When Cedi Osman joined the San Antonio Spurs via trade early last July, there was doubt as to whether he'd ever put on the Silver and Black. After all, the franchise acquired him at around the same time they dealt for fellow veterans Reggie Bullock and Cameron Payne. But while neither made it to opening day in Texas, Osman did. A season later, the free agent says he'd like to see another opening day in San Antonio.
“Oh yeah, definitely. Definitely. Would love to,” the 29-year-old small forward has stated.
“I've really built a great relationship here with everybody, especially with my teammates. Would love to be back but at the end of the day, it's a business,” Osman continued.
Cedi Osman's role on 2023-2024 San Antonio Spurs
The Turkish-born Osman played in 72 of the 82 games, starting three, including one at point guard when the Spurs were looking through options at the position through the 2023 portion of this season.
His 17.6 minutes per game were his lowest since his rookie year when he played 11 minutes per contest in 2017-2018. Consequently, his 6.8 points per outing mark the lowest he'd scored since 3.9 that season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I just have to keep doing what I'm doing every time. That's coming off the bench, bring the energy, play the right way,” Osman said before an ankle injury forced him to miss the final week and a half.
“That's the only thing I can control. Obviously, everybody wants to finish the season on the best note. And obviously, I want to finish on the best note.”
Osman's last game of the season came in a close April 2nd loss at the defending champion Denver Nuggets. He scored 10 points in just 18 minutes that night.
“Really, I'm just having a lot of fun, especially the last couple of games, we're playing really good. Everybody's having a lot of fun so that's what I'm really happy about. I'm just trying to have fun and be excited for the rest of the games.”
While his scoring went down two points per game since the previous season, Osman shot a career-high 39% from three-point range. It was the highest percentage of any rotational player on the Spurs who finished the year with the team.
“Obviously, we had a lot of up and downs during the season but at the end of the day, it's a process. It's not something that's going to click right away. We need top build this up. I think we're in good position. We'll be fine.”
A year away from reaching his 30s, Osman was the only Spur older than 24 who regularly saw the court.
“This is a role that was a little bit unusual for me. Being one of the oldest guys on the team, I don't know if it feels good or if it feels bad but changing a team and coming to a brand new team for me was a good change for myself. I'm really happy that I'm here.”
It was a common sentiment when Osman answered questions about a future with the Spurs.
“It's a business. We'll see how it goes. But, like I said, I have a great relationship with everybody so we'll see.”
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