Jefferson to the Spurs (updated: confirmed by Chad Ford)

...and the Spurs will likey sign back who they really want to keep after the Bucks buy them out.

 

Unless we sign them first

 

No thanks to any former Spurs. We tried it this year and I dont think things went as planned.

 

All the NBA Execs know that Morey IS in Control. He holds the best trade asset right now because of a combination of Factors; 1- High value contract that costs a team[i.e. potential trading partner(s)] a fraction of the value compared to what they would have to trade away, 2- The Economy. This is having a negative impact on most teams. Some teams can afford to take back salary AND pay the luxury tax. The Rockets are one of those teams, 3- T-Mac. This enigma of a talent will have something to prove-contract year, disprove all the haters, prove he's better than his cousin, whatever. T-Mac may heal in time to show something, he may not. But either way, he comes off of the books next summer, which brings us to our last point, 4- Next Summer. The Rockets trading asset this summer can position a team to be able to make a run at one of the big free agents next summer, and don't think that Morey does not know the value of that.
So, i think the Spurs did the best economically advantageous deal to upgrade their team because they know that the Rockets can potentially improve in a big way. As for your question about bye-bye for tmac - well, he signed his one way ticket when he circumvented the organization in regards to his injury status earlier this year just before, yeah-you guessed it, before the trading deadline.

 

If your talking about James White then I really don't know what you was expecting to get out of him. Just because a guy can dunk doesn't mean he can play ball. Last time I checked the last player we received from the Spurs turned out to be one hell of a player

 

Because our gm is still crunching numbers. Shane,cook,and barry for jefferson wouldve been a good deal for both teams, but just like most on this board, morey is probably still counting shanezs intangibles.

 

This is a desperate move! I don't know why it seems everyone here thinks it's great for the spurs.

 

No. Shane>>>>>Jefferson in Adelman's system!

 

Fact is that Oberto and Bowen were team option this year which means the Bucks get 5 mill off the books this year. Shane has two years left. Cook one year. Barry one year. THE BUCKS AREN'T TRYING TO GET BETTER PLAYERS!!!
they're trying to save MONEY!

 

This is such a joke, why do the Spurs get away with this?

I want to trade three worthless players for a guy like RJ.

Nice move though. The Spurs stay relevant again.

 

Solid move for the Spurs. Needless to say, they're going to be DANGEROUS when healthy. Even more so once Milwaukee cuts all those guys then they resign in SA.

 

Good trade for the Spurs. Puts them into contention again. One thing I noticed is that RJ's field goal percentage is on the decline. With that being said, he still shot nearly 44 % from the field last season.

Also, the Spurs will have more than 47 M invested in Duncan, RJ, and Parker for the 2010-11 season. This means no moola for the many free agents, which will be available after next season.

Don't panic Rockets fans. Morey has something up his sleeve also.

 

Im talking about Brent Barry. Did you forget about him? He is the last player we "got" from the Spurs. Not Scola, not White. You're thinking a little too far back. He(Barry) wasnt in the rotation at the end of the reg season and rarely was seen during the playoffs. Isnt that what we brought him here for? Playoff experience and his 3 pt shooting? Yeahh, that didnt turn out to be so. He didnt do what we brought him here to do. His stats say it all, they dropped significantly.

Recent Career FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
Year Team G Min M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
2006-07 SA 75 21:41 2.7 5.7 47.5 1.7 3.8 44.6 1.4 1.6 88.0 0.2 1.9 2.1 1.8 0.8 0.8 0.2 1.2 8.5
2007-08 SA 31 17:53 2.5 5.2 48.1 1.6 3.6 42.9 0.6 0.7 95.0 0.4 1.4 1.8 1.7 0.6 0.6 0.1 1.4 7.1
2008-09 HOU 56 15:18 1.3 3.1 40.7 0.9 2.3 37.4 0.3 0.4 95.0 0.3 1.4 1.7 1.4 0.9 0.4 0.1 0.8 3.7

 

Correct, Mr. Barry himself.

