San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Rumors: West, Lalanne, Marjanovic, Bonner

July 19th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Signing free agent LaMarcus Aldridge was one of several smart moves that should help the Spurs remain a contender for years, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. San Antonio also added David West to strengthen its bench and reached long-term deals with Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. General manager R.C. Buford said the franchise took advantage of a unique opportunity. “The free agent market had some people that may consider San Antonio, which is closer to their home,” Buford said. “That won’t happen every year and this was our chance to see if we could make it work, and fortunately for us it did.”

There’s more this afternoon from San Antonio:

West’s contract includes a player option for a second season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. Because West signed for the veteran’s minimum, he is almost certain to opt out.
Cady Lalanne doesn’t expect to spend next season with the Spurs, but overseas trips are nothing new for him, writes Mike Monroe of The Express News. The late second-round pick came to the United States with his family from Haiti in an overcrowded boat at age 6. He went on to star at the University of Massachusetts and caught the eyes of Spurs brass in a private workout two days before the draft. “He came in and had a really good workout,” Buford said. “He’s an athletic big guy that has a really good shooting form.”
Serbian center Boban Marjanovic’s contract with the Spurs is for one year at a guaranteed $1.2MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The 7’3″ center has been a professional since 2006 and made the All-Euroleague First Team for 2015, according to Monroe.
Even though he had to wait for his contract, Matt Bonner is excited to be returning to the Spurs for another season, writes Dan McCarney of The Express News. The veteran sharpshooter re-signed Wednesday for the veteran’s minimum. “I’m not naive enough to think I’m a top priority at this point in my career,” he said. “I knew I just had to be patient and let the process take its course.”

Spurs Sign Boban Marjanovic

July 17th, 2015 at 7:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 7:08pm: The Spurs have issued a press release announcing the deal is official.

TUESDAY, 8:28am: The Spurs haven’t made an official announcement, but the signing has taken place, as the RealGM transactions log shows.

1:38pm: It’s a one-year deal, agent Misko Raznatovic tells Pick (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 1:09pm: The Spurs and All-Euroleague First Team center Boban Marjanovic have a deal, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The Serbian who turns 27 in August has blossomed overseas since going undrafted in 2010.

Marjanovic spent the past season with KK Crvena Zvezda in his home country, averaging 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game. His size is an asset, as he’s variously listed at either 7’3″ or 7’4″. Still, he posted only 0.9 blocks per contest this year, though that might be because few dare to challenge him at the rim.

Financial terms are unclear for the BeoBasket client, though San Antonio appears to have exhausted its cap room, and the room exception seems ticketed for Manu Ginobili. That would leave only the rookie minimum salary of $525,093 for Marjanovic unless the Spurs can make more cap-clearing moves.

Western Notes: Durant, Matthews, Hamilton

July 17th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Executives from around the league seem to think that Kevin Durant will end up re-signing with the Thunder next year, but the Wizards, Mavericks, Lakers, Heat, Knicks and Nets are expected to be among his most dogged suitors, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Damion James, a Wizards summer-leaguer whom Castillo describes as Durant’s best friend, says it’ll come down to wins and losses.

“He’ll do whatever it takes to win. Whoever gives him the best chance to win is where he’s going to end up,” James said.

The Thunder certainly seem to have kept themselves in the discussion on that front, having just paid the max to avoid losing Enes Kanter. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

No contract handed out this summer has seemed to draw as many surprised reactions for its munificence as the one Wesley Matthews ended up with from the Mavericks, observes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The shooting guard was going to make $57MM over four years with the Mavs before they bumped his deal up to the maximum of $70,060,025, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “A healthy Wesley Matthews at $70MM is insane,” one GM told Bulpett. “But Wesley Matthews coming off Achilles’ surgery at $70MM? What’s a stronger way to say insane?”
Justin Hamilton is close to a deal with Valencia of Spain, according to Paco Garcia Caridad of the Spanish outlet Marca (Twitter link; translation via Trapani). Hamilton, who went to the Finals with the Heat in 2013/14, finished this past season as a member of the Timberwolves.
Miroslav Raduljica has agreed to sign with Panathinaikos of Greece, reports Sportando’s Enea Trapani. The Kings reportedly had interest in the big man who was briefly with the Wolves this past season. The team was reportedly close to a deal with Nikola Milutinov, whom the Spurs drafted 26th overall, but now the status of negotiations with Milutinov is unclear. Regardless, the Spurs have already filed paperwork with the league saying they won’t sign Milutinov this year, thus clearing his cap hold.

Spurs Sign David West

July 17th, 2015 at 12:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 17TH, 12:34pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

10:08pm: It’s a one-year deal, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears (Twitter link).

JULY 6TH, 3:27pm: The Spurs scored another free agent coup, agreeing to terms with David West, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). It’ll be for just the minimum salary, Aldridge adds (on Twitter). That’s a remarkable financial sacrifice for the sought-after veteran who turned down a $12.6MM player option with the Pacers last month.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Cavaliers appeared to have the edge over San Antonio as of this weekend, but the Spurs beat Cleveland and a wider field of suitors that reportedly included the Wizards, Heat and Warriors. The Lance Young client denied a report that came out on draft night that he was likely to sign with the Knicks, making it clear that he instead wanted a team much closer to title contention.

