Mike Brown continues to seek advice from Gregg Popovich. Brown served as an assistant coach under Popovich with the Spurs from 2000 until 2003.
Gregg Popovich
“Times get tough at certain times for me,” Brown said. “He’s probably the guy that I reach out to more than anybody else, and he knows me well enough to where if I haven’t reached out to him, I’ll see I got a phone call from him or a text from him. He’s been great for me — and not just for me, but for my entire family.”
Popovich is eager to assist Brown as long as it is not directly related to the matchup between the Lakers and Spurs.
“He still helps me out,” Brown said. “He’s just a real human being. He knows people very well, and that’s probably his strongest strength. He’s a terrific, terrific people manager. He helps me in a lot of ways, not only on the floor but off the floor in my personal life.”
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The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are pursuing free-agent forward Kenyon Martin, according to league sources.
Jack Nicholson, Kenyon Martin
Martin has spoken with executives from each of the clubs and is hoping to make his decision next week.
Martin signed a $2.6 million deal with Xinjiang during the lockout, but left the team in late December in hopes of returning to the NBA.
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Manu Ginobili
Spurs scoring leader Manu Ginobili on Monday suffered a broken bone in his left hand with 2:38 remaining in the Spurs’ game against the Timberwolves at Target Center here.
Ginobili, who is left-handed, appeared to suffer the injury reaching in an attempt to strip the ball from Timberwolves forward Anthony Tolliver as Tolliver went up for a shot near the 3-point line.
Spurs officials reported the injury was a fractured fifth metacarpal.
Inside Hoops
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Richard Jefferson
The San Antonio Spurs will use the amnesty clause on Richard Jefferson once the collective bargaining agreement is ratified, allowing the team to remove the three years and $30.5 million left on Jefferson’s contract from the team’s payroll for salary-cap and tax purposes.
The Spurs are aggressively looking for a small forward, with Caron Butler and Josh Howard high on their wish list.
Jefferson, 31, averaged 11 points and 3.8 rebounds last season.
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Josh Howard has received interest from ‘five to six’ playoff contenders.
Josh Howard
Another source close to Howard confirmed that Boston, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, San Antonio, Denver, New Orleans and New Jersey have all made obligatory calls, with the Wizards, Bulls and Spurs engaging in more frequent conversations.
The Celtics, Bulls and Heat tried to sign Howard last summer before he re-signed with Washington.
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Tim Duncan
What is the worst-case scenario for Spurs fans as it relates to Tim Duncan?
The NBA lockout devours the entire 2011-12 season, and then Duncan retires. Duncan’s contact is set to expire after this season. If the NBA labor impasse winds up cancelling the entire schedule, would the Spurs’ franchise icon simply retire instead of re-upping for another season in 2012-13, when he will be 36?
In May, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich dismissed the notion that Duncan had played his final game in a Spurs uniform. Speaking at a basketball clinic Saturday afternoon in San Antonio, Tony Parker — Duncan’s point guard for the past 10 seasons — echoed those doubts. … “I see myself playing at least two or three more seasons with Timmy.”
FanNation
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DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Blair is in serious talks to play in Russia during the NBA lockout, according to sources.
Blair would be eligible to return to the NBA when a deal is reached.
A deal can be agreed upon within the week.
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Jeremy Pargo opted out of his contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv before an August 1st deadeline.
Jeremy Pargo
The team has signed Thodoros Papaluokas and Jordan Farmar to fill the void left by Pargo.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with listening to other offers in Europe,” Chicago-based agent Mark Bartelstein said of Pargo’s decision to opt out of his Maccabi deal. “This is all about Jeremy’s dream to play in the NBA. That’s what he wants to pursue.”
Sources in Israel say that the San Antonio Spurs expressed interest in Pargo before the lockout began. Sources in the states contend that several other teams are interested in Pargo.
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One player who will be able to peacefully walk away is San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan. Duncan, almost unanimously regarded as the best power forward of all-time, has done just about everything a man can do in the game of basketball.
Tim Duncan
The mileage he has accumulated over the last 14 years have definitely caught up with him. It has been years since he has been healthy at the end of the year.
His knees and ankles require constant attention and treatment at this point. He plans on playing until the wheels fall off, but it is hard to imagine him being around past 2013. There is a chance he could decide this upcoming season is his last.
HoopsWorld
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Tony Parker
The San Antonio Spurs are engaged in discussions about trading point guard Tony Parker to secure a high pick in Thursday’s draft, according to league sources.
The Spurs have talked to teams in the lottery, including the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings, who hold the fifth and seventh picks, respectively. The Kings are determined to get a frontline point guard.
It is unclear who the Spurs would prefer to take if they acquired a high lottery pick.
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