timvp
06-24-2009, 12:59 AM
Buck Harvey -Spurs are getting Bucks’ Jefferson
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_are_getting_Bucks_Jefferson.html
I’d thank Bruce Bowen and tell him to come back someday. Bring your No. 12, I’d tell him. We might want to display it with a few other numbers.
I’d want Fab Oberto to know how much he meant in 2007, and I’d tell Kurt Thomas he was unlucky. He twice missed playing with a healthy Manu Ginobili in the playoffs.
Then I’d do this deal — after a quick call to Tim Duncan for approval — because Richard Jefferson is worth this and more.
But that’s easy for me to say, since I won’t be paying millions in luxury tax. Peter Holt will — to the surprise of many.
This goes against the trend. When Holt isn’t looking for the public to build him an ice rink, he’s wanting a few more million for AT&T Center improvements. He hangs banners, and he also hangs on to subsidies.
Meanwhile, his front office is trading Luis Scola for cash, and none of this is enough, at least according to what the Spurs have said. They contend they lost money even in one of their title years, and now they are struggling to sell tickets in this economy.
This is going on leaguewide. Small-market teams are especially affected, such as Milwaukee. That’s why the Bucks made this trade; they needed to clear salary.
If finances didn’t matter, the Bucks would have kept Jefferson. He’s a pro. He’s always cordial, always at practice, always ready to talk to the media.
He lived in New York when he played in New Jersey. Yet he took his 20-point scoring average to Milwaukee and didn’t say a bad word.
Gregg Popovich remembers this personality from the 2004 Olympics. While Allen Iverson and others checked out on Larry Brown, Jefferson stayed true to the program.
So the Spurs know Jefferson will listen and play Popovich’s defense, and he will do so with athletic gifts unseen in the Spurs’ rotation this era. He can jump, and he can shoot the corner 3-pointer, and he can rebound for a small forward.
He’s also durable and just turned 29.
Still, he’s been solid, not elite, without a clutch gear. His stats mushroomed mostly because Jason Kidd threw lobs to him, and this past year better defined him.
Then, with both Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut injured, the Bucks wondered if Jefferson could step up. He couldn’t.
But that’s not Jefferson’s worst flaw. His contract is. The Nets gave him about twice as much as his talent is worth. He will earn just over $14 million next season — about $2 million more than Tony Parker and about $4 million more than Manu Ginobili.
Ginobili will love hearing this as he waits for the Spurs to talk to him about an extension.
But the Spurs aren’t being cheap with Ginobili, only prudent. This is how R.C. Buford has maintained some flexibility in his payroll, and how Holt has come to trust Buford to weigh value and money.
Holt doesn’t question much, and the Spurs say he didn’t dictate anything when they dealt Scola. The Spurs also insist Holt remained this way over the winter.
One story from last February: The Spurs talked about Vince Carter, who earns more than even Jefferson, and they showed the numbers to Holt. He didn’t blink.
The Spurs remained interested in Carter this month. They delayed the deal for Jefferson for two weeks to let everything play out, then added a fourth player who will earn eight figures next season.
Holt might have simply listened to Buford. Or he might have seen a worse turn for his business if the Spurs had done nothing as Duncan aged another year.
Either way, Holt will now pay millions more, even with less projected revenue, with no guarantees that Jefferson will sell even one ticket.
How many would have?
[email protected]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_are_getting_Bucks_Jefferson.html
I’d thank Bruce Bowen and tell him to come back someday. Bring your No. 12, I’d tell him. We might want to display it with a few other numbers.
I’d want Fab Oberto to know how much he meant in 2007, and I’d tell Kurt Thomas he was unlucky. He twice missed playing with a healthy Manu Ginobili in the playoffs.
Then I’d do this deal — after a quick call to Tim Duncan for approval — because Richard Jefferson is worth this and more.
But that’s easy for me to say, since I won’t be paying millions in luxury tax. Peter Holt will — to the surprise of many.
This goes against the trend. When Holt isn’t looking for the public to build him an ice rink, he’s wanting a few more million for AT&T Center improvements. He hangs banners, and he also hangs on to subsidies.
Meanwhile, his front office is trading Luis Scola for cash, and none of this is enough, at least according to what the Spurs have said. They contend they lost money even in one of their title years, and now they are struggling to sell tickets in this economy.
This is going on leaguewide. Small-market teams are especially affected, such as Milwaukee. That’s why the Bucks made this trade; they needed to clear salary.
If finances didn’t matter, the Bucks would have kept Jefferson. He’s a pro. He’s always cordial, always at practice, always ready to talk to the media.
He lived in New York when he played in New Jersey. Yet he took his 20-point scoring average to Milwaukee and didn’t say a bad word.
Gregg Popovich remembers this personality from the 2004 Olympics. While Allen Iverson and others checked out on Larry Brown, Jefferson stayed true to the program.
So the Spurs know Jefferson will listen and play Popovich’s defense, and he will do so with athletic gifts unseen in the Spurs’ rotation this era. He can jump, and he can shoot the corner 3-pointer, and he can rebound for a small forward.
He’s also durable and just turned 29.
Still, he’s been solid, not elite, without a clutch gear. His stats mushroomed mostly because Jason Kidd threw lobs to him, and this past year better defined him.
Then, with both Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut injured, the Bucks wondered if Jefferson could step up. He couldn’t.
But that’s not Jefferson’s worst flaw. His contract is. The Nets gave him about twice as much as his talent is worth. He will earn just over $14 million next season — about $2 million more than Tony Parker and about $4 million more than Manu Ginobili.
Ginobili will love hearing this as he waits for the Spurs to talk to him about an extension.
But the Spurs aren’t being cheap with Ginobili, only prudent. This is how R.C. Buford has maintained some flexibility in his payroll, and how Holt has come to trust Buford to weigh value and money.
Holt doesn’t question much, and the Spurs say he didn’t dictate anything when they dealt Scola. The Spurs also insist Holt remained this way over the winter.
One story from last February: The Spurs talked about Vince Carter, who earns more than even Jefferson, and they showed the numbers to Holt. He didn’t blink.
The Spurs remained interested in Carter this month. They delayed the deal for Jefferson for two weeks to let everything play out, then added a fourth player who will earn eight figures next season.
Holt might have simply listened to Buford. Or he might have seen a worse turn for his business if the Spurs had done nothing as Duncan aged another year.
Either way, Holt will now pay millions more, even with less projected revenue, with no guarantees that Jefferson will sell even one ticket.
How many would have?
[email protected]