Tag: Caron Butler

Spurs flirting with free-agent small forwards

At some point today, Richard Jefferson is expected to report to the Spurs’ practice facility for a pre-training camp physical exam. If he times his visit just right, he might bump into a couple of players auditioning to replace him.

According to multiple reports, free-agent small forwards Caron Butler and Josh Howard are scheduled to be in town today to hear recruiting pitches from Spurs general manager R.C. Buford and other team officials.

For Jefferson, for now still the Spurs’ starting small forward, it could mean a change of address is imminent. Or it could mean nothing at all.

Butler, 31, averaged 15 points in 29 games for Dallas last season, which ended prematurely when he ruptured his right patella tendon on New Year’s Day in Milwaukee.

Howard, like Butler, is 31 with a recent history of knee problems. He averaged a career-low 8.4 points in 18 games with Washington while recovering from an ACL tear sustained the year before.

The Spurs’ apparent fascination with free-agent small forwards — the team is also believed to be interested in Washington’s Maurice Evans, former New Jersey swingman Bostjan Nachbar and Phoenix’s Vince Carter, should the Suns waive him — gives rise to natural speculation about Jefferson’s future in San Antonio.

To get either Butler or Howard, the Spurs would likely need to clear enough payroll to trigger full use of the $5 million mid-level exception. The most obvious way to get there would be to waive Jefferson under the NBA’s forthcoming amnesty provision, wiping his nearly $9.3 million off the rolls.

His pay having outstripped production since a ballyhooed arrival in the summer of 2009, Jefferson would seem a prime candidate for amnesty.

He has averaged 11.6 points in two seasons, and though he did shoot a career-best 44 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in 2010-11, he was benched for the entire second half of the Spurs’ Game 6 ouster in Memphis.

Yet it is far from certain the Spurs will opt for amnesty with Jefferson. It might make more sense for them to wait until the summer to waive Jefferson, when Tim Duncan’s nearly $21.2 million will also come off the books, giving the Spurs a deeper war chest with which to chase a more bountiful 2012 free-agent crop.

The Spurs could also look to find a trade partner for Jefferson, though they might have to search far and wide to find a willing taker for the three years and nearly $30.5 million left on his deal.

It is also possible, and perhaps probable, Jefferson opens this season in the same place he began the last two — as the Spurs’ starting small forward.

Whatever the Spurs’ intentions are, they should become clearer in the coming days.

Teams cannot begin signing free agents until Friday. With training camps across the league allowed to open the same day, there will be urgency to fill out the roster.

“(We’re) trying to decide who we want to sign and what free agents to go after, and do we want to make any trades?” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “That’s the emphasis between now and training camp opening. For all teams, really, because everybody’s got to put their team together.”

If the Spurs aim to land either Butler or Howard, they will face competition.

Butler met with representatives from Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, and will head to New Jersey and possibly Detroit after departing San Antonio. Disinclined to offer more than a one-year deal, Dallas remains a longshot to retain Butler.

In addition to the Spurs, Howard is also scheduled to meet with Chicago, New Jersey and Washington, which still harbors hope of bringing him back.

Amnesty for Jefferson still on table

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.

Mavs give Top 10 list on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’

The Dallas Mavericks have been busy the last several days.

The championship celebration in Dallas Thursday came after a visit by “Late Night with David Letterman” for a presentation about the “Top Ten Good Things About Winning the NBA Championship.”

For the edification of Spurs Nation, the players’ reasons are listed below. Or they are available on.

10: Shawn Marion, “I don’t have to sit here and lie about how winning isn’t important.”

9: J.J. Barea, “The congratulatory sext from Anthony Weiner.”

8: Rodrigue Beaubois, “Helped take the sting out of hearing Hef’s wedding was cancelled.”

7: Brian Cardinal, “It’s every kid’s dream to lick the Larry O’Brien Trophy.”

6: Rick Carlisle, “U.S. Constitution permits NBA champs to sit in on national security briefings.”

5: Tyson Chandler, “Celebrating with my kitties.”

4: Caron Butler, “Why didn’t anyone tell me we won?”

3: Jason Terry, “Now I can ask Mark Cuban for a raise.”

2: Mark Cuban, “If you thought I was cocky and obnoxious before – get ready.”

1: Dirk Nowitzki, “It might land me a Kardashian sister.”

It was an interesting, eclectic choice of presenters.

Considering his importance to the team, I wonder where Jason Kidd was when the remote crew showed up?