The Spurs are declining to match the offer sheet Kyle Anderson signed with the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It was previously reported that San Antonio was leaning against matching the four-year, $37.2MM offer.
[RELATED: Grizzlies sign Kyle Anderson to offer sheet]
Anderson will likely become Memphis’ starting small forward, Wojnarowski notes. The 24-year-old has been excellent on the defensive end and the organization views the deal as an investment toward its goal of “recapturing” the Grit and Grind era, Woj writes in a full-length piece on ESPN.com.
Anderson, a UCLA product, enjoyed a more prominent role than expected in 2017/18, with Kawhi Leonard sitting out nearly the entire season. The wing appeared in 74 games, averaging 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per contest with an efficient .527 FG%.
The Spurs are already over the cap, committing $105.6MM for the upcoming season with only 10 players under contract. Matching Anderson’s offer sheet would have left the team without much financial flexibility as it aimed to fill out the remainder of the roster. San Antonio still has to consider new deals for its other restricted free agents, Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes.
Anderson’s departure represents the latest in a string of lost restricted free agents for the Spurs. The club opted to withdraw qualifying offers for Cory Joseph and Jonathon Simmons in 2015 and 2017, respectively, allowing them to sign elsewhere. In 2016, San Antonio opted not to match Boban Marjanovic‘s offer sheet with the Pistons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Spurs must believe Kawhi will stay with the team. Letting Parker leave and not matching for KA clearly signify that.
Actually the opposite. …
Letting those guys walk means that the team is probably not going for the playoffs and starting it’s way toward rebuilding.
Kawhi is gone.
Or with guys they can get for Kawhi like kuzma and Ingram will match up with Aldridge and Belinelli and become a playoff team???
But Pop is smarter than that… I say they start selling off guys this year.
Belinelli? That’s who comes to mind?
Mills, Gay, Bertans …
Or they think they can get a better/cheaper SF in a package back for Kawhi. Might have also decided Grizz better off than themselves paying $9m a year to Kyle Anderson who has been pretty good over his career, but maybe not $9m-a-year good.
$5-6m a year sounds about right… at a stretch
I felt like this contract could have a lot of surplus value, so I’m surprised the Spurs aren’t matching. Memphis has some young options in the backcourt, but they’re kind of lacking at the 3/4 spots behind Selden and Green. This at least gives them some more versatility as now they have a bunch of interchangeables at the 2-5 spots
I’m a little surprised the Spurs didn’t match, and I’m not sure what their plan has been the last two offseasons now. Extending Gasol at $16M a year for three years when he’s over the hill made sense, but keeping a 24 year old Anderson at $9M a year didn’t. Exum got $11M a year, which would you rather have???
Belinelli at $6M a year for two, fine if you’re planning to compete, but are the Spurs? Claw wanting out, turning the team over to LMA, who doesn’t fit the modern game. This was the smartest team and winningest one for 20 years, how has it fallen off so far so fast?
I thought it was weird when they paid Patty Mills when most people thought they’d let him go. They should have kept Simmons over him…they have some good young guards, but nothing in the front court behind Aldridge and Gasol. I’m curious to see where they’re going
At the time they signed Mills he was their best PG. Solid backup, but $10m per is a bit more than I’d think he’s worth.
They gave him 12.5 million per for 4 years. They could have used Manu and Simmons as playmakers behind Murray, and they drafted White. Kyle Anderson is a decent secondary or third playmaker. They could have been more versatile. That being said, I never thought Kawhi would only play 9 games
Are there any 30 something Euro’s that the Spurs can sign to fill out the roster? Dirk interested in leaving Dallas? Too bad Zaza’s no longer available.
Obv want Kawhi at the 3, but if it’s not him, then it’s RoCo or Ingram or Harris or whoever Kawhi gets traded for. Everyone wins!
As much money as they are paying him, Parsons should be the starter. If anything, to try and rebuild his value for a trade. They’ll never move his deal if he stays on the bench.
They’ll never move him, period.
At least you have a chance of moving him if you showcase him. He was a very solid NBA player at one time. That’s why he got the contract to begin with.
I keep forgetting they even have him. He looked a bit better last year, but there is a lot of room between that and what he is getting paid. Is he healthy? In that situation, I would think he’ll need to show he can elevate his game before he gets another extended look
Good move for San Antonio, 9+MM/year is too much for him, Memphis will regret that. I’d rather pay for an over the hill Gasol than a young Anderson. Gasol is still better, his numbers are pretty good for what he plays, & still can clock TD’s for San Antonio. I do to think Memphis should put Parsons in the starting line up, if he is healthy enough. I hate when teams give big contracts & then don’t play the guys because they cost a lot of money & wanna trade them. Just don’t give away big contracts for little guys. Big contracts should only be for stars, not good players.
cesc, you’re starting to sound dionis’esq. You hate when team give big money to a guy and then don’t play him? Do you know why that happens? It’s because the team signed the wrong guy and he’s either not healthy enough or good enough to play.
Yes, Pau’s numbers are still pretty good for the minutes they’re giving him, but that the problem, they can only give him 20-25 minutes a game. He actually falls exactly into what you said, hate giving big contracts to non-stars. At this point in his career, he’s a non-star.
Spurs will be fine. This strategy change was long overdue. Time for some new blood.