Spurs Nation--Amnesty for Jefferson still on table

By Jeff McDonald

With the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement still days away from official ratification, front offices across the league are not yet fully open for business. Still, for teams hoping to upgrade their roster, there is still much work to be done between now and Dec. 9, the date when the starters’ pistol simultaneously sounds on free agency and the opening of training camps.

At his news conference Friday afternoon, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich detailed some of the task at hand.

“That’s what we’re doing now: Trying to decide who we want to sign and what free agents to go after and do we want to make any trades,” Popovich said. “That’s all going on right now and that’s the emphasis between now and training camp opening.”

It’s safe to say the Spurs have many balls in the air, and many scenarios in play. One they appear to be seriously considering, based on their free-agent target list so far: Using the amnesty provision on Richard Jefferson.

The Spurs are believed to have been in contact with representatives of at least four free-agent small forwards: Dallas’ Caron Butler, former New Jersey Net Bostjan Nachbar and Washington Wizards Josh Howard and Maurice Evans.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the Spurs have already decided to waive Jefferson, who has three years and nearly $30.5 million left on his deal . It only means that option is on the table, and general manager R.C. Buford is apparently preparing for that contingency.

Using amnesty on Jefferson, who has mostly underwhelmed in two seasons in San Antonio but did shoot a career-best 44 percent from beyond the arc last year, would allow the Spurs to get well below the luxury tax line.

That would give them access to the full mid-level exception, worth $5 million, and the only shot they’d have at Butler, who is said to prefer Chicago anyway. The Spurs could probably keep Jefferson and still chase Howard, Nachbar or Evans, but after claiming losses last season, team chairman Peter Holt might have extra incentive to move below the tax line anyway

If the Spurs are going to make a significant roster splash, they might be more likely to do it via the trade market than free agency. Antonio McDyess’ $5.2 million contract is only guaranteed for $2.6 million. He could bring back decent value from a team looking to slice payroll, especially since he could retire anyway.

As it stands, the Spurs will have as many as 13 players under contract if and when they sign their two first-round rookies, Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph.

“Everybody’s got to put their team together,” Popovich said. “Some people have a lot of guys signed, like we do. Some teams don’t have very many guys. And of course we’re all calling the same agents about the same free agents.”

The upshot, as training camp approaches?

“I don’t know how it’s going to look or who’s going to be here Friday,” Popovich said.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/12/02/amnesty-for-jefferson-still-on-table/

 

Reason Popovich deserves amnesty

By Buck Harvey

The Spurs had used economic smoke to trade for a smart, genial, talented man. No one knew at the time little fire would come in return.

They were thrilled about Richard Jefferson.

R.C. Buford called the trade “an exciting day in our franchise’s evolution,” and Gregg Popovich gushed similarly.

“He’s got a toughness to him,” Popovich said then of Jefferson. “He’s a competitor. He gives us that added quality, which is important when trying to get a championship.”

Franchises say such things after trades. But these words are stunning in review, and not just because Popovich was wrong. He was wrong as he rarely has been. He was wrong about the one trait he values above all others.

It’s an aberration, and history supports that.

Such as?

The last time Popovich faced a shortened season.

Before this one, Popovich and Buford face a few decisions. Whether to amnesty Jefferson and his contract is at the top of the list.

These things are often just business. Dallas used the amnesty clause on Michael Finley, for example, and he won a ring with the Spurs while still receiving a paycheck from Mark Cuban.

But Finley’s story isn’t the same. The Mavericks had rewarded him in his prime, then later found his contract too pricey for his declining ability.

The Spurs, in contrast, accepted Jefferson’s contract as part of the deal. There have been times when he’s been effective, especially when he lined up his 3-point stroke last season. But mostly he’s been, well, odd.

“You know, in football, when there’s a pile and the runner is tackled?” a Spurs coach said not long ago. “Richard is the guy who runs in when the play is over and jumps into the pile.”

Popovich surely had some idea Jefferson might underperform. The two had been together during the summer of 2004 for the Olympics.

But Popovich liked Jefferson, and maybe he thought a reasonable person could be reached through reason. The summer of 2010, when Popovich did one-on-one work with Jefferson and made some headway, was an extension of that.

Maybe, too, Popovich had grown tired of cobbling together wins without traditional NBA scoring. Popovich wanted to believe, both in himself and in a seemingly well-intentioned player.

But in trading for Jefferson, Popovich had gone against his instincts. He doesn’t want guys he has to talk into competing; he wants those who are built for it.

He addressed that directly in the previous post-lockout world. Then, in January of 1999, he would be on the phone with one agent, with Buford on another line with another agent, changing their franchise one call at a time.

It was a free-agent scramble, as this one will be. And when the papers settled, the Spurs had added either physical toughness (Jerome Kersey) or mental toughness (Steve Kerr) or both (Mario Elie).

The Spurs had similar personalities already on the roster, such as Avery Johnson. But when Popovich sprinkled like-minded veterans around Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Sean Elliott, he reset the Spurs’ locker room.

Elliott felt that from the first day. “I’m gonna push him in practice,” Elie announced before a game had been played. “I’m gonna beat him up. I’m gonna make him tough.”

If Elliott rolled his eyes — and Duncan did at times — the impact was real. Popovich had created a theme that would last through the next decade, from Bruce Bowen to Robert Horry to Antonio McDyess.

Jefferson doesn’t fit with that group, and he never did. That’s why the trade wasn’t his fault.

That’s also why the term amnesty isn’t meant for him. Jefferson wouldn’t be getting a reprieve or a pardon if the Spurs buy him out. He would just be getting money.

The amnesty, instead, is for Popovich.

bharvey@express-news.net

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/12/03/reason-popovich-deserves-amnesty/

 

If Richard Jefferson is given amnestied by the Spurs, i expect the Clippers who need a small forward to probably make a play for him. The Clippers are cheap and they probably will target released players rather than sign a FA outright. The Clippers will probably decide between Richard Jefferson or Mike Miller. The Clippers seem to treasure other team's trash. The Clippers made a similar move when they signed Ryan Gomes who had just been released by the Blazers.