San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Interested In DeJuan Blair

July 13th, 2013 at 9:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards have interest in free agent forward DeJuan Blair, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). A sign-and-trade deal remains a consideration, but the Spurs may be unmoved by the choices they have in a swap with Washington.

For his last couple of years in San Antonio, Blair hasn't had a clearly defined role and the big man has spoken openly about his desire for more playing time, whether it be with the Spurs or another club. Blair's gripe first started last season when, despite playing 21+ minutes per contest in the regular season, he was barely featured in the playoffs. This season, he played a career low 14 minutes per contest and saw just 6.3 minutes of burn in the club's Finals run.

In four seasons for the 24-year-old, Blair has averaged 7.8 points with 5.8 rebounds per contest.

Cavs No Longer Pursuing Greg Oden

July 12th, 2013 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

10:55am: Oden is also looking at the Celtics and Bobcats, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.

9:17am: The Cavaliers have long been considered one of the frontrunners to sign Greg Oden, but after reaching an agreement with Andrew Bynum, Cleveland is no longer in the running for Oden, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).

Oden has local ties to Ohio, having attended Ohio State and rehabbed in Columbus, and the Cavs' cap space always made the team a logical suitor. However, it makes sense that Cleveland wouldn't have interest in bringing aboard both Bynum and Oden, since both centers are considered strong injury risks.

With the Cavs out of the hunt, the favorites for Oden include the Spurs and the Heat, along with the Mavs, who entered the picture recently. The former No. 1 pick reportedly plans to take his time making a decision, and may not sign until August.

Northwest Notes: Mozgov, Iggy, Splitter, Wolves

July 12th, 2013 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

With the Thunder and Nuggets still looking strong, and the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers adding reinforcements, the Northwest could have four playoff contenders in 2013/14. Here's the latest out of the division:

The Nuggets are getting "increasingly close" to an agreement with restricted free agent big man Timofey Mozgov, according to GM Tim Connelly (link via Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post).
The Nuggets' failure to re-sign Andre Iguodala wasn't for lack of trying. Within a piece about the Warriors' newest acquisition, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle says Iguodala passed on a front-loaded five-year, $60MM offer from the Nuggets, and nearly agreed to sign a lucrative deal with the Mavericks just an hour before reaching a deal with the Warriors.
According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Trail Blazers reached an agreement with Tiago Splitter on a four-year, $36MM offer sheet. However, the team backed off when it became apparent that the Spurs would match.
Now that the Timberwolves have traded Luke Ridnour, agents for free agent point guards will begin reaching out to the team, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Nate Robinson's camp figures to be among those in contact with the Wolves, though Wolfson doesn't see a fit there.
The Jazz hope to use their remaining cap space to take on another contract and pick up another draft pick, as they did in their deal with the Warriors, tweets Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Spurs Sign Jeff Pendergraph

July 11th, 2013 at 8:13pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 11TH: The Spurs have officially signed Pendergraph, the team announced today in a press release. The deal is for two years and $4MM, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

JULY 6TH: The Spurs have reached agreement with free agent forward Jeff Pendergraph on a two-year deal, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Pendergraph is a client of Impact Sports Basketball, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

The 6'9" forward saw 10 minutes per contest for the Pacers last season and put up 3.9 PPG with 2.8 RPG. Pendergraph spent his first season in the league with the Blazers and missed his sophomore year (2010/11) due to a knee injury.

Spurs Sign Marco Belinelli To Two-Year Deal

July 11th, 2013 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11TH: The Spurs have officially signed Belinelli, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 4TH: The Spurs have reached an agreement on a two-year deal with Marco Belinelli, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported that the two sides were engaged in serious discussions.

Belinelli, an Excel Sports client, is coming off a one-year deal with the Bulls, having averaged 9.6 PPG while shooting 35.7% on three-pointers in 2012/13. The 27-year-old signed for the bi-annual exception last summer, and will receive a slight raise this year. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the two-year deal will pay Belinelli about $6MM.

Having reached agreements to bring back Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs almost certainly won't have any cap space available during the offseason, though the club should have the full $5.15MM mid-level exception at its disposal. Presumably, part of that MLE will be allocated to Belinelli, but there still should be $2MM+ left to use another player. Alternately, Belinelli could be signed using cap room if the club decides to amnesty Matt Bonner and let Gary Neal walk, but I think that scenario is probably less likely.

Still, it's unclear where the agreement with Belinelli will leave Neal. The Spurs hold the free agent guard's Bird rights, so they have the flexibility to bring him back if they so choose, but Belinelli may be in line to receive many of the minutes that otherwise would have gone to Neal.

Spurs Re-Sign Manu Ginobili

July 11th, 2013 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11TH, 1:55pm: The Spurs have officially re-signed Ginobili, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 3RD, 2:10pm: Ginobili's two-year deal with the Spurs will be worth $14MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

10:35am: While no reporters have the details of the deal yet, Manu Ginobili appears to have reached an agreement with the Spurs to remain in San Antonio. Ginobili, an Interperformances client, announced the news himself on his Twitter account, tweeting: "Thrilled to announce that as I always hoped, I'm gonna stay with the @spurs for two more years. #gospursgo."