West didn’t seem to have much interest in re-signing with the Pacers, having been turned off by the team’s open criticism of Roy Hibbert, and West believed that Indiana wasn’t close enough to title contention for his liking. The Pacers went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014, but fell out of the playoffs this past season thanks chiefly to Paul George‘s injury and Lance Stephenson‘s departure.

San Antonio should give West no such reservations about his chances at a title. The agreement with West is just the latest coup for the Spurs, who’ve already agreed to sign LaMarcus Aldridge and to re-sign Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili have also said they’re playing again this season instead of retiring.

Spurs Re-Sign Kawhi Leonard For Five Years

July 16th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jan 22, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeated the San Antonio Spurs 104-81. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 16TH, 4:05pm: The deal is official, the Spurs announced in a press release.

JULY 1ST, 4:00pm: The deal includes a player option for the fifth year, Zach Lowe of Grantland reports (on Twitter).

JUNE 30TH, 11:13pm: The Spurs will re-sign Kawhi Leonard for five years and an estimated $90MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The sides have agreed to a framework of a deal, as Wojnarowski details.

“I have every intention of signing with the San Antonio Spurs,” Leonard said in a statement, as Wojnarowski passes along. “There are details in the contract which need to be worked out with the organization. I am confident that this will be accomplished.”

The deal was agreed to just minutes after midnight on the East Coast, but the two sides still have to iron out some specifics over the next several days. The language in the statement (“every intention”) and the report (“agreed to the framework”) could be an inference to suggest that the Spurs will take their time in finalizing the pact. By waiting, the Spurs could avoid getting charged with max cap hit so that Leonard’s cap hold stays low, thereby preserving cap room for other free agents.

Leonard, 24, averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists last season. While Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were the anchors for many elite Spurs outfits, Leonard can be expected to be the cornerstone of future contending teams. Leonard’s resume includes the 2014 Finals MVP and this past season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Back in April, it was reported that Leonard was unlikely to pursue offer sheets, even though he had the ability to as a restricted free agent.

Southwest Notes: Barea, Simmons, Baynes

July 16th, 2015 at 12:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wesley Matthews saw his four-year deal with the Mavericks spike from around $13MM a year to a max contract worth $16,407,500 this season and $70,060,025 total when DeAndre Jordan reneged on his deal to play for Dallas, and Matthews isn’t the only one to benefit financially from that flip-flop. The Mavs upped their deal with J.J. Barea from two years and roughly $5.7MM to four years and $16MM before the point guard officially re-signed today, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). The move means the Mavs have less cap flexibility but get to keep their $2.814MM room exception, which initially seemed ticketed for Barea’s original deal. In any case, Barea is sticking around.

“They knew I wanted to be there for a long time,” Barea said to MacMahon (Twitter link). “They wanted me there for a long time, so we made it happen.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

Guard Jonathon Simmons wows with his athleticism, but he hadn’t had as much as an invitation to an NBA training camp since going undrafted in 2012 until the Spurs agreed to sign him to a two-year contract with a fully guaranteed salary for this season, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. McDonald chronicles the unlikely ascension of the former Spurs D-Leaguer.
The Spurs lost out on Aron Baynes, who signed a deal reportedly worth as much as $20MM over three years with Detroit, and Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy cited Baynes’ free-throw percentage as one unconventional reason why the team was willing to pay him. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has the details. “Free-throw shooting, obviously, was a problem for us last year, next-to-last in the league, and Aron’s the best free throw-shooting big out there,” Van Gundy said. “Eighty-five percent at the line last year, that’s a huge thing for us in games, especially coming down the stretch. So that was also a big thing — maybe bigger for us than for other people with big guys.” Baynes actually hit 86.5% of his free throws last season, better than Van Gundy indicated, and he’s a career 84.7% shooter from the stripe.
Russ Smith picked up a $150K partial guarantee on his salary this season with the Grizzlies when he remained on the roster through Wednesday, as the schedule of salary guarantee dates shows.

