According to Yahoo! Sports, former San Antonio Spur and Cleveland Cavaliers' GM, Danny Ferry, will be returning to the Spurs:

The San Antonio Spurs have reached agreement with former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry to return to the franchise’s front office as an assistant GM, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

After Spurs vice president of basketball operations Dell Demps left to become GM of the New Orleans Hornets last month, Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford aggressively recruited Ferry to return to San Antonio.

Thoughts Spurs fans?

UPDATE:

The Spurs have officially named Ferry VP of Basketball Operations:

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Danny Ferry has been named the team’s Vice President of Basketball Operations. This is his second stint with the Spurs. Ferry played for the Spurs from 2000-03 and served as the team’s Director of Basketball Operations from 2003-05. During his tenure in San Antonio, Ferry captured an NBA Championship as a player (2003) and as a member of the front office (2005).

“We are thrilled that Danny has decided to rejoin the Spurs organization,” said Spurs General Manager RC Buford. “He has a great basketball mind and brings a vast amount of NBA experience and expertise to our program. It is a true pleasure to be able to welcome Danny and his wonderful family back to South Texas.”  (source Spurs.com)

On August 13, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined several players, a coach and an owner along with the 1960 and 1992 US Olympic teams.

But one name was once again not called, former Spur Artis Gilmore.

Gilmore, 22 years removed from the NBA, has yet to get enough votes from the Honors Committee to be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Lesser players are inducted every year and I'm sure I'm not the only person scratching my head and wondering every time the inductees are announced every year.

Some insist that it's because Gilmore's best years came when he played for the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA, which was considered inferior to the NBA.

But, as I've said many times before, it's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame, and it's a tragedy that Gilmore's contributions continue to be overlooked.

Looking back, Gilmore excelled at every level of the game, which makes one wonder why he hasn't even received one vote and is now ineligible until 2012.

His college career was split between two schools, his first two years were at Gardner-Webb Junior College followed by two at Jacksonville University, where he now serves as Special Assistant to the President.

At Jacksonville, he lead his Dolphins to the National Title Game, but came up short against UCLA. Gilmore's average of 22.7 rebounds at Jacksonville is still the highest in NCAA Division I Basketball history.

In 1971, Gilmore, known as the A-Train, was drafted by both the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.

He opted for the ABA and starred immediately. In his rookie year, he won both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards. He was also a five-time ABA all-star, five-time All-ABA first team, five-time ABA all-defensive first team member and both an All-Star game MVP and Playoff MVP.

Not only was Gilmore dominant, he was considered the best center and the second-best ABA player at a time after Julius Erving.

After four ABA teams joined the NBA and his Colonels team folded, he was drafted first, by the Chicago Bulls in an ABA dispersal draft.

After six seasons in Chicago, he asked for a trade after many of the Bulls' failures were blamed on him. Many called him passive, said he didn't look mean enough on the court and wasn't aggressive enough, even though none played Kareem Abdul-Jabaar tougher and he left Chcago with several accolades.

Sound familiar? David Robinson was labeled "soft" his entire career, even though he retired with two rings, a very impressive list of accolades and career averages that you can't help but respect.

Gilmore came to San Antonio in a trade for Dave Corzine, Mark Olberding and cash. He teamed up with George Gervin and gave the Spurs their best season record since they joined the NBA. With a prolific scorer like Gervin around, Gilmore focused on doing what he did best, rebounding and blocking shots.

The 7-2 Gervin averaged 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in his five years with the Spurs.

After the 1986-87 season, Gilmore was traded back to Chicago, where he played 24 games, was cut and then played for Boston for the remainder of the year before he retired at the age of 38.

In the NBA, he was a six-time All-Star, made the All-Defensive second team in 1978 and was the career leader in field goal percentage.

After a career like that, you almost have to question the committee. How can a player that accomplished so much on the collegiate level, in the ABA and the NBA, not get a single vote?

You could say he never won a title, but neither did several other Hall-of-Famers, including recent inductee Karl Malone. Maybe it was his low-key, no hype personality, like current Spur Tim Duncan, but regardless of his personality, his numbers and accolades can speak for him more than he will.

His former Kentucky Colonels coach Hubie Brown will also speak on his behalf.

"I have no idea why he's not in. He's the most dominant center in the history of the ABA. He dominated college basketball at Gardner-Webb Junior College, then at Jacksonville, and was the Most Valuable Player in the 1975 playoffs."

"In the NBA, he revitalized the Chicago franchise and played for a great team in San Antonio with Gervin."

