Jefferson on life with the Spurs, Shaq and his upcoming marriage

2009-07-06T07:45:20-04:00

2009-06-30T11:23:08-04:00

2009-07-04T12:43:16-04:00

taylosaurus

Dallas 806086

6 Well Jefferson just came from a team that did not win. Carter came from a team that did not win either. Pierce spent almost a career in boston before he won and it wasn't until allen and garnett came to town, did he finally win. So i doubt it is the name. 5970829

2009-07-04T02:42:12-04:00

1535

Mr.Jay

San Jose 34562

5 The other advantage to the Spurs adding RJ is that they now have a player with a Presidential name. If you look at the teams that have won championships in the past, many of them have either a player, or a coach with a presidential or "national" name. For example, the Lakers have Phil Jackson, with the same last name as former US President Andrew Jackson. The Celtics won the championship with Paul Pierce, reminiscent of the former President Franklin Pierce. Now the Spurs have Jefferson, who is named after Thomas Jefferson, the third US President. Back when the Bulls won their titles, they had Jordan, Grant, and Jackson as coach. Jordan is the name of a country. Grant has the same name as US Prez Ulysses S. Grant, and as mentioned earlier, Phil Jackson has a Presidential name as well. In the second trio of championships, they got rid of Grant, but they still had Jordan and Jackson. Just to note - the Orlando Magic also made a good move in adding Vincent Carter, since he has the same name as former President Jimmy Carter. Cheers. 5970164

2009-07-04T02:35:42-04:00

1535

Mr.Jay

San Jose 34562

4 Tim Duncan is the best player in the NBA except for Kobe. Say what you want about LeBron and anyone else, but Timmy does so many things that don't show up on the stats - setting picks and screens, defending the best big men in the league, and hustling on both ends of the floor. In other words, he is the consummate big man and team leader. The only problem is that the Spurs don't have the depth of young talent that other teams (ie Lakers, Suns, Jazz in the West, for example) have, so Duncan is over-burdened having to carry the team with just Tony Parker and Ginobili. Now that they have Jefferson, they have a chance to close the gap once more. Even though they are _still_ lacking depth compared to the stacked teams out there, the Spurs have a knack for making the most with limited resources. The Lakers are still favored next year, but at least the Spurs will be competitive again. Cheers, J 5970132

2009-07-01T18:46:09-04:00

espplayer250

Rocky Mount 693882

1 orlando will have best starting 5 next year. 5947708

2009-07-02T13:06:26-04:00

153

MV_PPL

Jonesboro 694928

orlando will have best starting 5 next year.

3 LAKERS! 5955958

2009-07-01T23:19:21-04:00

zombiegoat

Sacramento 208559

2 I really appreciated the fact that Richard owned his failure to appear the previous day, and stuck out an interview that had the hot sauce applied a bit more heavily than usual with good humor. Actually, I'm looking forward to hearing from him again and the Spurs made a very good acquisition. 5948731

2009-07-01T18:46:09-04:00

espplayer250

Rocky Mount 693882

1 orlando will have best starting 5 next year. 5947708

<table class="cnnDP_inlineL" style="width: 350px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="right"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div><img class="photo" title="Jefferson" src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/37801/tx_jefferson_richard2.jpg" alt="Richard Jefferson" width="350" /><br />The Spurs traded for forward Richard Jefferson earlier this month.</div> <div>AP</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="javascript:CNN_DPAudio('http://ht.cdn.turner.com/si/danpatrick/audio/2009/07/01/DP-Richard_Jefferson-07-01-09_Interview.mp3')"><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/sect/danpatrick/listen_segment_148x16.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="148" height="16" /> </a></p> <p>Richard Jefferson, the newest member of the Spurs, joined Dan to discuss the trade that sent him to San Antonio last week.</p> <p>-When RJ first found out about the trade, he was very surprised.</p> <p>"I was shocked, to tell you the truth," Jefferson said. "The fact that San Antonio was able to keep their three main players was even more of a shock.  It immediately got a buzz going on my phone and in my head."<br /><br />-Dan asked Jefferson the first Spur he spoke to afte rthe deal.</p> <p>"The first one I spoke to was Tim Duncan," Jefferson said. "He texted me a couple times.  We had a pretty good relationship on that stellar U.S.A. team back in 2004.  I think we bonded through stress over that experience.  And so, we always would joke, and would talk to each other and kept in touch.  He was excited.  I tell you what, to have the opportunity to play with him and Popovich – it’s one of the biggest thrills I’ve ever had in my career. </p> <p>-RJ thinks <strong>Shaquille O'Neal</strong> going to the Cavs means that <strong>LeBron </strong>will finally have some help and someone to take the pressure off. All in all, it means less stress for LeBron and that can only help the Cavs. Guarding LeBron is difficult because he has so many tools -- strenth, athleticism, speed -- and no other players have that combination of skills.</p> <p>-Between LeBron, <strong>Kobe Bryant </strong>and <strong>Dwyane Wade</strong>, Dan asks who he'd least like to see leading a fast break against him. Jefferson hedges, but admits that it is LeBron because he can make him shoot a three-pointer. But RJ points out that LeBron torched the Bucks for 50 points last year, so he knows it's still not an easy task. He then admits that he'd just foul.</p> <p>-Dan asks Jefferson who the team to beat is in the West.</p> <p>"The Lakers," Jefferson said. "They’re the defending champions. The one thing I will never disrespect is the defending champions.</p> <p>-Jefferson thinks the acquisistion of Shaq by the Cavs will be more impactful than <strong>Vince Carter</strong> going to the Magic. He loves Vince, a former teammate, but thinks that Shaq is a better fit for his new team.</p> <p>-Dan asks RJ about today's Poll Question about a 13-year-old being recruited at Tennessee. Jefferson, who grew up in Arizona, admits that if he was 13 and Lute Olson came up to him about playing, he'd be excited. He also points out that the NCAA is very much about money, and that it's positive for a school like Tennessee to get publicity for trying to recruit a 13-year-old.</p> 69162 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/397/2/thumb/Perloff.jpg 550 NY

Andrew Perloff

New York 3992