San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Poll: Was Popovich Wrong To Send Stars Home?

November 30th, 2012 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

When I made my predictions for the 2012/13 NBA season, I anticipated the Spurs and Heat meeting in next June's NBA Finals. Given how far off the rails many of my other predictions have already gone, I don't expect that one to pan out either, but the two teams are off to good enough starts that it's still a real possibility. As such, last night's Spurs/Heat game in Miami had the chance to be a Finals preview.

Well, except for the fact that Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Danny Green weren't in the building, having been sent home by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich earlier in the day. The Spurs still managed to make things interesting, holding a lead late in the game, but the Heat eventually closed out a 105-100 victory.

Reactions around the league to Popovich's decision have been divided, with some defending his decision to rest his stars during a stretch when the Spurs were required to play four road games in five nights.

"I don’t think Pop was in the wrong," said LeBron James. "It’s not in the rules to tell you that you can’t not send your guys here or send your guys home. But the commissioner will make his decision and everybody else will deal with it."

Indeed, NBA commissioner David Stern took exception to Popovich's approach, releasing an official statement prior to the game to express his displeasure: "I apologize to all NBA fans. This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming."

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel agreed with Stern, arguing that Popovich was thumbing his nose at paying fans and TNT, each of whom support the NBA and help "pay all the ridiculous salaries." On the other hand, as LeBron pointed out, there's certainly no rule that says the league has the right to step in and tell a coach how to manage his team — Popovich rested his starters on multiple occasions last season, and the NBA didn't say anything about it.

Where do you fall on this issue? Do you mind Popovich sending healthy players home?

Western Notes: Spurs, Fisher, Gasol, Crawford

November 29th, 2012 at 10:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

You can count NBA commissioner David Stern among those who are none-too-pleased about Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's decision to rest his stars against the Heat tonight. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida relayed a statement by Stern which indicated that "substantial sanctions will be forthcoming" as a consequence for San Antonio (Sulia link). Earlier, Popovich told reporters: "It has nothing to do with the Miami Heat, or TV, or anything…You deal with the schedule as best you can and do the wisest thing for your particular team” (Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation reports). On another note, here's what we're hearing out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his column, Ken Berger of CBS Sports credits a source that says Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni would like to have Nate McMillan as his top assistant for the 2013-14 season if he isn't given a head coaching job by then.
Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets writes that if injury-riddled Houston isn't able to get well anytime soon, then "different remedies will be in order." While it may not explicitly imply a roster move, Feigen acknowledges that without Chandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino, the team is short-handed on the wings.
With Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger out, as well as Andrei Kirilenko dealing with back spasms, Timberwolves forward Josh Howard finds himself thrust into the starting lineup yesterday against the Clippers. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes that Howard still considers himself in training camp but remains confident about handling the opportunty for more playing time.
With the Thunder going 6-1 over their last seven games, Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK recognizes Russell Westbrook's passing ability as a major component of the team's recent success.
While head coach Rick Carlisle doesn't see the Derek Fisher signing as a "cure-all" to the Mavericks' challenges, he welcomes the 38-year-old veteran's experience and leadership abilities at the point guard position, writes Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com.
Mike Trudell of Lakers.com writes about the adjustments that Pau Gasol has had to make on both ends of the floor, particularly on defense, where the power forward position in the NBA can provide significantly different types of matchups for the Lakers depending on their opposition.
Clippers guard Jamal Crawford talks to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld about having a career year for a team expected to be a playoff contender.
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com briefly sheds light on rookie Quincy Miller and his opportunity with the Iowa Energy of the NBDL.

Odds & Ends: Billups, Collison, Draft, Raptors

November 28th, 2012 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

A deep Clippers roster will add even more depth as of tonight, when Chauncey Billups makes his 2012/13 debut against the Timberwolves. Billups tore his Achilles tendon last February, but re-signed with the Clips in the offseason, and will rejoin a backcourt that already includes Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe, and Jamal Crawford, among others.

Here are a few more odds and ends for Wednesday afternoon:

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News has been impressed by Darren Collison so far, but says it's too soon to tell whether Collison is a long-term solution for the Mavericks at point guard.
Nerlens Noel remains atop the latest version of Chris Mannix's 2013 draft board at SI.com, with Cody Zeller moving up to the No. 2 spot.
Speaking of the '13 draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford conducted a chat today in which he answered plenty of draft-related questions, along with a few on possible trade scenarios.
In a pair of Sulia links, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun submits performance reviews for Raptors coach Dwane Casey and GM Bryan Colangelo, suggesting that the team shouldn't give up either of them, despite Toronto's disappointing start.
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News examines the Spurs' handling of their D-League affiliate, the defending champion Austin Toros.
In front-office news out of the Northwest Division, the Nuggets announced promotions for two members of their basketball operations department, while Trail Blazers COO Sarah Mensah announced her resignation (link via CSNNW.com).
Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside examines some first-round picks that have been assigned to the D-League, and how it affected their respective careers.

