Before the calendar flipped from June to July and the free-agency period entered the action phase, San Antonio Spurs forward Richard Jefferson opted out of his final year in San Antonio, leaving $15.2 million on the table.
To say this was a surprise is an understatement.
Jefferson's playing time and production has diminished in San Antonio last year. Yahoo! basketball wordsmith Adrain Wojnarowski points out that coach Gregg Popovich rode him particularly hard.
The San Antonio Express-News has more:
To say this was a surprise is an understatement.
Jefferson's playing time and production has diminished in San Antonio last year. Yahoo! basketball wordsmith Adrain Wojnarowski points out that coach Gregg Popovich rode him particularly hard.
The San Antonio Express-News has more:
Oh, and just an update: No news from LeBron James yet.Jefferson's agent, Todd Eley, characterized the decision as a means to take advantage of a sellers' free agent market this summer, and hedge against the uncertainty of an NBA collective bargaining agreement that expires after next season.
It doesn't necessarily mean Jefferson's first season in San Antonio will be his last. There remains a possibility - maybe even a probability -- that Jefferson will re-sign with the Spurs in a long-term deal more palatable to their bottom line.
Just what 9.7% of this country needed to read in their morning paper. Here is hoping that Jefferson joins the unemployed at the start of next season. There must be a word for Greed at that degree!!!