"He was extremely coachable, a hard worker, and got along with his peers. He played big in big games. So I don't understand why he is snubbed . I have difficulty with that, because I don't know what else he could have done. I don't know what else to say."

2012 is two years away, and hopefully someone on the committee will right this wrong. If not, Gilmore will continue to wait, just as we will, knowing that it's inevitable that the Hall will finally appreciate his game and career as we do.

In Brazil's last exhibition game or "friendlies" against France before the 2010 FIBA World Championship begins later this week, Splitter led Brazil to a 79-66 victory, scoring 19 points, four rebounds, shooting 78% from the floor in 23 minutes of play.

After the game, Splitter had this to say about the win:

After the match, Splitter said it was important to end the phase of friendlies with a win."It builds self-esteem of the group." "Even more against a team as good as France." Splitter admitted that the team did not start well 'but show the power of resilience. " (source esporte.ig.com)

"It was important to end the phase of friendlies with a win because it increases self-esteem of the group even more", said the new (player) of the San Antonio Spurs."We started badly, but managed to reverse the negative result of the first half (44-39 for the French), showing the power of the team," he added. (source esporte.ig.com)

Solid win for Brazil as the team was losing at the half against France, 44-39.

According to lasprovincias.es, Valencia Power Electronics has raised San Antonio Spurs' draftee Nando de Colo's buy-out:

The Power Electronics has increased buyout Colo Nando to prevent the other team can grab it easily, since there are several who want him on their staff, including some of the best league in the world. Recently there has been a scout for San Antonio Spurs (French team elected in the NBA draft) according to the player.

So far the clause was about 700,000 euros. The base still has two years left on his contract and he has raised the salary. "He came with a reasonable salary, so it has been improved through the benefits to be had," said a club spokesman.

I recently had an exclusive interview with de Colo and he did mention the Spurs have spoken to him on areas of his game he needs to improve upon. However, with just two more years remaining on his contract with Valencia, those two years will do him some good to develop his game should he not resign with the club and decide to come to the NBA and the Spurs.

It will be interesting to watch him play in the upcoming 2010 FIBA World Championship. It will give Spurs fans a more in-depth look at him since being drafted by the Spurs in 2009.

In his first action against Team USA in New York City last week, de Colo finished with five points, one steal, one assist, one rebound, was 2-2 from the free-throw line, hit one three-point shot in 20 minutes of play.

Here is the Project Spurs exclusive interview with de Colo.

During the 2010 NBA Las Vegas Summer League, Tyler Wilkerson averaged 11 point, 6.6 rebounds helping the San Antonio Spurs' summer league team to go undefeated.

Though he did sign a deal to play overseas with Galil Gilboa, in an interview with the dailymail.com, Wilkerson is hoping to build on his performance from Las Vegas and earn a spot with the Spurs this upcoming season:

"I'm on a mission," Wilkerson said in a phone interview Monday from San Antonio, where he is working out in hopes of parlaying his summer performance into a full-time roster spot with the Spurs.

"I'm out here working, doing everything I can to make this team."

On his contract with Galil Gilboa:

"It's a deal we had on the table for some time," Wilkerson said. "I have it in case I don't make an NBA team. It's a great situation for me."  

In the interview, Wilkerson did mention the Spurs keep calling him back which is a good sign for the young man from Marshall.

I had a chance to be in Las Vegas to cover the Spurs summer league team and he did leave an impression on me. He is an athletic big man the Spurs do need. However, he is still a bit raw but one thing is for sure, he can finish at the rim. Ask Memphis Grizzlies' Hasheem Thabeet.

Arianné is back for the latest Spanish edition of the Spurscast. In this episode, Arianne recaps the latest player signings by the San Antonio Spurs for the Spanish speaking Spurs fans.

Remember, Project Spurs was the first Spurs blog to have a San Antonio Spurs podcast and the first to have a Spanish podcast for Spanish-speaking Spurs fans.

Arianne regresa con el Spurscast en Español mas reciente con todos de las noticias de los Spurs.

Y recuerden que Project Spurs fue la primera página de Internet en tener un podcast de Los San Antonio Spurs y la primera en tener un podcast en español para los fanáticos de habla hispana.

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The San Antonio Spurs unveiled their new slogan for the upcoming NBA season called "Suit Up."

“’Suit Up’ is a campaign that calls for all of San Antonio; the fans, sponsors, local businesses and our community, to be part of the team, the game and the passion of Spurs basketball,” said Spurs Sports & Entertainment Vice President of Marketing and Sales Frank Miceli. “Together we make a team, and we look forward to another great season of support from the most loyal and energetic fans in the NBA.”(source Spurs.com)

Though not as catchy as the "Go Spurs Go" chant, it works.

