San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Notes: Popovich, Aldridge, Marjanovic

October 4th, 2015 at 4:11pm CST by Will Joseph

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told ESPN’s Sage Steele (h/t Cork Gaines of Businessinsider.com) that he will continue coaching after Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili retire.

Popovich said that he made a commitment to the newly signed LaMarcus Aldridge. Popovich has four years remaining on a five-year deal that he signed in the summer of 2014. Aldridge’s contract expires at the end of the 2018/19 season.

“Signing LaMarcus [Aldridge], I had to make a commitment,” Popovich said. “I couldn’t say, ‘LaMarcus, we would love to sign you, see you later.’ So I committed to those guys and I committed to LaMarcus. So, I’ve got to fulfill my promise.”

Here is more on the Spurs:

Aldridge and Duncan being able to co-exist is the least of the Spurs’ concerns despite the two All-Star forwards having very similar styles, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News details. Both players prefer to occupy similar spaces on offense — the left block and left elbow — and defensively, one of them will have to defend opposing centers, a role neither has been keen to fill in the past, McDonald adds. After speaking with several players on the team, McDonald found that most of the Spurs find it “comical” that the pairing would not work.
Spurs rookie center Boban Marjanovic, who is 7’3″, said he turned down more lucrative offers in Europe to join the Spurs on a one-year deal worth $1.2MM because it was his “childhood dream,” and added that he is fitting in with a new team and totally different culture, McDonald writes in a separate story.

Central Notes: George, Robinson, Hoiberg, Rose

October 3rd, 2015 at 10:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George still doesn’t sound like a fan of his new position or the Pacers‘ new lineup, tweets Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. Indiana is experimenting with George as its starting power forward, a move brought on by David West signing with San Antonio and Luis Scola going to Toronto. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for a four spot,” George said tonight after Indiana’s preseason opener. “I don’t know if this is my position.” George also implied that he’s not the only Pacer unhappy with the strategy. “It’s not just myself,” he said. “The four other guys out there, it’s an adjustment for them. We’re all talking (Twitter link). … A couple other guys are uncomfortable with how we’re going to run it. It’s new to everyone (Twitter link).”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Pacers president Larry Bird says he tried for a year to acquire Glenn Robinson III, according to Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star. The 21-year-old caught Bird’s eye during a preseason game last year as a member of the Timberwolves. Robinson played just 21 games in Minnesota before being cut in March, but the Sixers claimed him on waivers before the Pacers could grab him. He signed with Indiana this summer. “He sees something he likes in me, and it makes you feel good,” Robinson said. “I mean, he’s Larry Bird.”
Veteran guard Kirk Hinrich tells Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald that new coach Fred Hoiberg is bringing a faster pace and more relaxed atmosphere to the Bulls. It’s a drastic change from Tom Thibodeau, who was known for his intensity and his grind-it-out style. “Fred’s really calm,” Hinrich said. “He teaches. He’s a very good teacher, makes his points, but he’s calm.”
Derrick Rose will learn the Bulls‘ new offense from home while he recovers from a facial injury, McGraw writes in a separate story. Rose had surgery this week after fracturing an orbital bone below his left eye during Tuesday’s practice. He is not expected to resume basketball activities until October 14th. “We’re going to actually get over there and watch some film with him today, because again, we’ve added new sets, new things,” Hoiberg said Saturday. “So we’ll get him caught up by a couple of coaches going over and seeing him at his house.”

Texas Notes: Carlisle, Ayres, Fredette

October 2nd, 2015 at 8:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle‘s contract status beyond this season is up in the air, but even so, owner Mark Cuban said Friday on 103.3 FM ESPN that he hasn’t lent much thought to the matter, given what he described as mutual interest in a continued partnership, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Carlisle signed a four-year deal prior to the 2012/13 season, though at least one report at the time indicated an option for a fifth season was involved. “We obviously want to keep Rick and he doesn’t want to go anywhere, so I don’t see it being an issue,” Cuban said.

