There are more rumors going around the NBA, and Tony Parker is now subject to them. He could join Amare Stoudemire in New York; the Knicks offered Stoudemire a 5-year/$100 million contract and he is expected to sign sometime next week. Last month, there were rumors going around that Parker could end up in New York, but the they quickly died. They have now re-surfaced and the Spurs could trade one of their cornerstones.
Tony Parker was taken 28th overall by San Antonio in the 2001 NBA Draft. He has spent his entire career with San Antonio, and has significantly contributed to the franchise, winning three championships. In 2007, the Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals and swept LeBron James and the Cavaliers, 4-0. Parker was named Finals MVP, becoming the first native from France to win the award. He is a three-time All-Star, which occurred in 2006, 2007, and 2009, respectively. He also has career averages of 16.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game.
One scenario that has been talked about is that New York could acquire Parker for Chandler, back-up Toney Douglas, and a humongous trade exception. San Antonio's George Hill has proven that he can be a quality starter in the NBA and if Parker gets traded, he can become the starter immediately.
The Spurs could use that trade exception to to shop more in the free agent market. They would also have more cap space to play with, in hopes of acquiring another big name free agent. However, the Spurs can't sign anybody with the trade exception money. They would have to dig into their own pockets if they want to sign somebody else. In this year's summer class, there are still many available players that could be acquired through a sign-and-trade deal.
San Antonio is also in a similar predicament. Richard Jefferson opted out of his contract earlier this week and San Antonio has explored the options of a sign-and-trade. They could trade Jefferson to a team with cap space, and therefore, take a large trade exception like the Knicks. Jefferson has showed displeasure with the Spurs, as he is their fourth-best player and coach, Gregg Popovich, has been pretty hard on him.
I don't know if these rumors are true or not. Since the New York market likes to exaggerate on certain things, there could be no validity to the talks. After all, it is a rumor, and until it happens, it's still just a rumor. I doubt Parker will want to leave San Antonio because he's won three championships in his tenure. In the end, I think he'll stay in San Antonio and will probably be there for a while.
