There's been seemingly little movement on the Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter fronts, but that doesn't mean the San Antonio Spurs have been idle in the first few days of free agency. A day after reports indicated the Spurs were one of several teams interested in Greg Oden, ESPN's Marc Stein says the Spurs and Miami Heat are the frontrunners for the former number one pick.
Hearing strongly that Miami still needs to be in same zip code w/Spurs & Cavs in Greg Oden's free-agent thinking. Heat right there, I'm told
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 2, 2013
Evolving list for Oden given complexities of his comeback, but one source close to situation contends Spurs and Heat slightly ahead of Cavs
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 2, 2013
It's easy to see the appeal in all three teams. Cleveland is close to Columbus, where he's spent most of his time over the last year and change. Miami has you know, the two-time defending champions and the best player on the planet. The Spurs have the best coach on the planet, a big man in Tim Duncan that could teach Oden a thing or seven and would also get Oden out of the spotlight a bit, and we've learned that Oden isn't a huge fan of being the center of attention. So maybe the Spurs have the upper hand there, but who knows.
Blair getting interest from 10 teams
Meanwhile, DeJuan Blair looks like he won't be returning to the Spurs. That doesn't mean he's going to be out of a job. KABB's Maximum Sports reports that 10 teams, including several with Spurs ties have interest in the back up power forward.
Dejuan Blair contacted by 10 teams, including 3 with GM's who used to work in SA. Utah, NO and ATL have all expressed interest, per source.
— Maximum Sports (@MaxSportsSA) July 2, 2013
Blair likely will end up being a perfectly serviceable back up big for a team. It just so happened the Spurs had four bigs they felt more comfortable playing. Utah, New Orleans and especially Atlanta are all thin up front, so Blair would likely get decent playing time for any of those teams. One team not mentioned with San Antonio ties is Orlando, who already has Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Let's start a petition to get Blair and Davis on the same team!
