Decision looms on Duncan’s future
Dave Odom placed two envelopes on his desk, then told a 19-year-old Tim Duncan to pick one.
It was in the spring of 1996, and Duncan had just completed his junior season at Wake Forest. He was a consensus All-American and a lock to be the top pick in the NBA draft should he opt to forgo his senior season.
In short, Duncan had a decision to make. Some didn’t believe it was any decision at all.
“We were getting calls from agents and the Jerry Wests of the world, telling us he’s got to come out,” said Odom, Duncan’s coach at Wake Forest. “I said, ‘If money is the biggest thing, he probably goes.’ But this is a different kind of kid. He has different values. He’s introspective. He thinks things through.”
As Duncan mulls a similar life choice this month, with speculation heavy the 40-year-old Spurs star will choose to retire after 19 NBA seasons and five championships, it is instructive to remember:
Duncan has surprised people before. Flash back to 1996. With the deadline looming for Duncan to declare for the NBA draft, Odom was scheduled to be out of town on a recruiting trip.
Before heading to the airport, Odom reviewed the plan with Duncan.
The coach would leave two letters — one saying his star was leaving for the NBA, one announcing Duncan would return for his senior season.
On the appointed day, Duncan was to select the appropriate envelope, march it down the hall to the school’s sports information department and get the ball rolling on whatever news conference needed to be called.
At some point, Duncan interrupted Odom’s spiel.
“Coach, we don’t need to go through all that,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
That day, Odom learned a lesson about Duncan’s decision-making process that still applies two decades later.
“He knows more about what he’s going to do than he lets people know,” said Odom, now 73 and still living in North Carolina. “But he will not be hurried.”
In the weeks since the Spurs’ May 12 playoff ouster against Oklahoma City, the city of San Antonio has held its breath waiting for the other sneaker to drop.
Duncan has until June 29 to decide whether to exercise a contract option worth $5.64 million for next season or call it quits and start the clock on his Hall of Fame election.
His impending decision casts a long shadow over a Spurs offseason that could be their most consequential since 1997 — when the team made Duncan the NBA’s No. 1 overall draft choice after his senior season at Wake.
Manu Ginobili, 39, faces a June 22 deadline to opt into the final year of his contract, as does 35-yearold forward David West.
If Boris Diaw remains on the roster after June 30, the Spurs owe him the entirety of his $7 million contract, for now only guaranteed at $3 million.
In another offseason, any one of those storylines would be the overriding headline in San Antonio.
This summer, the Spurs’ world will stop until the best player in franchise history decides if his career is over.
Duncan is expected to take his time. Not unexpectedly, he has kept his inner circle tight.
“Tim has always said it depends on how his body feels,” said former Spurs guard Antonio Daniels, who played with Duncan from 1998 to 2002 and remains one of his closest friends. “Your mind will tell you one thing, but your body will tell you different.”
The longest-tenured and most-decorated player in Spurs annals, Duncan posted career lows last season in almost every statistical category — 8.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 25.2 minutes per game.
The 61 appearances Duncan made were his fewest in a non-lockout campaign.
Yet many who know Duncan — including some who played against him in the postseason — believe he still has something in the tank.
“I thought he’s still capable,” said Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, the 22-year-old with whom Duncan grappled most in the Western Conference semifinals. “He’s still in tune with their system. He could have one leg, man, and still be able to contribute.”
Said Thunder star Kevin Durant: “He still looks like he can play and be effective at his age.”
Were Duncan to return, his role would likely be further diminished next season. Daniels, for one, doesn’t necessarily view that as a deal-breaker.
“He’s always put his ego aside,” Daniels said. “That’s one thing you can say about Tim.”