THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
The San Antonio Spurs acquired swingman Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks in a four-player deal yesterday, giving San Antonio the extra offensive punch the aging former champions sorely needed.
The Spurs sent veterans Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto to the Bucks in exchange for the 29-year-old Jefferson, who averaged 19.6 points in his one season with the Bucks.
Milwaukee then dealt Oberto to the Pistons for forward Amir Johnson. The trades give the Bucks more financial flexibility, the Spurs a proven scorer, and the Pistons a veteran big man at a lower cost than Johnson.
Spurs guard Tony Parker welcomed Jefferson into the fold, alongside Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. San Antonio is coming off its shortest playoff run since 2000 and faded down the stretch with Duncan hobbled and Ginobili sidelined by injury.
"He's a great wing," Parker said. "It's something we don't have on our team."
Milwaukee unloaded Jefferson's contract, which has two years and $29.2 million remaining.
The trade was a shock to at least one Bucks player: Charlie Villanueva posted "RJ traded to Spurs. Wow" on his Twitter account before the trade was official.
Johnson, a second-round draft pick by Detroit in 2005, started 24 games for the Pistons and averaged 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.
Bowen, a former 76er, was a key cog in helping the Spurs win three championships, relishing his role as a shutdown defender tasked with guarding the best player on the floor.
Thomas, 36, is a 14-year veteran who averaged 4.3 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench last season. Oberto, 34, spent four years in San Antonio and underwent a procedure earlier this month to correct an irregular heartbeat.
T'wolves trade Foye. The Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to trade guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Washington Wizards for the fifth overall draft pick and three players.
Two NBA officials with knowledge of the deal confirmed that the trade had been agreed upon last night.
The deal would give Minnesota the fifth and sixth overall selections in tomorrow's draft, as well as forwards Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and Oleksiy Pecherov.
A former Villanova star, Foye averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists last season.
Lame draft for Celtics. Having traded their first-round pick to Minnesota in the deal that brought Kevin Garnett to Boston, the Celtics do not pick until No. 58 - of 60 - in the NBA draft. It is the lowest they will ever have made their first pick.
"It can be pretty boring compared to what we've been doing the past few years," general manager Danny Ainge said. "We've been good. I guess that's a good position to be in."
May cut loose. The Charlotte Bobcats decided not to make a one-year qualifying offer of $3.7 million to Sean May, who has appeared in only 82 of a possible 328 games since being the 13th pick in the 2005 draft.
Plagued first by chronic knee pain that led to microfracture surgery, May struggled to get into proper playing shape last season for coach Larry Brown, who refused to play the 6-foot-9 power forward for long stretches until he lost weight.
