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Brooklyn Nets: Former Net Dante Cunningham headed to San Antonio Spurs

By Phil Watson

BROOKLYN, NY - MARCH 25: Dante Cunningham #44 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots a free throw against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 25, 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - MARCH 25: Dante Cunningham #44 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots a free throw against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 25, 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Forward Dante Cunningham, whose rights were relinquished by the Brooklyn Nets on July 6, reportedly has agreed to a deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

According to multiple reports, former Brooklyn Nets forward Dante Cunningham has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

Cunningham, 31, is a nine-year veteran who finished last season with the Nets after he was acquired in a February trade with the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for guard Rashad Vaughn.

Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the deal within minutes of each other.

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Cunningham played in 22 games for Brooklyn, starting one, and averaged 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game on .468/.383/.688 shooting, playing as a small-ball 4 and 5.

His production increased with the Nets from his time last season with New Orleans, even with slightly less playing time. Cunningham played in 51 games with 24 starts for the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21.9 minutes a night with a .440/.325/.556 slash line.

The Nets renounced Cunningham’s free-agent exception rights on July 6 to free up cap space.

Sportrac is reporting the Cunningham deal with San Antonio at one-year and $2.2 million, a slight dip from the $2.3 million he made on a one-year contract signed last offseason with the Pelicans.

Cunningham could have been an attractive target to remain with Brooklyn.

But the Nets needed to free up the cap holds for Cunningham, forward James Webb and center Jahlil Okafor in order to complete the trade with the Charlotte Hornets that sent the remaining two years of Timofey Mozgov‘s contract along with two second-round picks and $5 million cash to absorb the final year and $23.8 million of Dwight Howard‘s deal.

Cunningham was a second-round pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2009 after a four-year career at Villanova University and spent parts of two seasons with Portland before being traded to the then-Charlotte Bobcats in February 2011 (coincidentally, a power forward named Sean Marks also moved to the Bobcats in the deal).

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    • He signed as a free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies once the lockout was lifted in December 2011 and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves the following July.

    Cunningham ran into some off-the-court difficulties in 2014 when he was charged with felony domestic assault, charges that were later dismissed by Minnesota authorities.

    But Cunningham didn’t find an offer on the table as a free agent until December 2014 as teams may have been reluctant to take on the potential controversy in the wake of the domestic abuse scandal involving former player Ray Rice in the NFL.

    Cunningham stayed with the Pelicans, re-signing on a two-year deal in July 2015 and inking a one-year pact last September.

    Used mostly as a reserve in his career, Cunningham has averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game over his nine NBA seasons, shooting .469/.332/.645.

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    Over the past three seasons, he has emerged as something of a stretch big at 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, with 523 of his career 561 3-point attempts coming since the start of the 2015-16 season, including 168 tries (and 58 makes) last season.