Tony Parker Agrees To Multiyear Extension
Kawhi Leonard‘s contract extension seemed like the next big thing on the San Antonio Spurs’ to-do list, but the team took care of one of their other centerpieces Friday instead.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Spurs have agreed to a three-year, $43.3 million deal with Tony Parker, who is owed $12.5 million next season. The contract extension will not kick in until 2015-16 and keep the former NBA Finals MVP with the Spurs through the 2017-18 season.
Parker, 32, led the Spurs in scoring, assists and minutes per game last season, averaging 16.7 points and 5.7 assists in 29.4 minutes per game. He also put up 17.4 points and 4.8 assists per game in the postseason en route to his fourth championship in San Antonio. The deal is a huge bargain for the Spurs, with another one of their players opting for loyalty and championships over money once again.
By the time the league arrives at its new TV deal, Parker will be locked into an extension that will seem like pennies on the dollar.
— Matthew Tynan (@Matthew_Tynan) August 1, 2014
The Spurs have had quite the busy offseason taking care of their own. Tim Duncan exercised a $10.3 million player option and opted in for the final year of his contract, keeping him in the black and silver for at least one more season. The Spurs re-signed Boris Diaw to a three-year, $22 million deal and kept Patrick Mills – who might have drawn bigger offers on the open market if not for the shoulder injury that will sideline him for half the season – for a fair price of $12 million over three years.
The Spurs also re-signed Matt Bonner and drafted Kyle Anderson, who many see as a successor to Diaw and a perfect fit for this versatile (albeit unathletic) San Antonio team. Finally, San Antonio also added free agent point guard Bryce Cotton to help make up for Mills’ absence for most of the season next year. The Spurs even took care of their coaching staff, extending Gregg Popovich and adding European coaching legend Ettore Messina to their staff.
With pretty much everyone taking care of for the 2014-15 season, the Spurs’ attention will shift to 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard is undoubtedly the future of Spurs basketball when Duncan and Manu Ginobili do finally decide to call it quits. The Spurs have until Oct. 31 to agree to a rookie extension with their 23-year-old budding star and given the way they’ve kept the band together this summer, it shouldn’t be long before Leonard is taken care of as well.