Tony Parker Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G
Born: 05/17/82
Height: 6-2 / 1.88
Weight:177 lbs. / 80.3 kg.
Salary: $5,000,000
Born: 05/17/82
Height: 6-2 / 1.88
Weight:177 lbs. / 80.3 kg.
Salary: $5,000,000
Facing three games in four days, coach James Borrego elected to have a team meeting to review video of Wednesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, rather than running around the practice gym. But it was the unscheduled meeting after that meeting that was perhaps the most constructive. Forward Nic Batum shared with the Observer, following Friday’s 120-88 blowout of the Magic, that he, Kemba Walker and Tony Parker stuck around after the formal team meeting to discuss nuance with Borrego. Those three players are most responsible for the Hornets’ offense running smoothly.
While it was mostly strategic, it was also about taking responsibility, Batum said, as in Parker holding Walker and Batum accountable for setting a tone. Borrego said post-game Wednesday that the starters weren’t prepared physically or mentally. “That was a good meeting!” Batum said. “Kemba and I talked and then T.P. talked to us. T.P. told Kemba and me, ‘You have to show the way!’”
Rod Boone: Borrego said he didn’t expect to play Tony Parker as many minutes as he did in opener. “Most nights hopefully we won’t have to go that direction,” he said.
The six-time NBA All-Star — whose African-American father played professional basketball in Europe, mainly in France — intended to retire in San Antonio, but the stars were not aligned for that storybook ending. In an interview with AFP, he says the deal was simply not a good fit. “In terms of my role on the team, Coach Popovich and I did not have the same vision,” said Parker, clad in a French national team t-shirt after a practice session.
And while his relationship with Popovich — who selected him with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft — is nearly that of a father and son, Parker says he understood it was time to move on, without bitterness. “I spent so many good years in San Antonio — I wanted to leave on good terms,” Parker explains. “You have to understand how Pop operates. He wants to win a title every year. The NBA is a league of young players. He saw my role differently. I understand his thinking.”
