NBA Draft Rumors: Spurs Dangling Tony Parker to Trade Up For … Whom?
In San Antonio’s first round playoff series – a shocking loss to the 8th-seeded Grizzlies – point guard Tony Parker was outplayed by Mike Conley of Memphis. Parker’s productivity has taken a bit of a dip in the last two seasons, and he turns 29 in May. The Spurs signed him to a lucrative $50 million extension in late 2010 – but that only happened after many rumors circulated about Parker possibly getting traded (maybe to the Knicks). Before the ink was dry on his extension, Parker nuked his marriage to actress Eva Longoria, reportedly by having an affair with a former teammate’s wife.
So really, is it that much of a surprise that Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Spurs are attempting to trade Parker 48 hours before the 2011 NBA draft? According to the report, the Spurs might send Parker to a lottery team in hopes of leaping high up in the draft to select … someone.
Who could they possibly want? A quick rundown of the options:
3. Utah Jazz – Have a point guard in Devin Harris (28), but he’s only got two years left on his deal, and re-signing him seems unlikely. The Jazz will probably select Brandon Knight from Kentucky.
5. Toronto Raptors – Have point guard Jose Calderon (29), and like Harris, he has two years left on his deal. Calderon is a solid facilitator (5th in the league in assists). My thought had been the Raptors liked Calderon at point, and would go big here (and eventually trade away Bargnani). But does Toronto think in a year or two Parker could help guide this young team to the playoffs?
7. Sacramento Kings - Probably the most likely landing spot for Parker, but the question is: Whoever San Antonio wants, will he be here when the Kings pick? The Spurs have had a run of success with foreign players, and Caspi is rumored to be part of the deal. A backcourt of Parker and Evans would be dynamic, and the Kings would be foolish not to pull the trigger on this.
8. Detroit Pistons – With Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey in the fold, all signs are that the Pistons will go big in the draft. Parker, obviously, is better than both of those guys, but the Pistons have no clue what they’re doing anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
9. Charlotte Bobcats - The franchise doesn’t seem to think DJ Augustin is the long-term solution at point guard, but the Bobcats have tons of holes to fill and my guess is that their new GM, Rich Cho, isn’t the type to acquire a 29-year-old point guard with five years left on his contract.
Clearly, Toronto and Sacramento make the most sense, but who are the Spurs coveting? That’s a much tougher question to answer, considering how weak this draft is. Assuming George Hill is the heir apparent to Parker, my guess is San Antonio wants to take a frontcourt player, since Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess near the end of their careers. (They got a steal in DeJuan Blair two years ago, but Tiago Splitter’s unimpressive rookie year left a lot to be desired.)
I’ll say San Antonio either wants Enes Kanter (Kentucky via Turkey; the Spurs interviewed him), Donatas Motiejunas (20-year-old 7-footer from Lithuania who has worked out for the Spurs), Jonas Valanciunas, the 19-year-old from Lithuania, who wouldn’t even come to the NBA for a year or two, or possibly Jan Vesely, the 21-year-old from the Czech Republic. Or did the Spurs see enough of Tristan Thompson at Texas to fall in love with him?
The problem is, Vesely might be gone 6th to Washington, and Kanter could go 4th to Cleveland. Motijunas is more of a wild card who is being projected anywhere from 4-14 in the lottery. Valanciunas has been sliding down most draft boards because of his buyout issues … which could mean he falls to the Spurs 7th overall.

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51 Responses to “NBA Draft Rumors: Spurs Dangling Tony Parker to Trade Up For … Whom?”
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June 22nd, 2011 at 9:48 AM
For somebody that won’t be fucking a former teammates wife.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:50 AM
Actually, I think the Jazz are the most likely trading partner. Every report out there says that they have completely soured on Knight, and a trade for Parker makes a lot of sense.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:52 AM
Also…word surfacing this morning that 76ers are looking to shed Igoudala without taking anything back. A couple of teams have Traded Player Exceptions to offer, and Cleveland especially looks like a possible destination.
