"I'm going to keep my options open," Elliott said Friday, the day before the Spurs open the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns.

	Elliott

A San Antonio Express-News columnist reported Friday that Elliott's career will end with the Spurs' final playoff game this year. Columnist Jim Dent quoted Elliott as saying, "I know my time has come."

However, on Friday, Elliott called the report speculative.

"I'm going to sit down with the team, then I'm going to keep my options open. And then if people want to speculate from there, I don't have a problem with that," he said.

It's possible he'll stay in the NBA, he said.

"There are lots of reasons why I would continue to play. I'm having a lot of fun just being out on the court. I feel like my game is coming back to me. I feel like I could play several more years," Elliott said.

Elliott, 32, said money won't enter into his decision. He is making $6.2 million this season and is to make $5 million next season in the final year of his contract.

Elliott had focal glomerulosclerosis, a disease that prevents the kidneys from properly filtering waste from the blood. His older brother Noel donated a kidney.

He returned to the Spurs on March 14, seven months after the transplant, and has been starting since.