Tony Parker trade rumors are not making the San Antonio Spurs point guard happy. Trade rumors involving Tony Parker to the New York Knicks have created a stir in San Antonio and have forced their star point guard to make several public statements about his intentions to stay in San Antonio. The rumor was perpetuated by the New York Daily News, which reported on Wednesday that Parker would welcome a trade to the New York Knicks. A couple of problems exist there, primarily the thought that the Knicks have anything on their roster that San Antonio would even be interested in acquiring. The Knicks will only have four players under contract when the 2010 NBA Playoffs come to an end.
With the San Antonio Spurs getting swept out of the 2010 NBA Playoffs and Tony Parker primed to become a free agent at the end of next season, it made the situation ripe for rumors. When you are talking about an All-Star point guard, it’s very easy to see why other NBA teams would jump at the opportunity to trade for Parker. There has really been no indication that Parker is available in a trade now or in the future, but the Spurs didn’t do a good job of hiding the fact that they really like the young George Hill that they have on the roster. Hill could be a starting point guard for someone, and with two really good points guards on the same roster, it led to a lot of conjecture not only as the Spurs were taking on the Suns, but as soon as they lost their last game.
Shouldn’t it be telling that Tony Parker was back in the starting line-up for the Spurs in their final playoff game and that he led them in scoring with 22 points? It seems that his injury this season that forced him to come off the bench at the end of the season made people forget how much Tony Parker means to this team. Parker will be a free agent at the end of next season, but he can still make more money if he re-signs with the Spurs. The secondary thought, is that there doesn’t seem to be a good reason why he would want to go further towards the East Coast. His wife works on the West Coast, and getting traded in that direction would make it easier on their lives. Getting traded to the New York Knicks might be fun in concept, but this isn’t a trade that works for either San Antonio or Tony Parker.
Tony Parker still has a few good years in front of him, and though he has been in the playoffs quite often in his career, people forget that he is only 27 years old. He could potentially play 10 more years in the NBA, and there is no reason he couldn’t become the focal point of the Spurs offense in the coming seasons. If the Spurs are content to go with Hill in the coming years, Parker could definitely turn into a great trade asset in this off-season. The only thing there is that San Antonio isn’t going to give him away, and the New York Knicks already traded away their 2010 NBA Draft first round choice. They have no assets left to trade, and those rumors just need to be put down for good. Would he be a great player in New York? Sure, but it just isn’t going to happen this season.
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