Tim Duncan planning to stay with San Antonio Spurs this summer - SI.com

Tim Duncan plans to re-sign with San Antonio when he becomes a free agent this summer. (Evan Gole/Getty Images)

Tim Duncan put to rest any questions about his pending free-agent status. Duncan will not be leaving the San Antonio Spurs when he becomes a free agent on July 1, he told Yahoo Sports‘ Johnny Ludden after a Game 1 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

“No … I’m not going anywhere,” Duncan told Ludden. “You can print that wherever you want to. I’m here and I’m a Spur for life.”

Duncan also talked about doubts he had about his future. At some points, he and the organization both wondered how long he would be able to hold up. Last season, his left knee gave him trouble. But after a resurgence, Duncan sees himself playing another season or two.

“I got to the point where I was depressed and pissed off that my body wasn’t doing the things that it used to do, and that I was deteriorating skill-wise,” he said. “I’m a competitor. I want to be a staple on a team, I want to be a go-to guy on a team. When that changed, that obviously hurt a little bit. But I found ways to be a part of this team and be a big part of this team.”

Duncan said that over the years, he also wondered if the team’s core of Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and himself would stick together in the long run. They have because their relationship “works.”

“We’ve all found a home here in San Antonio,” Duncan said, “and we all love it here.”

“If something doesn’t work, you break it up and you do something else. We’ve all accepted our roles, we’ve evolved over the years and we’ve all been happy with it because we believe.”