The San Antonio Spurs have a reputation for not playing around. Players are as good as gone if they don’t fit the system and culture of the franchise. You’d think three-time NBA champion Tony Parker would’ve known better when he, en francais, said earlier this summer that the Spurs’s door to chasing a title closed last season. Parker got conspicuously tight lipped following the situation when the NY Daily News revealed the organization’s reaction. The front office didn’t take kindly to Parker’s words and considered banishing him to Sacramento or Portland. The threat made Parker a shook one, relegated to timeout. Parker in Portland, truth be told, doesn’t sound like a definite career death sentence. The Frenchman has the veteran leadership and skills the perennial first round knockouts lack. The Blazers are a talented, yet often-injured squad in need of some direction. Tony could’ve been that spark. But for now, it’s just another shoulda-woulda-coulda. In the meantime, Raymond Felton found his way to Portland, George Hill got sent to Indiana, and Tony’s probably doing a mean cabbage patch at the Alamo offices right about now … Also, Tim Duncan isn’t expected to opt out of his contract and the Spurs don’t plan on offering him a new deal until after the new CBA is agreed upon. No real surprises there; TD remaining loyal, the Spurs remaining smart … On the topic of front office dealings, Denver recently gave assistant coach Adrian Dantley the axe. The Hall of Famer said he got the boot over not rotating chairs with the other coaches. And here we were thinking his seat behind the bench was reserved. The explanation sounds silly considering seat assignments could’ve been ironed out in other ways. There has to be a bigger reason behind him emptying out his desk. His brief, albeit unsuccessful, interim head coaching stint should’ve been bygones at this point. Other than that we’re stumped as to why he’s out of the job. But you know what? It’s Adrian Dantley. If there is ONE GUY in the entire league who would have something like this happen to him, it’s Dantley. It all dates back to his playing days … What’s the weirdest reasoning you’ve ever heard for someone being fired? This has to be up there as far as NBA coaches go … Ya boy David West thinks he’s due for a raise and, maybe, a change in scenery. West announced he’d opt out of his contract to become a free agent. The move is more than bewildering considering the fast-approaching NBA lockout. He’s a pretty good value at his price even though he’s not much of a defensive presence. West’s game resembles Chris Bosh‘s though David’s more adept at creating his own shot. Nevertheless, he still relies heavily on Chris Paul to give him looks. We could see him helping out a few squads with crafty point guards such as Phoenix, Indiana, New Jersey (already hearing rumblings) or Washington. Actually, the off chance of him landing in Phoenix could reinvigorate the club if he stays healthy. How much more money would you give him? Once again, the West is far from Malik Allen status. At the same time, a player of his ilk can easily be overvalued. Hey, isn’t that part of the reason why we’re looking at a lockout? … Would you do this trade? … In some NBA champion news, Dallas’ forgotten spark plug, Roddy Beaubois, will have a second surgery on the foot that caused him to miss the playoffs and will be out two to three months. His chances of ever regaining his starting spot just significantly dropped as well … Dwyane Wade is apparently still pissed about the Finals, this time going off on whomever hacked into his Twitter account, promising fake vengeance. Obviously, he’s joking, but at the end, dude kinda loses it (in a hilarious, WTF way). YOU WANNA GO NIGHT NIGHT? YOU WANNA GO NIGHT NIGHT? … And a tweet from D-League sage Scott Schroeder: Mustafa Shakur, Curtis Jerrells, Marcus Williams, Lionel Chalmers, Ben Hansbrough and Bo McCalebb all signed in Europe recently … We’re out like getting canned over musical chairs.
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