We heard just yesterday that Ginobili and the Spurs were in no rush to negotiate a new contract, since there didn't seem to be any interest from either side in exploring alternative options. Perhaps after reaching a long-term agreement with Tiago Splitter, the Spurs decided to move on and lock up Ginobili as well.

Ginobili, 35, is coming off a three-year extension that paid him more than $14MM in 2012/13, so he figures to take a significant pay cut on his new deal. His salary, along with Splitter's first-year salary, will essentially determine whether the Spurs have any cap space available this summer, or whether the club just has the mid-level exception to spend. I expect it will be the latter.

After reaching agreements with Splitter and Ginobili, the Spurs will likely attempt to re-sign Gary Neal, as well as weighing potential uses for their MLE.

Spurs Made Run At Andrei Kirilenko

July 10th, 2013 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs explored the possibility of acquiring Andrei Kirilenko from the Timberwolves via a sign-and-trade deal, but talks between the two sides appear to have ended without an agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Although San Antonio seriously considered a multiyear offer for Kirilenko, the club doesn't have the cap space or exception room to add the Russian forward without a sign-and-trade. So far though, Timberwolves president Flip Saunders has shown little, if any, inclination to assist Kirilenko in securing a significant financial commitment from another club, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Kirilenko and the Spurs had been discussing an annual salary worth about $8-9MM, and Minnesota was unwilling to take back the salary necessary to complete a sign-and-trade for that amount, says Wojnarowski. Doing so would have compromised the Wolves' ability to add free agents Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger, and would have affected their continued pursuit of Corey Brewer.

According to Wojnarowski, the Thunder have resisted the idea of accommodating a sign-and-trade for Martin, while the Nuggets have been similarly reluctant to work out a sign-and-trade involving Brewer. Denver isn't interested in acquiring Luke Ridnour or J.J. Barea, which would likely be necessary for Brewer to earn a $5MM annual salary with the Wolves, notes Wojnarowski.

Although the Nuggets were also very interested in re-signing their own free agent swingman, the team has been unwilling to go as high as the Wolves on an offer for Brewer. With other teams also in the mix, it now appears unlikely that Brewer will return to Denver, according to Woj.

World Peace Interested In Knicks If Amnestied

July 9th, 2013 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

3:49pm: After the Knicks, World Peace's list of preferred destinations if he's amnestied includes the Clippers, Nets, Bulls, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, and Pacers, in that order, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. As Amick notes, the list reads like a who's-who of title contenders, and sends a message to teams with cap space that MWP isn't interested in being claimed by a non-contender.

2:14pm: A report yesterday indicated that the Lakers are preparing to amnesty Metta World Peace, a move that can't be finalized until tomorrow at the earliest, as I explained this afternoon. While nothing is official yet, World Peace would be "upset" if the Lakers cut him, as longtime friend (and head of his foundation) Jose Morales tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.

"If the Lakers do amnesty him, he might want to retire," Morales said. "If one of these small-market teams picks him up, he won't be happy with that. He doesn't want to play there."

Teams with cap space would have the first shot at World Peace if he were amnestied, since they'd have the ability to submit a waiver bid for him. Most clubs that still have room aren't legit contenders — the Cavaliers, Pistons, Mavericks, and Hawks are a few clubs that figure to have cap space during amnesty week.

With the threat of retirement looming, those teams may not want to risk claiming World Peace. If he were to go unclaimed, he'd become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team besides the Lakers. Morales tells Zwerling that MWP would be interested in joining the Clippers, and that joining his hometown Knicks would also have strong appeal.

"If the Lakers amnesty him, he's going to have a point to prove that he can still be that player in New York," Morales said.

2013 Amnesty Primer

July 9th, 2013 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Today is the last day of the July moratorium, which means NBA teams can officially resume full activity beginning tomorrow. In addition to signaling the end of the moratorium, July 10th also marks the first day that teams are eligible to amnesty players. This year's amnesty period will run from the 10th until the 16th — after that, teams that still haven't used their amnesty clause won't get another chance to do so until next July.

With amnesty week upon us, here's a refresher on how the process works, which teams still have the amnesty option available, and which players remain amnesty-eligible….

How does it work?

The amnesty provision provides a team an opportunity to clear a bad contract from its books for salary cap and luxury tax purposes. Although a team still has to pay the remainder of the amnestied player's salary, as it would for any released player, the player's salary no longer counts against the team's cap (except for minimum payroll purposes) when the amnesty clause is used. For instance, if and when the Lakers amnesty Metta World Peace, they'll still pay him his full $7,727,280 salary for 2013/14, but will remove that figure from the cap, significantly reducing the team's tax bill.

