Report: Spurs want PG Parker back at right price
The San Antonio Spurs have interest in bringing back point guard Tony Parker for an 18th season with the club, according to an ESPN report Wednesday.
Per the report, Parker's representatives are exploring his market, but the Spurs would like him back at the right price to serve in a mentorship role.
Parker, 36, is coming off of his first NBA season as less than a full-time starter, averaging career lows in points (7.7), assists (3.5) and minutes (19.5) in 55 games (21 starts). He missed the first 19 games of the season while recovering from a ruptured left quad suffered in May of 2017, and then battled a sprained right ankle in January and sore back in February.
Nagging injuries have been a theme for Parker in recent years, as he's missed at least 14 games in six of the last seven seasons. Still, last season's total of 55 was the first time he's played fewer than 60 games in a season since 2008-09.
Parker reportedly contributed to the tension between the Spurs and forward Kawhi Leonard, when he called his own quad injury "100 times worse" than the one that kept Leonard out of all but nine games last season. According to multiple reports, that comment was a breaking point for Leonard, who has since requested a trade from San Antonio.
Taken 28th overall by the Spurs in 2001, Parker has been a part of four title-winning teams in San Antonio, winning NBA Finals MVP in 2007. He ranks second in team history behind Tim Duncan in games played (1,198), fourth in points (18,943) and first in assists (6,829).
--Field Level Media