Richard Jefferson to San Antonio

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Old flames die hard. In February several news outlets reported that the Spurs were in talks with the Nets and Bucks to trade for either Richard Jefferson or Vince Carter. Apparently, those talks never died.

Chad Ford is reporting that the Spurs and Bucks have agreed to a deal that would send Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas and Bruce Bowen to Milwaukee for Richard Jefferson. This is a no brainer for the Spurs, and it puts them right back in the championship hunt. Richard Jefferson is a monster upgrade.

Jefferson’s skill set couldn’t be a better match for San Antonio. He can score going to the hoop, is a capable defender, and shoots nearly .400 from the arc. His 19 ppg give San Antonio the 4th scorer they’ve needed for several seasons. Jefferson averaged a mere 2 TO per game last season as Milwaukee’s best player. It’s hard to imagine a better trade scenario. The Spurs just struck oil.

Relative to his salary, Richard Jefferson may under produce. His career PER is 16.7. That’s a little low for a player owed 14 and 15 million the next two seasons. But he’s only 29. And his production is vastly superior to anything the Spurs have had on the wing since Sean Elliott.

My best guess is that the Bucks will buy out Bruce Bowen and we’ll see him return to San Antonio prior to training camp. If that happens, this trade goes from a homerun to a grand slam. The only downside is that the move leaves the Spurs thin upfront, but one suspects they have a back up plan in the works to replace Kurt Thomas. Oberto’s best play is two seasons behind him, and the Spurs actually win by freeing up his roster spot. By adding Jefferson, the Spurs have converted Roger Mason Jr. into a potent 5th option or valuable trade chip. The ripple effects go from the center to shore, and I’m hard pressed to find a single negative in this move.

Aside from landing Jefferson, the other story here is that the Spurs have moved away from their 2010 cap strategy. Jefferson’s salary eats up everything they had on reserve for a big name free agent run. But Jefferson is probably as good as any player they were likely to land next summer, so in that sense they’ve simply accelerated their rebuild with a player that can help them within Tim Duncan’s window. They’re not waiting on 2010 by sitting out 2009. This also means there is no reason for the team to play cautious with their checkbook. With their 2010 plan on the scrapheap, the team could theoretically make another trade for a player whose salary would push them against the taxline.

As I write this, my head keeps going back to something that might be missed in all this. San Antonio is good to its fans. Here is a team that is committed to winning. After being bounced in the first round, they could have faded from view just as everyone expected them to. But instead, they got off the mat and started swinging. They’re a small market team with a relatively poor ownership group in a bad economy. And they just added a big contract to their books when 1/2 the league is trying to shed cap. Take note.

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  • http://espn.com jay thatch

    conspiracy!!!!! someone from the spurs is in bed with david stern no two ways about it!!! first there wqas boston’s series of trades that led to a championship, then the lakers get an unfair trade and a championship, then the spurs cried and whined (like duncan on the court) and got their unfair trade. i will bet any amount of money that the spurs are the champs next year. in fact why even play next year, lets just crown them now and get it over with!!!

  • D Counts

    Since Detroit is buying out Oberto’s contract is it a possibility that he could be back with the Spurs?

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    BlaseE,

    Exactly my take.

    Golliver (super smart Blazers blogger) says that Monty Williams (close friend of Bowen) says that Bowen returning to San Antonio is not at all guaranteed.

    The Spurs simply cannot afford to resign Gooden for the full MLE. Gist and Mahnimi, methinks. Maybe they move up in the draft and grab a big like Blair. Ric Bucher is correct, though, to say that the Spurs really lack an Horry-like big. Maybe James Gist will pan out and can give them some of that.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Yes, D Counts. It’s possible.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Jay,

    The Spurs are a television nightmare who play a fairly slow, half-court brand of basketball. I can see why David Stern would pull the strings to get this going. No doubt he’d prefer San Antonio vs. Cleveland to L.A. vs. Cleveland. No doubt. Remember how much everyone loved those 2007 Finals. Really brought home the bacon.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    I’m getting a fair amount of email about how this plays into the salary cap. Be patient. I’ll address those things shortly. In the meantime, see my post from early May. It anticipated today.

    http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/05/04/offseason-breakdown-the-cap/

    Also, AST gives a good outline over at PtR.

    http://www.poundingtherock.com/2009/6/23/922364/spurs-trade-for-richard-jefferson

  • BigJ

    Well done Spurs and ditto Tim on your final thoughts. The Spurs do reward their fans well and in my opinion this move is indicative of the type of mindset I hoped was still active in the front office; sometimes you need to pay to play.