Here’s more from out of the Lone Star State:

Power forward Jeff Ayres, who made 51 appearances for the Spurs last season, has been waived by Shanxi of the Chinese Basketball Association, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Ayres had inked a one-year deal with Shanxi worth a reported $1MM back in early September. The 28-year-old averaged 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 7.5 minutes per game during the 2014/15 season for San Antonio.
While he may be a long shot to make the regular season roster, Jimmer Fredette was signed by the Spurs to help replace the outside shooting that was lost with Marco Belinelli‘s departure to the Kings via free agency this summer, Ananth Pandian of CBSSports.com writes. “He’s a shooter,” coach Gregg Popovich said about Fredette. “He’s a scorer, and we’re looking for that type of thing to add to the team. People always look at the big guys. But we started last season thinking that not having Patty Mills is going to be a big factor for us. And it was huge. First of all you don’t have him for the first half, and then it took him a long time to get back into the flow. And this year Marco not being here is important. He came off the bench and helped us in a lot of games and I think that’s a big concern.”
Fredette also noted that he was surprised that the Spurs were interested in him, Pandian adds. “I just hadn’t heard that [the Spurs] were a team that was necessarily on our radar,” Fredette told Pandian. “We always loved the Spurs organization and the team but it was kinda just a call that my agent told me was out of the blue. As soon as we got it, I was obviously extremely excited. I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to be on a good team and also it fits my style of play well. They move the ball well, they share they ball, lots of movement, play uptempo, so I’m excited to be part of this organization. Hopefully it will work out well.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Splitter, Neal, Batum, Ennis

October 1st, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tiago Splitter admits that he was disappointed when he was traded to the Hawks in a move designed to clear salary cap room, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. The Spurs needed the cap space the trade provided to sign LaMarcus Aldridge, whom Splitter believes makes San Antonio the team to beat in the West, Greene adds. “It’s a great squad,” Splitter said of his former team. “On paper they are the favorites to win the title. They have David West. They have LaMarcus Aldridge. Of course, Tim Duncan. Just a great frontcourt over there. They are a very talented team. Of course you have to see how things work out for them on the practical side of the game, but on the interior they have a great team.”

The big man said that his attitude regarding being dealt changed when he realized he’d be playing for coach Mike Budenholzer, a former assistant with the Spurs, Greene adds. “It’s nice to be in an environment where you already know the coach,” Splitter said. “I didn’t know the players before I got here but as soon as I got traded Bud told me that I was going to be in a great situation with great teammates. He gave me a lot of confidence that this team is going to be great once again. I don’t think a [learning curve] is going to be a problem. When I’ve talked to Bud so far I’ve seen that he has his own tricks and personality in the system, but it’s the same system we ran in San Antonio.”

Here’s the latest out of the Southeast Division:

With the Wizards expected to utilize smaller lineups this season, Gary Neal‘s three-point shooting skills should play a big part in the team’s new offense, J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic writes. “The way the NBA is changing and evolving right now, how everybody is going to the four out, one in, the ball movement, not holding the ball, getting away from the isolation play, coach [Randy] Wittman is trying to teach that,” Neal said. “That offense is kind of new to him also. He went to a little bit of that against the Hawks in the playoffs and by playing Paul Pierce at the four he kind of liked that. So he was thinking about that throughout the whole summer. He’s teaching it to us. It’s new to us. Everybody’s learning. We should be alright.“
Nicolas Batum will take on a much greater role with the Hornets than he had during his time in Portland, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “Nic has always been third or fourth option,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Now he’s going to be second or first option.”
Heat forward James Ennis said that the tendinitis that he was experiencing in his knees led to his poor showing in summer league play this year, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. “I was down on myself because I expected more from me,” Ennis told Jackson. “I’m really hard on myself. But I looked at it and said, ‘You’re injured.’ I was playing at 65%. I did a lot of treatment. My knee is a lot better. You’ll see it in the preseason.” Ennis, who has a non-guaranteed salary, is fighting for a regular season roster spot.

