James Anderson headed to Atlanta?

Apparently so, if this from Spurs teammate — er, ex-teammate? — Danny Green has any validity:

Got to show love n shout my guy @25 Anderson out for the new deal with Atlanta…Congrats man! Bright future ahead

Certainly makes sense, what with Danny Ferry now up operations in Hotlanta. Anderson gets a fresh start with a team looking to rebuild, while the veteran Spurs will hardly be crippled by the departure of a shooting guard who, two seasons into his NBA career, can’t really shoot (career 49.7 TS %).

Spurs poised to take the title in an “even” year

The Spurs are back.  The best evidence to back up this claim is the lack of media attention the Spurs have been playing through.  No longer are there catcalls that the team is too old to compete.  In fact, this 2011-12 edition of the Spurs are now the 13th oldest team behind such teams as (and in order)

NBA Oldest Teams

  1. Mavericks
  2. Hawks
  3. LA Lakers
  4. Celtics
  5. Suns
  6. Heat
  7. Trailblazers
  8. Magic
  9. Bulls
  10. Clippers
  11. Raptors
  12. Pistons
  13. Spurs

The Spurs are also still being disrespected by the Vegas odds makers who still have them listed at 8/1 to win while the Heat are 9/5, Thunder are 3/1, the Bulls are 15/4, the Lakers 14/1 and the Clippers 20/1.

While the Spurs are indeed younger, this team in this lockout shortened season and their head coach Gregg Popovich are indeed the perfect fit.   Pop has been regulating minutes for his “Big Three” all season and when an 11-game winning streak was on the line, Pop did not hesitate from not playing (heck not even flying them over) the Utah Jazz in Utah.  While some of the Jazz players said they felt “disrespected” by Pop’s move, they have to know that if the “Big Three” had shown up, the Jazz would have been one step further from the playoffs. As it is, they are barely hanging on and the victory over the Spurs kept them alive.  So, Jazz fans do not be miffed that the “Big Three” were held back.   You should be thanking Popovich for the gift.

Duncan’s deal: Three years, $30 million

The three-year contract that will take Spurs captain Tim Duncan to the end of his career with the Spurs will pay the two-time Most Valuable Player just over $30 million, according to NBA executives privy to details of the deal that have been released by the league.

Duncan, whose contract last season called for him to be paid $21.2 million, will get $9.65 million next season and $10.4 million in 2013-14. The final season of the three-year deal, at Duncan’s option, is for an even $10 million.

The 36-year-old Spurs star last season averaged 15.4 points, a team-high 9.0 rebounds and a team-high 1.52 blocks.

Earlier published reports had put Duncan’s pay package between $34 million and $39 million.