    The Spurs are clearly committed to maximizing their window of opportunity and are providing Tim with the kind of talent he needs to succeed towards the final years of his career.

    Very well done Spurs.

  • Rowrbazzle

    Just fyi, Adrian Wojnarowski was reporting the trade a good hour before ESPN.com had anything. I saw Chad Ford on TV getting credit for breaking the news, even though he didn’t. I think Wojnarowski deserves a mention for being out front on this deal.

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AsCmZa6dypIyVxhGF.lgYrGM0bYF?slug=aw-jeffersontrade062309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

  • Hurm66

    I love this trade yes, but aren’t we really all just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Can RJ be repackaged in another trade?

    Call me crazy but I think the Spurs have another move in mind. There’s something about the Spurs and a talented teenage point guard and I can see the Spurs dangling Tony Parker and change (possibly Bonner and Splitter rights) to the Grizzlies for the #2 pick (Rubio), Conley (as insurance), Gasol (to the plug the middle) and one garbage contract (preferably Darko which expires next year, but possibly Jaric who is quite horrible).

    Either that or look for the Spurs to reignite talks with the Clippers who have too many bigs and Griffin coming.

    The Celtics are trying to rid themselves of Ray Allen and Rondo, and I still think the Knicks know they can’t afford to keep David Lee. Perhaps a complicated three or four team deal? Where is Artest?

    I really believe they are going to spend 24 hours thinking about the new fab four very seriously, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone big gets traded…I hope it’s not any of the big four, but it’s on the chopping block now.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    The Spurs sent out a press release tonight introducing RJ. If they were about to move him, I’m not sure they’d go through the trouble. Besides this isn’t a rebuild, it’s a “we have a couple years left, let’s reload” trade.

  • zack

    amazing trade, totally unexpected!so does this def mean omri, finley and gooden are gone? if bowen doesnt return i think udoka has to stay hes the next bowen right? why is everyone talking about sheed, i dont think we can afford him. timothy who do you see here next season for sure? i know this is a great trade, when our rivals fans are freaking out with their crazy comments!!! i absolutely love this site! go spurs go!

  • Matt Steele

    On Bill Simmon’s podcast with Chad Ford, they were throwing around the idea of a Parker for Rondo trade. Both seemed to think it would help the Spurs. Regardless of how you feel about that, his podcast was definitely worth a listen.

    I like this Jefferson trade and am excited about next year already, though the lack of depth in the front court has me a little concerned but it’s a long time until October for me to be too worried

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  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Zack,

    I’m putting together some thoughts about Jefferson’s back up right now.

  • ThatBigGuy

    Matt Steele: I listened to the podcast, and some interesting questions are raised. It’s all too much for my little mind to wrap around, though. I’m just going to have to sit back and enjoy the next few days and see what shakes out.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Matt,

    I listened to the podcast. I’m a Simmons fan and see Ford as something of a sage. I’m not sure about that Rondo deal, though. I like Parker more than Rondo, if you can believe it. But not by much. It’s the other contracts that scare me off of the idea. Ainge, by the way, is crazy to trade Rondo, or even suggest it.

  • BlaseE

    zack,

    Omri is probably less likely at this point…drafting a big who could take a roster spot now is more important. We also have less assets to get us into the first round but its still possible.

    Finley can decide to be on our team (for 2.5 million) or not. Its all up to him. After July 1st, if he hasn’t terminated his contract, he is on our team and becomes trade-able.

