San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Waive Courtney Fells And Dan Nwaelele

October 20th, 2013 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Spurs announced this afternoon that they have waived guard/forward Courtney Fells and guard Dan Nwaelele. Neither player was on a guaranteed contract for San Antonio.

Fells appeared in three preseason games, averaging 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.4 minutes of action. Nwaelele saw action in three preseason games, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes. Coach Gregg Popovich gave both players minutes during crunch time in preseason action.

The Spurs have now cut five players in five days after axing Corey Maggette, Myck Kabongo, and Marcus Cousin on October 15th. San Antonio now has 14 players on the roster and they’re all on guaranteed deals. GM R.C. Buford & Co. are reportedly comfortable with starting the year one man shy of the maximum roster size.

Western Notes: Leonard, Hamilton, Blazers, Favors

October 19th, 2013 at 8:08pm CST by Spencer Lund

With Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili all carrying a lot of mileage on their legs after multiple years of long playoff runs, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has taken to resting his old stars during back-to-backs while also limiting their game-to-game regular season minutes.

After the excellent play of Kawhi Leonard in last season’s NBA Finals, it might mean an increased role for the “3 & D” wing entering his third year. The San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff MacDonald shares, in a couple different tweets, that Popovich will be increasing Leonard’s responsibility on offense. McDonald thinks his scoring should jump significantly as a result.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference tonight:

The Timberwolves have expressed interest in unsigned free agent Richard Hamilton, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that there has been no further movement from GM Flip Saunders.
As noted earlier, the Blazers‘ starting five have yet to appear on the court together this preseason due to multiple injury issues. The lack of time playing together means they haven’t gotten a chance to “gel” as a team, writes the Oregonian’s Mike Tokito.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe spoke with Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey about the Derrick Favors extension, and mentions in a tweet that Lindsey repeatedly mentioned the Bulls as a model for the Jazz franchise.
After the Jazz officially confirmed the four-year, $49MM+ extension this morning, everyone’s pretty happy writes the Deseret News’ Mike Sorenson.
Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune says Favors earned his extension with his defensive prowess for the Jazz.

Roster Battles: Knicks, Kings, Cavs, Spurs

October 18th, 2013 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

Just 10 days from now, teams will have to finalize their rosters for the regular season, which means we can expect to see a flurry of cuts in the next week. While some clubs have likely already made their decisions about which players will and won’t make the cut, others continue to evaluate camp invitees as they work to figure out their regular-season rosters. Here’s the latest on a few NBA hopefuls:

Knicks coach Mike Woodson “tipped his hand” last night, suggesting that combo guard Toure Murry is close to securing a roster spot for the regular season, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post (Sulia link).
Undrafted rookie Trent Lockett is a perfect fit for Sacramento’s culture and has a chance to earn a place on the Kings, coach Michael Malone tells Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Added Malone: “If he doesn’t make the team, obviously we would love for him to be in our D-League system so we could continue to monitor his progress as he continues to mature and get better.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio examines the Cavaliers‘ roster crunch, with coach Mike Brown noting that the upcoming cuts will be tough since “everybody’s showing their worth.”
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is enjoying giving crunch-time preseason minutes to bench players and camp invitees, such as Daniel Nwaelele and Courtney Fells. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News has the details.

Spurs Waive Maggette, Kabongo, Cousin

October 15th, 2013 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have reduced their preseason roster by three players, the team announced today in a press release. According to the club, Corey Maggette, Myck Kabongo, and Marcus Cousin have been waived.

Maggette’s release is particularly notable, since the veteran scorer suggested over the weekend that he’d be headed for retirement if he didn’t earn an NBA roster spot this season. There has been no official announcement from Maggette yet, but assuming he does retire, he’ll finish his 14-year NBA playing career with 13,198 points in 827 total contests, having played for the Magic, Clippers, Warriors, Bucks, Bobcats, and Pistons. The longtime Clipper is expected to transition into a front office role at some point.

Having waived three camp invitees, the Spurs are now carrying 16 players — 14 guaranteed contracts, plus Courtney Fells and Daniel Nwaelele. Fells and Nwaelele may both be cut before opening night, as at least one report has indicated San Antonio is likely to start the season with a 14-man roster.

As for Kabongo and Cousin, one or both of them could end up with the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in Austin. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported when San Antonio first added Kabongo to its camp roster that the undrafted rookie would likely land in the D-League with the Toros, and reiterated that point today (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Ginobili, Gasol, Kings

October 14th, 2013 at 10:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

A Spurs intern lost Manu Ginobili‘s signed contract while traveling home from Buenos Aires, where the Argentinian swingman had inked the deal this summer, but Ginobili later signed a replacement copy when another Spurs staffer met up with him, as Jeré Longman of The New York Times reveals in a piece that examines San Antonio’s long history with international players. The Spurs may have suffered ill fortune in the Finals, but at least they don’t have to worry about what might have happened if the intern’s mistake had manifested into a change of heart for Ginobili. Here’s more from the West:

A report today indicated that Pau Gasol isn’t off-limits as the Lakers explore trade possibilities, but the team remains committed to the 33-year-old big man and views him as key figure this season, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
Kings coach Michael Malone expects the team to make its first round of camp cuts within the next couple of days, notes Bryan May of News 10 Sacramento (on Twitter). The team has 14 fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster counts show, meaning its remaining four players are likely battling for one opening-night roster spot.
The Lakers added a pair of assistants to their D-League coaching staff today, hiring Casey Owens and Thomas Scott, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.