The amnesty provision can be used on any player, as long as the following rules are observed:

A team can only amnesty one player — not one player per season.
The amnesty provision can only be used on a player who signed his contract prior to July 1st, 2011. If a contract was signed, extended, or renegotiated after that date, the player cannot be amnestied.
A team can only use its amnesty provision on a player who was on its roster on July 1st, 2011. If a player was traded after that date, he cannot be amnestied.
The amnesty clause can only be used during the seven days following the July moratorium. If a team doesn't amnesty a player during that week, it won't get another chance to do so until the following July.
A team that has yet to use its amnesty clause can do so in any of the next three years. The 2015/16 season is the last year in which a player can be amnestied under the current CBA.

Amnestied players are placed on waivers, but the waiver rules are slightly different than usual. An under-the-cap team can still place a full waiver claim on an amnestied player, if it doesn't mind being on the hook for the rest of the player's contract. However, clubs also have the option to submit partial waiver claims, in what essentially amounts to an auction for the player's services. If no team places a full claim, the team with the highest partial claim is awarded the player. If two teams bid the same amount, the club with the worse record wins out. If neither a full or partial claim is submitted, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

For a few more details on the amnesty process, check out our complete explanation in the Hoops Rumors glossary.

Which teams still have the amnesty provision available?

Exactly half of the NBA's 30 teams have used the amnesty provision in the last two offseasons, leaving 15 clubs with the option of amnesty still at their disposal. These are the teams still in play, per our amnesty provision tracker:

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz

The Pelicans no longer have any amnesty-eligible players left on their roster, and reports have suggested the Bobcats will amnesty Tyrus Thomas, while the Lakers will amnesty World Peace. That would leave just 12 teams with the amnesty option available.

Which players are still eligible to be amnestied?

While there are 35 players still eligible to be amnestied, some are likelier candidates than others. I examined a few of this summer's potential amnesty candidates back in March, but here's the complete list of players that technically remain amnesty-eligible, along with the total money left on their deals:

Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford ($36MM)
Boston Celtics: Rajon Rondo ($24.86MM), Avery Bradley ($2.51MM)
Charlotte Bobcats: Tyrus Thomas ($18.08MM)
Chicago Bulls: Joakim Noah ($36.7MM), Carlos Boozer ($32.1MM), Luol Deng ($14.28MM)
Detroit Pistons: Charlie Villanueva ($8.58MM), Greg Monroe ($4.09MM)
Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant ($30.45MM), Pau Gasol ($19.29MM), Metta World Peace ($7.73MM), Steve Blake ($4MM)
Memphis Grizzlies: Zach Randolph ($34.3MM), Mike Conley ($26.08MM)
Miami Heat: LeBron James ($61.77MM), Chris Bosh ($61.77MM), Dwyane Wade ($60.49MM), Mike Miller ($12.8MM), Udonis Haslem ($8.96MM), Joel Anthony ($7.6MM)
Milwaukee Bucks: Drew Gooden ($13.37MM), Larry Sanders ($3.05MM)
New Orleans Pelicans: No players eligible
Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant ($56.99MM), Kendrick Perkins ($18.63MM), Nick Collison ($4.83MM), Thabo Sefolosha ($3.9MM)
Sacramento Kings: John Salmons ($14.58MM), DeMarcus Cousins ($4.92MM)
San Antonio Spurs: Tony Parker ($25MM), Matt Bonner ($3.95MM)
Toronto Raptors: Amir Johnson ($13.6MM), Linas Kleiza ($4.6MM)
Utah Jazz: Derrick Favors ($6.01MM), Gordon Hayward ($3.45MM)

FA Updates: Brewer, Teague, Hawks, Knicks, Lucas

July 9th, 2013 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

With the July moratorium scheduled to be lifted tomorrow, free agent contracts can finally become official, and tomorrow should be a busy day, as teams and players formally finalize their agreements from the last nine days. However, there are still plenty of players on the market in search of a new team, or a deal with their old team. Here's the latest on a few of them:

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that the Timberwolves have spoken to Corey Brewer's reps, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune hears from a source close to Brewer that the Wolves "would love him" (Twitter link).
The Bucks' interest in Jeff Teague is "undeniable," but it's not clear if the Hawks are ready to take back Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis in a sign-and-trade, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
After passing along a handful of Knicks updates this morning, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com provides a couple more. According to Zwerling, there's still mutual interest between the Knicks and Aaron Brooks, and the team also has some interest in Shawne Williams, though there's "nothing firm" there (Twitter links).
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that John Lucas III met with the Jazz in Orlando yesterday, and hears from agent Bernie Lee that Lucas will meet with another team today in his hometown of Houston. According to Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), four teams, including the Jazz, are interested in the free agent point guard.
Before he agreed to sign with the Pistons, Italian forward Gigi Datome drew interest from the Celtics, Bucks, Rockets, Suns, Spurs, and Grizzlies, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.