What are your thoughts Spurs fans?

According to the San Antonio Express-News, former Spurs' play-by-play announcer, Jay Howard, is battling cancer in both of his kidneys, called  renal cell carcinoma.

Surgery on Aug. 3 removed roughly half of one kidney. Another surgery set for Sept. 8 likely will cost him half of the other.

But Howard, the voice of the Spurs from 1989-2001, said doctors have told him his prognosis is excellent. The cancer has been found to be contained in both kidneys and hasn’t spread to any lymph nodes.

“They don’t know why I had two tumors growing at the same time,” said Howard, who has been with Planto Roe since 2005. “But they said that this kind of cancer could have been growing for five years.”

Howard, a fan favorite for his days with the Spurs and Ticket 760, will be in our thoughts and prayers as he prepares for his surgery next month.

With a few months until the San Antonio Spurs' season opener, we are in basketball purgatory. The days just keep getting hotter while basketball seems to be getting farther. Thankfully the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey will give us a sigh of relief, but that's the World Championship, not the NBA.

So as I sit in my front yard, spraying myself with the water hose and thinking of basketball seasons past, here's a list of ten things Spurs fans should be on the look out for during the 2010-2011 season.

1.The arrival of Tiago Splitter

After years of wishing and wanting, the wait for Tiago Splitter is over. Splitter will finally be in a silver and black uniform when the regular season tips off against the Indiana Pacers on October 27th but will Splitter be the "Robin" to Tim Duncan's "Batman"? The peanut butter to his jelly? The Laverne to his Shirley? Splitter has everything he needs to be successful in San Antonio. He already has great foot work and a wonderful knowledge of the game having played professional basketball since he was 15. Playing alongside Duncan and for an organization that believes in him and what he's capable of, will only add confidence to his well developed game.

However, Spurs fans were concerned with the reigning Spanish League MVP. As reported here on Project Spurs, Splitter suffered a muscle contusion in his left thigh while playing overseas for Brazil but after an MRI the injury was minor. Splitter has said he will play in the World Championship in Turkey. Spurs fans know all to well the complications that arise from injuries to Spurs players playing during the summer. Hopefully playing in the World Championship against Team USA will give him a little taste of the NBA.

Oh and if you have not seen the Project Spurs exclusive interview with Splitter, click HERE.

2. Will the real Richard Jefferson please stand up?

Disappointing is not the word most Spurs fans thought they were going to use when asked about the play of Richard Jefferson during the 2009-2010 season, but it is. Jefferson's last season is as disappointing as this years film by M. Night Shyamalan "The Last Air-Bender." The graphics look amazing and the plot seems intriguing but the casting is terrible and the movie is just a huge let down. But there is always the possibility that the sequel will be better then the first movie.

And that's what we Spurs fans are hoping for. That the Jefferson sequel will be more productive and entertaining then last seasons show. There is no reason for it not to be. Jefferson is still in the prime of his career and is a highly explosive player. With one year under his belt he should feel a little more comfortable in the system and hopefully he'll be willing to take some of the five million open jump shots that he passed up last year.

3. DeJuan Blair: more minutes, no knees, no problem

The steal of the 2009 NBA draft, look for Blair to get more minutes this season. Last season Blair averaged 18 minutes per contest while pulling down 6.4 rebounds a game. If coach Popovich plays Blair around 24-26 minutes a game, look for not only Blair's rebounds to increase but also his 7.8 points a game to go up as well. After making the NBA All-Rookie second team and earning Co-MVP of the Rookie Challenge, it seems like the sky is the limit for this young beast. He shown a really strong commitment to the Spurs for taking a chance on him despite his lack of ACLs in his knees. ACLs or no ACLs Blair will continue to play hard and earn those extra minutes.

4. The knee of Tim Duncan

If you're like me then last year was painful for you to watch Timmy play in that huge knee brace. It is a sign of the times. Duncan is no longer the physically demanding post player he once was. His baby hook shot that was at one time unguardable was shot block candy for players like Dwight Howard and Brendan Haywood. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes per game, all career lows.

Despite playing all season with a lingering knee problem, Duncan played in 78 games and 18 points 10 rebounds a game ain't to shabby for guy who is 33 and has played in 1,147 games. Any NBA general manager would love to have Duncan's 18 and 10 a game on their team but Duncan brings more than stats to the Spurs. He brings leadership and confidence. He knows what it takes to win and even though he's getting up there in age, he can still show some of the younger players how it's done in the low post not with his body, but with his mind. Look for another stellar season from Duncan along with another All-Star appearance and, hopefully, a fifth title.