Yuck.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:53 AM
Calderon is the classic example of the guy that is loved by advanced stats, but doesn’t seem to really impact the game much. That said, I can’t see Toronto wanting Parker as they’re not close to contending.
Charlotte or Utah would make more sense.
Where’s YYSA? Nash to Minnesota?
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:54 AM
Jay, huh?
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/52050619-87/knight-walker-kentucky-brandon.html.csp
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:54 AM
I was hoping the Iggy-Kaman deal was going to happen.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:55 AM
the Nash-to-Minnesota deal is too dumb to talk about. the Wolves would pass on Derrick Williams for a 1-year mentor? come on.
i like the idea of a mentor, but Williams is widely considered to be the 2nd best player in the draft
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:55 AM
Kentucky’s Brandon Knight may be the biggest beneficiary of the Jonas Valanciunas dropping out of the top ten, but how Knight and his camp have handled the Utah Jazz put him in a situation where he could fall a few spots as a result.
Sources near the Jazz say they were not at all happy with how Knight and his camp handled their workout. There was a real will he-won’t he leading up to their June 16th workout in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz wanted to see Knight up against Kemba Walker and Malcolm Lee, they wanted to see how he defended and he handled himself versus solid talent. Knight was not having that and according to Knight it was his agents that refused the matchup.
The Jazz are said to have real doubts about Knight’s ability to run a team, they view him more as a combo-guard and are not sold that he is their guy at #3.
Knight was pegged as the 3rd best player from the very beginning of this process, meaning he could very easily slide to #4 and the Cavaliers, however if they take Kyrie Irving #1 overall that pushes Knight down to #5 and the Toronto Raptors.
It’s not a huge tumble, but it is a situation worth watching because if Knight slides down two spot that means someone else moves up and with Valanciunas likely out of the top 10 that bodes well for Kawhi Leonard, Alec Burks and Klay Thompson.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:55 AM
Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey are not two reasons why you shouldn’t draft/acquire a point guard.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:57 AM
Josh Smith trade rumors are heating up big time in Atlanta.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:57 AM
I wonder if Knight is trying to not get picked by Utah.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:58 AM
That’s what a few people have speculated…although if they don’t pick him, he likely winds up in Toronto, which seems no better a situation.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:00 AM
Dr. Tom: Thought you’d like this article.
The money quote:
“All the guys here, we’ve built such a relationship that it would be really hard to leave those guys and have them asking why I left,” he says. “I didn’t want them to ask why I left for other things. It would make me feel more selfish.”
Damn. He must love being a slave.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:02 AM
Knight has zero to gain going up against Lee/Kemba. Knight has long been considered the No. 2 PG in the draft, and he can only hurt his stock playing against them.
Lee? He’s a late 1st/early 2nd round pick. Smart move not going up against him.
If Knight were to play Irving, I’m sure he’d sign up. But Irving wouldn’t do that.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Jay, good point. There’s really not a great situation for him if he wants to go top 5, unless someone trades up–which isn’t out of the question.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:04 AM
I wasn’t suggesting he had anything to gain; if I was his agent, I would have directed same. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t anger the Jazz.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Just noticed the Parker photo up top. Brilliant choice, TBL. That dude is so French.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Another possible deal…Pacers send Rush and 15 to Bucks for 10…if Jimmer is still on the board.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:14 AM
Speaking of poison, these BigLeadSports posts are horrible.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:14 AM
HOLY FUCK ENOUGH WITH AUTOPLAY ADS
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:16 AM
The Chrome AdBlock is a god send, no more videos
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:16 AM
This draft is a shit show.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:16 AM
I feel for guys coming to TBL without Ad Block. It’s about 1 million times better after downloading it. Sucks work places won’t let people download it.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:18 AM
can I get this AdBlock for my Mac Safari browser?
/The revolution will NOT be auto-played’d
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:19 AM
Yeah, I agree. I’m not even interested.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:20 AM
Awesome. Chris Everett and Dick Enberg just had a great exchange. Enberg was talking about how when Wimby went to yellow tennis balls some old Brit bitched about how they would turn to “bloody blue balls” after hitting the grass long enough. After a moment of silence Everett says, “I’ll just leave that one alone,” followed by more silence.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:21 AM
can I get this AdBlock for my Mac Safari browser?