Texas Rumors: Harden, White, Duncan, Spurs

November 27th, 2012 at 9:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

There are only five games on the NBA schedule tonight, but two of them involve Texas teams. The Mavericks fell on the road to the Sixers, while the Rockets hope to close out a win against the Raptors. The Lonestar State's other team, the Spurs, have the most wins in the NBA, but find themselves in an odd situation atop the Southwest Division standings — San Antonio, at 12-3, is a half game up on the 10-2 Grizzlies, but Memphis is technically in first place, thanks to a higher winning percentage. That math will eventually sort itself out once the teams have played an even number of games, but until then, here's the latest on all three Texas clubs.

Kevin Martin, who traded places with James Harden before the start of the season, talked about what Harden's going through as he takes over as the No. 1 option for the Rockets, as Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman chronicles.
With Harden set to return to Oklahoma City wearing a Rockets uniform tomorrow, writers from The Oklahoman weigh in on four Harden-related questions.
Psychologist and former NBA team consultant Travis Heath, writing for HoopsWorld, shares his insight on the Royce White saga, calling for all teams to take a more proactive approach to mental health.
Armed with a new three-year, $30MM contract, Tim Duncan is turning back the clock with his play for the Spurs, as USA Today's Scott Gleeson examines.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the wide-reaching influence of the Spurs front office.
Sixers coach Doug Collins had kind words for his former pupil Elton Brand, whom the Mavs claimed off amnesty waivers from the Sixers this summer, as Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com tweets. "I wish I could've coached Elton one year in his prime," Collins said. "We miss him. EB is all about winning."

Western Notes: Lakers Assistants, Maynor, Watson

November 25th, 2012 at 10:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Comcast's Ric Bucher tweets that the Lakers are expected to keep their coaching staff intact, as many of the players have personal favorites among the current assistants. A few days ago, head coach Mike D'Antoni spoke favorably of the coaches that had carried over after Mike Brown's firing, telling ESPN LA: "They're good coaches. I know almost all of them anyway. They work extremely hard. We are in a lot. I just felt like, 'They're here, they're good, why change it?" The list includes former interim-head coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Steve Clifford, Chuck Person, and most notably Eddie Jordan, who had been originally hired by Brown to install the Princeton offense. Here's the rest of what we're hearing out of the Western Conference tonight:

Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK focuses on the struggles of Eric Maynor and wonders if it will open up an opportunity for the Thunder's Reggie Jackson at back-up point guard.
Jazz point guard Earl Watson told reporters that he's been feeling more comfortable and is getting his rhythm back after returning from a seven month recovery following knee surgery (Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune reports). Head coach Tyrone Corbin remains focused on limiting Watson's minutes accordingly.
In this video from CSNNW.com, Damian Lillard acknowledged that there are "multiple leaders" on the Trail Blazers when asked if he considered himself the leader of the team.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes about how the Spurs have been able to adapt to the league as their core players have gotten older.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times has taken notice of the Lakers' increased production from their second unit led by the emergence of Antawn Jamison.
While Kelvin Sampson and several Rockets players offered their condolences to Kevin McHale after the tragic passing of his daughter during today's practice, Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets also took note that McHale had been constantly in touch with the team over the last several weeks to check on them and offer his guidance.
Yannis Koutroupis of Hoopsworld discusses the promise that Donatas Motiejunas has been showing in the with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and writes that Rockets GM Daryl Morey has to make a decision on whether or not the rookie big man is ready to be a contributor in Houston.

Teams With Hard Caps

November 22nd, 2012 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chicago Bulls' cap situation has been under the spotlight since July, with the team's hard cap preventing them from adding another player prior to the season. The Bulls' inflexibility makes them the most-discussed hard-capped club, but Chicago isn't the only team that faces that situation. Any club that committed more than $3.09MM in mid-level money to a player's 2012/13 salary has to deal with a hard cap as well.

In some cases, that hard cap will make no difference. A team like the Hawks, for instance, has more than $7MM in breathing room before they approach the $74,307,000 cap. As such, their flexibility shouldn't be handicapped as the trade deadline nears.

