San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat, Spurs To Play In Mexico City In December

August 17th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA will return to Mexico City this season for the first time since 2019, with the league confirming in a press release that the Heat and Spurs will play a regular season game at the Arena CDMX on December 17.

According to the NBA, the game will be the league’s 31st in Mexico over the last three decades — the Rockets and Mavericks played the first preseason game in Mexico back in 1992. The Spurs, who will likely be the “home” team, have made an effort to market themselves in the country in recent years, having also participated in games in Mexico in 2017 and 2019.

“We have played six games in Mexico City and every time thousands of Spurs fans showed up, making us feel loved and right at home,” Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement. “We are grateful for our loyal fans in Mexico and are thrilled for the opportunity to play in front of them as part of our 50th anniversary season. This is one way we continue to purposefully engage and celebrate our growing number of fans in Mexico.”

The COVID-19 pandemic derailed the NBA’s plans to play in international markets during the last couple seasons, but the league appears set to make up for lost time in 2022/23. In addition to the Mexico City showcase, the NBA has also announced a regular season game in Paris, as well as preseason contests in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo.

Jeremy Sochan Won't Play In EuroBasket

August 16th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan has decided to bypass an opportunity to play for Poland in the EuroBasket tournament, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Sochan, who didn’t play during Summer League after being placed in health and safety protocols, will focus on getting ready for his NBA debut. “After long discussions with the San Antonio Spurs, my agent and family, we decided that I should stay in San Antonio and continue preparing for my first season in the NBA, the most important and longest season of my career so far,” Sochan said in a statement released by the Polish Basketball Association.

Jordan Hall's Two-Way Deal Covers Two Years

August 15th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Jordan Hall‘s two-way contract with the Spurs covers two seasons, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Hall is one of four players this offseason to have signed a multiyear two-way deal.

Jordan Hall Signs Two-Way Contract With Spurs

August 11th, 2022 at 11:21am CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 11: The Spurs have officially signed Hall to his two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 23: Free agent swingman Jordan Hall has agreed to a two-way contract with the Spurs, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Hall went undrafted last month and played with San Antonio in the Las Vegas Summer League. A previous report stated that he was expected to sign with the Spurs, but it didn’t clarify that he’d be receiving a two-way deal.

At 6’8″ and 215 pounds, Hall has been known as a point forward. He averaged 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game with Saint Joseph’s last season, but he shot only 39% from the floor. The 20-year still showed potential as a well-rounded player.

San Antonio now has both two-way spots filled. The other went to Dominick Barlow, who most recently played in the Overtime Elite league. The Spurs are pushing forward with a rebuild after trading away Dejounte Murray for three first-round picks and a pick swap.

Hall will have the opportunity to compete for a spot on the 15-man roster as the season progresses. He’s set to spend time with both San Antonio and the team’s G League affiliate while on his two-way deal.

And-Ones: Wood, O’Quinn, Extensions, Offseason Rankings

August 10th, 2022 at 8:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Christian Wood should thrive with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, Stephen Noh of the Sporting News writes. Noh, who examines how Wood will blend his talents with the Dallas superstar, also takes a closer look at how Donte DiVincenzo (Warriors), Bruce Brown (Nuggets) and De’Anthony Melton (Sixers) could benefit after a change of scenery.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA big man Kyle O’Quinn has signed with the Japanese team, SeaHorses Mikawa, according to a team press release. O’Quinn played in France and Turkey after his last NBA appearance, a 29-game stint with Philadelphia during the 2019/20 season.
LeBron James, CJ McCollum, Jaylen Brown, Jerami Grant and Nikola Vucevic are among numerous notable players who are eligible to sign veteran extensions and are legitimate candidates to get them done. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines what those extensions, among others, might look like.
Which 10 teams have improved the least this offseason? The Athletic’s David Aldridge takes his annual look at whether teams have gotten better or worse since the end of last season. The Spurs sit at the lowest end of the spectrum, with the Pacers, Hornets, Jazz and Lakers also in the bottom five.

