Spurs Shutting Down Inquiries On Kawhi Leonard
- There’s a belief that the Hornets tried to engage the Spurs about a trade idea involving Walker and Kawhi Leonard, which may have been how the Walker rumors started, writes Kyler. Leonard was named specifically in Rick Bonnell’s recent Charlotte Observer story as the type of All-Star the Hornets would want to get back for Walker, so there may be something to that theory. However, league sources tell Kyler that the Spurs have immediately shut down any inquiries they’ve received on Leonard.
[SOURCE LINK]
Discord Between Kawhi Leonard, Spurs?
It has been a frustrating season so far for star forward Kawhi Leonard, who missed the first two months of the season due to a quad injury, then appeared in just nine games before being shut down again. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Michael C. Wright of ESPN, “months of discord” related to the treatment and rehabilitation of that injury has had a “chilling impact” on Leonard’s relationship with the Spurs and their coaching staff.
As Wojnarowski and Wright note, the Spurs have typically had terrific relationships with their star players under head coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford, but multiple sources told ESPN that Leonard and his camp have been “distant” and “disconnected” from the organization. There’s work to be done to repair the apparent rift, per Woj and Wright.
For his part, Buford disagrees with the idea that there’s any sort of tension between the Spurs and their superstar, though he admitted that the injury has been a vexing and frustrating one for both the player and team.
“There is no issue between the Spurs organization and Kawhi,” Buford told ESPN. “From Day 1 all parties have worked together to find the best solutions to his injury. … This has been difficult for everyone. It’s been difficult for Kawhi. He’s an elite-level player. It’s been difficult for the team, because they want to play with a great teammate. And it’s been difficult for our staff. Historically, we’ve been able to successfully manage injuries. This rehab hasn’t been simple and it hasn’t gone in a linear fashion.”
Even when Leonard returned to the court for the Spurs in December, he wasn’t playing at his usual level, or with his usual frequency — he didn’t play with fewer than two days rest all season. According to ESPN’s report, Leonard told the Spurs at different stages of his rehab process that he wasn’t confident in his ability to play through the ailment. The club announced last week that he’d be shut down indefinitely as he focused on rehabbing his quad.
The Spurs have already dealt with one disgruntled star during the 2017/18 league year. The team responded to LaMarcus Aldridge‘s offseason trade request by working to fix its relationship with the big man, and Aldridge has been better than ever for San Antonio this season. So even if the partnership between Leonard and the Spurs is on shaky ground – which Buford denies – there’s reason to believe the two sides will work things out.
Leonard will be eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension during the 2018 offseason. If he’s not extended, he could reach free agency as early as 2019 by turning down his player option for 2019/20.
Tony Parker Cedes Starting Role To Dejounte Murray
The time has come for Spurs guard Tony Parker, as the 17-year vet has officially lost his starting role in San Antonio. Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes that Parker has ceded his spot in the first-unit to second-year point guard Dejounte Murray.
“Gregg Popovich told me he thought it was time,” Parker said. “Just like Manu Ginobili, just like Pau Gasol, you know that day is going to come. If Pop sees something that is good for the team, I will try to do my best… I will support Pop’s decision.”
Parker has started 1,151 regular season games over the course of his career, with career averages of 16.1 points and 5.8 assists per game. This year, in 21.7 minutes per game, he has posted averages of 8.0 points and 4.0 assists.
In 14 starts for the Spurs already this season, the 21-year-old Murray has averaged 8.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest.
Despite the lingering absence of star forward Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs have managed to stay competitive in the West. Even after having lost six of their last 10 games, San Antonio sits tied for third in the conference.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/21/18
Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
8:30pm:
- The Spurs recalled Brandon Paul and Derrick White from their G League affiliate in Austin, the team’s site announced in a press release.
3:56pm:
- The Celtics have recalled Guerschon Yabusele and Abdel Nader from the G League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Yabusele and Nader were sent down yesterday for the Maine Red Claw’s tilt against the Westchester Knicks.
