Spurs Might Gamble On Maker
- Nineteen-year-old center Thon Maker may be a good draft gamble for the Spurs, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Maker was once projected as a lottery pick, but his stock has fallen because of his unstable high school background and because coaches haven’t seen him play against quality competition. He is now projected to go late in the first round or early in the second round, and the Spurs might consider him too tempting to pass up with the 29th pick.
Offseason Outlook: San Antonio Spurs
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
State of the Franchise
The NBA’s most reliable franchise over the past two decades may be heading into a summer of change. The Spurs have reached the playoffs in 19 straight seasons, and while no one expects that streak to end with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge as team leaders, there’s a chance that franchise cornerstones Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili could retire, and Tony Parker could find himself in a reduced role or traded away.
The Spurs put together a historically great regular season that was only overshadowed because the Warriors broke a league record at 73-9. San Antonio won 67 regular-season games and posted a 40-1 mark at home. But Gregg Popovich’s crew suffered an early playoff exit for the second straight year, this time falling to the Thunder in six games in the Western Conference semifinals.
End of the line?
The 40-year-old Duncan has a player option for 2016/17 worth close to $6.4MM with incentives added in. He appeared in 61 games in his just-completed 19th NBA season, averaging career lows in both scoring and rebounding. His scoring average dipped below double figures for the first time as Popovich limited his minutes to barely more than half a game.
Ginobili will turn 38 this summer and has a player option for next season at slightly more than $2.9MM. He averaged less than 20 minutes per game this year and had a scoring average below double digits for the first time since his rookie season. The Argentinian star said he intends to meet with Duncan and Popovich at some point this summer before deciding whether to play another year.
Roster decisions
Veteran power forward David West also has a player option for next season worth $1.552MM. Considering that West sacrificed about $11MM to join the Spurs and get a chance at a ring, he may want to fatten up his bank account this summer. If Duncan, Ginobili and West all opt in, the Spurs are looking at a little more than $84.5MM in guaranteed salary against a cap projected at about $92MM. If they all opt out, San Antonio will have about $10MM more to fill out its roster. In addition, Boris Diaw is scheduled to make $6.5MM next season, but only $3MM of that is guaranteed if he is released by June 30.
A huge decision could be made involving Parker, who recently turned 34. Parker has two years remaining on his current deal at $14,445,313 and $15,453,126, but the Spurs may view this offseason as a chance to get younger and faster. There have been reports that they are interested in Memphis point guard Mike Conley in free agency, and if he comes to San Antonio, Parker will likely be on the way out.
If the Spurs decide to go younger, they will presumably cut ties with veteran free agents Andre Miller and Kevin Martin. At 36, Matt Bonner is also a free agent, but he seems content to sign one-year deals as long as San Antonio will give him a roster spot. The most interesting free agent is 7’3″ rookie center Boban Marjanovic, who could get a nice raise from the $1.2MM he made this season.
Free agent targets
Conley seems like a perfect candidate to run the Spurs’ offense if this summer results in a partial youth movement. He will turn 29 in October and has already been in the league nine years — all with Memphis, where he has led the Grizzlies to the playoffs six straight times. Conley scores, rebounds, distributes the ball and limits turnovers. San Antonio would need about $26MM in cap room to offer him a max deal, but it would be a huge coup for the organization if Conley comes to town.
Any other free agent signings will depend on how the roster decisions shake out and how much cap room the Spurs have left. As West showed a year ago, some veteran players are willing to take discounts to play for San Antonio.
Draft outlook
The Spurs’ lone pick this year is No. 29 in the first round. ESPN’s Chad Ford has San Antonio taking Louisville center Chinanu Onuaku with that selection, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress expects it to be Zhou Qi of China. The Spurs often use late first-round picks to stash players overseas for the future, so keep an eye on international talent. San Antonio’s second-round pick was traded to Sacramento in a 2015 deal involving Ray McCallum.
Final take
The Spurs are still a great team and likely will remain one as long as Leonard and Aldridge are productive. They were good enough to win 67 games this season, but the series with Oklahoma City raised questions about their depth and their age.
San Antonio GM R.C. Buford was the big winner of last season’s free agent sweepstakes when he landed Aldridge and West. He won’t have to do nearly as much this summer, but there will be some holes on the roster to fill, and it may be late June before he knows what Duncan, Ginobili and West will do about their player options.
There’s no doubt that San Antonio will remain one of the NBA’s elite teams next season, and a 20th consecutive playoff trip seems certain. But Buford’s offseason moves will determine if a sixth title comes along with it.
