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Rose: Duncan Stayed at Last Minute in 2000
He (Spurs forward Tim Duncan) ultimately decided that he couldn’t bring himself to leave what he was building in the Alamo City, or (former Spurs teammate David) Robinson, or the rabid fans who had transformed the city’s longstanding “Go, Spurs, Go” chorus into “Stay, Tim, Stay.” He ultimately decided he couldn’t leave Pop (Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich) and the steely coach/player bond they had so quickly formed … and Duncan never seriously considered playing anywhere else again. For the rest of his career at contract time, Duncan has almost immediately signed new deals that put him in position for the rare privilege of playing for the same coach his entire career.
“I would say he came pretty close [to leaving],” former Spurs forward (Malik) Rose said. “Pop was pretty much walking on eggshells. He was upset with our agent, Lon Babby, because he thought [Babby] was putting something together to send Tim and Grant to Orlando [together]. I heard he was going, and then it changed at the last minute and he was staying.”
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dwyane Wade approached coach Tyronn Lue over the weekend and requested to come off the bench for the defending Eastern Conference champions, returning JR Smith to the starting shooting guard role he occupied for most of the past three seasons.
“I just decided, earlier than later, just to get to the unit where I’d be more comfortable in and can probably be better with this team in that lineup,” Wade said after practice Monday. “Why wait? Three games in, why wait? Wanted to get in there with those guys.”
Source: Dave McMenamin of ESPN
Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe has likely played his final game for the team, general manager Ryan McDonough told reporters Monday.
McDonough said he, interim coach Jay Triano and Bledsoe met Monday morning and that Bledsoe was sent home at the end of the discussion. He will not play in Monday’s home game against the Sacramento Kings. Bledsoe “won’t be with us going forward,” McDonough said.
Source: Chris Haynes of ESPN
Four games into his NBA career, Ben Simmons already has a triple-double to his credit.
And with some help from Joel Embiid, he finally led the Philadelphia 76ers to a victory. Simmons had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and Embiid scored 30 points to lift the 76ers to a 97-86 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Source: The Associated Press on ESPN
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