Spur of the Moment

Look for the San Antonio Spurs to be the early title favorite in 2010 after acquiring Richard Jefferson from the Bucks on Tuesday.

From a winning standpoint the Spurs trade for Richard Jefferson looks brilliant (They gave up Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, & Fabricio Oberto). But from an economics standpoint, it may not be the best.

The Bucks gave up Jefferson to clear some much needed cap. It would clear $15 million for the Bucks in 2010-11 and give them more options for next season. They're also expected to release Bowen and Oberto (Look for the Spurs to pick Bowen back up on a minimum contract).

In my opinion, they gave up Jefferson so they could re-sign likely both Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, plus I am sure they want to start developing Joe Alexander.

As for the Spurs, if they wanted to be a title contender again this was the right move. They've lacked a big-time threat out on the wing. Jefferson will provide that. He's averaged 21 ppg the past two seasons and looked very impressive towards the end of 2009. He's also a big threat from the arc, averaging about 40%; which is something the Spurs have lacked.

San Antonio also got rid of some unneeded veterans. It was time to bring in another scoring threat to help compliment Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli.

Financially, it may not be the best for the Spurs, but I still think it was necessary. They are now over the cap by 4.5 million this year and have no room for the 2010-2011 season. They may have to trade Matt Bonner now to save cap, which will hurt the bench. But I still think this trade was worth it.

Duncan, Parker, Ginolbi and most of the team are not getting any younger and it was now or never for San Antonio. The Spurs will be a title threat for at least the next couple of years and this trade could put them over the top. They might as well of done it because in a few years the Spurs will need to start bringing in some young and fresh blood anyways. The Spurs are my early 2010 title favorite.