Spurs Have Explored Trading Up In First Round

  • The Spurs have explored trading up in the first round of the NBA Draft, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). It is unclear which teams San Antonio has contacted or who the team may be targeting if it was able to improve is draft position via trade. The Spurs currently own the No. 29 overall pick this June.

Tim Duncan Player Option Decision Looming

  • Another NBA veteran debating whether or not to call it a career? Spurs big man Tim Duncan, who turned 40 in April and would be on track to play a 20th season if he decides to return. As Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details, most observers expect Duncan to retire, but the future Hall-of-Famer has made surprising decisions in the past — he’ll have to officially make the call on his 2016/17 player option by June 29th.

2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Spurs

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the San Antonio Spurs, whose D-League affiliate is the Austin Spurs:


The Spurs made 12 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 32 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by San Antonio for the 2015/16 campaign:


Here’s how San Antonio’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:

  • Boban Marjanovic: In three appearances the big man averaged 23.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocs in 26.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .805/.000/.625.
  • Ray McCallum: In nine appearances McCallum averaged 17.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 38.6 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers were .431/.375/.750.
  • Jonathon Simmons: Simmons made four appearances and averaged 16.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 34.6 minutes per night. His slash line was .431/.231/.773.

Diaw Unsure About Future; Spurs Hosting Mini-Camp

  • In an interview with Basket-Infos.com (French link; translation via Christophe Brouet), Spurs forward Boris Diaw said he’s not yet sure whether the team will keep him on its roster and guarantee the remaining $4MM on his $7MM salary for 2016/17. However, Diaw said he’s been told that San Antonio would like to keep him.
  • The Spurs will be hosting a veteran free agent mini-camp next Tuesday that will includes Chris Copeland and Adonis Thomas, among others, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

James Borrego A Strong HC Candidate For 2017

  • Spurs assistant James Borrego made a strong impression in multiple head coaching searches this year, and looks like a solid candidate to land a head coaching job in 2017, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Reports within the last couple months connected Borrego to the coaching searches in Houston, Memphis, Orlando, and Sacramento.

Southwest Notes: Gasol, Kalamian, D’Antoni, Thomas

Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who missed the end of the season after breaking his foot in February, is still very limited physically and may have to skip the Olympics, he said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper As (hat tip to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). “I’m not going to lie; it’s very difficult,” Gasol said. “The training camp starts in less than a month and I still can’t run.” Gasol has been part of the Spanish national team since 2006 and won silver medals at the Olympics in both 2008 and 2012. It’s too early to say whether the injury will affect Gasol’s participation in Memphis’ training camp, which will start in late September.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • In the same interview, Gasol remains convinced that his brother should join the Spurs. Pau Gasol has a player option with the Bulls for next season worth less than $7.77MM, which he is expected to turn down. He has said the idea of going to San Antonio is intriguing and it’s one of the spots he considered during free agency two summers ago. “I think that the Spurs are the best option for him,” Marc Gasol said. “What that franchise represents, their winning culture, how they treat players. Everything is great there.”
  • The Rockets and Wizards are trying to lure Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. New coaches Mike D’Antoni in Houston and Scott Brooks in Washington are both working hard to add Kalamian to their staffs, but Dwane Casey wants to keep him in Toronto. James Harden is reportedly a fan of Kalamian, who was an assistant in Oklahoma City when Harden broke in with the Thunder (Twitter link).
  • Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski likes D’Antoni’s chances of succeeding with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Krzyzewski, who hired D’Antoni as part of his USA Basketball staff, thinks D’Antoni and Harden will be an effective pairing. “When you have plays and reads, it’s the best combination,” Krzyzewski  said. “It’s especially good if you have a special player, and they do in James. It will be interesting to see how that develops because James is not just a really good scorer; James is a heck of a passer. Who knows what their roster will be next year, but it will start with James.”
  • Adonis Thomas attended the Rockets‘ free agent camp and plans to be at similar events for the Spurs and Jazz, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The 6’7″ small forward, who played for the Magic and Sixers during 2013/14, started last year with the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive but was released in December with a season-ending wrist injury.

Draft Notes: Zizic, Ellis, English

Ante Zizic will go straight to the NBA upon being drafted as opposed to becoming a draft-and-stash prospect and playing overseas, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). The 6’11” center is the 21st best prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Perry Ellis (Kansas) has worked out for the Bucks, Suns and Spurs in addition to participating in a Chicago pro day, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders passes along (Twitter links). Ellis will also work out for the Hawks, Kennedy adds.
  • A.J. English (Iona) will work out for the Bulls, Magic and Raptors this week, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter link).
  • DeAndre’ Bembry (St. Joe’s) worked out for the Warriors and the Clippers today, Zagoria tweets.

Tony Parker Interested In Becoming NBA GM

  • Spurs guard Tony Parker aspires to become an NBA general manager once his playing days are done, and as he tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the NBA’s 2011 lockout provided him an opportunity to get a head start on his training for such a job. “The best thing was to be in the office every day during the lockout and see the everyday operations,” Parker said. “I looked at everything. How to manage a team, marketing, ticket sales, sponsors. It was a great learning experience for me. It’s getting me ready to work in an NBA front office.”
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