In a recent article from the San Antonio Express News, ailing Tony Parker was reported to have participated in light practice after the Spurs recent loss to the Philadelphia 76ers before the team headed to Auburn Hills, Michigan to play the Detroit Pistons.

Hobbling Spurs point guard Tony Parker participated in the team's light practice before leaving Philadelphia for Detroit this afternoon, and remains a game-time decision for Sunday's game against the Pistons.

Parker has been dealing with a litany of injuries this season, the most recently being a lingering hip flexor strain that has been bothering him since a Feb. 8 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers.

A litany of injuries indeed. Not only is he suffering from the hip flexor injury, he also suffered from a bout of plantar fasciitis and suffered an ankle injury this past November. Spurs fans should also not forget he played this past summer for the French national team where he suffered an injury to his ankle. He sat out of the Pistons game to have an MRI to reveal the extent of the hip flexor injury.  It was also reported this particular injury has not responded well to treatment.

Rest seems exactly what the doctor would order for Parker and it's time the Spurs coaching staff give it to him.

In the short-term it does not matter if Parker misses some games. The Spurs will be done with the Rodeo Road Trip and George Hill is more than capable of running the point guard position while Parker rests. Not to mention Roger Mason did run the point for the Spurs last season. Granted these two players are not at the caliber of Parker but Spurs fans must consider the long-term benefits of a well rested and healed Parker. And Parker's style of play must be considered. His ability to get into the paint lends to him getting banged up by the big men of the NBA. Not to mention he falls on the floor so many times which only heightens his risk of a major injury, which could lead to him being out for the season.

Should the Spurs make the playoffs, this Spurs team will need its floor general ready to go. Currently the Spurs are seventh seed in the playoffs hunt. This would pit them against the second seed, the Denver Nuggets and Chauncey Billups. The Spurs would need a healthy Parker to go at Billups and the Nuggets. Not to take anything away from Hill, but Parker's ability score in the paint, familiarity with the team, and playoff experience would only help the team's chances at success in the playoffs. A banged up Parker would not.

I am not proposing the Spurs sit Parker for the rest of the season but a week off would do him wonders.  And when he would come back, monitor his minutes and save him for the post-season.

The way this Spurs team is playing this season, it is not out of the realm of possibility this team might miss the playoffs for the first time in the Tim Duncan era.  With 28 games remaining in the Spurs season, every game counts. Especially in the Western conference. And a healthy Parker is one of many factors for the Spurs in making the playoffs or not.

The Spurs have announced they have recalled guard Malik Hairston from the Austin Toros to replace the injured Tony Parker on the active roster. He joined the team tonight in Detroit for their game against the Pistons on the Rodeo Road Trip.

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have recalled guard Malik Hairston from the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team owned and operated by the Spurs.

Hairston, who was assigned to Austin on 1/14, has appeared in 15 games for the Toros and averaged 29.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 40.8 minutes.

Hairston has appeared in 21 games for the Spurs this season and averaged 0.5 points in 3.5 minutes.

Hopefully Hairston can get some playing time for the Spurs this stretch run for the Spurs. However playing behind guards such as Manu Ginobili and Roger Mason, it would be difficult for him to get some heavy minutes on the court. He has proven he can play in the NBA and brings youth, explosiveness and aggressiveness for the Spurs.

We were joined by two special guests last night as we recorded our first non-live podcast in a couple of weeks. With the trade deadline officially over, we discussed the trade/lack of trades with Tim Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell.

Tim gave us his thoughts on the trade, his outlook on the second half of the season and even looked into his crystal ball to tell us how the Spurs would fare in the second half.

We were also honored to have longtime Spurs Spanish play-by-play announcer Paul Castro join us and give us his view on the trade deadline from his perspective, since he is closer to the team and players. We also asked him what the rodeo road trip was like for him and he talked about the ins and outs of being a play-by -play announcer.

Thanks to Tim and Paul for taking the time out of their busy schedules to dedicate a few minutes to speaking with us.

Now that you have our trade recap, what were your thoughts? Feel free to give us your take in the comments.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download

The second round has been good to the San Antonio Spurs. In 1999 the Spurs drafted an unknown Argentinian with the 57th pick in the second round. You could say the rest is history.