    Gooden and Udoka are more or less gone. They are both unrestricted FA’s. The Spurs can do better. In Udoka’s case, the FO may see him as an asset for consistency on the roster if we are adding Ian, Gist, Marcus Williams, Hairston, draft picks, or any combination.

    On other names mentioned…
    It would be absolutely crazy of our FO to go for Wallace or Camby. Wallace would have to accept 2 million or something insane like that. Camby is owed 9.6 million next season. If we are already 1-4 million over, you don’t want to add another 10 million dollar contract.

    Was Holt sure he wanted to lock in season ticket prices at last years prices? If you go to a game this season, do your part and buy an extra beer I guess.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Ha! That last line is true. Every Spurs patron should order a round, or get an extra dog, for Peter Holt at the games. What a great gesture.

  • ChillFAN

    This trade is unbelievably lopsided-so excited about the Spurs adding an All-Star wing for, what did we even give away, dwindling minutes and dwindling productivity?

    Jay Thatch, I’m not sure about a conspiracy, but I’m WITH YOU that the NBA can be a bit of a farce lately: poor officiating defended, a league office that rescinds technicals on stars, and inexcusable front offices making their bad teams worse. (I remember being so frustrated at the Gasol trade; this one’s pretty similar.)

    My friend points out that RJ makes more than Ginobili or Parker, but he has the POTENTIAL to be better than those two this coming year.

    We still need the right Big alongside Duncan, but right not we can celebrate. The Spurs upped their chances in 2010 today, big time…….

  • rocko.texas

    The initial euphoria over getting Jefferson for so cheap has slowly turned into anxiety. We already had gaping holes up front, and now the problem has been exacerbated. Not to mention that we’re already in the luxury tax. Is it safe to assume that Peter Holt is planning/willing to spend even more? After all, he signed off on this deal knowing that it would require more additions. Is Manu’s status with the Spurs in jeopardy? I hope not!

  • ChillFAN

    rocko.texas, Anxiety!!! are you kidding me,
    you just picked up an All-Star for Oberto, Kurt Thomas, and Bowen.

    The Sacramento Kings would probably not be excited about getting that trio for free!

    Of course, Manu’s status is in jeopardy, what planet do you live on!?! If Manu doesn’t produce this year, he will not be with the Spurs long term.

    Yes, RJ may be overpaid, but most players are when they go deep into the playoffs as a young All-Star the way RJ did with the Nets. If you are dying to get anxious, or cut money, look to the other “rotting carcass” veterans and underproductive benchers we still have on the team.

  • rocko.texas

    I’m just naturally anxious (what was that noise?). No it is amazing that the FO was able to swing this trade without giving up any picks, or either Mason or Hill (who both seemed like potential trade-bait last year).

    What I mean to say about Manu is, it his status for this year in particular in any jeopardy. That is to say, I hope there aren’t plans to trade him, at least before he’s had a chance to show that he’s recovered. I just hope he gets that chance (which I assume he probably will). I realize that the Spurs likely aren’t planning on any extension talk unless he shows he can stay healthy.

  • ChillFAN

    rocko.texas, I guess I can tone it down a bit, he he. But there’s really no reason to be anxious. Injuries and miscalculations CAN happen, but basically the Spurs became much better.

    I really don’t think other teams would offer the Spurs as much in a trade as Manu is worth to the team now-he’s an incredible closer. But he’s been injured for the past two years. If that happens for one more or he drops off?

  • ChillFAN

    The Spurs should retire #12. Actually, we should offer a dual ceremony for #12 and #4 on opening day.

  • Bushka

    I’m really far from sold on the wisdom of trading a PG like parker regardless but just to trade him for another PG in Rondo?

    I am not on the Rondo wagon at all. I think he is a solid pg who has a terrible shot and shines in Bostons set up with Ray Allen, Pierce, and KG around him. If you asked him to carry the team for half a season like Tony did this year i’d be absolutely gob smacked if he could come up anywhere near as big.

  • Bushka

    If bruce retires then we have to retire his number, man was/is a machine.