Guaranteed Salary
- LaMarcus Aldridge ($20,575,005)
- Kawhi Leonard ($17,638,063)
- Tony Parker ($14,445,313)
- Danny Green ($10,000,000)
- Patty Mills ($3,578,948)
- Boris Diaw ($3,000,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below1
- Kyle Anderson ($1,192,080)
- Total: $70,429,409
Player Options
- Tim Duncan ($6,393,750)
- Manu Ginobili ($2,940,630)
- David West ($1,551,659)
- Total: $10,886,039
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Boris Diaw ($4,000,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above1
- Jonathon Simmons ($874,636)
- Total: $4,874,636
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Boban Marjanovic ($1,500,000/$1,500,000)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Matt Bonner ($980,431)
- Kevin Martin ($980,431)
- Andre Miller ($980,431)
- Total: $2,941,293
Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Milutinov ($1,026,300)
- Livio Jean-Charles ($990,700)
- No. 29 pick ($983,400)
- Total: $3,000,400
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Diaw’s full $7,000,000 salary would become guaranteed on June 30th.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Team To Work Out Adonis Thomas
- Former NBA player Adonis Thomas will attend mini-camps with the Rockets, Spurs and Jazz, his agent Travis King informed Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype (Twitter link). The 23-year-old swingman appeared in six games during the 2013/14 campaign for the Sixers and Magic.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs haven’t had a winning percentage below .600 in a season for two decades, and the franchise added another cornerstone piece to its core when it signed LaMarcus Aldridge last summer. However, even after a 67-win showing, San Antonio will be faced with a challenging offseason. If Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and David West retire or land elsewhere, the Spurs will have some cap room to work with, but not enough for a max contract, and replacing those veterans won’t be easy. With Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard around, it’s not as if San Antonio will enter a rebuilding phase anytime soon, but keeping the team in strong contention for a title may require a little creativity from GM R.C. Buford.
See how San Antonio’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- LaMarcus Aldridge ($20,575,005)
- Kawhi Leonard ($17,638,063)
- Tony Parker ($14,445,313)
- Danny Green ($10,000,000)
- Patty Mills ($3,578,948)
- Boris Diaw ($3,000,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below1
- Kyle Anderson ($1,192,080)
- Total: $70,429,409
Player Options
- Tim Duncan ($6,393,750)
- Manu Ginobili ($2,940,630)
- David West ($1,551,659)
- Total: $10,886,039
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Boris Diaw ($4,000,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above1
- Jonathon Simmons ($874,636)
- Total: $4,874,636
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Boban Marjanovic ($1,500,000/$1,500,000)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Matt Bonner ($980,431)
- Kevin Martin ($980,431)
- Andre Miller ($980,431)
- Total: $2,941,293
Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Milutinov ($1,026,300)
- Livio Jean-Charles ($990,700)
- No. 29 pick ($983,400)
- Total: $3,000,400
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Diaw’s full $7,000,000 salary would become guaranteed on June 30th.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Spurs Notes: Offseason, Cap, Ginobili
- It’s rare for a 67-win team to face a significant amount of roster questions and potential turnover, but the Spurs find themselves in that situation as the summer approaches, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. As Marks outlines, San Antonio has a pair of foundational pieces in Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, but it could be tricky to upgrade the roster around them.
- Speaking of those Spurs, veteran guard Manu Ginobili intends to meet with Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, and others eventually as he weighs his options and decides whether to continue his NBA career. RealGM.com has the details, via La Nacion.
And-Ones: Dunn, Sanders, Calipari, Blatt
Representatives for Providence’s Kris Dunn don’t want him to go to a team with a young point guard already in place and may refuse to release his medical records to the Celtics and Suns, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Speaking on a draft lottery special, Wojnarowski said Dunn’s agents did not submit him for a physical at last week’s draft combine, which would have made his records accessible to everyone. Dunn has undergone two surgical procedures on his right shoulder, and teams may be reluctant to draft him if they are unsure of his current physical status. Dunn has been projected as a possible No. 3 pick, but his camp apparently doesn’t want him to compete for playing time with Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart in Boston or Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight in Phoenix. The Celtics own the third selection in next month’s draft, while the Suns pick fourth.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- Rutgers freshman point guard Corey Sanders will withdraw from the draft and return to school, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. There’s little chance that Sanders would have been drafted, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him ranked 73rd among NCAA freshmen and ESPN’s Chad Ford doesn’t have him listed among his top 100 prospects.
- Kentucky coach John Calipari, whose name has been floated for several NBA openings, plans to stay with the Wildcats for the rest of his career, he said in a message on his website. Calipari was considered a candidate for the Nets job after they fired Lionel Hollins in January, and the Kings reportedly spoke to him about taking over for George Karl last summer.
- Spanish power FC Barcelona is interested in former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, according to El Mundo Deportivo (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Blatt recently talked with the Rockets, Kings, Knicks and Lakers about their coaching jobs.
- Twenty-four teams will compete in the Las Vegas Summer League July 8th-18th, the NBA announced today in a press release. The Spurs, coached by Becky Hammon, are the defending champions.
Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Anderson, Terry
The Grizzlies spoke with at least two candidates today as their search for a new coach heats up. Heat assistant David Fizdale came to Memphis for an interview, tweets Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com., as did Portland assistant Nate Tibbetts, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Both had been previously named as candidates for the job.
Spurs assistant James Borrego impressed Grizzlies officials during his interview earlier this week, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Memphis has also held interviews with Spurs assistant Ettore Messina, Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing and recently fired Pacers coach Frank Vogel (Twitter link). The Grizzlies have significant interest in Vogel, according to ESPN, but so does Orlando (Twitter link).
