Tag: devonte’ graham

Report: Spurs send Devonte’ Graham to Charlotte Hornets

The San Antonio Spurs have sent Devonte’ Graham to the Charlotte Hornets, where he will be waived and become an unrestricted free agent.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, The San Antonio Spurs are sending Devonte’ Graham and a second-round draft pick to the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte is expected to waive the veteran guard, allowing him to hit unrestricted free agency in the coming days.

Graham joined the Spurs in 2023 as part of a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. He played in 23 regular season games throughout 2023-24, averaging 5 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game. Graham rose to prominence with the Hornets between 2018 and 2021. He finished in the top-five of Most Improved Player voting in the 2019-20 season. However, since leaving Charlotte, Graham has struggled to build on the strong start to his career.

San Antonio will be clearing $12.6 million in cap space if they don’t take anyone back in the deal with Charlotte, thus providing them additional flexibility moving forward.

 

San Antonio recently signed Chris Paul to a one-year $ 11 million deal. They also drafted UCONN guard Stephon Castle with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. As such, Graham’s opportunities for the upcoming season projected to be significantly limited, now he will have the chance to find a new team and attempt to resurrect his career after a difficult few years.

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Will the San Antonio Spurs waive veteran point guard Devonte Graham?

It may not have happened yet, but a compelling case exists.

Will the San Antonio Spurs waive veteran point guard Devonte’ Graham for cap savings? At least one NBA analyst believes that the Spurs will cut the floor general to save some cash and potentially pave the way for more impactful players to be traded to the Spurs this season.

That analyst would be Bleacher Report league analyst Greg Swartz, who thinks that Graham’s days as a Spurs are likely numbered this offseason. In a recent article looking at the potential free agency moves of all of the teams in the league, Swartz notes that San Antonio “can open up another $9.8 million by waiving … Graham.”

“Only $2.9 million of his $12.7 million contract is guaranteed for the 2024-25 season,” he adds. “The 29-year-old averaged just 5.0 points and 2.1 assists on 35.2%  shooting in his 13.6 minutes this past year and isn’t part of the Spurs’ future.”

“Keeping Graham would give San Antonio some money to match salaries with in potential trades, yet this should be a desirable landing spot in free agency for players who want to join a generational prospect like Victor Wembanyama,” adds the B/R expert.

“San Antonio will waive Graham, eat his $2.9 million, and collect the nearly $10 million in cap space instead.”

It may not have happened yet, but Swartz makes a compelling case — and being able to absorb a contract from a second apron team looking to shed salary could be a savvy way to use that space, whether for draft assets or upside.

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San Antonio Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham on joining Basketball Without Borders

They also got into whether Graham picked up a foreign language in the process, and how his coaching skills match up with Gregg Popovich’s.

The NBA has truly grown into a global game, and with it, so has the talent populating its 30 teams in two countries. But since the early years of the league when the Association contracted, the sport and the league have since both seen great growth.

Much of that growth has been spurred by the league’s “Basketball Without Borders” program, and veteran San Antonio Spurs floor general Devonte’ Graham has been an enthusiastic supporter of that program since being named a coach for the 2024 events. The host of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast, Jeff Garcia, recently sat down with Graham on a recent episode to talk about his participation in the overseas basketball advocacy program.

They also got into whether Graham picked up a foreign language in the process, and how he thinks his coaching skills match up with Gregg Popovich’s.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say!

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Victor Wembanyama shows love to Devonte’ Graham after Spurs win

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Victor Wembanyama showed love to Devonte’ Graham.

The San Antonio Spurs traveled East to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. They were without Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan, but they still showed out. In fact, the Spurs, who sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, pulled out a win over the Pelicans, who are in a race for the playoffs.

Star rookie Victor Wembanyama led the way with a near-triple-double as he put up 17 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists. However, the Spurs were only able to earn a victory because of the high-level play of some of their reserve guys, who stepped up with others injured.

After the game, Wembanyama had some high praise for Devonte’ Graham. (H/t Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News)

“We can only salute the team effort and everyone knew to step up, some guys who usually don’t have minutes,” Wembanyama said. “And Devonte’ had one of our biggest roles tonight. Everything worked out. We fit together tonight as a team.”

Graham finished the night with 20 points, two rebounds, five assists, and three steals while shooting 6-of-15 from the field and 4-of-12 from deep.

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Gregg Popovich praises 2 Spurs bench players after win over Pelicans

Head coach Gregg Popovich showed love to two San Antonio Spurs bench guys after their win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The San Antonio Spurs are gaining valuable experience down the stretch of this season. Despite sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference for most of the year, they look like a legitimately competitive team. On Friday night, they picked up a win over a New Orleans Pelicans squad that is fighting for playoff positioning.

Perhaps most impressive about the Spurs’ recent competitiveness is who is on the court for them. Against the Pelicans, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Keldon Johnson were all out. That’s going to be the case for most games for the rest of the year. However, the Spurs had some bench guys step up in a big way.

After the game, head coach Gregg Popovich showed love to Devonte’ Graham and Sandro Mamukelashvili. (H/t Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News)

“Devonte’ was superb, Sandro was superb,” Popovich said.

Graham finished the game with 20 points, two rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Meanwhile, Mamukelashvili had 15 points, five rebounds, and two assists.

