Moving Ahead

SAN ANTONIO — The big man with the mean jump hook, killer bank shot and deadly serious stare is back to try to lead the Spurs to a second straight NBA championship.

But even if Tim Duncan reaches that goal there’s no guarantee he’ll return for a shot at a third ring. After this season, Duncan could be done in San Antonio.

“I’m keeping my options open,” said Duncan, in the last season of his three-year contract. “At the end of the year, I’ll figure out if I’m going to be here or somewhere else.”

The Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls are two of the teams that will have enough salary cap room to make a run at the 7-foot All-Star, who led the Spurs to their first title in June and won the most valuable player award in the finals.

The man considered the best player in the league says his decision will be based partly on a Nov. 2 vote in Bexar County on construction of a new basketball arena. That vote could determine whether the Spurs remain in the city, and Duncan has indicated he wants to know where the team will play before committing to another contract.

Left unsaid are his other considerations.

It’s widely known, for instance, that Duncan and Orlando coach Doc Rivers are friends. The chance to play for Rivers, who was a Spurs broadcaster last season, could be a big draw for Duncan next summer.

“That’s overblown,” Rivers said. “Guys are going to do what they want to do. There’s nothing I can do to talk a guy into coming or leaving. They have a championship team and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Before accepting the Orlando job in June, Rivers informally guided Duncan and other Spurs in workouts during the NBA lockout, when coaches weren’t allowed to have contact with players.

“I know him. He’s a good guy. I worked out with him a bit during the lockout. That’s about it,” Duncan said.

The NBA’s tampering rule prohibits coaches and players from trying to entice players under contract to other teams.

Former Spur Will Perdue, now with Chicago, was admonished by the league recently for comments he made about Duncan possibly joining the Bulls after his San Antonio contract is up.

“Tim Duncan is not married to San Antonio by any means,” Perdue said. “He’s made that very clear.”

If Duncan changed his mind and wanted to sign a contract extension with the Spurs, he’d have to do it by Oct. 31, two days before the season begins. He could get a six-year extension for $70.9 million, or a seven-year deal next summer worth $86 million.

Other teams could pay him a comparable amount, although not quite as much, under the league’s collective bargaining rules.

“It’s not a matter of money,” Duncan said. “I figure I’ll make pretty good money anywhere.”

The Spurs had the NBA’s best record last season and lost just twice in the playoffs. But they learned over the summer that small forward Sean Elliott will miss the season following a kidney transplant.

With an aging center, 34-year-old David Robinson, and a starting backcourt featuring journeymen Avery Johnson and Mario Elie, the Spurs don’t have a supporting cast that would ensure a dynasty even if Duncan stayed.

But Robinson believes his frontcourt partner will stay with the Spurs if the team is successful this season. In Orlando or Chicago, Duncan would be part of a major rebuilding project.

“I’m not really that worried about it, because if you keep winning, there’s nobody in the world that would leave a situation like that,” Robinson said.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t blame Duncan for waiting to make a decision.

“Where each of us lives our life is pretty important to all of us,” Popovich said. “So, if I’m in his shoes I wait until the end of the year when I’m a free agent and I make my decision then based on a lot of different factors.”

Duncan, the No. 1 draft pick in 1997 out of Wake Forest, lived up to expectations -- and then some -- in his first two seasons.

In 1998, he was rookie of the year. Last season he finished third behind Karl Malone and Alonzo Mourning in most valuable player voting, although many ballots were turned in before Duncan led the Spurs to the championship.

Duncan was the only player last season in the top 10 in scoring average (21.7 points), rebounding (11.4), blocked shots (2.52) and field-goal percentage (49.5).

With a jam-packed summer, first with the NBA Finals and then playing for the U.S. team in the Olympic qualifying tournament, Duncan had a short offseason and little time to work on his game--not that he really needs to.

Duncan hopes his two years of experience and success in the league will help him elevate his play even more.

And when might this 23-year-old reach the peak of his NBA career?

“Hopefully,” he said, smiling, “many years down the way.”

But the big question now is where, not when, that will be.