Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

Spurs blog – San Antonio Spurs blog, with news, rumors and more

All-Star weekend Shooting Stars participants announced

Team Detroit will defend its Haier Shooting Stars title against Team Chicago, Team Phoenix and Team San Antonio in this year’s competition, which will be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena.

The Detroit team, which captured the title last year in Las Vegas with a time of 50.5 seconds, consists of All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Shock forward and two-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash, and Shock head coach and four-time NBA All-Star Bill Laimbeer. Cash and Laimbeer were key figures in the Shock capturing the 2003 and 2006 WNBA championships.

Team Chicago, last year’s runner-up, is comprised of Bulls guard and Slidell, La. native Chris Duhon, two-time WNBA All-Star and Sky forward Candice Dupree and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong. Representing Phoenix, the 2005 winner, are All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, two-time WNBA All-Star and 2007 WNBA Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter and Suns great Eddie Johnson. Team San Antonio, which dominated the competition in the 2006 Shooting Stars challenge with a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds, consists of 10-time All-Star and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, four-time WNBA All-Star and Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon and David Robinson, a two-time NBA champion and One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Team Los Angeles won the inaugural competition in 2004.
The Haier Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.

Spurs re-assign Ian Mahinmi to D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have re-assigned rookie Ian Mahinmi to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League).

Mahinmi, a 6-11, 230-pound center was recalled by the Spurs on Jan. 28 but did not see any action in his most recent stint with the Silver and Black.  For the season he has appeared in six games for the Spurs, averaging 3.5 points in 3.8 minutes per contest.  Mahinmi finished with a season-high 12 points and two blocks in 12 minutes of action vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 11.

In 24 games with the Toros, Mahinmi is averaging 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.20 blocks in 30.4 minutes. He currently leads the D-League in field goal percentage, shooting .644 (154-239) from the field.  He set career-highs with 32 points and 17 rebounds in a 90-79 win at Utah on Dec. 21.  Mahinmi tied his points-high with 32 points at Tulsa on Jan. 27.

Mahinmi will be available tonight when the Toros take on the Utah Flash at 7 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center.

Tony Parker left ankle update

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Tony Parker underwent an MRI on his left ankle on Wednesday in San Antonio. The results showed that Parker is suffering from chronic inflammation and confirmed there is no structural damage in his ankle.

Parker received anti-inflammatory shots today which are designed to decrease the swelling in his ankle joint.

No timeline has been set for his return. Parker will not travel with the Spurs on the team’s six-game Eastern road trip which starts on Tuesday in Indiana.

Damon Stoudamire to Spurs is extremely likely

A source tells InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner that it’s “extremely likely” Damon Stoudamire will sign with the San Antonio Spurs.

Several media outlets reported Tuesday and Wednesday that San Antonio was an increasingly probable destination for the point guard, who became a free agent after a buyout agreement led to the Memphis Grizzlies waiving him. A source confirmed that to InsideHoops.com, and said late Wednesday night that Stoudamire to the Spurs is expected to happen unless a sudden surprise offer comes Damon’s way.

Rumor: Spurs chasing Damon Stoudamire hard

The San Antonio Express-News (Mike Monroe) reports: It can’t happen until early Wednesday evening, when Damon Stoudamire clears waivers, but it now appears likely the Spurs will sign the 5-foot-10 point guard who on Monday finalized terms of a buyout of his contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. Stoudamire had expressed interest in signing with both the Spurs and the Boston Celtics, but seems to have settled on San Antonio as his destination of choice.

Spurs recall Ian Mahinmi from D-League

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have recalled Ian Mahinmi from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (D-League).

In 24 games with the Toros, Mahinmi averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.20 blocks in 30.4 minutes. He is leading the D-League in field goal percentage, shooting .644 (154-239) from the field.  He set career-highs with 32 points and 17 rebounds in a 90-79 win at Utah on 12/21.  Mahinmi tied his points-high with 32 points at Tulsa on 1/27.

The 6-11, 230-pound Mahinmi appeared in six games for the Spurs this season, averaging 3.5 points in 3.8 minutes per contest.  He finished with a season-high 12 points and two blocks in 12 minutes of action vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 11. He was assigned to Austin on 11/21.

Originally selected by the Spurs in the first round (28th overall selection) of the 2005 NBA Draft, Mahinmi signed with the Silver and Black on Aug. 23, 2007.  He has spent the past four seasons playing in the French A League.  Last season he played for Pau-Orthez, appearing in 33 French League games, averaging 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game.  He also saw action in 18 EuroLeague games, averaging 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per contest.

Mahinmi is the first player the Spurs have assigned to the Toros since Spurs Sports & Entertainment purchased the Austin franchise on June 28, 2007.  The Spurs join the L.A. Lakers as the second NBA team to own a D-League team (the Lakers own the L.A. Defenders).  Austin is led by first-year head coach Quin Snyder.

Brent Barry out 3-4 weeks

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that a MRI had revealed that Brent Barry suffered a grade II strain of the medial head of his gastrocnemius muscle in his left calf. The injury occurred during the third quarter of the Spurs-Miami Heat game on 1/24. He is expected to miss three-to-four weeks.

Barry had previously torn the plantaris muscle in his left calf on 12/26 against Chicago. He missed nine games due to the injury.

Spurs re-sign Jeremy Richardson

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have re-signed guard/forward Jeremy Richardson. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Richardson has appeared in three games for the Spurs where he averaged 1.7 points in 3:23 minutes. He was originally signed on 1/10.

The 6-7, 195-pound Richardson was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies on 12/20. He did not register a point in three games with Grizzlies and was waived on 1/7.

Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Richardson was with the Fort Wayne Mad Antz in the NBA Development League. He was averaging a league-high 28.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.63 steals in 41.5 minutes in eight games. The 23-year-old spent the 2007 preseason with the Miami Heat before being cut on 10/29.

Subscribe to the InsideHoops blog RSS feed and talk on our basketball forum.

Spurs sign Jeremy Richardson

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed guard/forward Jeremy Richardson.  Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The 6-7, 195-pound Richardson was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies on 12/20.  He did not register a point in three games with Grizzlies and was waived on 1/7.  Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Richardson was with the Fort Wayne Mad Antz in the NBA Development League.  He was averaging a league-high 28.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.63 steals in 41.5 minutes in eight games.  The 23-year-old spent the 2007 preseason with the Miami Heat before being cut on 10/29.

The Delta State alum had two call-ups last season, first with the Atlanta Hawks and then the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 1.3 points in six games. The 23-year-old spent the majority of the 2006-07 season with the Forth Worth Flyers in the D-League where he earned All-NBA Development League Second Team honors.  Richardson averaged 17.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 34 games with Fort Worth.