  • Will

    The first thing that came to my mind was: this is our own version of the Gasol trade. Basically we get a _great_ player for spare change (I mean, I love Bowen as much as any Spurs fan but right now he’s spare change in a trade like this).

  • http://antwonomous.blogspot.com Antwonomous

    Spurs become instantly quite dangerous again, but as a Lakers fan I feel we still hold the ace: Kobe Bryant is 4-2 all-time in his career against Duncan in the playoffs. What has been the difference? In tight, competitive games between the two teams, Kobe would simply dominate the fourth quarter and there was no one on the Spurs who could match his ability to take over a game and win it. Even with this trade, that remains true. And no, I haven’t forgotten about Manu. If Bynum ever gets clicking and stays clicking (meaning stays healthy), that means these are two relatively even teams…only the Lakers will have the best player on the floor and the ultimate closer. So I still think we have the edge.

    But no doubt, the Spurs just became a problem again.

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  • Sean

    Haha.. love the trade!

    Even more than that, I love the chatter from other teams fans who now have to deal with the Spurs again!

    Cheers to Peter Holt!!

  • duaneofly

    Hah yeah I know Sean! Its funny, the past couple seasons the Spurs got slack for being old etc etc
    So we trade three oldies for a 29 year old solid starter with finals experience and other team’s fans (and some sports writers) are saying it was a bad deal for the Spurs. Lol what?
    I just get a kick out of that :)
    Go Spurs!

  • BlaseE

    duaneofly,

    I think that is the first place I’ve seen “with finals experience”. I was thinking about him as our opponent that year but never even thought about his playoff experience as another benefit.

  • duaneofly

    I know that the Lakers vs Magic reader comments on Espn.com were all about how the Lakers had finals experience and the Magic didn’t etc etc
    How much help that experience was in the Lakers victory I do not know, but if the team to beat (well their fans at least) say that playoff/finals experience means something, than well RJ is an even better pick up.
    He played in the finals against the Lakers, than again the next year vs Spurs. He was part of several other NJ playoff teams, plus he’s been in the Olympics.
    He’s been on the biggest NBA stage twice and in my opinion his experience can only help us.

  • David

    Antwonomous,

    I think that pointing out that Kobe is 4-2 vs. the spurs is just a little misleading. For instance, three of those wins came with shaq in the middle and when both teams were very different. Also, 03-04 win included Karl Malone and Gary Payton and required a mircle by Fischer to keep LA in the series. The only matchup in the last five years was ’07-’08 and not only was RJ not around yet but Manu was not nearly healthy. (Also, it is important to note that when the lakers were down in 04-05, 05-06 and 06-07 the spurs did not have a chance to beat a Kobe lead team because they didn’t make the playoffs or lost in the first round).

    Kobe is a great player, but Manu at 100% has been able to do some scary things himself. Not to mention that Timmy and Tony have been pretty good too. I am not saying I would bet my life either way, just that I hope we meet up in the WCFs this year and sort this out on an even playing field.

  • BlaseE

    David,

    Even playing field? Who do you have as the top seed with home-court? Just curious.

  • juan H.

    Ill always remember Fab, bowen and Kurt!!!

    they were some of our best role players. They joined the names of Brent barry and Malik rose in my heart.

  • Matt Steele

    On ESPN’s trade chatter blog, Chad Ford throws out a Parker Mason and Bonner for Rondo and Ray Allen trade…..

    At the very least it’s interesting to think about. I love Tony Parker, after Duncan he’s my favorite player… but I’m also loyal to the team first.

  • Harry

    Jefferson makes the Spurs better,but not a true competitor in Western conference. First, Ginobli is a question mark. No one knows how he is holding up physically. But even if he’s 100%,he’s not the Manu of yesterday. You can say that about Duncan too. He is still a great forward,but he’s a step slower to the basket. Parker and Jefferson are very good players,but what about the bench? Pop can’t play these 4 the entire game for 82 games. Roger Mason is a good offense player,but he’s a very poor defender. Houston, Denver, Portland, and LA have better, younger, & deeper teams.