Texas Notes: Howard, Lawson, West, McGee

October 1st, 2015 at 10:25am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard can opt out of his deal at season’s end, but he isn’t planning for the sort of hype that surrounded the last time his contract became an issue, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Howard declined to talk Wednesday about his potential to become a free agent next summer, though Rockets GM Daryl Morey said last week that he intends to keep the core of the team, including Howard, together for more than just this coming season, Feigen notes. Howard shrugged off the notion that he’s headed into an age-related decline.

“I’m 29 years old,” Howard said, accoring to Feigen. “Regardless of me being in the league for 12 years, I’m still fairly young. I’ll give everything I’ve got for these 10, 11 years I have left.”

See more on the Rockets amid the latest from around the Texas Triangle:

Ty Lawson asked James Harden to push the Rockets to trade for him shortly after last season’s Western Conference Finals were over, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The initial rush of major moves in late June and early July passed with Lawson still on the Nuggets, but Houston finally traded for the point guard in late July.
David West has been saving money since his rookie season with the idea that when he came to the end of his career, he could make professional decisions based on basketball only and not worry about finances, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News details. That’s just what he did this summer, when he turned down a $12.6MM player option from the Pacers and signed for a $1,499,187 minimum salary with the Spurs. “There are a lot of people making a whole lot less than we make that live comfortable lives,” West said to McDonald. “I’ve always kept that in perspective. So when it came down to year 13, knowing you’ve got more yesterdays than tomorrows, you say, ‘Take the money off the table and go where you want to go.’”
JaVale McGee is showing frustration as the rehab process from stress fracture in his left tibia drags on, but even though he probably won’t be ready for opening night, the dearth of other center options on the Mavs makes it likely the team keeps him, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. That means the Mavs would end up cutting one of 15 players with a fully guaranteed contract to accommodate McGee’s partially guaranteed deal on the regular season roster. “We know what he’s capable of doing,” coach Rick Carlisle said of McGee. “He has a body of work. We know he’s an NBA player, and we know he has the ability to be a starting player in the NBA. We know he’s very motivated to play. He’s just had a very odd rehab situation that’s been addressed and he’s doing much better. So that’s something that we’re going to have to evaluate and kind of see what’s what as time goes along, but we consider him a guy that’s a great prospect.”

Southwest Notes: Matthews, Jones, West

September 29th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has already reportedly ruled out Wesley Matthews for the team’s opener, but the swingman has designs on proving his new coach wrong, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “I’m trying to be ready by opening day,” Matthews said. “Whether I can play in it or not, I can’t really control that. But my goal is to [be] ready and available opening day.”

Matthews doesn’t think it relevant to compare how long it has taken other players who have had similar injuries to his own to recover, MacMahon adds. “I don’t really pay too much attention to that because if I paid attention to people that were in my situation before me, then I wouldn’t be up here standing and talking to you guys,” Matthews said, “because I can’t think of too many undrafted free agents that have done what I’ve done.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Rockets forward Terrence Jones enters the 2015/16 season with a different, more mature outlook, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I felt like I really needed to grow as a person,” Jones said. “I think I am a lot more mature this year.” Jones is eligible to ink a contract extension with Houston prior to the deadline on November 2nd.
David West said that the Spurs‘ signing of LaMarcus Aldridge was the deciding factor for him to join the team as an unrestricted free agent this summer, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News tweets.
Despite concerns regarding his agility and foot speed, the Spurs‘ signing of center Boban Marjanovic is exactly what the team needed to help offset the free agent losses of Aron Baynes and Tiago Splitter, writes Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News. McCarney notes that Marjanovic’s ample size (7’3″), as well as his inexpensive contract, make the 27-year-old a wise pickup.
Pelicans star big man Anthony Davis is hoping that the additional 15 pounds of muscle he added from working out over the summer will make him an even more dominant player, Brett Martel of The Associated Press relays. “I feel great right now. Even just working out, I feel explosive. I feel quick,” Davis said. “When you start actually going against people and all that, it’s a lot different. So I’m going to see how it is during training camp and preseason and go from there.“
Despite the expectations that arrived in San Antonio along with him, Aldridge is doing his best to fit in and adapt to the way the Spurs organization handles its business, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “It’s never been about one guy here,” said Aldridge. “It’s always been about the team. So it’s not about me.”
After missing the end of the 2014/15 regular season and the playoffs, Rockets guard Patrick Beverley is itching to get back on the court, Creech writes in a separate piece. “Six months, nine days,” Beverley said. “That’s the longest I have ever been out and away from basketball. Injuries aren’t something you can control, but I am ready to get back, ready to play and get this thing started.”