Gorgui Dieng Received Guaranteed Minimum Deal

August 10th, 2022 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Gorgui Dieng‘s new one-year contract with the Spurs is worth the veteran’s minimum and is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. Dieng will earn a $2,641,682 salary in 2022/23, while San Antonio takes on a cap hit of $1,836,090. The club remains more than $30MM under the salary cap, but there’s no indication that there are any immediate plans for that cap room.

Gorgui Dieng Signs One-Year Deal With Spurs

August 9th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 9: Dieng’s signing is official, the Spurs announced in a press release.

JULY 5: The Spurs and free agent big man Gorgui Dieng have agreed to a one-year deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It’s a reunion for Dieng and the Spurs — he signed with San Antonio on the buyout market near the end of the 2020/21 season before joining the Hawks last summer.

Terms of the new agreement aren’t yet known, but Dieng is coming off a one-year, $4MM contract and wasn’t a regular part of Atlanta’s rotation in 2021/22, appearing in 44 games and averaging a career-low 8.4 minutes per contest. His 3.5 PPG and 2.8 RPG were also career worsts. In other words, it seems unlikely he’ll get more than the veteran’s minimum from the Spurs.

The 32-year-old, who will be entering his 10th NBA season, has also spent time with the Timberwolves and Grizzlies since entering the league as the 21st overall pick out of Louisville in 2013.

Dieng will be San Antonio’s 14th player, assuming the team signs all three of its first-round picks and retains Tre Jones and Keita Bates-Diop, both of whom are on non-guaranteed contracts.

The Spurs still have a ton of cap room at their disposal, so it’s possible a more significant roster shake-up is coming, but it remains unclear how they intend to use that room.

Tre Jones Stays On Roster Past Guarantee Date

August 6th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tre Jones‘ contract for the upcoming season became guaranteed for $500K when he remained on the Spurs‘ roster past August 1, tweets Spotrac contributor Keith Smith. Jones, who would make $1.78MM if he gets a full guarantee, could challenge for the starting point guard spot now that Dejounte Murray has been traded to Atlanta. Jones made 11 starts last season while averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 assists in 69 games.

Spurs Turning Page With Chip Engelland Departure

August 6th, 2022 at 3:16pm CST by JD Shaw

The Spurs are turning a page with the departure of shooting coach Chip Engelland, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News writes. Engelland spent 17 years with the Spurs under Gregg Popovich, having a major impact on the team’s overall success and culture. He recently agreed to join the Thunder.

NBA Teams With Open Two-Way Contract Slots

August 5th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 18 NBA teams currently have both of their two-way contract slots filled, as our tracker shows.

That doesn’t mean those players will be locked into those slots for the rest of the 2022/23 season, or even until opening night, since two-way deals are low-cost contracts that don’t count against the salary cap, making them easy to replace. But it means those spots are unavailable for the time being.

That leaves 12 teams with at least one two-way slot available. Those teams are as follows:

Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Washington Wizards

The Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, Rockets, Clippers, the Trail Blazers, and Wizards have fairly straightforward two-way situations at the moment — they’ve each filled one slot and have one open, with no reports indicating that any of those teams has reached an agreement on a two-way deal with a free agent or draftee.

The Nets and Bulls also have one two-way spot filled and one open, but each of them has a two-way qualifying offer out to a restricted free agent — David Duke for Brooklyn and Malcolm Hill for Chicago. If those players simply accept their QOs, neither the Nets nor the Bulls will have a two-way opening.

The Spurs also have one two-way player signed and one spot open, though a Shams Charania report last month indicated that undrafted rookie Jordan Hall will sign a two-way contract with San Antonio. If and when that happens, the Spurs will join the list of teams with both of their two-way slots occupied.

The Pacers and Pelicans are currently the only two teams that don’t have a single player on a two-way contract. A Charania report way back in June suggested that Dereon Seabron would sign a two-way deal with New Orleans, but it hasn’t officially happened yet.

The best candidate for a two-way contract with Indiana, meanwhile, could be 48th overall pick Kendall Brown, who is one of a handful of 2022 draftees still unsigned. Even if Seabron and Brown sign two-way pacts, the Pacers and Pelicans would still each have one slot available.