Western Notes: Jazz, Gortat, Bogut, Ebanks

October 14th, 2013 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Trey Burke is set to have surgery on his broken right finger tomorrow, and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News hears from the rookie’s agent that the injury could sideline Burke for more than eight weeks. It’s bad news for the Jazz, who don’t have a ton of point guard depth, but the team isn’t rushing to find a replacement, and is still in info-gathering mode, according to Genessy (via Twitter).

One option that doesn’t appear to be on the table for Utah is bringing over second-round pick Raul Neto. According to GM Dennis Lindsey, via Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune, Neto’s team in Spain (Lagun Aro) is in a similar building process to the Jazz, so Utah wouldn’t try to lure away one of its best players (Twitter links).

Here’s more on the Jazz and a few other Western teams:

Luhm adds in another tweet that Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said today there are a couple of free agents who are looking for more than what the club is willing to pay.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic spoke to Marcin Gortat about entering a contract year and the possibility of remaining with the Suns long-term.
Andrew Bogut reiterated to Sam Amick of USA Today that he likes playing for the Warriors and wants to stay in Golden State beyond this season, but noted that Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry probably felt the same way before they signed elsewhere. In other words, Bogut hopes to remain with the Warriors, but recognizes anything could happen next summer in free agency.
On the heels of a report indicating Corey Maggette figures to retire if he’s waived by the Spurs, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld notes (via Twitter) that the veteran has long been interested in an executive job. Maggette participated in the NBPA’s Leadership Development Program, which prepares players for front office roles.
The NBA announced today that Devin Ebanks has been suspended two games for pleading nolo contendere to driving under the influence of alcohol. Ebanks is currently trying to earn a spot on the Mavericks‘ regular-season roster — he was already a long shot, but his suspension certainly doesn’t help his chances.

Corey Maggette To Retire If Waived

October 13th, 2013 at 5:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Corey Maggette is with the Spurs on a non-guaranteed camp deal, trying for what appears to be one open roster spot. If he doesn’t make it, his NBA career will end with this preseason, as he says he will retire if the Spurs cut him, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News.

“If I could get an opportunity here, it would be great. If not, this game has been good to me,” Maggette said, according to McDonald (on Twitter).

Maggette says the Spurs were the only club to offer him a deal, and he acknowledged that his chances of making the opening night roster are slim, McDonald tweets. San Antonio has 19 players in camp and 14 of them are on fully guaranteed deals, leaving Maggette to battle Marcus Cousin, Courtney Fells, Myck Kabongo, and Daniel Nwaelele for the final spot, providing the Spurs elect to carry a full complement of 15 players.

Maggette has made more than $89MM in his career, according to Basketball-Reference, and even if he makes the Spurs, he wouldn’t add much to that on his minimum salary deal this season. The 33-year-old had considered retiring after last season to pursue a front office job, but he decided to make one more attempt at continuing his playing career. It appeared last spring that the Pistons, the team with which he spent 2012/13, had interest in bringing him back, but no deal with Detroit ever materialized.

Odds & Ends: Nash, Spurs, Barbosa, Hawks

October 11th, 2013 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Friday odds and ends from around the Association….

Steve Nash, who is heading into the second year of a three-year deal with the Lakers, may be rested frequently this season due to health concerns, head coach Mike D’Antoni tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. With the Lakers planning to clear as much cap space as possible next summer, Nash’s performance and health this season will likely dictate whether he’s still with the club a year from now.
In a Spurs notebook for the San Antonio Express-News, Jeff McDonald refers to the release of Sam Young as a “borderline bombshell,” and says Corey Maggette is unlikely to stick with the team into the regular season.
As he continues to recover from a torn ACL in Brazil, free agent guard Leandro Barbosa still hopes to return to the NBA, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post details.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if NBA teams’ increasing willingness to rest their veterans will open the door for players who would typically be assigned to the D-League to receive more NBA minutes.
With 20 players still on the roster, the Hawks will have to make cuts soon, but it won’t happen today, tweets Chris Vivalmore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Scott Cacciola of the New York Times takes an in-depth look at new Knicks general manager Steve Mills.

Camp Notes: Spurs, Hawks, Jones, Sixers

October 10th, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Here’s a Thursday afternoon round-up of a few of the latest news and notes out of NBA training camps:

The Spurs have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, meaning a spot could be open for one of the team’s five remaining camp invitees. But Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link) expects the team to start the season with just those 14 players.
The Hawks‘ first round of roster cuts will come soon, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, who predicts they could happen as early as tomorrow. Undrafted rookie Adonis Thomas currently looks like the most likely player to be waived, says Vivlamore.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside looks at what’s next for Cameron Jones, after he was cut from camp by the Warriors. In Schlosser’s view, it should just be a matter of time before another NBA team takes a flier on the young guard.
While the Sixers will likely lose a lot of games this year, the team will benefit from getting a long, first-hand look at several young players, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain at Philly.com. Many of those players are currently vying for roster spots and regular-season minutes, and if their development goes well, Philadelphia will have them under contract for several years, as I detailed this afternoon.

Spurs Cut Sam Young

October 10th, 2013 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

As one of a handful of teams still carrying the maximum 20 players allowed in the preseason, the Spurs will have to cut at least five players before opening night, and started today by waiving Sam Young, according to Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (via Twitter).

Young, 28, spent most of last season with the Pacers after playing for the Grizzlies and Sixers in his first three years in the NBA. The former second-round pick has seen a dip in his production and his playing time over the last couple seasons, but was familiar to Spurs fans for his role in the Grizzlies’ 2011 playoff upset of San Antonio, as he recently told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

With Young reportedly no longer on the roster, Marcus Cousin, Courtney Fells, Myck Kabongo, Corey Maggette, and Daniel Nwaelele remain in the hunt for the final opening on the Spurs’ roster, assuming the team decides to start move forward with a full 15-man squad.