The Spurs will be without starting center Tiago Splitter today against the Lakers.  He has played in 3 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far against the Lakers and he is averaging 23.7 minutes, 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  DeJuan Blair will be asked to replace Splitter, and he is a solid player.  Blair has played in 3 games (0 starts) against the Lakers so far in this series and he is averaging 8.7 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

The Spurs have waived 35-year old small forward Stephen Jackson.  Jackson played in 55 games (6 starts) for the Spurs in 2012-13 and he averaged 19.5 minutes, 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He only shot 37.3% from the floor, 27.1% from three point range and 70% from the free throw line this year.  Jackson has played in 179 games (66 starts) in his four years with the Spurs and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Jackson was complaining about his P.T., so the Spurs just let him go.  He is free to sign with any team, but he is not eligible to play in the playoffs.  The Spurs really stuck it to Jackson.

The Spurs have lost 35-year old shooting guard Manu Ginobili for the next 3-4 weeks due to a strained hamstring.  Ginobili played in 59 games (0 starts) for the Spurs in 2012-13 and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  But, he didn’t play that well in March.  Ginobili played in 13 games (0 starts) in March for the Spurs and he averaged 23.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He only shot 37.9% from the floor and 31.9% from the three point line in March, which was not good.  The Spurs will be without their energizer bunny until some point in the playoffs.  Until Ginobili returns to action, the Spurs are going to lean on Danny Green to play more.

21-year old small forward Kawhi Leonard has been selected to play in the Rising Stars Game.  He has played in 29 games (28 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 28.7 minutes, 9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.  He has now played in 93 games (67 starts) in his first two years with the Spurs and he is averaging 25.4 minutes, 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Leonard is going to get more of a chance to really show what he can do in a game like the Rising Stars one, as he won’t be sharing the ball with players like Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

The Spurs will be without 35-year old shooting guard Manu Ginobili for the next 10-14 days due to a strained hamstring. Ginobili has now played in 36 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 24.4 minutes, 12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 44% from the floor, 37.7% from the three point line and 83.6% from the free throw line so far this year. Gary Neal and Danny Green will likely see more minutes until Ginobili is ready to return to action.

The Spurs will be without 34-year old small forward Stephen Jackson for the next 4-6 weeks due to a fractured right pinky finger. Jackson has played in 10 games (2 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 23.2 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. The Spurs are likely going to move Danny Green from shooting guard to small forward until Kawhi Leonard is ready to return to action. Green has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 29.5 minutes, 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

The Spurs will be without 21-year old starting small forward Kawhi Leonard for the next 10-14 days due to tendinitis in both his right knee and right quad. Leonard has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 28.9 minutes, 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Look for 34-year old Stephen Jackson to replace Leonard in the starting lineup. Jackson has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 24.3 minutes, 8.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Jackson will likely do a solid job while Leonard gets back to health.

The Spurs have signed 25-year old shooting guard Nando DeColo to a 2-year deal. DeColo was the 53rd overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Spurs. He is 6′5″, 200 pounds. DeColo played in 50 games in Europe last year and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 12.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The Spurs are excited that DeColo has decided to join the Spurs. They can hope that he will be as productive at Tiago Splitter is.

The Spurs have re-signed 23-year old point guard Patrick Mills to a undisclosed contract. Mills played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 16.3 minutes, 10.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He has now played in 90 games (3 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Mills really played well at the end of last season for the Spurs, so they didn’t want to lose him.

The Spurs have re-signed 36-year old power forward Tim Duncan to a 3-year, $36 million dollar deal. Duncan played in 58 games (all starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 28.2 minutes, 15.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 1,111 games (1,109 starts) in his first fifteen years with the Spurs and he is averaging 35.4 minutes, 20.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game. Duncan has played in the most games in Spurs’ history (1,111) and he also has the most rebounds (12,533) in team annals. He is also #2 in points scored (22,558), #4 in assists (3,428), #6 in steals (822) and #2 in blocked shots (2,469) in Spurs’ history. Duncan has a no trade clause in his new contract as he wants to retire as a Spur. This was a great move for the Spurs.