Spurs predicted to cut ties with veteran NBA champion after NBA Finals loss to Knicks
Spurs predicted to cut ties with veteran NBA champion after NBA Finals loss to Knicks originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The San Antonio Spurs lost in five games against the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals, but they have nothing to hang their head over.
The Knicks proved throughout their playoff run that they were the best team in the NBA, and for much of that series, the Spurs were just as good, if not better, than them.
San Antonio’s youth obviously became an issue at times, with the Knicks capitalizing on their mistakes and New York proving why depth and veteran leadership matter more than they sometimes get credit for.
Now, because the Spurs have struggled with some of the young guys on their roster, it wouldn’t be crazy to say they need to go out and add a veteran. However, that isn’t expected to be the case, as there seems to be a better chance that San Antonio will cut ties with some of its older players.
One of those guys could be Harrison Barnes, with a recent prediction suggesting that they’ll cut ties with him.
“He’s younger than Olynyk, but will be in his age 34 season next year. He just finished a three-year, $54 million contract. Could he yield a similar cap hit? If so, the Spurs have no reason to overpay for him. It’s hard to pass up on his consistency, but at some point, you have to figure out what’s worth it. It just doesn’t feel like Barnes is worth it when they can save money with a younger player,” Wynston Wilcox wrote.
The one thing about Barnes is that while he didn’t play a ton in the playoffs, getting just 17 minutes in the NBA Finals, he didn’t have a bad regular season and gave the Spurs 25.8 minutes per night.
That doesn’t mean he’s someone they should keep for the future, but it’s important to remember that this is a team that won 60-plus games and was arguably the best in the Western Conference throughout the entire year. He played nearly 26 minutes and averaged 9.9 points, shooting 38.8% from 3-point range.
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