San Antonio Spurs: Should They Reacquire Gary Neal?

By Andrew Snyder | Feb 17, 2015

Jun 13, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Gary Neal (14) is defended by Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) during the first quarter of game four of the 2013 NBA Finals at the AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports /

If the San Antonio Spurs have a trade brewing, the public will likely be the last to know. Their internal dealings are kept quiet whenever possible, so all we can do is speculate about what they might be considering.

At this point, I’d assume they would stay quiet on the trade front. Their current roster won them the 2013-14 NBA Finals; so parting with any of the key pieces from that team seems unlikely. However, one often-overlooked part of trade season is players becoming available after getting bought out of their contacts by their current team.

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This is an avenue the Spurs could choose to pursue.

Amar’e Stoudemire is the hot name on the market, after being bought out by the Knicks on Sunday night. However, the Spurs are not reported to be interested. One player they could be interested in, and this is pure speculation on my part, is former Spur Gary Neal.

Neal has spent most of this season in Charlotte, but was recently traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Mo Williams and Troy Daniels. There have been rumors going around that Neal has a chance of being bought out by Minnesota.

The Hawks are reportedly interested in acquiring Neal, but is a reunion with the team that gave him his first NBA opportunity a better option for the struggling sharpshooter?

Charlotte Hornets fans will tell you that this season has been anything but a success for Neal. After scoring 11.2 points per game, and shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range in 22 games with Charlotte last season, his numbers have dipped to 9.6 points per game on 35.9 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from outside.

According to NBA.com, Neal is shooting pull-jumpers 55.3 percent of the time but converting on only 37.3 percent of those attempts. He is also only shooting 38.6 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts, while taking those types of shots only 20.9 percent of the time.

Last season, he shot 41.3 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts while taking them nearly 10 percent more frequently, and shooting nearly 8 percent fewer pull-up jumpers.

It’s not entirely his fault. Charlotte employs the NBA’s 29th ranked offense (100.2 offensive rating), and recently lost their best player, Kemba Walker, for up to six weeks. Neal was being asked to play a role that he is not really suited for.

Neal is at his best as a spot-up shooter. In Charlotte, he was tasked with creating off the dribble, which he is capable of, but only in very small doses. This is the same issue that caused the problems in Milwaukee at the beginning of last season that got him shipped off to Charlotte in the first place.

The simple truth is Neal needs to focus on getting more catch-and-shoot opportunities rather than shooting off the dribble. He is much more efficient when he plays that way.

When in the right role, Neal has proven to be an effective gunner off the bench. He showed that last season with the Hornets and during his three-season stay with the Spurs.

During those three seasons, he shot 41.9 percent and 35.5 percent from deep in just over 21 minutes per game. Neal would enter the game, knock down a few three-pointers, and then sit down.

It was the perfect role for him, and a move back to San Antonio and a shift back to a more suitable role could reignite the spark in his game that was extinguished by his disastrous half-season in Charlotte.

Even after this poor stretch, Neal is still a career 41.1 percent three-point shooter from the corner. The addition of Neal could give the Spurs additional spacing, and serve as insurance in case Patty Mills, Manu Ginobili, or Marco Belinelli goes down with an injury.

Of course, all this speculation is useless until the Timberwolves and Neal move towards a buy-out.

There has also been no indication that San Antonio would entertain the idea of bringing Neal back to town. I can’t think of a more perfect revitalization project than a player who thrived with the Spurs before leaving the organization and losing his way.

This move could save Gary Neal’s career and add another weapon to San Antonio’s arsenal for their championship run.

Next: Does Arron Afflalo Make Sense for the Spurs?

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