It seems that a decade later the Spurs have done it again. Taken with the 37th pick of the 2009 draft, DeJuan Blair came to San Antonio with no ACLs and high expectations, and so far the 20-year-old Pittsburgh native has not disappointed.

In his first pre-season game, Blair finished with 16 points and a ridiculous 19 boards against the Houston Rockets. Granted, it was only preseason, but in his first professional game, and probably with butterflies in his stomach, Blair showed his God given ability for rebounding. And as we Spurs fans know, it takes defense and rebounding to win championships.

Blair kicked off his first professional season with a bang, and his first ever double-double,  scoring 14 points on 7 of 10 from the field. My math could be a little off, but I'm pretty sure that's 70 percent from the field. He also finished with 11 rebounds. Not bad for a forward listed at 6'-7".

The Spurs have played 51 games so far this season, and Blair has played in every one. He's also started in 20 games this season averaging 8 points and 7.9 rebounds in those twenty games, which extremly consistent considering his season averages are 7.5 points and and 6.4 boards. One could argue that he is more productive as a starter then as a bench player.

But when it comes to Blair, production is not a question. He is ranked first in offensive rebounds per 48 minutes with 6.3 and eleventh in the league in defensive rebounds per 48 minutes with 10.7. Overall, Blair's 16.9 rebounds per 48 minutes is good for fifth best in the league. For an undersized forward who apparently has no knees, Blair collects rebounds like Meryl Streep collects Oscar nominations.

However, Blair has had his share of rookie woes. On February 6 against the Clippers, Blair shot 28 percent from the field, going two for seven from the floor. In a January loss to the Bulls,  he went four for 13 shooting a dismal 30 percent in 30 minutes of play. But for every lackluster performance, Blair usually rebounds with a great game, literally. After only scoring two points in his start against the Lakers, Blair had 28 points, 21 rebounds and two blocked shots against the playoff hopeful Thunder. Not to mention he does committ silly fouls which gets him into early foul trouble but that's expected from a rookie.

Blair wasn't the only big man to come out of the Big East with high expectations. Hasheem Thabeet, who was named co-Big East Player of the Year along with Blair, was taken with the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, but looking at his stats, it seems Thabeet should have been taken in the second round. The 7"-3' Thabeet this season is averaging 2.6 points and and 3 rebounds a game. I think it's safe to say that the Spurs ended up with the better of the two bigs.

Blair came into his first NBA season coming off an All-American year at Pitt where he, along with Tyler Hansborough, were up for the AP College Player of the Year award. In his last season at Pitt, Blair averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting an outstanding 59 percent from the field, similar to the stats of another undersized forward who took the NBA by storm.

At Auburn University, the 6"-6' Charles Barkley averaged 14.8 points and 9.6 rebounds a game. Surprisingly similar to the collegiate stats of Blair, and like Blair, Barkely was drafted by a veteran team with future hall of famers including Julius Erving and Moses Malone. Barkley averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds his rookie season. A little better then Blair's averages but not by much. With Barkley under the guidance of Malone, he was able to keep his weight down and learn how to deal with the intense physical and mental pressures that come with a long NBA season.

I know it sounds crazy to compare a young rookie to a hall of famer, but both entered the NBA in very similar situations after coming off a successful college career. If Blair can continue to work hard and learn from our own soon to be hall of famers in Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich, then there is no limit to what Blair is capable of doing. He's had his struggles but at only 20-years-old, he has shown he can play with the big boys. Even in this year's 2010 All-Star Rookie-Sophomore game he proved his worth and many felt he was robbed of the MVP trophy.

Ten years ago the Spurs drafted Manu in the second round, and helped lead the Spurs to three NBA titles. Hopefully, Blair can help lead the Spurs to another.

While a center seems to have been on the Spurs' wishlist all this week leading up to the trade deadline, it appears that the Spurs have decided to send away a center instead.

According to Yahoo Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs are sending veteran journeyman center Theo Ratliff to Charlotte.

The Bobcats have been busy today working on a deal for Tyrus Thomas and a rumored deal that would send D.J. Augustin packing.

I can't see Ratliff sticking in Charlotte and the Spurs likely wanted to dump his $1.3 million contract. Through 26 games, Ratliff averaged 1.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and nearly one block in 8.7 minutes per game. We here at Project Spurs have wondered why Ratliff never saw an increase in minutes, when he seemed to be a shot blocking beast when he was given significant playing time.

