Congratulations to Tiago Splitter, as he was named to the All-Regular Season Team by ACB.  He averaged 16 points and 6.7 rebounds for Caja Laboral.

Splitter is considered one of the best centers of European basketball and his rights are held by the San Antonio Spurs when they drafted him 28th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Spurs fans are anxiously waiting his arrival to the Spurs to help address the glaring need for a legitimate big man in the paint to play along side Tim Duncan

However, there was a report that Real Madrid will make a run at Splitter for his services.  Of course Spurs fans know the team is financially stretched and can only pay up to $500, 000.00 towards any contract buyout.

While European teams have no salary cap, thus making it tempting for Splitter not come to the NBA, all Spurs fans are crossing their fingers in the hopes he decides to forgo a payday and play with the Spurs.

The off-season is off to a flying start for the San Antonio Spurs as they continue to look at new players for the upcoming season. 

Recently the Spurs worked out Xavier Henry and Paul George.  This time, the Spurs will be looking at Jeremy Wise and Dominique Jones according to Ridiculous Upside.
 
Wise is from the NBDL's Bakersfield Jam.  He is a 6'1" guard and averaged 16.6 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

Jones is from South Florida. A 6'4" guard, last season with South Florida he averaged 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

It should be noted, Jones' workout with the Spurs is not yet set according to TBO.com (via Ridiculous Upside).

Jones reaffirmed his decision Friday to remain in the draft, and he has personal workouts scheduled this week with the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs.

Hopefully the team will be working out some big men very soon. Just saying.

After 82 games and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals before being swept out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs season began with high expectations and ended with the team falling flat on their faces.

But overall, how would you sum up the 2009-2010 Spurs NBA season?

Well our staff here at Project Spurs decided to sum up their thoughts on the Spurs season.  Enjoy!

Michael De Leon, Founder:

This season was full of surprises and disappointments. After getting booted out of the first round of the playoffs last season, this past summer gave us some hope. George Hill showed veteran poise in the summer league, the Spurs got the steal of the draft in DeJuan Blair and Peter Holt made a big dent in his pocketbook to be able to get Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. After opening the season with seven new players on the roster, the Spurs just couldn't seem to put it together and Jefferson looked like the bust of offseason signings. Just when things started to come together, an injury killed the momentum. Towards the end of the season, it looked like this team was starting to put the pieces together with big wins over the Celtics, Cavs, Lakers and Magic. But as the Suns exposed, this team still needs some work and changes before they will be a contender again.

Jeff Garcia, Co-Founder:

From the excitement in the preseason on the news of the Spurs acquiring Richard Jefferson, to being swept in the playoffs by the Suns, the Spurs season can be summed up in one word -- inconsistency.  We saw the end of the once mighty Spurs' defense, frustrating games where they turned the ball over, Jefferson becoming a failed trade, the high of beating the Boston Celtics in Boston, the low of losing to the New Jersey Nets, and beating the Dallas Mavericks in the first-round of the playoffs.  But for as much as inconsistency seemed to be the norm, there were bright spots for Spurs fans to take away. The emergence of George Hill, the immense potential of DeJuan Blair, Manu Ginobili resigning with the team making him a Spur for life, and Tim Duncan still putting up numbers even at the end of his great career.  With a few tweaks, namely getting a legit big man, the Spurs should be back in contention in the Western Conference next season.

Emily Allen, Staff Writer:

The 2009-2010 season was most definitely a transitional one for the men in Silver and Black. While the San Antonio Spurs did not have their best team in recent years, they were able to overcome their place as a seventh-seed in the playoffs and survive the Dallas Mavericks to see the second round. This year gave the team an opportunity to learn about its strengths and weaknesses, lessons that could potentially prove vital as they work over the summer to prepare for the new season. Regardless of the insane losses (see New Jersey in April) and sometime-inability to maintain a rhythm in games, the Spurs proved they are still a top-caliber team in the NBA - one that still has the ability to give other teams a tough game on the court.

