Tag: Cory Joseph

No Duncan, No Parker: Yup, it’s preseason

For Spurs players who spent the better part of six months locked out by the NBA, not to mention fans suffering through basketball withdrawal, tonight’s preseason opener in Houston is sure to feel like more than a run-of-the-mill exhibition.

For coach Gregg Popovich, however, it’s just another preseason game. So much so that Tim Duncan and Tony Parker aren’t even on the trip.

The Spurs’ charter plane left San Antonio on Friday afternoon leaving the All-Star twosome behind because, hey, it’s preseason and Popovich has other plans.

“It will be a practice, where we work on things we want to get across and try to get some guys minutes,” Popovich said. “There are a couple of evaluation things to do, but hopefully another step in getting them ready to play a game.”

Duncan and Parker, the two longest-tenured members of the Spurs’ roster, apparently don’t require much evaluation. We can also assume that Manu Ginobili will play Saturday, but only while encased in bubble wrap.

One player who could see some action with Parker back home is rookie Cory Joseph.

The former Texas standout, selected 29th in the June draft, has missed every training camp practice so far while clearing up immigration red tape in his native Canada.

Work visa in hand, Joseph joined the team in Houston on Friday afternoon and is expected to be uniform Saturday night at the Toyota Center.

Ford excited for his Texas return

Houston-area native and former Texas player T.J. Ford couldn’t be happier about his return to the area of his college success.

Ford said he had other opportunities, but was more excited about the opportunity to have a homecoming of sorts by joining the Spurs.

“In the eight years of my career I’ve been in the midwest, the east coast … far from home,” said Ford, who attended Sugarland Willowridge before spending two seasons with the Longhorns. “I have a lot of family and friends between Houston and Austin, so there’s a lot of opportunity for them to come see me play. Just to feel the love and the atmosphere, it feels good.”

Those good feelings and the opportunity for playing time with the Spurs were the biggest reasons he chose San Antonio.

“I think they wanted me. That was the big thing for me,” Ford said. “ I just felt it was the right fit from the time I got that first phone call. I didn’t think about any other team.

“I had other offers, but I don’t think I could have gotten a better situation than being in San Antonio.”

And the opportunity for playing time in place of the traded George Hill also had to factor into the decision.

The Spurs have had only one former Longhorn on their roster in their previous history. Johnny Moore played all but one game in his 520-game NBA career with the Spurs from 1980-90.

The team will have two former UT players this year in Ford and rookie guard Cory Joseph, the team’s first-round draft pick this season.

Spurs notebook: Players arrive in ship shape

For the first time in nearly six months, Spurs forward Matt Bonner stood before a bank of television cameras Tuesday wearing sweat-stained workout gear, not a sport coat.

A leading voice for the National Basketball Players Association during the NBA lockout, Bonner was happy to be back inside the Spurs’ practice facility, even if it meant passing a grueling fitness test administered by new strength and conditioning coach Matt Herring.

“It was not tougher than running up the mountains in New Hampshire,” said Bonner, referring to his usual lockout workout. “But it was not easy, regardless.”

By lunchtime Tuesday, 10 Spurs players had graced the door of the practice gym: Bonner, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Gary Neal, Richard Jefferson, James Anderson, Da’Sean Butler, Danny Green and rookies Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph.

Manu Ginobili was expected to arrive late Tuesday, with DeJuan Blair also en route.

Until the league’s new collective bargaining agreement is ratified, coaches are not allowed to supervise on-court workouts. Though facilities across the league have been unlocked since Thursday, players’ activities have been limited to physical exams, conditioning work and light shooting drills.

“Everybody seems in pretty good shape,” said Bonner, who was headed to New York for a final round of collective bargaining meetings this afternoon. “The person I worried about most was myself. I passed the fitness test this morning, so I was pretty excited.”

One player who arrived in peak physical condition was Parker. The 29-year-old point guard began his offseason leading the French national team to its first Olympic berth since 2000. Since early October, Parker had been playing with ASVEL Villeurbanne, the French League team he co-owns.

He played his final game with ASVEL last week.

“I’m just happy to be home and happy to be back to my normal life,” Parker said. “It was fun in France, but definitely better here.”

FREE AGENTS IN TOWN: Free-agent small forward Caron Butler made his visit to Spurs headquarters Tuesday as scheduled, his agent, Raymond Brothers confirmed via text message.

Butler, 31, has averaged 16.6 points in a nine-season career. He had last season cut short in Dallas after tearing his right patella tendon in a game on New Year’s Day.

Also scheduled for a Tuesday visit to San Antonio was Washington swingman Josh Howard, who has averaged 15.1 points over eight seasons, most of them spent in Dallas.

BRING ‘EM ON: Parker said he was looking forward to opening the season Dec. 26 at home against Memphis, the team that bounced the Spurs from the first round of the postseason last April.

The Grizzlies defeated the top-seeded Spurs in six games, becoming just the second No. 8 seed in the best-of-7 era to advance past the first round.

“There’s definitely a lot of motivation there,” Parker said. “I want to play them in the playoffs, but I’ll start with the first game of the season.”