The San Antonio Spurs appear committed to their rebuild after it was announced they plan to waive newly acquired forward Danilo Gallinari and withdraw their qualifying offer for Lonnie Walker IV.
Gallinari was brought over to the Spurs in this week's blockbuster trade, which sent Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks for Gallinari and three first-round draft picks.
The move to trade Murray – their 25-year-old point guard who was named an All-Star for the first time in 2022 – indicated a shift towards the future and a commitment to not being competitive for at least a season or two in order to maximise their draft equity.
Gallinari, at 33 years old, does not fit in with the Spurs' timeline and may not have had enough value to command any draft picks back as a trade chip, so the team have instead opted to buy out his contract – which had one more season and $21.5million remaining.
The move makes Gallinari an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can come to an agreement with any team who have cap space.
Walker, who was a first-round pick by the Spurs in 2018, averaged a career-high in points (12.2) and assists (2.2) this past season, but with plenty of young guard options remaining on the roster, San Antonio opted to withdraw their qualifying offer.
The qualifying offer meant Walker was a restricted free agent, giving the Spurs the option to match any offer tendered to him, which also restricts how many teams view it as a chase worth their time, as the expectation is often that the team will match them.
By withdrawing their qualifying offer, Walker is now an unrestricted free agent, able to choose his own path forward.
Walker is still only 23, so to allow him to walk indicates that he had no trade value at all and that the organisation have decided he is not part of their plans as they prepare for a couple of years near the bottom of the Western Conference.
'I've got to be better' says Doncic after Mavericks go down in Oklahoma
Luka Doncic acknowledged "I've got to be better" after the Dallas Mavericks were beaten by Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series.
The Thunder, who swept the New Orleans Pelicans aside in their first-round series, built on that momentum with a 117-95 victory at Paycom Center.
Although, it was a day to forget for Doncic, who registered just 19 points on six-of-19 shooting as he ended a streak of 24 successive playoff games with at least 20 points, while he also had five turnovers.
Struggling with a knee injury and tightly marked by Oklahoma's Lu Dort, the five-time NBA All-Star was also just one-for-eight from three-point range, making it five-of-35 over the past four games.
That is the worst percentage (14.3 per cent) for any player with at least 30 attempts over a four-game streak during the postseason.
"[We've] just got to move onto the next one," Doncic said. "I've got to be better, we've got to be better. We've got to focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."
"We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," added Kyle Irving, who finished with 20 points. "They're never going to stop attacking."
The youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series following their triumph over the Pelicans, Oklahoma made it five straight wins in the postseason with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points along the way.
The Thunder have only conceded 90.6 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team across five games in the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs in 2016.
"[The defence is] where we hang our hat every night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it's going to start on that end.
"Obviously, we have some really talented players at that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys."
Doncic claims 'I've got to be better' after Mavericks go down in Oklahoma
Luka Doncic acknowledged "I've got to be better" after the Dallas Mavericks were beaten by Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series.
The Thunder, who swept the New Orleans Pelicans aside in their first-round series, built on that momentum with a 117-95 victory at Paycom Center.
Although, it was a day to forget for Doncic, who registered just 19 points on six-of-19 shooting as he ended a streak of 24 successive playoff games with at least 20 points, while he also had five turnovers.
Struggling with a knee injury and tightly marked by Oklahoma's Lu Dort, the five-time NBA All-Star was also just one-for-eight from three-point range, making it five-of-35 over the past four games.
That is the worst percentage (14.3 per cent) for any player with at least 30 attempts over a four-game streak during the postseason.
"[We've] just got to move onto the next one," Doncic said. "I've got to be better, we've got to be better. We've got to focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."
"We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," added Kyle Irving, who finished with 20 points. "They're never going to stop attacking."
The youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series following their triumph over the Pelicans, Oklahoma made it five straight wins in the postseason with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points along the way.
The Thunder have only conceded 90.6 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team across five games in the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs in 2016.
"[The defence is] where we hang our hat every night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it's going to start on that end.
"Obviously, we have some really talented players at that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys."
Doncic admits 'I've got to be better' after Mavericks go down in Oklahoma
Luka Doncic acknowledged "I've got to be better" after the Dallas Mavericks were beaten by Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series.
The Thunder, who swept the New Orleans Pelicans aside in their first-round series, built on that momentum with a 117-95 victory at Paycom Center.
Although, it was a day to forget for Doncic, who registered just 19 points on six-of-19 shooting as he ended a streak of 24 successive playoff games with at least 20 points, while he also had five turnovers.
Struggling with a knee injury and tightly marked by Oklahoma's Lu Dort, the five-time NBA All-Star was also just one-for-eight from three-point range, making it five-of-35 over the past four games.
That is the worst percentage (14.3 per cent) for any player with at least 30 attempts over a four-game streak during the postseason.
"[We've] just got to move onto the next one," Doncic said. "I've got to be better, we've got to be better. We've got to focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."
"We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," added Kyle Irving, who finished with 20 points. "They're never going to stop attacking."
The youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series following their triumph over the Pelicans, Oklahoma made it five straight wins in the postseason with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points along the way.
The Thunder have only conceded 90.6 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team across five games in the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs in 2016.
"[The defence is] where we hang our hat every night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it's going to start on that end.
"Obviously, we have some really talented players at that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys."
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