"Tony Parker's role as a part owner of the ASVEL team has provided him with an idea of how to run his basketball team back in the United States.

Parker's friendship with backup Portland small forward and fellow Frenchman Nicolas Batum has endured over the years.

After playing with him on the French national team this summer, Parker thinks his old friend is exactly what the Spurs need to help them improve.

Parker revealed that the Spurs nearly drafted Batum in the 2008 draft, but Houston jumped ahead of them in a pre-arranged deal with Portland."