In an article by Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express News, the San Antonio Spurs were close to acquiring Vince Carter instead of Richard Jefferson. But the deal broke down when the Spurs wanted the Nets’ draft pick.
Before the Spurs recruited the Pistons to help them complete the pre-draft trade that brought Richard Jefferson to San Antonio late last June, they tried hard to pry Vince Carter away from the Nets.
Offering the same players who ultimately were included in the three-team deal for “R.J.” — Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto — the Spurs also were willing to send Roger Mason Jr. to the Nets to get Carter.
Trouble was, they also wanted the Nets’ spot in the first round of the draft, 11th overall. That made the Nets balk.
Interestingly, with all the recent talk of Tiago Splitter coming or not coming to the Spurs next season, the Nets wanted Splitter’s draft rights but the Spurs declined the request.
According to Eastern Conference insiders, the Nets countered with a request for the draft rights to Brazilian big man Tiago Splitter, the Spurs’ top pick in the 2007 draft and a star in the Spanish League.
Convinced they would have a fighting chance to extract Splitter from Spain this summer, the Spurs turned their focus to Jefferson.
Here we are today with Jefferson for at least another season if he picks up his option to remain a Spur. Jefferson has said he might opt out of his contract and explore his options. Yeah right! No way does he pass up a guaranteed 15 million dollars contract in the hopes another team will give him similar money.
Let’s not forget the Spurs also made efforts to acquire Corey Maggette to fill the void at the small-forward spot prior to Jefferson. Who knows how that would have worked out?
Click HERE to read the complete article by Mike Monroe.
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