As free agency slows down and NBA rosters begin to take shape, there are still plenty of dates to look forward to which are crucial to the San Antonio Spurs and the rest of their summer plans.
JULY 13TH
With Kyle Anderson heading to the Memphis Grizzlies, and the reported returns of Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes, the Spurs still have a restricted free agent whose fate has yet to be determined.
With Darrun Hilliard, there’s still uncertainty whether he’ll return.
July 13th is the last day for the Spurs front office to rescind qualifying offers from players without their permission, making them unrestricted free agents.
If Hilliard prefers more money or long-term security, he can continue to field offers from other teams or negotiate a new deal with San Antonio.
But for Hilliard there’s no incentive to accepting his qualifying offer because it would lock him into one more year as a two-way contract.
Qualifying offers can still be rescinded at any point, but after July 13th, both parties must agree to doing so.
JULY 16TH
The never ending Kawhi Leonard saga will have a new wrinkle added to it on July 16th.
While there are no reports that the Spurs have even offered Leonard the super max, if they have, July 16th is the first day Leonard can officially sign his super max extension.
He will have until the start of the season to sign his extension if it’s offered.
JULY 26-27TH
If the Leonard situation isn’t resolved before July 26th, the next step is Leonard joining Team USA for their mini camp.
While the mini camp is only a 2-hour practice session over two days, it could go a long way to resolving any tension between Leonard and Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich.
Unfortunately, Leonard does have a history of withdrawing from Team USA, but for other unrelated reasons.
In 2014, Leonard withdrew from Team USA mini camp citing rest after the Spurs won their fifth championship.
In 2016, Leonard withdrew again from the Rio Olympics without much of a reason. It is assumed that Leonard withdrew from the Olympics to tend to his newborn daughter.
AUGUST 1ST
With San Antonio’s bevy of guards, the Spurs could easily make some room on their roster by waiving Brandon Paul’s contract before August 1st.
Per Basketball Insiders, Paul’s contract would pay him almost $1.4 million next season once it becomes fully guaranteed.
Waiving Paul before August 1st would not change San Antonio’s current salary situation as the team is operating over the cap.
BP3 is most likely out. The big question will be Manu. I doubt it though. I doubt Pop and RC would want to rock the boat that much this season by losing Tony, Manu and Kawhi in one off season. Manu probably stays one more year to let the waters calm first.