Popovich leans toward keeping 14 on Spurs roster

For now, it appears all three Spurs with non-guaranteed contracts — guard Garrett Temple and forwards Alonzo Gee and Bobby Simmons — can rest easy.

Unless there is a change of heart between the end of Sunday's practice and opening night, the club will carry all 14 players now on the roster into the season.

The NBA allows teams to have as many as 15 players, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich announced on Oct. 7 that the club did not intend to carry that many the way it did last season.

Acknowledging that financial considerations were at play in the decision, Popovich last week said the coaching staff and player personnel department seemed most inclined to trim the roster to 13.

On Sunday, Popovich said there was no hurry to make an additional cut. The coach, who doubles as president of basketball operations, has called the roster decisions he has faced this preseason some of the most difficult in his 14-year tenure on the bench.

“I think there's a good chance we'll start the season that way (with 14),” he said. “I'm not sure we'll stay that way, but most likely we'll start that way.”