A few contenders though, such as the Celtics, are close enough to the hard cap that it'll be a factor they'll need to consider before making trades or signings later on in the season. While minimum-salary signings are still feasible, trades that involve taking on salary may be a no-go.

Here's the complete list of clubs whose team salary can't exceed $74,307,000 at any time this season, along with their current team salaries (per ShamSports):

Bulls: $73,548,398
Celtics: $71,918,029
Warriors: $71,155,896
Clippers: $69,866,604
Spurs: $69,157,865
Hawks: $66,537,025

Southwest Notes: Anderson, Lin, Mayo

November 22nd, 2012 at 11:01am CST by Sean Highkin

The Southwest Division boasts the two best teams in the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. Here are the latest rumblings from around the division:

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes (via Twitter) that the newly signed James Anderson will cost the Spurs about half as much to sign for the minimum at as it would have to pick up the option they declined after last year.
McDonald also tweets that, barring a change of plans, the Spurs plan on keeping their roster at 14 players.
Richard Dean of Newsday.com talks to Jeremy Lin, who says he is happy playing for the Rockets after being let go by the Knicks this summer.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes that O.J. Mayo is proving to be a major bargain for the Mavericks.

Odds & Ends: Kirilenko, Draft, Mavs, Anderson

November 21st, 2012 at 11:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's one of the busiest nights of the year on the hardwood in the Association, with a slate of 14 games before the league takes a one-day hiatus for Thanksgiving. There's plenty of off-court news as well, and we've got that covered here.

Mike D'Antoni will keep all the existing Lakers assistant coaches through the season, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. It looks like D'Antoni won't hire Nate McMillan, as he indicated he would do, Shelburne adds.
Nuggets coach George Karl believes the Wolves' signing of Andrei Kirilenko was a smart move, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune notes.
Jeremy Bauman of SheridanHoops.com breaks down the top 10 draft prospects from this week's Legends Classic tournament.
Dirk Nowitzki hopes when he comes back that he and O.J. Mayo can develop the same rhythm he had with Jason Terry, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details.
James Anderson, brought back by the Spurs today, wants to copy Danny Green's ability to take advantage of a second chance, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News documents.
Jim Owczarski of OnMilwaukee.com checks in with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis as the pair tries to answer questions about their ability to play together for the Bucks.
Sean Williams, who was waived by the Rockets over the summer, lasted just one preseason game with the Foshan Long Lions of the Chinese league after signing this week, tweets Jon Pastuszek of NiuBBall, who translated a Weibo report. The team picked up Shavlik Randolph, a Wizards training-camp invitee this year, to replace him.

Texas Notes: Kidd, Pietrus, Spurs, McHale

November 21st, 2012 at 7:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

There's plenty of news coming out of the Lonestar State tonight, where the Spurs, Mavs and Rockets have begun to cool off, to varying degrees, after their hot starts. Here's the latest:

Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News argues that Jason Kidd had every right to leave the Mavericks this summer, and scolds owner Mark Cuban for giving him the cold shoulder.
The Spurs made an offer to Mickael Pietrus that included a "one month" guarantee, but Pietrus wasn't interested, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
According to the French newspaper Le Parisien (translation via Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News), Pietrus never received an offer from the Spurs. That's in contrast to Charania's information, as well as an earlier report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com suggesting Pietrus' demand for more than the minimum is what kept him from the team. Le Parisien attributes Stein's report to misinformation from Pietrus' "entourage," according to McCarney.
Interim Rockets coach Kelvin Sampson, who's subbing for Kevin McHale, said the situation surrounding McHale is improving, but, "It's not out of the woods yet," reports David Barron of the Houston Chronicle. The team has not specified the reason for McHale's absence, but he's believed to be tending to his ailing daughter.

Spurs Recall Cory Joseph From D-League

November 21st, 2012 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

Cory Joseph has become the first player this season to be recalled from an assignment to the D-League. Less than a week after sending him to the Austin Toros, the Spurs have recalled Joseph to help shore up a roster depleted by injuries. The team confirmed the move in a press release.

The D-League season doesn't get underway until later this week, so Joseph didn't get a chance to appear in a regular-season game for the Toros. The Spurs likely would have preferred to keep him in the D-League a little longer, but the team's hand was forced by injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Jackson. San Antonio also signed James Anderson to add some depth at small forward.

To keep tabs on all of this season's D-League assignments and recalls, be sure to check out our complete list.