5. Bienvenido a Miami!

The Pat Riley production of the South Beach Circus comes to the AT&T center on March 4th. It'll be the first meeting between the two teams of the regular season and the game, like every other Miami game, will be aired live on ESPN. A possible finals match-up, this meeting helps the Spurs see where they stand towards the end of the season and how they match-up against the elite teams of the NBA. I know, March is almost a whole year away, but this gives you time to save up and buy tickets. This game will sell out, if it hasn't already, so start saving now and I'll meet you at the AT&T Center on March 4th.

6. James Anderson looks to make a splash

You might not know anything about Anderson but by the end of the season you will. Anderson was selected by the Spurs with the twentieth overall pick in this years draft and he bring the Spurs an aggressive scorer and perimeter defender known for clogging the passing lanes and coming up with big steals. The 2009 Big 12 Player of the Year averaged 22.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game for the Oklahoma State Cowboys last season. Anderson looks to be another young player that can make a difference on this roster for years to come. In 2008 it was George Hill. In 2009, DeJuan Blair. This season it will be James Anderson. If given enough minutes, look for him to make one of the All-Rookie teams.

7. New contract Manu

With 16.5 points and nearly 5 assist a game last season, Manu Ginobili had one of his best seasons ever for the Spurs and he was rewarded with a three-year $38.9 million dollar contract. But now that Manu is locked up, will he continue to be as aggressive as he was last season? We all know Ginobili is one of the games most aggressive competitors, but will this new contract make his game complacent? Is his ankle finally healed? There are lots of questions when it comes to Ginobili but one thing is for sure, the Spurs need him to win a championship.

8. Spurs take on the Lake Show

The Spurs play Kobe Bryant and the two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers on December 28th in the Staples Center. This will be the first meeting between the two Western Conference powers. This is our first opportunity to see Splitter take on the biggest team in the west. This is also a great chance to take a look at George Hill and how he has developed as a defender. Hill will spend a majority of his time guarding Bryant, but Hill is a committed defender and should be able to complicate things for Kobe, if anyone can complicate things for Kobe. This leads us to our next thing to look for...

9. The rise of George Hill

Do you love Hill? Because you should. He's the future of the Spurs franchise and it seems like he is the only one who can really hold himself back from how great he can actually be. Hill had a superb second year coming in second place for the Most Improved Player award. With a mid-season injury to point guard Tony Parker, Hill stepped up and was a natural born leader. The real question is this season is he going to start? A Parker-Hill back court is a dream back court. They are two of the fastest guards in the League and could create match-up nightmares with both of them on the floor. But what about Ginobili? Will coach Gregg Popovich continue to have Ginobili come off the bench or will he start him and bring in Hill off the Bench? All these questions lead us to our final and perhaps the most important thing to watch for...

10. New York, New York?

If you are a Spurs fan, then it's no secret the New York Knicks and Tony Parker have been linked to each other with many trade rumors and unfortunately for Spurs fans, he might be in love with them. Recently reported here on Project Spurs, Parker's wife Eva Longoria-Parker simply said "yes" when asked if her husband would like to play in New York. With Parker coming off an injured filled season and still in the prime of his career, should the Spurs try and trade the former Finals MVP before he leaves via free agency? If he's traded, will Hill be ready to take over as point guard? How will all these trade rumors affect the play of Parker?

This is a very complex and tricky situation for everyone in the organization but Parker and coach Popovich have a great relationship. If there's any two that can work through this, it's these two. Let's also not forget, this is Parker's final contract year so be watching for contract extension talks, if any.

So there you have it. Ten things to look out for this season. While there are a variety of other story lines, these were some of the things I'll be watching this season. Please feel free to leave a comment on what you will be looking for this season.

Hopefully next season we'll be looking for "Defense of the Spurs fifth title" as something to watch for in the 2011-2012 season.

With the 2010 FIBA World Championship fast approaching, the Canadian national team was trying to get San Antonio Spurs' forward Matt Bonner to join the team. He tried to rush the paper work to become a Canadian citizen but was denied.

Matt Bonner will not be granted quick citizenship to play for Canada at the world basketball championship.

Bonner's request for a speeded-up approval process was rejected for a second time this week by the ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Wayne Parrish, chief executive officer of Canada Basketball, accepts that Bonner's Canadian debut will have to wait until after the world championship, set to start in Turkey Aug. 28. (source theglobeandmail.com)

That huge sigh of relief is from Spurs nation.