Western Notes: Cousins, Levien, Montero

July 15th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings coach George Karl admits talking hypothetical DeMarcus Cousins trades “behind closed doors,” but Karl tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he rejects the notion that he was actively trying to trade the center. “As a coach, in meetings every year and maybe four or five times a year, you talk about what-ifs,” Karl said. “And 99% of what-ifs never happen. But isn’t it our job to talk about what-ifs? Does this make us better? Does this get us in a better place? That’s our job. There was never a discussion in that area even close to happening, in my opinion. … Never in the whole time of this experience did I ever think that I wasn’t going to coach Cuz.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:

Jason Levien has become an unofficial adviser to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. Levien was formerly the CEO of the Grizzlies, as well as a former Sacramento assistant GM, Howard-Cooper notes.
The Wolves were able to create a traded player exception worth $5MM as a result of dealing Chase Budinger to the Pacers, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
Danny Green said that LaMarcus Aldridge contacted him during the free agent process to pick his brain about the Spurs, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News tweets. Green also noted that the possibility of playing alongside Aldridge factored heavily into his decision to re-sign with the Spurs, McDonald adds.
The Trail Blazers‘ deal with Luis Montero is a three year arrangement with the first season partially guaranteed, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter links).
The Thunder have removed forward Steve Novak from the trading block, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays. OKC was reportedly seeking financial relief and was willing to flip Novak in exchange for a future draft pick.
Wilson Chandler‘s contract renegotiation and extension with the Nuggets will pay him $10.4MM in 2015/16, $11.2MM for 2016/17, $12.0MM in 2017/18, and $12.8MM during the final season, Pincus notes (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Spurs Re-Sign Matt Bonner

July 15th, 2015 at 3:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have re-signed veteran forward Matt Bonner, the team announced in a press release. The deal is for one year at the veteran’s minimum, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News reports. The longtime Spur was reportedly thinking about retirement this spring, though he said last year that he wished to play for several more seasons.

The 35-year-old appeared in 72 games for San Antonio this past season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists with a slash line of .409/.365/.811. His career numbers through 11 NBA campaigns are 6.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 0.7 APG.

Bonner had also reportedly drawn interest from the Kings, who have been seeking a stretch four in the free agent marketplace.

Southwest Notes: Mavs, Williams, Calathes

July 15th, 2015 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spoke Tuesday with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and “it started off more than a little frigid,” as Cuban recounted via Cyber Dust, his social media app, and as the Dallas Morning News relays. That’s not surprising, given the DeAndre Jordan saga, but Cuban said he and Ballmer cleared the air.

“I told him exactly what I told other owners, I didn’t have a problem with his hail Mary approach to keeping a player,” Cuban wrote. “I understood why they did it. And even how they did it. They got their player back. End of story.”

Cuban said he doesn’t have a problem with the July Moratorium, which seemingly helped facilitate Jordan’s reversal, but even if he did, the moratorium doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Deron Williams‘ two-year deal with the Mavs is worth $10MM and includes a player option, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The clock appears to be ticking on an NBA future for Grizzlies restricted free agent Nick Calathes. The point guard denied to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal that he has signed with Panathinaikos of Greece, but he’ll commit to that team if he doesn’t find an NBA deal today, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Calathes is drawing NBA interest, but he’s hesitant to continue as a backup, Pick hears. The Mavericks have reportedly contacted him, though that was two weeks ago. Memphis has the power to match all competing bids from NBA teams, but not from overseas clubs.
Panathinaikos is close to a deal with center Nikola Milutinov, this year’s 26th overall pick, Sportando’s Enea Trapani writes. Regardless, Milutinov won’t soon be joining the Spurs, the team that drafted him, as San Antonio has informed the NBA that it won’t sign him or 2013 No. 28 pick Livio Jean-Charles during 2015/16, allowing San Antonio to remove their cap hits, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links).
The Rockets reportedly had hopes of signing draft-and-stash prospect Marko Todorovic this summer, but that won’t be happening, as the big man has signed a three-year deal with Khimki Moscow, the Russian club announced (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Spurs GM R.C. Buford said he and the front office didn’t think that they would have been able to snag Ray McCallum if he’d have been a free agent on the open market, so they were pleased to pull off the trade with the Kings that brought him in, as Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News chronicles. McCallum, who’s excited about the deal, earned a $200K partial guarantee on his salary when the Spurs didn’t waive him Sunday.
A $390,089 sliver of Houston’s Jeremy Lin trade exception expired Monday, though it was essentially too small to use. The Rockets had already used the majority of the exception, once worth $8,374,646, to trade for Corey Brewer and Alexey Shved in December.
Brewer’s new three-year deal with the Rockets is worth precisely $23,420,913, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows.

Spurs Sign Danny Green

July 14th, 2015 at 5:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 14TH, 5:33pm: The deal is official, the Spurs announced in a press release.

JULY 1ST, 10:33am: The Spurs and Danny Green have agreed to a four-year, $45MM deal in a surprising development, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Sources who spoke with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com had referred to the swingman as a “goner,” but he’s instead apparently staying, rebuffing interest from several other teams. Green confirmed to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he is indeed re-signing after the July Moratorium (Twitter link).

The news is likely a disappointment for the Pistons, Mavericks, Blazers, Knicks and especially the Kings, who’d reportedly made Green their top target. The Bill Duffy client had said it would be “crazy” not to meet with New York, but apparently the Spurs, his preferred team, made him an offer to enticing to turn down.

The move allows San Antonio to retain its starting shooting guard, though the Spurs have reportedly agreed to trade starting center Tiago Splitter to the Hawks to clear room for a push toward signing LaMarcus Aldridge or another marquee free agent.