San Antonio needed a major infusion of offensive talent this season, and it appears the team has found it. Multiple league reports indicate the Spurs have traded for Milwaukee's Richard Jefferson, sending away only bit players Bruce Bowen (age 38), Kurt Thomas (age 36) and Fabricio Oberto (age 34), according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Jefferson has been in Wisconsin for one year, following last June's draft day trade which sent Yi Jianlian and others to New Jersey. Jefferson has always been a moderately efficient scorer, and he should provide some relief for Tony Parker and Tim Duncan in the Spurs starting line-up. He's not quite an ace defender, but he played hard for Scott Skiles last season and hasn't missed a game in two seasons.
All rumors involving the Spurs are interesting, and not just because of the team's status as one of the league's best year after year (after year after year). San Antonio does things differently, and ape as other franchises might try, no one can quite replicate the funky method to the Buford/Popovich madness. Even if a rumor susses out false, the anatomy and evolution of said rumor deserves attention. Every bit of understanding helps.
As such, the burgeoning rumor placing Olympiakos center Yiannis Bouroussis in a Spurs uniform for three years, $10-12 million, as reported by 48 Minutes of Hell and backed up by Greek sources ... that makes you pay attention. S.A. is always always looking for an appropriate running mate for Tim Duncan, and anyone who follows European basketball knows Bouroussis' reputation as a bad-ass bruiser. It seems like a match made in Heaven.
Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.
It truly is the end of an era, as one by one the old guard is falling down. The first to fall was Shaquille O'Neal, who missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993. Next up? The Pistons, ousted over the weekend by the Cavaliers, marking the first time in seven years they've failed to play in the Eastern Conference Finals.
And then on Tuesday night the Spurs were the next to go, ungraciously dumped from the playoffs on their home floor by the Mavericks. It's the first time since 2000 that the Spurs have failed to win at least one playoff series, and it's the first postseason of Tim Duncan's career that he's actually played (he missed the 2000 playoffs with a knee injury) and lost in the first round.
It feels strange to even type it, but it's true: the Spurs have been eliminated in the first round, losing to the Mavericks on Tuesday night 106-93 and ending a streak of eight consecutive seasons in which the Spurs won at least one playoff series.
At least there's no confusion about what the Spurs need to do this summer: get deeper. This team never bounced back from the loss of Manu Ginobili, as even huge games from Tim Duncan (30 points, eight boards) and Tony Parker (26 points, 12 assists) weren't enough to keep this game competitive.
Sure, it's possible the Spurs can put together a nice effort on their homecourt in Game 5 on Tuesday night and push their series against the Mavericks to a sixth game in Dallas.
And maybe the Spurs could even follow that up with an unlikely Game 6 win on the road and make their first-round series a seven-gamer.
Mavericks vs. Spurs, 9:30 PM ET Dallas leads series, 3-1 | Preview
I guess seeding isn't that important, after all. Of the four games on Saturday, the Cavaliers were the only home team who actually managed to protect their home court as the No. 7 seed Bulls, No. 6 Mavs and No. 5 Rockets all won on the road.
There's no use reading too much into Dallas and Houston's Game 1 wins -- the Western Conference was so tight all year long that everyone knew those matchups would be a battle, even if the first games weren't particularly close. But Chicago nullifying home court advantage from the Celtics? That's huge.
The time has come. Playoffs. And you know what that means. No, not obnoxious commercials that dig into your skull. FanHouse Live Blog Fun Partytime! We'll be here all night, with two live blogs to keep you entertained on a Saturday night!
It all starts with Mavs at Spurs at 8PM EST. Can the Mavericks continue their hothand into the playoffs against a wounded Spurs team? Can the Spurs pull one more run out of their hat, even with Manu Ginobili on the floor? Join us at 8PM EST and we'll find out.
These two pillars -- the old Spurs and the, well, old Mavericks -- have been written off at various points of 2008-09. The Spurs were cast aside when Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker suffered early injuries and the team took its time to find itself in the West's top eight teams. The Mavericks? ... Well, every single day. But here we are, with both teams facing reasonable paths to the conference finals. Right?
It took longer than in seasons past, but the Kings have finally clinched the worst record in the league. As a reward for their (ahem) efforts, Sacramento will have the best chance of walking away with the No. 1 pick in June's draft. The draft lottery will be held May 19. The Kings will have a 25% chance of nabbing the top pick, and a 64% chance of getting one of the top three picks. Sacramento can pick no lower than No. 4.
The Kings' final home game of the season had wide-ranging ramifications, not just among the dregs of the league. Fans of Portland, Denver and Houston begged for Sacramento victory as the opponent was the Spurs. San Antonio sat Tim Duncan for a day of rest, and it almost killed them.
San Antonio needed a major infusion of offensive talent this season, and it appears the team has found it. Multiple league reports indicate the Spurs have traded for Milwaukee's Richard Jefferson, sending away only bit players Bruce Bowen (age 38), Kurt Thomas (age 36) and Fabricio Oberto (age 34), according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.
All rumors involving the Spurs are interesting, and not just because of the team's status as one of the league's best year after year (after year after year). San Antonio does things differently, and ape as other franchises might try, no one can quite replicate the funky method to the Buford/Popovich madness. Even if a rumor susses out false, the anatomy and evolution of said rumor deserves attention. Every bit of understanding helps.
It feels strange to even type it, but it's true: the Spurs have been eliminated in the first round, losing to the Mavericks on Tuesday night 106-93 and ending a streak of eight consecutive seasons in which the Spurs won at least one playoff series. 
One question for the San Antonio Spurs: Now what?
The time has come. Playoffs. And you know what that means. No, not obnoxious commercials that dig into your skull. FanHouse Live Blog Fun Partytime! We'll be here all night, with two live blogs to keep you entertained on a Saturday night! 
FanHouse previews the 
It took longer than in seasons past, but the Kings have finally clinched the worst record in the league. As a reward for their (ahem) efforts, Sacramento will have the best chance of walking away with the No. 1 pick in June's draft. The draft lottery will be held May 19. The Kings will have a 25% chance of nabbing the top pick, and a 64% chance of getting one of the top three picks. Sacramento can pick no lower than No. 4.