Jeff Cerda, Staff Writer:

When the news broke about the Spurs trading for Richard Jefferson, I think I was the only Spurs fan in my area that was highly disappointed. With that said, I still had just as high expectations for them as any other person in the country did. I felt like they lost a few games that could have and should have been won(see Nets, Bobcats, Grizzlies twice and Raptors games), but still expected them to at least reach the western conference finals. Overall, in my opinion, it was still a successful season and I was pleased with the performance of the big 3 as well as some surprise contributions from George Hill and DeJuan Blair. This off season should be interesting to see what moves the Spurs will make to address their needs and last but not least, GO SPURS GO!

Lance Fell, Staff Writer:

The 2009-2010 season for most Spurs fans will be remembered as a disappointment. The Spurs spent more money than Fort Knox for a team that barely won 50 games and then not only lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs, but got swept. None the less, we still did win 50 games, which is an extraordinary feat, considering we play in the highly competitive Western Conference. Not only that, but as a seventh seed, we knocked out our bitter rivals, the second seeded Dallas Mavericks, whom some picked to win it all. So while many of you will look back on this season and think of it as wash, remember this season was filled with many great things, such as the emergence of George Hill, the arrival of DeJuan Blair and the return of Manu Ginobili. And no matter what anybody says about this season, we stilled whooped the Dallas Mavericks.

OK Spurs fans it's your turn. How would you sum up this past season?

After suffering many injuries this past season with the San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker will not play for France in the World Championships in Turkey this summer.

“This means that from the month of August, I will work in Los Angeles to prepare for next season,” Parker said. “They want to see me at my best during the recovery. For them, it is impossible that I play with the France team after all my health concerns this year.”

Indeed Parker dealt with numerous injuries this past season. It even affected his game as his numbers dropped from the 2008-2009 to the 2009-2010 NBA season.

Spurs nation breathes a sigh of relief.

The off-season is a time for players to rest and recover from the rigors of an NBA season but don't tell that to the San Antonio Spurs front-office. 

Never taking a break, the Spurs are working out Xavier Henry from Kansas and Paul George from Fresno State according to Chad Ford of ESPN (via Ridiculous Upside).

George believes he may be more of a 2-guard than a 3. Some NBA teams agree. In fact his first workout is in San Antonio on Thursday. His workout partner: Kansas shooting guard Xavier Henry.

Henry is a 6'6" shooting-guard out of Kansas. He has size for his position and is solid on the defensive end.

George is a 6'7" small-forward out of Fresno State. He averaged 16.8 points a game last season and is versatile and athletic at his position.

From reports he was offered to the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul, to being rumored to be a New York Knick should the Spurs want to trade him, Tony Parker has been in the middle of trade rumors for sometime.

With a season full of injuries causing him to not have a typical "Parker season" and the emergence of George Hill, Parker seems to be a prime target for any trade rumors involving the Spurs.

Finally Parker has put in his own two-cents. Here is what he had to say via the San Antonio Express News.

“Again, I want to make it clear: I want to stay in San Antonio,” said Parker, reached at his home on the Northwest Side. “My heart is in San Antonio. But it doesn't seem to matter what I say. The rumors get worse and worse, and as I go through my free-agent year, I know there will be even more.”

“I'm happy in San Antonio,” Parker said. “My wife and I are very happy. I built my home base here, so why wouldn't I want to be here?”

With next season being Parker's last contract year, he remains hopeful both sides will begin discussing an agreement as early as October, keeping him in Silver and Black for a long time.

After a while away from the mic, the Spurscast is back with the latest episode. In this episode, I am joined by Project Spurs' writer, Jeff Cerda, and the woman behind the Project Spurs Twitter account, Rita Rodriguez, to fill in for Mike De Leon to discuss the Spurs vs. Suns series, the season as a whole, the highs and lows of the regular season, the latest Spurs news including all the Tony Parker trade rumors and much more.

The Spurscast. The first and original Spurs podcast!

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Music: "Barracuda" by Heart

Lost in the talk of Tony Parker to New York Knicks rumor was this tidbit. According to the same NY Daily News report, the Spurs are interested in Memphis Grizzlies free-agent Rudy Gay.

