Spurs of the Moment

It seems there is a rumor going around that the Spurs offered up Tony Parker for Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. I don’t buy it, and it seems that most people don’t either.

As it turned out, Spurs officials said there was no offer, but as our Jeff McDonald wrote, there’s no reason to admit to anything.

Such a deal would require other parts to make things equal with salary. And aside from back-to-back losses to the Bobcats and Grizzlies, the Spurs’ remade roster seems to be figuring things out, so making a drastic change would flush that progress.

Other sources say:

First of all, any rumors that come from “league sources” need to be taken with a grain of salt. If true, it is interesting that the Spurs would be willing to part ways with Parker, but I think even he would understand the upside of the Spurs landing Chris Paul.

And one more for good measure:

However it is interesting to hear San Antonio would consider parting with Parker, but if it returned Chris Paul the move is easy to justify. Parker has one more season remaining on his deal worth $13.6 million and could be one of the top free agent guards in the summer of 2011.

So the bottom line here is that while a Chris Paul for Tony Parker trade is an intriguing deal for the Spurs, there doesn’t seem to be much truth behind this story. It doesn’t make much sense that the Spurs would make a deal like this while they are starting to find the chemistry that they need to make a legitimate playoff push. I could see them making this sort of offer in the summer, but not now. Honestly, I don’t see the Spurs making any major changes mid-season, it just isn’t their style. Could they bring in another role player? Sure, but why would they change the engine of the team at the mid-point of the season? They aren’t that desperate. Also, it’s no secret that Parker is dealing with plantar fasciitis, so it’s unlikely that any team is in a hurry to take him on at the expense of their franchise guy. The Hornets could surely get more for Paul than an ailing Tony Parker. They are more likely to move David West than Paul anyway, but I am not so sure that will happen either.