FanPost

Will Lebron steal DG away and speculations about who goes and who comes back next season

Hi, I’m a PtR lurker from Tokyo writing my first FanPost. I know it’s early but since others have been bantering about this, I thought it would be nice to start a thread dedicated to this topic.

Tony, Tiago, Boris, Patty and Kyle are signed for the following season. Timmy and Manu will be covered in a separate retirement thread. Jeff Ayres and Austin, I have excluded because no one cares. (Okay people care that they are no longer on the team…) Matt Bonner will resign for the minimum as usual. That leaves us with the following guys.

This is my guess, in the order of most likely to stay:

(Please feel free to include your guesses. I hope people don’t criticize mine or others guesses, and just add their own speculations and reasons! We will all have our differences on this... )

Kawhi Leonard: Call me naïve but I just can’t see him leaving. From his statement: "They explained to me their situation and I understand," it seems clear that he was promised a max next summer. I believe PATCO will follow through. I don’t think they have made these kinds of verbal promise to anyone else on this list. His increased role is obviously moving towards committing him as the "face of the franchise" so I am convinced he will be back. Prediction: STAY

Marco Bellinelli: He didn’t come to camp in great shape and didn’t work on his defense even knowing Pop was displeased about that last season, so he is not a must-have. But he can be an offensive weapon off the bench, won’t cost much and the Spurs tend to stick with known commodities. For Belli, having Messina and the foreign legion of the Spurs is hugely comforting. And maybe his English still isn’t very good to understand some of Pop’s most stingy comments. I can’t see him wanting out. Prediction: STAY

Aron Baynes: Unlike Belli, there will be a market for the Big Banger so I placed him lower on my list. He will have other options but I think he is valuable enough to the Spurs for him to compensate him well enough. Even with Tiago back, he has proven that he deserves significant minutes. Prediction: STAY

Danny Green: Ah, Danny is the biggest wild card of this bunch…. The most attention loving Spur is going to soak in every minute of being courted by teams needing a 3 and D guy, and the suitors will be aplenty. We know Lebron is going to do his jive talk but I am just not convinced the Cavs can pay their big threes and give Danny the kind of money he wants. DG is beyond the days of being happy just to be clubbing with the king. The Clippers are another contender who could use Danny’s skills. If they could trade away JJ Reddick, they may be able to afford DG, who would be a vast defensive improvement. But that’s a big if. I can’t see Danny at his age pulling a Melo choosing cash over winning so much to go to a known loser like the Knicks, even if he’s from NY. He’ll be wined and dined, loving every moment. But in the end, DG will sign a short term, two-year contract with the Spurs. He will be looking for the big payday after the new TV deal sets in. Prediction: STAY

Cory Joseph: Nobody wants to be third string. Cojo has proven that he is at least a defensive minded, reliable point guard a la George Hill. For him to find at least a back-up gig, if not a starting gig with a lesser team, should not be too difficult. Unless PATCO convinces him there will be some scheme of managing a Parker-Mills-Joseph rotation to satisfy everyone, we may be bidding adieu to his sweet, crooked smile. Prediction: GO




This is fan-created content on PoundingtheRock.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at Pounding the Rock.