Five reasons Tim Duncan should stick around

Tim Duncan is 39 years old, which might as well be 79 for a professional basketball player. But he's coming off a season in which he was still one of the best players at his position in the entire league. 

From Bleacher Report's Stephen Babb, here are five reasons why Duncan should stick around, one being the growth of budding teammate Kawhi Leonard: 

"Leonard's steady emergence should remain a draw for Duncan. Even if Parker never fully returns to form, Leonard has proved he's qualified to be a go-to scorer—or at least to share the burden with the likes of Duncan. Leonard doesn't single-handedly make this an elite team, but he's the kind of piece who helps, a rare talent willing to exert all kinds of energy on both ends of the floor. Watching that talent continue to blossom firsthand has to be part of Duncan's retirement equation."

Duncan is obviously still very good. But getting up for 82 games is a grueling physical process, and it's difficult to imagine anyone as competitive as Duncan be willing to go through it with teammates not talented enough to win a championship. 

Leonard is certainly talented enough, and if Duncan returns the Spurs will once again be considered one of the best teams in the league.

(h/t: Bleacher Report)

Photo Credit: AP Photo/David Goldman