The Spurs, who were just swept by the Suns in the second round, want to get more athletic and are said to be interested in restricted free agent forward Rudy Gay.

A young, athletic forward, Gay averaged 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists this past NBA season. He finished second on the Grizzlies in scoring while shooting 46.6 from the floor.

Time to chime in Spurs fans. What are your thoughts?

The bright lights and big city of New York City could be the next stop for Tony Parker, if the Spurs are willing to trade him.

A report from the NY Daily News, said the Knicks would be willing to trade with the Spurs for Parker should the Spurs want to deal him:

"Pop loves George and I could see a scenario where he would trade Tony," said a Spurs source, referring to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. "Tony will be looking for a max deal and New York may pay him."

The Knicks are in need of a quality point-guard and Chris Duhon and Tony Douglas are just not the type of point-guards for Knicks' coach Mike D'Antoni.  Everyone knows D'Antoni loves to run-and-gun and Parker would fit the bill.

However, Spurs' G.M. R.C. Buford recently said this about Parker's future in San Antonio.

"I think that we would be crazy not to want a player like Tony in our program for a long time."

But what could the Knicks offer the Spurs? Would they take Richard Jefferson's contract as part of a deal? Would they give up rebounding machine David Lee who could help Tim Duncan in the paint?  Spurs fans saw how inconsistent the Spurs shooters were in the Suns series so why not a reliable outside shooter like Danilo Gallinari?

Parker will be in his final contract year with the Spurs beginning next season. Looks like it's going to be an interesting summer for Parker and the Spurs.    

By now all of Spurs nation is accepting the Spurs less than stellar exit out of the 2010 NBA playoffs at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.  With that, this will be the final chapter of "Earning his Spurs" as I followed Spurs rookie, DeJuan Blair in his first taste of the NBA playoffs.

Blair played in the his last playoff game as a rookie on Sunday, and the fear of elimination was evident in his play. Blair finished zero for three from the field with no points, three rebounds, one assist, and one turnover in six minutes and 37 seconds of play.

Blair replaced Tim Duncan with 3:42 left in the first and the Spurs up 18-11. On his third offensive trip down the court, Blair missed a lay-up, fought for his own offensive rebound, but was unable to finish, missing his second attempt.

The second quarter, which Blair started, wasn't much better then the first. Blair was blocked at the start of the second by Louis Amundson. Then after a missed George Hill jump shot and a Matt Bonner turnover, Blair committed only his second turnover of the playoffs, leading to a Jared Dudley lay-up and bringing the Suns within two with a 23-25 score. Duncan replace Blair at the 10:25 mark in the second.

Blair replaced Duncan again with 5:45 seconds left in the fourth, but only played for one minute and 20 seconds. He did collect his second offensive rebound off a missed Jefferson jump shot, and kicked it out to Bonner who connected on a jump shot of his own. Duncan came back in for Blair with 4:25 left in the game.

For the series Blair averaged only 9.3 minutes per contest, but shot 60 percent from the field, averaging three points, 3.3 rebounds and one steal per game. Blair finished his first playoff run averaging 3.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 50 percent from the floor in only 9.1 minutes per game. Blair's minutes were cut in half during the playoffs, cutting his 7.8 points and 6.4 rebound a game averages during the regular season in half.

But Blair showed tremendous upside in the limited minutes he played during the playoffs. Not many players can change the momentum of a game in only a couple plays, but Blair was able too by diving for loose balls, sliding across the floor, making great hustle plays. He was consistently one of the smaller big men on the court, but at times, Blair played like he was ten feet tall, using his bigger, wider frame to help him create space around basket and finish at the rim.

The Spurs have found a player in Blair that can help lead them into this new decade. While he might not be a franchise player, Blair is a player who is willing to get nasty and do all the dirty work, like a Dennis Rodman or a John Salley. We Spurs fans should be excited, because with Blair as well as George Hill, the Spurs have two young players that are capable of becoming stars.

I hope you enjoyed this series as I chronicled Blair's performance but what were your thoughts on the rookie?  Leave us your comments.