 

****z this is a robbery by the Spurs..........

Jefferson is 29 while all of the Spurs trading pieces are well over 34.
Spurs will be a contending team once again. CRAP **** ****

 

I don't really know how I feel about this trade. Granted I don't hate the Spurs like some members of this board. Objectively I don't know how to feel. I don't know if they get that much better. It is easy to look at the parts in the trade and say Jefferson is the best player, Spurs win. However, there is a reality of how this plays out that needs to be examined. How will the Spurs fill out the roster? From the reports I have read, the Bucks are actually keeping these players (solid characters, good mentors for young players) on the roster. Next year the Spurs look like this.

Duncan/Mahinmi
Bonner
Jefferson/Mason
Manu/Finley
Parker/Hill

They have four 2/3's and only three front court players. They would still have the MLE which they could use to bring back Gooden (they signed him for the min. last season when he was bought out). That would help them inside a little bit. Outside of an aging Duncan, there isn't really any interior defense there. Duncan would have to play more to compensate for the lack of interior size. This goes against their philosophy of saving Duncan during the season.

There is also the issue of money. Even before they resign Gooden, they are sitting at 70 million after this trade. With the projected luxury tax sitting at 65 million, Jefferson ends up costing them over 22 million a year. Say they sign Gooden to a reasonable 3.5 million. That would cost them an additional 7 million. As the Spurs are notorious for staying under the threshold, I would predict they don't really get more size up top. I would also venture to say they needed size in the front court more than they needed a scoring wing. Jefferson is going to provide more offense than Mason (19 points on 44% and 39% in 36 minutes vs. 12 points on 43% and 42% in 30 minutes), but his presence will cost them interior defense and rebounding. I am not sure, don't count on any parades in San Antonio just yet. Is Jefferson against Ariza worth Bonner on Gasol? Is Jefferson on Artest worth Bonner on Scola? Is Jefferson on Howard worth Bonner on Dirk? Is Jefferson and Manu so much of an upgrade over Manu and Mason that it justifies the "Bonner as a center failure?" How will the Spurs compensate for the fact that they only have Duncan and Bonner up front? This just seems like they cashed in early. For the first time since the luxury tax was implemented, the Spurs will have to pay and not receive money. Is Jefferson worth going all in for? The Spurs think so, a lot of knee-jerk OMG fans here think so, count me in as being skeptical.

-V

 

Oberto and Bowen actually were not on team options. Their contracts, however, are only partially guaranteed. Their team must pay him, but only a certain (smaller) portion of their overall salaries. Oberto is set to make $3.7M, but only $1.9M is guaranteed. Bowen is set to make $4M, but only $2M is guaranteed. If the Bucks waive both players this July (which they will undoubtedly do), they INSTANTLY save about $4M. Combine this with the fact that the Bucks took in less in total salaries (even counting as if all salaries would be fully guaranteed) than they shipped out, and the fact that Kurt Thomas's salary comes off the books next summer (heck, even he might be bought out for less than the $4.2M he's set to make next season), and the Bucks just saved themselves a TON of money.

I think you are mistaken, however, to assert that the Bucks are not trying to get better players. They are, but indirectly so.

The substantial financial flexibility that the Bucks achieved by making this trade will enable them to re-sign one or both of Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions. Before this trade, it was unlikely that the Bucks would be able to re-sign EITHER of them.

So, the trade will end up being viewed (at least by the Bucks) as follows:

Richard Jefferson
for
Bruce Bowen (salary savings; to be waived)
Fabricio Oberto (salary savings; to be waived)
Kurt Thomas (expiring contract; possible buyout candidate?)
Charlie Villanueva
Ramon Sessions

If I'm the Bucks' GM and I was FORCED to choose between either Richard Jefferson or BOTH Villanueva and Sessions, I would choose the latter. Especially with what they were paying Jefferson.

 

I am very optimistic.

 

Right. Too bad this trade is about saving money, and not getting players back. Spurs would have saved them more money with their package.