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Devonte’ Graham praises Victor Wembanyama in Spurs win over Pelicans

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Devonte’ Graham praised Victor Wembanyama.

The San Antonio Spurs have been sneakily competitive for the past few weeks, keeping up with some of the best teams in the league. Just one game after their tightly-contested performance against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, they took down the New Orleans Pelicans, who are fighting for a playoff spot in the West.

Leading the charge for San Antonio has been rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, who already looks like one of the best players in the NBA. Against the Pelicans, Wembanyama took on the role of facilitator, dishing out nine assists and leading the Spurs in that category. He proved that he can do it all.

After the game, Devonte’ Graham showed love to his teammate. (H/t ESPN)

“He can get going; everybody knows that,” Graham said. “He just plays the game right, just doing what he does, making plays, being aggressive and making the right reads.”

Graham finished the game with 20 points, two rebounds, five assists, and three steals while shooting 6-of-15 from the field and 4-of-12 from behind the three-point line.

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Devonte’ Graham said Spurs knew Warriors run was inevitable

Despite their halftime lead, Devonte’ Graham revealed that the San Antonio Spurs knew the Golden State Warriors would make a run.

For the past decade, the Golden State Warriors have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They’ve battled with the San Antonio Spurs and other teams, and even though they aren’t at the same peak they once were, the tendencies remain the same. They still have Stephen Curry, they still have Steve Kerr, and they still fight hard every game.

On Sunday night, the Spurs and Warriors battled it out, but instead of Kawhi Leonard vs. Curry, it was Victor Wembanyama vs. Curry. Heading into the half, the Spurs were up by eight points. They had just held the Warriors to 52 points in the first half. But they knew the game was far from over.

After the game, Devonte’ Graham revealed as much.(H/t Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News)

“We talked about it at halftime,” Graham said. “You know they are going to make a run. They shoot the ball way too well not to make a run.”

And make a run they did. The Warriors climbed all the way back to earn a 117-113 win on the back of a 37-21 third-quarter margin over the Spurs.

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Devonte’ Graham discusses March Madness experience in San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham recently discussed his run with Kansas in March Madness.

Every year, March Madness takes over the basketball world for a month. For one month out of the year, college basketball takes center stage as the NBA sits back and gets ready for the playoffs. And though the star of the show, Victor Wembanyama, never got the chance to experience it, the San Antonio Spurs have plenty of players who played in the tournament of all tournaments.

One of those guys is veteran guard Devonte’ Graham, who played for the Kansas Jayhawks for four years from 2014 to 2018. Not only that, but Graham even got a chance to play in San Antonio during March Madness in 2018.

Graham recently reflected on his experience. (H/t Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News)

“Besides getting whooped by Villanova, I had a great time,” Graham said. “My family was here. It was my first time going to the River Walk. The whole Final Four experience, the week heading into it, all the festivities, it was great.”

Five years prior to his time with the Spurs, Graham got familiar with San Antonio. Unfortunately, as he mentioned, Kansas lost in the Final Four to Villanova.

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Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham discusses trade rumors ahead of deadline

San Antonio Spurs veteran Devonte’ Graham recently spoke about dealing with trade rumors this time of year.

It seems weird to discuss potential trade options for the San Antonio Spurs, as they are currently the worst team in the Western Conference, and it seems as though there’s no realistic pathway for them to improve that stature prior to the season’s end. But not every trade is made in the hopes of improving a roster.

The Spurs could look to add talent around Victor Wembanyama to help them in the future, but on top of that, they could look to sell off veteran players in exchange for picks and youngsters. And while it’s easy to look at players like trade chips and nothing more, there are real-world implications for these guys.

Spurs veteran Devonte’ Graham recently discussed trade rumors and how he handles them during this time of the year.

“I don’t pay attention to it,” Graham said via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “I don’t look at the Tweets, at all. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. I just don’t try to stress myself out thinking about it.”

Graham hasn’t been in the Spurs’ rotation much this season, but head coach Gregg Popovich still had some very nice things to say about the 28-year-old guard.

“We’ve had to compliment him a couple of times, just because we understand he’s got to be extremely frustrated not playing,” Popovich said. “But he practices hard. He’s up off the bench with his teammates. He’s very respected.”

Whether Graham gets traded or not is yet to be seen, but he’s just trying to keep his mind in San Antonio.

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Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham suspended for impaired driving

Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham has been suspended two games following a guilty plea stemming from a 2022 impaired driving incident.

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The NBA announced Wednesday San Antonio Spurs point guard Devonte’ Graham has been suspended for two games without pay. Graham pleaded guilty in June to an impaired driving charge in North Carolina in 2022 as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. He will serve his suspension as soon as the regular season begins and he is available to play.

Graham pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge earlier this summer, according to TMZ. In July 2022, Graham was charged with speeding while intoxicated in his home town of Raleigh, North Carolina. TMZ reported these charges will be dropped as part of a guilty plea deal.

The Spurs traded for Graham in February of last year, and the 28-year-old guard will be an important playmaker for San Antonio next season. With two years and roughly $24 million remaining on his salary, Graham also represents an intriguing trade chip for the Spurs. Graham averaged 13.0 points and 4.0 assists per game in 28 appearances for San Antonio last season.