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Faried, Durant

September 29th, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen said that the team has moved on from the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs this summer, and that he is excited for what the future holds for the franchise, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays. When asked if he felt betrayed by Aldridge, Allen said, “No. I think LaMarcus had a lot of options. We went down to Dallas, [GM] Neil [Olshey] and I pitched him and he chose to go a different direction. We made it to his last few choices and he was good enough to call me up and explain his decision and all that. It’s tough for a franchise, because we were all thinking that we had a real shot at getting him back. But in the end, he chose to go a different direction and now it’s a new day. We’ve moved on and I think you can feel the excitement and the energy in the gym now.”

Allen said he enjoys the process of developing younger players, which makes the team’s current transitional period easier on him, Freeman adds. “It’s always a transition. I’m always trying to figure out how many times we’ve done a rebuild here. I think three. But you guys will probably correct me on that, I’m sure. I probably, more than a lot of owners, enjoy seeing young players develop. Always have. Always will. And that’s also been a hallmark of other teams like the Seahawks that I’ve been involved with. So seeing young players develop and I think if you watch some of the players that Neil has brought in here, we’ve been very lucky to be able to bring those in and be able to pivot from being a playoff team to being a team that’s going through a transition to hopefully being back in the playoffs before too long. So we’ll see.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The deals that Talib Zanna, Dez Wells, and Julyan Stone signed with the Thunder are all one-year, minimum salary arrangements that include no guaranteed salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Omari Johnson‘s pact with the Blazers is a one year deal for the league minimum and includes no guaranteed salary, Pincus relays (via Twitter).
Difficulties between Kenneth Faried and former coach Brian Shaw negatively impacted the forward’s performance for the Nuggets last season, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post writes. “If you don’t have a coach that believes in you, then what’s the point of going out there and playing?” Faried said. “If your coach doesn’t have faith in you and puts you out in the fire against all these great players, you’re going to get torched.“
Kevin Durant is a fan of new Thunder coach Billy Donovan, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman tweets. Of Donovan, Durant said, “Great basketball mind, but more importantly, a better person. We’ve hit it off.” With Durant eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, any added incentive for him to remain in Oklahoma City is certainly a boon for the franchise.
After a breakout season in 2014/15 for the Jazz, Gordon Hayward needs to become a better closer at the end of games in order to take his next step forward as a star player, Aaron Falk, Tony Jones and Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune write.

Southwest Notes: Williams, Parsons, McGee, Butler

September 29th, 2015 at 3:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Deron Williams admits he bought into the idea of himself as a reduced player the past few seasons with the Nets, but both he and Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle are optimistic about what the 31-year-old point guard can do in Dallas, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details.

“I want to prove myself wrong,” Williams said Monday. “I started to doubt myself in the past. Mentally, it took a toll on me. I just got to get out of that rut that I was in the last couple years mentally, and I look forward to this situation. I think I’m past that. This fresh start has definitely helped that a lot. I’m looking forward to this year. It’s a better situation.”

The Mavs invested a two-year, $11MM deal in the hopes that Williams can indeed perform better. See more on the Mavs and their Southwest Division rivals:

Chandler Parsons spoke about his close relationship with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in an interview with GQ’s Alex Wong that further addressed the Mavs’ failed effort to recruit DeAndre Jordan this summer. “He didn’t do anything illegal. I’m not mad at him,” Parsons said of Jordan. “At the end of the day, he’s a grown man and he’s entitled to do whatever he wants,” Parsons says. “He’s one of the best young centers in the NBA, and I wanted to play with him. He could have made us great. But he screwed us over.”
JaVale McGee is unlikely to be healthy enough to play at the start of the regular season, MacMahon tweets. McGee, who continues to recover from a recurring stress fracture in his left tibia, has a partially guaranteed contract, and his continued place on the Mavs roster depends on how other players perform in camp, MacMahon says. McGee’s partial guarantee of $250K jumps to $500K if he remains under contract through the end of business today.
Rasual Butler‘s deal with the Spurs is non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and only covers this season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Jeff Adrien‘s one-year, minimum salary contract with the Pelicans is non-guaranteed, reports Pincus also reports (Twitter link). The team’s non-guaranteed pact with Corey Webster is for two years, not three, as initially reported, Pincus reveals.