Be sure to stay with us here as we'll update you with more details as they come in and all of the latest news. Be sure to also stay up to date with all of the trade rumors at Project Spurs Trade Central.

Update: The Spurs will not be taking a player back and instead were given a future conditional pick. Ratliff was making the league minimum $1.3 million, which lessens the Spurs’ luxury-tax bill.

Join Michael, Jeff and sever other bloggers from around the league for a live chat leading up to the trade deadline. We'll discuss all the latest rumors and confirmed trades. Thanks to Graham from Celtics 17 for hosting.

Make sure to also check out the Celtics Late Night Show for their live podcast during the live chat, and keep an eye on our Project Spurs Trade Central for all the latest.

On the eve before trade deadline day, Michael De Leon and Jeff Garcia break down and list all of the latest Spurs trade rumors.

We also took your calls, got Celtics and Cavs fans' reactions on trades and recapped the Spurs-Pacers game.

MP3 version coming tonight

Updated 12:11 p.m. CST

With the NBA's trade deadline coming up today and with so many trade rumors swirling around, this will be our trade headquarters we'll update you with the links to the latest trade rumor posts on Project Spurs and around the web. We'll have a button up on our sidebar for easy access once another post pushes this below the fold.

• Spurs still trying to trade Mason

According to Adrian Wojnarowski's twitter page, the Spurs are still trying to move Mason, but nothing seems to be in the works.

Spurs still trying to trade Roger Mason but nothing imminent, source says. As for Richard Jefferson, forget it. They tried. No shot.

• Spurs lose out on Thomas

It looks like the Spurs' talks with the Bulls about Tyrus Thomas are officially over as it appears the Bulls will be sending Thomas to the Charlotte Bobcats for Flip Murray, Acie Law and a future first round pick.

• Spurs considered making bid for Stoudemire

Amare Stoudemire was mentioned in a trade rumor several weeks ago, and his name is being brought up again.

From Yahoo Sports:

Everyone keeps waiting for a sleeper to steal Amare Stoudemire in the last hours prior to the trade deadline. How about the San Antonio Spurs? After all, they had privately considered making a bid for Stoudemire.

Still, while the Spurs and Suns did have a cursory conversation in this process, discussions never got going because San Antonio is unwilling to move two of its best young players, guard George Hill and forward DeJuan Blair.

UPDATE: Stoudemire told he will not be traded

• Sixers inquired about Mason

Fox Sports reports that the Philadelphia 76ers contacted the Spurs about Roger Mason, but Mason will unlikely be packing his bags for the City of Brotherly Love anytime soon.

According to one source, the Sixers have inquired about San Antonio Spurs guard Roger Mason, as well as Golden State Warriors swingman Anthony Morrow. Neither player was available for the Sixers. In one case, the team wasn't willing to part with the player. In the other, the Sixers couldn't offer enough in return.

• Spurs had shot at Salmons

The Spurs and Bulls had been in discussions yesterday about a deal that would send Roger Mason and Matt Bonner to Chicago for Bulls' swingman John Salmons. It appears the Bulls instead took a trade offer from the Bucks that should be completed later today, reportedly for Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson. Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander have also been mentioned.

• Grizzlies interested in Mason

Adrian Wojnarowski said sources informed him that the Grizzlies were interested in Mason's services. While the Grizzlies have the cap space to absorb Mason's contract, there aren't many players in Mason's salary range on the Grizzlies roster that the Spurs could realistically get. Perhaps a combination of Sam Young and/or Darrell Arthur would pique the Spurs interest, but the latest is that talks between both parties have stopped.

• Mason to Heat falls through

ESPN's Marc Stein reported that trade talks about sending Roger Mason to Miami for a second round pick have ceased.

• Pop says "don't expect a trade"

Before tonight's game against the Pacers, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich spoke to the media. When questions came up about trade rumors, Pop confirmed that the Spurs had been in contact with several teams.

From MySA.com

“We've talked to teams, teams have talked to us,” Popovich, who doubles as the Spurs' president, said before Thursday's 90-87 victory at Indiana. “That goes on all year long. It just intensifies come trade deadline. As we all know, very few things happen at the trade deadline, and I wouldn't expect anything to happen for us, either.”