- Veteran point guard Tony Parker is headed to the G League for a rehab assignment with the Austin Spurs, Spears tweets. The team is holding its training camp in San Antonio, so it’s easy for him to do rehab work there, notes Michael C. Wright of ESPN. (Twitter link). Parker had to give his consent for the G League assignment, adds ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The last health update from coach Gregg Popovich indicated that Parker might be able to play in December.
Chandler Parsons‘ stint with the Grizzlies has not gone according to plan. The former Rockets and Mavericks standout has been hampered by knee injuries, including three knee surgeries the last three years. Now, after playing just 15 minutes in Memphis’ first few regular season games this year, Parsons is frustrated with his limited playing time, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes.
“It sucks right now playing 15 minutes a night to be honest with you,” Parsons said. “But they have a plan in place that, hopefully, I’ll be playing big minutes when it matters.”
Parsons appeared in just 34 games last season, averaging 6.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG in a career-low 19.9 minutes per game. After signing a four-year, $94MM deal with the Grizzlies in July 2016, Parsons has not come close to his past performance. If he continues to show he’s over his prior knee injuries, the Grizzlies will look salvage the remainder of their pact with the 28-year-old.
Check out more news coming out of the Southwest Division:
- Wesley Matthews‘ early season struggles may seem to be the perfect chance to bench him but if the Mavericks ever intend on trading him, they must do it while his value is high, Eddie Sefko of Dallas Sports Day writes.
- Veteran Jameer Nelson endured a 10-hour journey from Philadelphia to Los Angeles to join his Pelicans teammates for a Sunday evening contest against the Lakers. As William Guillory of NOLA.com writes, Nelson, 35, posted five points and five assists in 24 minutes — including a clutch three-pointer — to help New Orleans avoid a loss in a game they once led by 22 points.
- New Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said that James Harden is “truly the best player in the NBA” as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes.
- Olivier Hanlan, a former second-round pick by the Jazz from 2015, has joined the Spurs’ G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, according to Chris Reichert of 2Ways10Days (Twitter link). San Antonio currently holds Hanlan’s NBA rights, having acquired him in last year’s Boris Diaw swap.
Although he ultimately re-signed with the Raptors when he reached free agency in July this past offseason, veteran point guard Kyle Lowry admits that he had some interest in joining the Spurs, as Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News details. However, Lowry said today that San Antonio didn’t necessarily reciprocate that interest.
“It was real for me, but it wasn’t real for them,” Lowry told Young. “That’s a part of the business that people don’t know. I would have loved to come here (to San Antonio), but it didn’t work out. The conversation didn’t happen. If the conversation happened, I would tell you. But it didn’t happen.
“Not saying that I wanted out, but I did look at teams to see what was going on,” Lowry added. “I mean this place would’ve been a great place.”
At one point, it looked like the Spurs might make an effort to clear cap room to make a run at Chris Paul. However, when Paul decided to join the Rockets, San Antonio didn’t go after another top free agent point guard, opting to re-sign Patty Mills instead.
As for the Raptors, they lost multiple free agents over the summer, including forwards P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson, but made strong commitments to Lowry and Serge Ibaka, signing each player to a three-year contract. Lowry’s new deal with Toronto will pay him at least $31MM annually, and could be worth up to $100MM with incentives.
Although Lowry was intrigued by the idea of playing for Gregg Popovich, whom he calls “one of the best coaches in NBA history,” the point guard told Young that he’s pleased with the way things worked out.
“I knew the (Spurs’) culture, but at the end of the day I came back to a situation that was best for me that I loved and (I’m) happy to be in,” Lowry said.
Rockets guard Demetrius Jackson can expect a lot of trips to and from Rio Grande Valley over the next few weeks, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Jackson, who is serving as the team’s backup point guard while Chris Paul is sidelined with soreness in his left knee, signed a two-way contract over the summer and is limited to 45 days in the NBA. Every day in Houston will count against that total once G League camps open tomorrow, so Jackson will be making repeated journeys to the Rockets’ affiliate.
Jackson played 17 minutes in Saturday’s win over the Mavericks, delivering four points, five rebounds and two assists. The Rockets may decide to convert his deal into a full NBA contract if Paul’s absence is prolonged and the team can’t find another point guard. “Definitely, a different confidence level after going back, reviewing the film, trying to grow from the positive and the negative,” Jackson said. “I definitely got some good looks. Just have to step up and knock those down.”
There’s more NBA news from the Lone Star State:
- The left knee effusion suffered by Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. may not be as bad as it sounds, cautions Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. There is concern in Dallas because an effusion, which means swelling due to fluid building up in a joint, is what sidelined Dirk Nowitzki for two months in 2013. However, Sefko notes that Nowitzki was much older, and Smith played a lot in preseason without any knee issues.
- The Mavericks are getting Gian Clavell, who also has a two-way contract, some NBA experience before G League camps begin, Sefko adds in the same piece. The rookie out of Puerto Rico got into games Friday and Saturday as the third-string point guard. Johnathan Motley, the team’s other two-way player, hasn’t appeared in a game yet.
- There are indications that Spurs star Kawhi Leonard might return to action sooner than expected, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Leonard, who has been sidelined since training camp with quadriceps tendinopathy, traveled with the team to Chicago Saturday. “He’s progressing,” said coach Gregg Popovich. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admits it was a mistake trying to change LaMarcus Aldridge, relays Melissa Rohlin of The San Antonio Express News. After five straight seasons of topping 20 points per game in Portland, Aldridge dropped to 18.0 and 17.3 in his first two years in San Antonio.
LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs haven’t always seen eye to eye over the last two years, but in the wake of a contract agreement that extended Aldridge’s deal by an additional two years, the big man sounds as happy as he’s ever been in San Antonio. As Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News details, Aldridge says “everything is great” between him and the Spurs, and that both sides are pleased with the extension.
“I feel like the talks this summer (between Aldridge and the Spurs) were very constructive and were kind of needed, having a heart to heart where you just say how you feel,” Aldridge said. “And I feel like Pop (Gregg Popovich) has been great about the things that I said or kind of needed or wanted, and so far it’s been great.”
Asked by Jabari Young of The Express-News (Twitter link) if he hopes to finish his career with the Spurs, Aldridge said that would most likely be his preference. Still, his new deal doesn’t add a ton of new years to his contract. As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets, the extension adds one guaranteed year worth $26MM, then one additional season that’s partially guaranteed ($7MM of $24MM). The pact also features a 15% trade kicker, Woj adds.
OCTOBER 16th, 11:07pm: The signing is official, per team release.
4:11pm: Charania clarifies in his full report on the trade that Aldridge’s extension will actually add just two years to his current deal, with the 2018/19 player option representing the third year. In total, Aldridge will be under contract for four years, with a partial guarantee in year four.
3:26pm: The Spurs have reached an agreement with big man LaMarcus Aldridge on a contract extension, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Wojnarowski first reported earlier today that the two sides were engaged in discussions on a possible extension.
Aldridge’s new contract is a three-year extension worth $72.3MM, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the third and final year is only partially guaranteed. The 32-year-old exercised his 2018/19 player option as part of the agreement, per Wojnarowski (via Twitter), so the new deal will begin in 2019/20 and will lock him up for five years in total.
Aldridge, who initially joined the Spurs as a free agent in the summer of 2015, saw his production drop off a little last season. His 17.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and .477 FG% were all below his career averages, while his 18.6 PER was his lowest mark since 2009/10.
The dip in Aldridge’s performance makes the timing of the contract extension somewhat surprising. Wojnarowski noted in his piece earlier today that the relationship between Aldridge and the Spurs has been rocky over the last two years — both sides have been unhappy at times, and the team explored trade scenarios involving the former Blazer earlier this year.
However, according to Wojnarowski, Aldridge arrived at camp this year in better shape than usual, and has strengthened his relationship with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.
With Aldridge’s player option for 2018/19 now locked in, the Spurs have approximately $78.4MM in guaranteed money on their cap for next season. With the NBA salary cap projected to increase slightly to $101MM, the Spurs could have some flexibility. But their estimated team salary doesn’t include player options for Danny Green, Rudy Gay, and Joffrey Lauvergne, or possible new deals for free-agents-to-be like Tony Parker and Kyle Anderson.
Because Aldridge’s new contract exceeds the parameters of an extend-and-trade deal, he won’t be eligible to be traded for six months after signing his extension, meaning he won’t be the subject of trade rumors at this season’s deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- The final year of LaMarcus Aldridge‘s three-year, $72.3MM extension with the Spurs has a $7MM guarantee, Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets. San Antonio came to an agreement with Aldridge on Monday.
Veteran center Tiago Splitter is shopping around for an NBA contract, he told Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype in a Q&A session.
Splitter revealed that he had discussions with the Cavaliers, Jazz and Clippers but nothing came to fruition. He worked out for the Clippers in July.
He also received numerous training camp invites but didn’t get a formal contract offer, he told Sierra. However, the Brazilian native has no desire to explore opportunities overseas.
Injuries have sidetracked his career and Splitter admits he’s still not 100 percent. Splitter, 32, appeared in just eight games with the Sixers last season as he battled hip and calf injuries. He played 36 games with the Hawks the previous season, which was marred by a hamstring issue. Splitter spent his first five seasons with the Spurs.
If he can’t land a player contract, Splitter has decided to pursue a coaching career. He has visited with the Spurs, Hawks and Warriors during camp with that purpose.
“It’s a learning experience with focus on my career once my playing days are over,” he told Sierra. “My plan is to remain involved in basketball. This is a good way to network, meet new people and get to see basketball from a different perspective.”
The Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge are discussing the possibility of a contract extension, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Currently, Aldridge remains under contract for two years, with a guaranteed $21.46MM salary for 2017/18 and a player option worth $22.35MM for 2018/19. If he and the Spurs were to reach an agreement today, it would allow him to opt in for ’18/19 and then tack on up to three more years. In that scenario, an extension could have a starting salary worth up to 120% of his ’18/19 figure.
Although today represents the deadline for contract extensions for veterans with multiple years left on their respective contracts, Aldridge would have until June 30 to work out an extension with the Spurs if he were to turn down his player option. An extension along those lines could be worth up to 120% of the big man’s 2017/18 salary.
Aldridge, 32, saw his production drop off a little in San Antonio last season. His 17.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and .477 FG% were all below his career averages, while his 18.6 PER was his lowest mark since 2009/10. It would be an unusual moment for the Spurs to sign him to an extension unless they’re confident in a bounce-back season and believe they can get him at a discounted rate.
Not counting player options for Aldridge, Danny Green, or Rudy Gay, the Spurs currently only have about $56MM in guaranteed money on their books for the 2018/19 season.