UPDATED 3:30 p.m. ET, July 6: Tony Parker has settled on his next destination. He's headed to Charlotte for two years.
Tony Parker has agreed to sign with Charlotte, league sources tell Yahoo.
Spurs franchise icon Tony Parker joins his former assistant coach James Borrego with the Hornets. https://t.co/hYDmWpVHF6
See original story below.
Longtime San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is currently an unrestricted free agent. Parker, 36, earned $15.4 million last season, but he's due for a pay cut. Though Parker is no longer a dominant floor general, several teams are reportedly interested in acquiring the veteran.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks recently discussed Parker's options on The Woj Pod. It seems the three biggest contenders to land the French guard are San Antonio, Charlotte, and Denver.
Parker's gonna be an interesting one because they’re trying to figure out in San Antonio what they're doing. Can he sit around and wait for that? There is some money — Charlotte's got some interest in him, Denver might have a little interest. Now Denver, they're looking for a backup point guard so that might be a veteran — minimum guy, but Charlotte has an exception. They've got some money, and James Borrego, the new Charlotte coach, coached him with the Spurs. And there's others. There's not a team in the league who wouldn't love to have Tony as a backup.
Parker is probably overqualified for a backup point guard role, but it's tough to imagine him starting anywhere in the league. San Antonio is clearly grooming Dejounte Murray as its next floor general, so while the Spurs' fans would love to hold onto the six-time All-Star, his price tag will have to align with his valuation in R.C. Buford's eyes.
It's conceivable that Parker could sign for the mid-level exception with a team that's a contender, but it seems likelier that he'll accept more money and a leadership role on an up-and-coming young team—like Denver. Last season, parker played 19.5 minutes per game and averaged 7.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game. He shot only 27 percent from downtown.