- The Hawks have recalled DeAndre’ Bembry, Tyler Cavanaugh and Isaiah Taylor to their G League affiliate in Erie, the team announced in a press release. Additionally, Josh Magette, who has appeared in nine games with Atlanta, was sent down to Erie.
- The Thunder have assigned Dakari Johnson to the team’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Johnson has appeared in one game for the Blue, posting a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He has played in 21 games for OKC.
- The Suns have recalled guard Davon Reed to their Northern Arizona affiliate, per Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports (via Twitter).
Spurs Assign Brandon Paul, Derrick White To G League
- The Spurs have assigned guards Brandon Paul and Derrick White to their G League affiliate, according to a press release. White has played eight games for the Austin Spurs this season, but it’s Paul’s first assignment. The duo figures to suit up for Austin tonight in the club’s game against Grand Rapids.
Kawhi Leonard Injury Update
- While it was announced that Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard would be out for an “indefinite period” of time to rehab his right quadriceps injury, the injury isn’t as disastrous as some have interpreted it as. “Career-threatening shouldn’t even be in the conversation,” one person close to Leonard told Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).
Kawhi Leonard Out Indefinitely
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard will be sidelined for an “indefinite period of time,” the club announced today (Twitter link). According to the team’s announcement, Leonard is still battling right quadriceps tendinopathy and will focus on rehabbing that injury.
In a statement, Spurs GM R.C. Buford said that Leonard “continues to move forward in his rehabilitation.” Meanwhile, head coach Gregg Popovich tells Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News that the injury “hasn’t responded the way we wanted it to.”
“He’s given it a shot,” Popovich said of his star player. “He’s frustrated as hell. He wants to play badly. But if we’re going to err, we’re going to do it on the side of health and being wise.”
After sitting out for nearly two months to start the season due to his quad injury, Leonard returned to action on December 12. He has missed several games since then though, never playing with less than two days rest. Even when he has been on the floor, the 26-year-old hasn’t been his usual dominant self — his .468 FG% and .314 3PT% are career lows, albeit in a small sample (nine games).
With Leonard out, Kyle Anderson will continue to see the majority of the minutes at the three for San Antonio. Rudy Gay will also help fortify the Spurs’ forward rotation once he gets healthy, while Danny Green and Manu Ginobili could also play small forward in certain lineups. However, according to McDonald, Gay is still a couple weeks away from returning and Ginobili is expected to miss the Spurs’ next two games with a thigh contusion.
Cavs Rumors: Roster Concerns, Nets Pick, Trades
The Cavaliers continue to hang onto a top-three seed in the East, but the team has dropped four consecutive games and eight of its last 10 — in terms of wins and losses, the 26-17 Cavs are now the same distance from the eighth-seeded Pistons (22-20) as they are from the second-seeded Raptors (29-13).
Cleveland’s slump has multiple players speaking to reporters – including Dave McMenamin of ESPN and Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com – to express a “growing discontent” with the state of the team. There’s increasing concern in the Cavs’ locker room that the squad’s problems aren’t fixable from within, according to McMenamin and Vardon.
“Rotations are awful. [Isaiah Thomas] is so much worse than Kyrie [Irving] defensively it’s insane,” one league source told Vardon. “There is not a great feeling anywhere. They need to limp into the All-Star break and get away from each other.”
The fact that Cavs players are expressing concerns to the media about the state of the franchise suggests that perhaps they’re trying to push the front office to make a trade to address some of those issues. According to Vardon, communication between the team’s front office and its players and coaches isn’t as frequent as it was under former GM David Griffin, so perhaps this is the simplest way for the players to send a message to management.
Here’s more from out of Cleveland:
- League sources continue to say that the Cavaliers prefer to hold onto the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick in case the team enters rebuilding mode next season, McMenamin writes in the piece linked above.
- A trusted source tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) that he believes the Cavaliers will “definitely” make at least one deal before the February 8 trade deadline. However, Stein is skeptical that there’s a single move out there that would allow the Cavs to close the gap between them and the Warriors.
- The Cavs can forget about winning the NBA Finals this year if they don’t make a trade in the next few weeks, opines Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net.
