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加入日期: 2008-01-18
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Spurs plan to make offer for Maggette
By Jeff McDonald and Mike Monroe
Two seasons after the Spurs unsuccessfully tried to trade for Corey Maggette, they appear to be trying to recruit him.
According to two NBA sources, one from each conference, the Spurs are preparing to make an offer to Maggette, who became an unrestricted free agent Tuesday when he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Details are not known, but the Spurs are believed to be poised to offer the 28-year-old guard-forward their full mid-level exception worth about $5.8 million for the first year, the sources say.
Maggette, who gave up $7 million to nullify his Clippers’ contract, would seem to satisfy the Spurs’ annual search for a young, athletic scorer on the wing. A 6-foot-6 slasher, Maggette has averaged 16.1 points during a nine-year NBA career, including 22.1 per game last season.
Spurs general manger R.C. Buford declined to comment on negotiations with any particular free agent.
News of Maggette’s potential courtship came hours after another swingman, Brent Barry, informed the Spurs he had decided to opt out of his contract, turning down the veteran minimum of $1.262 million to become an unrestricted free agent for the second time in six months.
In an odd bit of coincidence, Barry was part of a failed deal with the Clippers in January 2007 that would have brought Maggette to San Antonio. Another coincidence: Barry and Maggette share the same agent, Arn Tellem.
Reached late Tuesday night, Barry said he hadn’t heard anything of an impending deal between the Spurs and Maggette. He was more concerned with mapping his own future.
“I’ve got one year at the veteran minimum,” he said. “I’ve talked with R.C. about maybe doing more, and I am talking to some other teams, too. I’m entitled to do that.”
It is presumed Barry’s latest list of could-be suitors will look a lot like the one he mulled in February, after a whirlwind flurry of transactions saw him traded to Seattle and then waived in the span of a few hours.
Barry eventually wound up re-signing with the Spurs then, shunning inquiries from Houston, Phoenix, Dallas and Boston. There is a chance he could end up with the Spurs again — although that could hinge on what happens with Maggette, because the two essentially play the same position.
This time around, the Rockets have reportedly offered the 36-year-old guard their $1.9 million biannual exception.
Jacque Vaughn, the only other Spurs player who had the right to opt out of his contract this summer, has decided to return to San Antonio for the final year of his deal. Vaughn, a backup point guard who could see his minutes challenged by first-round pick George Hill, is scheduled to earn the veteran minimum next season.
Under NBA rules, teams cannot sign free agents until July 9. Between now and then, the Spurs could have some competition for Maggette’s services.
The Orlando Sentinel, citing an unidentified friend of Maggette’s, reported earlier this week that the guard was encouraging the Magic to join the bidding for him.
Maggette played for the Magic during his rookie season of 1999-2000, and his parents still live in Central Florida. Like the Spurs, Orlando can offer Maggette its mid-level exception as a starting point.
Barry’s latest turn on the free-agent Tilt-A-Whirl comes after one of the most head-spinning seasons of his professional career.
Barry averaged 7.3 points and shot a team-best 43-percent from beyond the 3-point arc in his first 29 games last season.
A calf injury in December all but derailed his promising campaign. He was still shelved in February, when the Spurs dealt him and Francisco Elson to Seattle.
The Sonics quickly cut Barry, kicking off a month-long courtship that eventually ended with Barry right back where he started. Still recovering from the calf injury, Barry played sparingly for the Spurs until the posteason.
He was most active during the Spurs’ Western Conference Finals ouster against the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored a season-high 23 points in the Spurs’ Game 4 loss, which ended in a controversial non-foul call that would have sent Barry to the foul line with a chance to tie the game.
来源:【MYSA】
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