has more money committed to its 2017/18 cap than Portland, which is on the hook for nearly $124MM in guaranteed money already. Since there’s a good chance the Trail Blazers will be over the tax threshold next year, the team may want to avoid that fate this year. The Blazers’ close proximity to the tax might be good news for someone like Tim Quarterman, who already has a partial guarantee on his contract and would be owed a very small rookie salary if he makes the team. Other back-of-the-roster players like Luis Montero and Grant Jerrett would have slightly larger cap hits and aren’t currently owed any guaranteed money, so those factors may improve Quarterman’s odds of earning Portland’s final roster spot.
Note: The Blazers would sneak below the tax line by cutting Jerrett and Quarterman, or Jerrett and Montero. The team would remain in the tax if Montero and Quarterman are cut.

Teams currently near the tax line:

Memphis Grizzlies

Total team salary: $112,909,960
Total guaranteed salary: $107,062,933

Dallas Mavericks

Total team salary: $111,447,750
Total guaranteed salary: $109,563,866

Detroit Pistons

Total team salary: $108,850,684
Total guaranteed salary: $106,854,557

San Antonio Spurs

Total team salary: $108,677,758
Total guaranteed salary: $107,347,345

Toronto Raptors

Total team salary: $108,151,883
Total guaranteed salary: $106,077,999

For most of the teams in this group, there will be little chance of sneaking into tax territory with in-season free agent signings, so they should be safe unless they take on salary in a trade. However, clubs the Grizzlies and Mavericks – who are inching closer to that tax line – will have to be careful about in-season signings. If those franchises have to waive multiple players on guaranteed salaries due to injuries and then sign replacements for those players, their team salaries could start to approach the tax threshold.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Pau Gasol Says He Turned Down Spurs In 2014

September 6th, 2016 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran big man Pau Gasol is one of the newest members of the Spurs, and it sounds as if the union between the two sides was a long time coming. Speaking recently at an event in Madrid, Gasol admitted that he turned down an offer from San Antonio in the summer of 2014, opting to sign a two-year contract with the Bulls instead.

“Two years ago I declined the option of going to the Spurs,” Gasol said, according to a Eurohoops translation of a Marca.com report. “Now it was the right time to go to San Antonio. … [Gregg] Popovich has told me that I will contribute a lot, and along with LaMarcus Aldridge, without Tim Duncan any more, I will be one of the leaders of the team in the front line.”

While Gasol viewed Chicago’s offer as the best deal for him at the time, and played well during his time with the Bulls, the team didn’t enjoy the sort of success he anticipated, missing the postseason this past year for the first time since the 2007/08 season. This time around in free agency, he made the Spurs a priority, reaching a deal with the team during the July moratorium.

With Gasol under contract in the NBA for at least two more years, the odds of him heading back overseas to finish his playing career in Spain are becoming more remote. Although the possibility of a return has long been the subject of much speculation in his home country, the 36-year-old essentially dismissed it, per Eurohoops. “It’s a nice idea, but becoming less and less possible,” Gasol said.

Spurs Interested In Carl Landry

September 3rd, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have a number of new faces on their bench heading into the season and the players are still trying to get to know each other and build chemistry, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “We’re still trying to figure out some guys’ first and last names,” said Jonathon Simmons. “In another week, everything should be coming together.” San Antonio is also trying to fill a major leadership void now that Tim Duncan has retired, McDonald adds. Speaking about the players’ offseason practice and workout sessions, Kyle Anderson said, “Some days [in the past], they’d [the coaching staff] leave it up to Tim to run it. It’s a little weird without him there.”
The Rockets, Spurs, Lakers and Pacers are among the teams who are interested in Carl Landry, who was waived by the Sixers this week, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.

Jason Terry Talks Free Agency Process

August 25th, 2016 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Jason Terry recently inked a one-year contract with the Bucks, and while it’s only a minimum-salary deal, it’s fully guaranteed, which is something of a rarity at this point in the NBA offseason. In an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio (SoundCloud link), Terry admitted that the free agency process can be tough at this late stage in his career (he’ll turn 39 next month). He also identified several of the teams he considered before landing in Milwaukee.

“I had a couple contenders that I was really seriously looking at. Two of them were in the Finals, so that tells you right there who they were,” Terry said, referring to the Cavaliers and Warriors. “I made a call to [Gregg Popovich]. San Antonio’s another one. They were my arch-enemy for eight years when I was in Dallas, but that’s another phone call — if they call, you pick up, there’s just no question about it. … I always thought about going back and trying to finish off where I started in Atlanta. I like what they did. And then I seriously considered Boston, though we did not have a conversation.”

Based on Terry’s comments, it’s not clear how many of those teams he reached out to, and how many reached out to him, so it’s possible that interest wasn’t mutual in all those scenarios. Terry also admitted that while he had some interest in the Lakers, that interest wasn’t reciprocated, since Los Angeles already had a good idea of what its 15-man roster would look like.

“I called my good friend Luke [Walton],” Terry said. “I told him if he needed any help — veteran leadership, in that capacity, with an ability to coach at the end of my deal, then that was something I would be looking forward to. He utterly declined, and I respect him for that.”

Although he’s not the scorer he was early in his career, Terry was still a solid contributor in Houston over the last two seasons, averaging 19.5 MPG in 149 regular-season contests, and averaging 6.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, and 0.8 SPG while shooting 37.5% on three-pointers. In both of his seasons with the Rockets, Terry received a bump in playing time during the postseason.

Western Notes: Thunder, Spurs, Lakers

August 21st, 2016 at 4:45pm CST by Will Joseph

Thunder lead assistant coach Adrian Griffin, who joined the team in July, has developed a reputation as a defensive-minded coach with a knack for fostering relationships with players, and his presence should impact Oklahoma City in a positive way, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Griffin served as an assistant coach on Scott Skiles‘ staff in Orlando last season and was under consideration by the Magic to replace Skiles before Frank Vogel nabbed the post.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

With Tim Duncan retired, there is no better fit for Pau Gasol than the Spurs and San Antonio should benefit from the all-star’s presence on both ends of the floor, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. With Gregg Popovich, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard still on board, the addition of Gasol will likely help the Spurs legacy live on, Hamilton adds.
Former Lakers player Jordan Farmar, who ended last season with the Grizzlies, said he has no doubt that first-year head coach Luke Walton is the best fit for the job in Los Angeles, Serena Winters of Lakers Nation relays. “He really has a high basketball IQ and understands the game,” Farmar said. “He’ll make it fun, enjoyable, easy and he’ll be on their team. It’s not going to be like a dictatorship with Luke, he’s going to lead with positive energy.”