According to several reports, including one filed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the San Antonio Spurs chose to move on today after giving free agent Marcus Morris several days to reconsider reneging on his verbal commitment to the Spurs for a two-year contract for the full mid-level exception.
They have reportedly reached a deal with 6-10 forward Trey Lyles on a two-year deal. Terms of that deal have not been announced.
Lyles is finalizing terms on a two-year deal with Spurs, league source tells ESPN. https://t.co/ItulNCc1dn
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 11, 2019
Lyles, who is also represented by Klutch Sports Group, who represents Morris, became an unrestricted free agent after the Nuggets rescinded his qualifying offer after trading for Jerami Grant.
The 23-year-old Lyles averaged 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Nuggets last season. He played sparingly in the first round playoff series against the Spurs, but he had his moments during the season, particularly when the Nuggets needed him to step in as they dealt with injury issues all season.
He had two stretches in February and March where he was able to show off a nice shooting touch and some range, but he’s not a big rebounder for his size.
Lyles attended the University of Kentucky and was picked with the 12th overall selection of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. While he may not be at the same level Morris was at, he is young and if he continues to develop, he can grow with the Spurs youth of Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Bryn Forbes, Jakob Poeltl and their newest selection of rookies.
