Tony Parker Says He Wants to Remain a Spur

Despite all of the rumors to the contrary, Parker insists that he’s not looking to bolt town when his deal ends. The local press remains unconvinced, though. From the Express-News: “In a turn of events that some might find surprising after a summer of persistent trade rumors, the once and still Spurs point guard ambled into media day Monday morning and pointedly dismissed talk that he preferred to play anywhere but San Antonio. ‘I feel like I’m a Spur,’ Parker said. ‘I hope Spurs fans know I want to stay here,’ he added. ‘I said that plenty of times. Nobody’s listening to me. They (the media) don’t care. They just want to create stories.’ In the final season of his contract, and coming off the most injury-plagued season of his life, Parker was the subject of what seemed like weekly trade buzz over the summer — most of it emanating from the New York media market. He realizes the rumors aren’t going away until he signs a contract extension. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford remains in constant dialogue with Parker’s agent, but it does not appear an extension will come before the start of the season. Parker — who hopes to command something close to maximum money — understands he still might be traded, or that he could be become a free agent during the potential lockout summer of 2011. He saw how the Spurs handled Manu Ginobili’s extension last season, waiting until April to pull the trigger. Parker says he has sought advice from Ginobili about how handle the contract uncertainty. He emerged from a pre-camp, closed-door meeting with coach Gregg Popovich saying, ‘I’m on the same page with Pop … I understand the business,’ Parker said. ‘I know how it works. I saw what they did with Manu. I respect that. At the end of the day, I want to win. It’s been a long time since we won (a championship). Contracts, money, whatever — it’s going to come.'”