Five-time NBA champion Tim Duncan is strongly leaning toward retirement and ending what is sure to be a Hall of Fame career.
And, in typically efficient San Antonio fashion, the Spurs already have a replacement lined up in 7-footer Pau Gasol.
Both items were first reported by the Vertical.
Duncan had exercised his $5.6 million player option for next season. But the aging big man has struggled with knee woes and was clearly a shell of his former self in San Antonio’s Western Conference semifinals loss to Oklahoma City.
He averaged 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds in his illustrious career, all of which has been spent in San Antonio. But the 40-year-old Duncan averaged just 8.6 points and 7.3 boards in 25.2 minutes last season, and only 5.9 points and 4.8 boards during the postseason.
Meanwhile, it was a classic masterstroke by the Spurs to replace the 15-time All-Star with Gasol, who made his sixth All-Star Game this season. San Antonio reached agreement with Gasol on a two-year, $30 million-plus deal that can be officially signed when the league’s free-agent signing moratorium ends on Thursday.
The Spurs could have anywhere from $10-$16 million in cap space, depending on Duncan’s decision. They’re reportedly working on dealing versatile forward Boris Diaw to complete the Gasol move.
Gasol — who was out of the country practicing with the Spanish national team — also had been being pursued by Portland and Toronto. The Spaniard spurning Portland could make it easier for the Blazers to retain Nets target Allen Crabbe.