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The San Antonio Spurs‘ second-round exit from the playoffs has come with follow-up speculation about the futures of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli. Both have player options for next season and could choose to retire, but San Antonio will have to look toward assembling another version of ‘The Big Three’ soon, regardless of what Duncan and Ginobli decide to do.
On that note, ESPN’s Marc Stein has reported the Spurs will “court” point guard Mike Conley this summer. Conley missed the last 20 games of the regular season for the Memphis Grizzlies with an Achilles issue, as well as all four games of a first-round playoff sweep by the Spurs, but he will still be atop the list of any team looking to add a free agent point guard this offseason.
Tony Parker would be pushed into a background role if the Spurs were to sign Conley, but the soon-to-be 34-year-old is coming off a down season (11.9 points and 5.3 assists per game over 27.5 minutes per contest) that saw him play more than 70 games (72) for the first time since 2010-11. Any team with faint interest in trading for Parker, even with a salary cap increase coming, would be further turned off by the two years and nearly $30 million left on his contract
If Duncan and Ginobli both retire, the Spurs would have additional salary cap space to pursue free agents. A possible run at Kevin Durant still seems very unlikely, and Conley fits a clearer need anyway as Parker’s career winds down.
Conley may be able to get a much bigger contract from a bad team, like the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets, but joining the Spurs has to be a top option for him if the team has interest. Duncan, Ginobli and Parker are obviously winding down, but Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Conley would be another fantastic trio to keep the Spurs in the conversation as a title contender for many more years to come.
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