  • BlaseE

    Harry, I’m guessing you aren’t a Spurs fan. Look up Manu’s highlights from last season and you’ll see how good he can be 80%. He isn’t that old…..

    Duncan had an amazing season:
    75 games at 33.6 MPG
    50.4% shooting (second highest % in last 6 years) on 14.8 FGA per game all for 19.3pts per game which is only .7 pts less than his average over the last 6 years (years without Robinson)
    6.4 FTA per game on that 14.8 FGA’s
    69.2% FT’s which is his second best % over the last 6 years
    .5 STL and 1.7 BLK per game (worst of career but not by much compared to last season)
    2.2 TO’s (second lowest of career) to 3.5 AST’s (3rd highest of career)
    and 10.7 rebounds…but really if you look at his stats, Duncan is the model of consistency and the drop off you speak of is super minuscule and he is offsetting it with more assists and less turnovers

    and that’s total season Duncan…in the last 25 regular season games he played in he only broke 20 pts 6 times….in the playoffs 3 of 5 games and the two games he didn’t were our game 2 domination and dallas’s game 3 domination so his minutes were less in those games…trust me, your team doesn’t want to play Duncan in the playoffs

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?playerId=215

    “Pop can’t play these 4 the entire game for 82 games” Tell me one team that can play their best 4 players for the entire game for 82 games. I’ll take our top 4 over anyone else’s. Our bench will be very different once this offseason is over so I’m not sure I can even compare that to anyone else’s lineup.

    Compared to the closest top 4:
    80% Duncan> Healthy Garnett
    Parker>Rondo
    Healthy Manu>Pierce
    Jefferson slightly less overall than Allen but much better team mate and better on D

    With all of our injuries last season and without Jefferson, we were tied with Denver for the second best record in the West. We traded 3 players that averaged less than 19 mpg each for a star who can play 35 on any given night. We could get 54 wins next season playing any 3 of the 4 stars every game for 82 games at a 32 mpg average per star. What has Denver done to improve on their 54 win season?

  • duaneofly

    LA won the title, they’re the best this year, yes they are better than the Spurs.
    Portland, they have a bunch of young guys who are average basketball players plus Roy and Aldridge.
    Houston has a bunch of young guys and Artest. If we are going to count on Yao being healthy for the post season than that means we can count on Manu (both staying healthy seems rather unlikely).
    Denver is a good team, sorry if I’m taking away from what they did this year, but I think they overachieved, had an easier path to the WCF than the Lakers did, and still lost without much of a fight. I don’t really see Denver as that big of a threat. Sorry Nuggets fans! :(

    My point is, is a team full of decent young players and an up & coming stud (Roy) better than a team with 3 studs (TD, Manu, TP) surrounded by RJ and serviceable role players?
    Are the Rockets with their beast Ming, plus a superb defensive guy Artest, surrounded by serviceable role players better than 3 studs surrounded by RJ and serviceable role players?
    I don’t think they are.

    Unless you field a team of all-stars (but no superstars) like Detroit in 04, than its the team with the studs that are going to win it. Who the heck did Boston have last year? PP, RA, KG, Rondo and? This year Kobe rocked, Gasol, Ariza, Odom did their parts and who else did what?

    I could be wrong, I could be right, but regardless I am optimistic about this upcoming season!

  • BlaseE

    “This year Kobe rocked, Gasol, Ariza, Odom did their parts and who else did what? ” reminded me of this:
    http://www.theonion.com/content/news/kobe_bryant_proves_he_can_win

    As of right now, Ariza and Odom aren’t even really Lakers. Odom says he wants both to stay but I think Ariza could see offers to pull him away. If Ariza leaves first, Odom could just say “oh well, might as well just take the best offer even if it isn’t the Lakers”

    Would you rather pay Walton, Morrison, and Vujacic or RJ $15 next season? But he at least the Lakers have Walton locked in until the ’12-’13 season.

    http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/lakers.jsp

  • Crow

    They cleared roster spots and got Ginobili insurance- against injury and in future salary talks so I understand the move globally but I am not that impressed with Jefferson’s numbers, especially on Adjusted +/-.

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