Try Googling it. I would assume so, but I’m not sure.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:21 AM
I’m interested, but moreso because a ton of trades seem on the horizon.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:23 AM
Yep, I love the NBA Draft since it’s like the NFL one only it’s over in 3 hours and everyone’s making trades…haven’t been able to watch the last couple because of summer school so I’m excited
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Biyombo is gonna change the world.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Mark Harmon was great in that and Kirstie Alley was still bangable so I don’t blame you.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:29 AM
can I get this AdBlock for my Mac Safari browser?
Yes, and it’s so good, you’ll donate money to the creator, even though the product is available for free. You have to monkey with it some to get it perfect (like removing the front page slideshow) but the main ads all vanish, instantly, everywhere.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I’m interested, but moreso because a ton of trades seem on the horizon.
I like all the dealing, too. The players don’t even necessarily matter. I wonder if any draft choice is going to get traded 4 times. That was funny when it happened before.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:33 AM
Mark Harmon was great in that and Kirstie Alley was still bangable so I don’t blame you.
courtney thorne smith was so yummy in that one. And a generic Bill and Ted, because Bill and Ted were so cool at that point.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:34 AM
Can’t believe I didn’t mention Thorne-Smith. Also, the black dude who got locked in the bathroom getting the best score was a great bit at the end.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:36 AM
Also, the black dude who got locked in the bathroom getting the best score was a great bit at the end.
I could be wrong, but I feel like he later went on to play for James Caan at Eastern State. I’ll go check.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:37 AM
Not to mention a young Courtney Thorne-Smith and the Italian bird from Austin Powers.
Kirstie Alley in her prime was something else though, you had to be there. Y’know, before she ate Sally Struthers.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:40 AM
I’ve seen that Minnesota wants JJ Hickson and the #4 for the #2 pick. I don’t even like Hickson all that much, but that’s way too much.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:41 AM
Kirstie Alley in her prime was something else though,
you should have seen Delta Burke on First and Ten.
so my guy was Duane Davis. He was in both movies.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:41 AM
I was a big fan of the exchange student…who has gone on to play a mom in the new 90210.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:45 AM
Meh, idiot writers (Woj being the biggest idiot) throw out a bunch of ridiculous trades every year and nothing happens. Especially with uncertainty about a new deal I dont see much happening.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:46 AM
I’m interested in the viewpoint that going #3 overall constitutes nothing to gain.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:49 AM
You are correct, and he also played for Billy Heywood and was later released in Little Big League.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Ya, that’s the italian bird from Austin Powers. Alotta Fagina.
And the slacker buddies Chainsaw and Dave were most likely the inspiration for Bill & Ted (and Wayne & Garth and Beavis & Butthead).
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:59 AM
Josh Smith for Jamison-Sessions would be a nice trade for both teams.
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:06 AM
Especially with the Vulcan ears on
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Never gonna happen. If a 3rd team that can be considered a contender with Nash steps up then I will start to believe Nash could be traded but I dont see Phoenix moving him to Minnesota. Twolves would be idiots to make that trade as well. Derrick Williams would look great in a Suns uni though but not as great if Nash isnt there to pick n roll with him.
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:39 AM
but not as great if Nash isnt there to pick n roll with him.
BOOOOOORRRING!!!
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:42 AM
Haha. Thanks 3rdman. I have no idea how anyone can find Pick n roll basketball as boring.
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:43 AM
I’ve been led to believe Tony Parker, Monta Ellis, Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Danny Granger, Josh Smith, Bynum, Odom, Rondo, Devin Harris, Andre Miller, Rudy Gay, Mayo, Jennings, Bogut, Iggy, Bargnani, Ray Felton, Nash, Gortat, Javale McGee, Sessions, Beasley, Ridnour, Johnny Flynn, Kaman, Omri Caspi are all on the move.
So this all goes down, right?
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 AM
Yep. All those guys are going to be redistributed amongst the Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Knicks and Bulls. It is the only way this league survives!