San Antonio Spurs 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.

Diaw Gets To Know New Teammate

August 15th, 2016 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Olympics have given Jazz point guard Raul Neto a chance to connect with new teammate Boris Diaw, writes Amy Donaldson of The Deseret News. Utah acquired Diaw, who plays for the French team, in a July trade with the Spurs to provide veteran help off the bench. “I’ve talked to Boris in the [athlete’s] village,” said Neto, who hails from the host country of Brazil. “He’s a really nice guy. [Leandro] Barbosa played with him in Phoenix, and he say only good things about him. I think we have a great team, some nice guys joined our team, and we expect [to] do better [this] season.”

Bonner Thankful For Time With Spurs

August 13th, 2016 at 3:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

While “nothing is ever 100%,” Matt Bonner acknowledges his time with the Spurs is likely over, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. San Antonio currently has 14 players with guaranteed contracts and the unrestricted free agent forward has yet to hear from the team regarding next season, McDonald notes. “There’s no hard feelings,” Bonner said. “I’m beyond appreciative of everything the Spurs, the city and the fans have done for me.”

Matt Bonner Doesn't Expect To Return To Spurs

August 10th, 2016 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After spending the first two seasons of his NBA career in Toronto, sharpshooting big man Matt Bonner has played for the Spurs for the last decade. However, Bonner is not currently under the contract with the team and doesn’t sound overly optimistic about returning to San Antonio for the 2016/17 season (hat tip to Jeff Garcia of Spurs Zone).

“Currently they haven’t signed me,” Bonner said of San Antonio, during a segment on Concord News Radio (SoundCloud link). “Unless something changes going into the season, I would probably not be with the Spurs.”

While Bonner may not re-sign with the Spurs, he continues to work out and is hopeful for another opportunity with an NBA team, intending to exhaust every option before moving on to the next stage of his life: “If nothing happens and I know for sure it’s over that I’m not going to be playing again, then I can walk away at peace.”

Spurs Had Hoped For Discount On Manu Ginobili

August 9th, 2016 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs had been hoping for another hometown discount for Manu Ginobili, who has been willing to take below-market deals in the past. But when the Sixers made the veteran guard an aggressive proposal and forced San Antonio to up its offer, the Spurs didn’t hesitate to do so, writes Buck Harvey of The San Antonio Express-News.

Ray Allen Has Spoken To Celtics, Bucks

August 6th, 2016 at 7:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen has had conversations with the Celtics and Bucks as he contemplates an NBA comeback at age 41, writes Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant. Both teams have a special significance for Allen, who won an NBA title with Boston in 2008 and broke into the league with Milwaukee in 1996.

“I would love going back to those places if it worked out,” Allen said, “because both teams are good, too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be championship-or-bust for me to go back to the NBA. I want to be in a situation where I thought I could help, play a little bit and help where they have good young talent.”

Allen hasn’t played in the league since 2013/14, when he appeared in 73 games for Miami, mostly as a reserve. He said he has started going through intense workouts to prepare him for NBA competition and has felt “great” afterward.

After winning titles with the Celtics and Heat, there has been speculation that Allen may want to join the defending champion Cavaliers or the runner-up Warriors to give himself the best shot at another ring. The Spurs and Clippers have also been mentioned as possible destinations, and Allen said Knicks’ super-fan Spike Lee has been texting him about coming to New York.

Allen made it clear that a return to the league is not definite and said he will make a decision by the time training camps open late next month. His choice will be based on finding the right franchise and the right role.

“My decision is predicated on what is available,” he said. “I said that I was interested because I never retired for a reason. I’ve been watching, seeing what teams have been doing and I’ve been waiting to see if the opportunity presented itself where I think I could fit.”

Spurs Have Interest In Thomas Robinson

August 2nd, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Spurs have been the “most vocal” team when it comes to showing interest in free agent power forward Thomas Robinson. A former fifth overall pick, Robinson spoke to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders about the strides he feels he has made on and off the court since entering the league in 2012.

Spurs Sign David Lee

August 2nd, 2016 at 2:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

AUGUST 2: The Spurs have issued a press release officially announcing their deal with Lee.

JULY 28: The Spurs have added some veteran help to their frontcourt, with the team reaching an agreement on a contract with unrestricted free agent David Lee, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter).

It will be a two-year pact that includes a player option for the 2017/18 campaign, Wojnarowski adds. The contract will pay Lee an estimated $3.2MM, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News tweets. That will make it a minimum-salary pact.

Lee brings a solid work ethic, a versatile skill set and a high motor with him to San Antonio. If he can remain healthy, Lee should fit right in with the Spurs brand of basketball. He’ll add some depth to a frontcourt that will be without Tim Duncan, who announced his retirement earlier this offseason.

The 33-year-old finished the 2015/16 season with the Mavericks after he reached a buyout arrangement with the Celtics. In 25 games with Dallas, Lee averaged 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.3 minutes per outing. He shot .636/.000/.738 from the field during his time in Texas.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Patricio Garino Contract Details

August 2nd, 2016 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

Argentinian forward Patricio Garino got a two-year, minimum-salary deal from the Spurs that includes a $100K guarantee in its first year, Pincus reports. San Antonio should have a roster spot or two open heading into the season, so it’s worth noting that other players contending for those openings have slightly guarantees that are slightly higher (Bryn Forbes, $125K) or lower (Ryan Arcidiacono, $75K) than Garino’s.