- In the wake of Gregg Popovich‘s comments about LaMarcus Aldridge‘s offseason trade request, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst compares and contrasts the way the Spurs handled that situation with the way that the Cavaliers handled Kyrie Irving‘s trade request.
Nikola Mirotic, 15 Others Become Trade-Eligible
Today is January 15, which means that trade restrictions have lifted for most of the rest of the NBA’s 2017 offseason signees. While the majority of those ’17 free agents became trade-eligible on December 15, there was a small subset of free agent signees whose trade ineligibility lasted for another month.
The 16 players whose trade restrictions lift today meet a specific set of criteria: Not only did they re-sign with their previous teams this offseason, but they received raises of at least 20%, their salaries are worth more than the minimum, and their teams were over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.
The most notable name in this group is Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic. He’s not the best player on the list — Blake Griffin and Kyle Lowry would be among those vying for that honor. But Mirotic is the most likely player to be dealt out of the 16 guys becoming trade-eligible today. He has been linked to a handful of teams already, including the Jazz, Pistons, and Trail Blazers.
Here are the 16 players becoming trade-eligible today:
- Cristiano Felicio (Bulls)
- JaMychal Green (Grizzlies)
- Blake Griffin (Clippers)
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans)
- Serge Ibaka (Raptors)
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors)
- Joe Ingles (Jazz)
- Kyle Korver (Cavaliers)
- Shaun Livingston (Warriors)
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
- Patty Mills (Spurs)
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls)
- Note: Any trade involving Mirotic requires his approval.
- Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
- Otto Porter (Wizards)
- Note: Any trade involving Porter requires his approval.
- Andre Roberson (Thunder)
- Tony Snell (Bucks)
With three and a half weeks left until this season’s February 8 trade deadline, nearly all of the NBA’s players are now eligible to be dealt. The only players still ineligible to be moved are those who signed free agent contracts later than October 15, plus certain players who signed contract extensions in the offseason.
Hawks guard Isaiah Taylor (January 17), Nuggets forward Richard Jefferson (January 19), and Pelicans guard Jameer Nelson (January 22) are now the only remaining players who will become trade-eligible between today and February 8. For the full list of players who won’t become trade-eligible before this year’s deadline, click here.
Popovich: Aldridge Requested Trade In Offseason
Before he signed a contract extension with the Spurs in October, LaMarcus Aldridge was the subject of frequent trade rumors. While it appeared San Antonio was willing to move Aldridge, head coach Gregg Popovich confirmed on Thursday that the big man himself was also in favor of a change of scenery. Asked about Aldridge’s bounce-back 2017/18 performance, Popovich said last night that the turning point was when the 32-year-old requested a trade in the offseason.
“It’s as simple as that,” Popovich said, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. “I said, ‘Whoa, nobody’s ever said that to me before.’ It’s my 20-whatever year, and nobody’s ever said that like, ‘I’m not enjoying this. I’m not confident. I’m not sure you want me here. I want to be traded.'”
According to Popovich, he and Aldridge had some “dinners and meetings” before the season to clear the air and to talk through any issues between the player and team. The Spurs’ head coach accepted responsibility for Aldridge’s unhappiness, admitting he tried to turn the veteran into a different player, which he called “total overcoaching” on his part. By the time Aldridge signed his new contract with the Spurs and the season got underway, everyone was on the same page.
“I was very candid with him,” Popovich said. “I told him, ‘I’d be happy to trade you. You get me a talent like Kevin Durant, and I’ll drive you to the airport. I’ll pack your bags. And I will drive you there, get you on the plane, and get you seated.’ He laughed, you know, that kind of thing. I said, ‘But short of that, I’m your best buddy because you’re here for another year, and you ain’t going nowhere. Because we’re not gonna get for you talent-wise what we would want. So, let’s figure this thing out.’ And we did. That’s what we came to.”
In 41 games this season, Aldridge has averaged 22.6 PPG and 8.6 RPG, his best marks since joining the Spurs in 2015.