Tim Duncan's appointment as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich was mostly Duncan's idea, league sources told Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Stein adds that Duncan knew Popovich was struggling to hire the last position on the Spurs' staff.

Manu Ginobili was also approached about an assistant coaching role, though he was not ready to go back into basketball after retiring at the end of the 2018 season.

RC Buford has been named CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, effective Sept. 3 with Brian Wright replacing him as general manager of the San Antonio Spurs.

“RC Buford is one of the most highly-respected leaders in professional sports,” said SS&E Chairman Peter J. Holt. “His vision, innovation and drive have helped shape our values and culture. We are thrilled to have RC leading the organization into the future.”

Wright, who will manage day-to-day basketball operations duties, spent 10 seasons working with the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons before being named the Spurs Assistant General Manager in 2016.

The Los Angeles Clippers made an unprecedented price to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder, which also assured they would sign Kawhi Leonard.

"One of the two or three most lopsided deals ever, and also one the Clippers were right to do anyway," said one rival executive. 

The Clippers sent five first round picks, two pick swaps, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari to the Thunder for George.

George and Leonard are only committed to the Clippers for two seasons.

Marcus Morris told Shams Charania of The Athletic that he feels like he cleared the air between him and members of the San Antonio Spurs organization after spurning their offer to sign a one-year deal with the New York Knicks.

“The first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew. There was no shade. There’s no disrespect. I had great conversations afterward, and as long as I feel that I’m clear with them and gave them my truth, I feel good about moving forward," said Morris.

Morris also addressed firing agent Rich Paul, saying that there's no bad blood between the two.

Morris added that Paul wanted him to sign a three-year deal with the Clippers.

“All this stuff that (Paul) didn’t want me to go to the Clippers and didn’t want me to go against LeBron (James), that’s not true. He never told me not to take the deal. For as long as I’ve known Rich — and that’s still someone I have love for and that’s still my guy — he has been great in terms of advice. He told me he wanted me to take the Clippers deal."  

The San Antonio Spurs have hired Tim Duncan and Will Hardy as assistant coaches.

Duncan will be on the front of the bench alongside Becky Hammon and Will Hardy.

San Antonio lost assistant coaches Ime Udoka and Ettore Messina this offseason.

“It is only fitting, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor,” said Popovich.

RC Buford is preparing to move into a new role with the San Antonio Spurs that will allow Brian Wright to ascend to general manager. Wright will report directly to Buford.

Wright was hired as assistant general manager of the Spurs in 2016.

Sources tell Jabari Young of The Athletic that Wright has become more involved with the Spurs over the past year and even fielded trade calls on the Kawhi Leonard deal in 2018.

Wright led negotiations on Rudy Gay and also assisted on transactions involving DeMarre Carroll and Davis Bertans.

Wright has been praised for his hands-on approach, “engaging, authentic and trustworthy,” one NBA agent said.

“I like Brian,” another agent added. “I think he’s sharp.”

The bad blood between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs following the Marcus Morris situation could be traced back to how the Spurs dealt with Kristaps Porizingis when he was still on the Knicks, league sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

The Knicks, who discussed trading Porzingis prior to the 2017 NBA Draft, felt as if the Spurs "operated outside of accepted NBA norms" prior to Porzingis getting traded to the Mavs, according to SNY. 

It is unclear what exactly the Spurs did to make the Knicks feel like a line was crossed.

The Spurs were reportedly "pissed" about Morris backing out of an agreement with the team to sign a one-year deal with the Knicks, a general manager told Frank Isola of The Athletic. 

The Los Angeles Clippers offered a three-year, $41 million deal to Marcus Morris in free agency.

The Clippers were also set to pay Morris 50 percent of his salary on Oct. 1 as well.

But Morris sought a two-year, $40 million deal but the Clippers couldn't offer that deal while preserving enough cap space to sign Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers moved on and acquired Maurice Harkless in a four-team trade.

A rumor that Rich Paul never told Morris about the offer from the Clippers was denied by a team source. Morris and Paul parted ways when the contract with the Spurs was reneged on.

Rich Paul preferred that Marcus Morris honor his original deal with the San Antonio Spurs, league sources told Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Morris backed out of an agreement with the Spurs to sign a one-year deal with the Knicks. The Knicks opened up cap space by renegotiating Reggie Bullock's contract.

Paul was not involved in Morris breaking his agreement with the Spurs. The NY Post added that Morris and the Knicks negotiated his new deal. 

Morris fired Paul as his agent over the weekend.  

The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to sign Trey Lyles to a two-year, $11 million deal.

The Spurs managed to sign Lyles after Marcus Morris backed out of his deal with the team in order to sign with the New York Knicks.

Lyles spent the past two seasons with the Denver Nuggets.