Southwest Rumors: Parsons, Lawson, Spurs

September 28th, 2015 at 8:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons had a “minor hybrid” microfracture operation on his right knee, sources told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Parsons confirmed the procedure during the team’s media day session on Monday, MacMahon tweets. Parsons has not been fully cleared for the beginning of training camp but coach Rick Carlisle said he might be ready for the opener, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Wesley Matthews, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, might be ready by Christmas, Townsend reported in the same tweet. Matthews has already been ruled out for the opener by Carlisle, MacMahon adds (Twitter link).

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Ty Lawson knows this season with the Rockets will be a pivotal one in his career, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Lawson was dealt by the Nuggets after he was arrested twice on DUI charges this year. “This is like a turning point. What kind of career are you going to have?” Lawson told Feigen.
New Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry plans to install an up-tempo offense focused on spacing, ball movement and quick-strike scoring, John Reid of NOLA.com reports. Gentry believes he has the personnel to play that style, Reid adds. ”I think it’s going to be an exciting brand of basketball,” Gentry told Reid. “We’re going to try and get the ball up and down the floor.”
Tim Duncan doubted that the Spurs would land free agent prize and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. “Honestly, I was betting against us … right up to the end,” Duncan told McDonald.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich admitted the team needed to trade center Tiago Splitter to create financial flexibility, according to Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Splitter, who has two year and $17.35MM remaining on his contract, was shipped to the Hawks in July. “We knew if we wanted to change the team and add talent, [trading Tiago] was something we had to do,” Popovich said during the team’s media day.

Spurs Sign Rasual Butler, Deshaun Thomas

September 28th, 2015 at 10:57am CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs revealed they’ve signed Rasual Butler today, listing him on a roster they handed out to reporters at media day, according to Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News. Deshaun Thomas, the team’s second-round pick from 2013, has also signed with San Antonio, the roster reveals. That roster also serves as the team’s first acknowledgement of previously reported deals with Youssou Ndoye and Keifer Sykes.

The leadership of the 36-year-old Butler, as well as his shooting, impressed the Spurs during voluntary workouts recenty, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). San Antonio had evidently been eyeing the veteran swingman for a while, as The Oregonian’s Jason Quick identified the team’s interest shortly after free agency began in July. Butler had reportedly been wanting to re-sign with the Wizards or join the Heat or the Trail Blazers, but he’s ultimately chosen San Antonio, which has no more than the minimum salary to give him.

The same is true for Thomas, to whom the Spurs made their required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed offer for the minimum salary earlier this month, as international journalist David Pick reported. It’s not clear whether Thomas signed that tender or the sides worked out different terms, but it’s no surprise to see him end up in Spurs camp, since he recently posted photos to Instagram showing him in Spurs workout gear and had been willing to play for the team if it made an offer, as Pick noted. The 24-year-old big man played in France and Spain the past two seasons after the Spurs made him the 58th overall pick in 2013.

Wojnarowski first reported that Ndoye, a 24-year-old center who went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure this summer, would join the Spurs for camp, though he noted that expectation was that Ndoye would ultimately end up with the Spurs D-League affiliate. San Antonio can keep the D-League rights to as many as four of the players it cuts at the end of the preseason.

Sykes seems ultimately destined for the D-League, too, though that’s just my speculation. The 21-year-old point guard went undrafted out of Wisconsin Green Bay in June. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported his deal.

The moves give the Spurs a full 20-man camp roster, though only 13 have fully guaranteed deals.