duncan228
12-30-2010, 05:05 PM
With Experience and Security, Richard Jefferson Shines for Spurs (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/30/with-experience-and-security-richard-jefferson-shines-for-spurs/)
By Chris Tomasson
Richard Jefferson had said late last season he might opt out of his lucrative contract and become a free agent. But many believed the likelihood of that was the same as Tim Duncan starring in a rap video.
Well, the only San Antonio Spur appearing in a rap video lately has been DeJuan Blair in P.O.P.'s "2 Hard Living (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL4t6Jxy_Hc).'' But Jefferson did opt of a contract that would have paid him $15 million this season for the Spurs, and it looks to be a move that has benefited both sides.
The forward re-signed with the Spurs, getting a four-year, $39 million deal. And he's been one of the key reasons San Antonio has an NBA-best 27-4 record.
It all started when Jefferson said in an interview last April with FanHouse he might opt out of his deal (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/04/11/spurs-jefferson-pondering-possibility-of-opting-out-of-contract/) because he wanted long-term security and sought to avoid being a free agent in the summer of 2011, when the NBA might have a lockout. It sounded reasonable except that Jefferson was putting the finishing touches on a shaky first season with the Spurs, one in which his scoring average of 12.3 was the lowest since his rookie season of 2001-02.
Jefferson opted out at the June 30 deadline and eventually re-signed for a deal worth about the same as the four-year, $40 million he had speculated about getting in April. It all sounded a bit fishy since the Spurs saved $6.6 million this season by paying Jefferson $8.4 million, which translates to $13.2 million in savings when one considers the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax.
Jefferson said there was no pre-arranged deal. But he had a pretty good idea the Spurs wanted to keep him despite his off year.
"We hadn't discussed (a new contract) before, but they understood my struggles last year weren't for a lack of effort,'' Jefferson said in an interview with FanHouse. "I think they appreciated my work ethic and my professionalism. I never complained that I wasn't starting (for stretches when he was brought off the bench in February and March) or I wasn't shooting the ball (enough). I took it all in stride and said, 'I just needed to do better.' I think they respected that and my ability and being the type of (person) they wanted here.''
Jefferson didn't re-sign with the Spurs until July 21, two weeks into the period where players could do so. He insists there was a chance the Spurs could have gone another direction.
"I didn't know,'' he said. "You never know. If all of a sudden, Chris Bosh (who ended up going as a free agent from Toronto to Miami) said he wanted to come to Texas and said he wanted to play with Tim Duncan, I could have been out in the street looking for a job some place. But you had to look at it that there were a ton of teams with a lot of money and there's only one LeBron (James, who went from Cleveland to the Heat as a free agent) and only one (Dwyane Wade, who re-signed with Miami). So those guys are going to go to certain places.''
Keep Reading... (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/30/with-experience-and-security-richard-jefferson-shines-for-spurs/)
By Chris Tomasson
Richard Jefferson had said late last season he might opt out of his lucrative contract and become a free agent. But many believed the likelihood of that was the same as Tim Duncan starring in a rap video.
Well, the only San Antonio Spur appearing in a rap video lately has been DeJuan Blair in P.O.P.'s "2 Hard Living (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL4t6Jxy_Hc).'' But Jefferson did opt of a contract that would have paid him $15 million this season for the Spurs, and it looks to be a move that has benefited both sides.
The forward re-signed with the Spurs, getting a four-year, $39 million deal. And he's been one of the key reasons San Antonio has an NBA-best 27-4 record.
It all started when Jefferson said in an interview last April with FanHouse he might opt out of his deal (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/04/11/spurs-jefferson-pondering-possibility-of-opting-out-of-contract/) because he wanted long-term security and sought to avoid being a free agent in the summer of 2011, when the NBA might have a lockout. It sounded reasonable except that Jefferson was putting the finishing touches on a shaky first season with the Spurs, one in which his scoring average of 12.3 was the lowest since his rookie season of 2001-02.
Jefferson opted out at the June 30 deadline and eventually re-signed for a deal worth about the same as the four-year, $40 million he had speculated about getting in April. It all sounded a bit fishy since the Spurs saved $6.6 million this season by paying Jefferson $8.4 million, which translates to $13.2 million in savings when one considers the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax.
Jefferson said there was no pre-arranged deal. But he had a pretty good idea the Spurs wanted to keep him despite his off year.
"We hadn't discussed (a new contract) before, but they understood my struggles last year weren't for a lack of effort,'' Jefferson said in an interview with FanHouse. "I think they appreciated my work ethic and my professionalism. I never complained that I wasn't starting (for stretches when he was brought off the bench in February and March) or I wasn't shooting the ball (enough). I took it all in stride and said, 'I just needed to do better.' I think they respected that and my ability and being the type of (person) they wanted here.''
Jefferson didn't re-sign with the Spurs until July 21, two weeks into the period where players could do so. He insists there was a chance the Spurs could have gone another direction.
"I didn't know,'' he said. "You never know. If all of a sudden, Chris Bosh (who ended up going as a free agent from Toronto to Miami) said he wanted to come to Texas and said he wanted to play with Tim Duncan, I could have been out in the street looking for a job some place. But you had to look at it that there were a ton of teams with a lot of money and there's only one LeBron (James, who went from Cleveland to the Heat as a free agent) and only one (Dwyane Wade, who re-signed with Miami). So those guys are going to go to certain places.''
Keep Reading... (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/30/with-experience-and-security-richard-jefferson-shines-for-spurs/)