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans free agent Ryan Anderson says he was nearly traded to Cleveland at the deadline, relays Brett Dawson of The Advocate. Appearing on “The Vertical Podcast,” Anderson contends the Cavaliers were trying to work out a deal for him before they picked up Channing Frye from Orlando. “There was a very last-minute phone call that I could have gone to Cleveland,” Anderson said. “I would be playing for the Cavs right now.” Anderson said he didn’t ask the Pelicans to trade him because he wants to have the option in free agency of staying in New Orleans. Anderson’s last experience as a free agent came in 2012 when he was restricted and Orlando swung a deal to send him to the Pelicans. This time, he likes the feeling of being in complete control. “I want to enjoy this process and see where New Orleans is at this summer,” Anderson said. “I want to see where, I don’t know, Houston is at or Sacramento or Washington.”
- The Spurs could be interested in power forward Thomas Robinson if he opts out of his deal with the Nets, according to Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Robinson would give up a little more than $980K by opting out, but he stands to make much more on the open market with the expected jump in the salary cap. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has talked about the need to rebuild the bench with younger players, and the 25-year-old Robinson, a former teammate of LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland, could be a possibility.
- Rockets point guard Jason Terry thinks Dwight Howard would be a “great fit” with the Mavericks, but only if he adapts to coach Rick Carlisle, according to The Dallas Morning News. “Whatever [Howard’s] role is, he would have to be the one to buy in first, and then you go from there,” Terry said on ESPN Radio’s Cowlishaw and Mosley show. “But he and Dirk [Nowitzki] together? That’s a powerful combination.” The 38-year-old Terry adds that he hopes to play one more season before retiring.
Draft Updates: Trimble, Thompson, Diallo
Maryland guard Melo Trimble didn’t have a standout showing at the combine, and remains undecided on whether to stay in the draft. He figures to wait until the May 25th deadline to make a decision, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria – who adds the Nuggets to the list of teams to meet with Trimble at the combine, and the Spurs and Hawks to the list of teams planning to work him out – hears from an NBA scout that Trimble’s best bet is to return to school to improve his game (Twitter link).
As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Insider link) writes, Trimble acknowledges that his original plan was to enter the draft and hire an agent this year, but admits that he’s “up in the air right now.” An up-and-down sophomore year, in which he was plagued by hamstring issues, has complicated Trimble’s situation.
As we wait to see what Trimble decides, let’s round up several more draft notes and updates…
- Ohio State big man Trevor Thompson has decided to withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school, he tells Goodman (Twitter link). As we noted when he declared for the draft in March, Thompson wasn’t viewed as a top-100 prospect and would have had a long climb to become draft-worthy.
- In a piece for USA Today Sports, Derek Bodner identifies five prospects who improved their stock at the NBA combine in Chicago last week, including Kansas center Cheick Diallo. Diallo’s strong showing at the combine appears to have cemented his decision to remain in the draft — he is signing with Bill Duffy and BDA Sports Management for representation, according to Goodman (Twitter link). Zagoria has since confirmed that agreement (via Twitter).
- Seton Hall guard Isaiah Whitehead tweeted on Sunday that he plans to make a decision by Thursday on whether or not to remain in the draft. Sources are telling Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Whitehead – who has workouts with Boston and Chicago on his schedule after Thursday – figures to remain in the draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
- Villanova junior Josh Hart said after a workout with Philadelphia on Monday that he’s “still 50-50” about keeping his name in the draft, and he’s “not sure when that will change,” per Marc Narducci of Philly.com. It sounds like Hart’s decision could go down to the wire as the May 25th deadline nears.
- Florida State guard Malik Beasley, UNC power forward Brice Johnson, and Purdue big man A.J. Hammons have signed with ASM Sports for representation on and off the court, according to a report from SportsBusiness Journal.
Spurs Working Out Johnson, Cousins; Met With Poeltl
- Two more players who worked out for the Sixers today – Louisiana-Lafayette forward Shawn Long and VCU guard Melvin Johnson – are getting looks from a handful of other teams too. Per Camerato (Twitter links), Long has the Bucks on Wednesday, the Nuggets on Saturday, and the Rockets and Mavericks next week. Johnson, meanwhile, will work out for the Cavaliers, Nets, and Celtics this week after having worked out for the Spurs and Rockets as well.
- Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins has his first workout tomorrow with Indiana, but he has several more on tap after that, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who tweets that Cousins will work out for the Nuggets, Spurs, Rockets, and Suns.
- Potential lottery pick Jakob Poeltl said during the combine that he has met with the Bucks, Magic, Hawks, and Spurs, in addition to his previously reported sitdowns with New Orleans and Boston (Twitter link via Zagoria). It sounds like all of those meetings were just interviews, so we’ll see in the coming weeks if Poeltl visits any of those teams – or others – for workouts.
Aldridge, West Have No Regrets About Joining Spurs
- LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, who could have played – and potentially been paid more – elsewhere this past season, said in the wake of San Antonio’s season-ending loss that they had no regrets about joining the Spurs, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details. Aldridge remains under contract with the Spurs for several more years, while West will have to make a decision on his player option next month.