NBA Rumors: San Antonio Spurs to Keep Richard Jefferson, Save Amnesty Clause

One of the many positive things about the San Antonio Spurs over the years has been their personnel decisions.

Very rarely do they miss on things or come off as a franchise that doesn't know what they are doing.

Yet when it came to forward Richard Jefferson and the amnesty clause, they've been unable to make up their mind on what's best for the franchise.

Now it seems like Jefferson will be wearing a Spurs uniform this season; after all after they've gone back and forth on whether to amnesty the veteran.

Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix reports that the Spurs will indeed keep Jefferson instead of waiving him with the amnesty clause, despite changing their mind on the issue at least 10 times.

The decision isn't necessarily a bad one. Jefferson almost certainly would have been amnestied had the Spurs been able to sign Grant Hill, Josh Howard, Shane Battier or Caron Butler. They had interest in all four and had they been able to upgrade the position, Jefferson wouldn't be in a Spurs uniform today.

Now that the market has thinned out considerably, they won't be able to sign anything better than Jefferson as a free agent. Barring an attempt to swing a trade for a quality small forward, it looks like the Spurs are stuck with another year of Jefferson's nearly $10 million salary.

Jefferson's production has declined every season since the 2007-08 season. Given that plus his hefty salary, it's no wonder that the Spurs were eager to use the amnesty clause on him.

Yet while the Spurs have generally been known as an organization that makes solid front-office decisions, this year they didn't, and they will be paying for it.