Last Sunday the San Antonio Spurs sent a qualifying offer to guard Gary Neal to make him a restricted free agent. After four days into free agency and three verbal commitments from Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili, and Marco Belinelli, one would wonder if the Spurs are still planning to re-sign Neal?
According to ESPN though, Neal may have played his last game as a Spur in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Strong indications today that NBA Finals hero Gary Neal will NOT be back with San Antonio. Which is why Spurs moved so fast on Belinelli
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 4, 2013
Neal is said to be getting interest in restricted free agency at a price point that San Antonio, to this stage, has been unwilling to match
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 4, 2013
The qualifying offer the Spurs sent to Neal was $1.1 million, meaning if any team signed Neal to a contract after July 10, the Spurs would have three days to match the offer.
With Stein writing the offers Neal is receiving may be out of the Spurs’ price range for him, one has to wonder if Neal might be getting a deal larger than Belinelli’s (2 years, $6 million) out on the market right now.
Another indication Neal’s time in San Antonio may be over is because of the Belinelli signing. With Belinelli essentially taking Neal’s spot, the Spurs are bringing back their entire guard rotation only swapping Neal with Belinelli. If Neal did re-sign, then the Spurs would have eight guards on their lineup.
As it looks like Neal may be gone, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports did say that the Spurs are still interested in bringing Neal back. However looking at the situation from both a financial and roster standpoint, one would assume Neal’s tenure in San Antonio is close to being over.
What do you think Spurs fans? With Belinelli on board and the guard positions stacked, should the team still hang on to Neal or let him walk?