The Spurs made their biggest splash before the Draft, acquiring high-scoring small forward Richard Jefferson in a three-team deal with Milwaukee and Detroit. San Antonio gave up Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas.

Jefferson joins the formidable trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili as the Spurs took a major step in closing the gap with the Lakers in the Western Conference.

"He's got a toughness to him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Jefferson. "He's a competitor. He gives us that added quality, which is important when trying to get a championship."

Popovich was an assistant coach on the 2004 USA Olympic team that included Jefferson and Duncan. Jefferson, 29, averaged 19.6 points for the Bucks last season and should ease the scoring burden on the Spurs' trio of heavy lifters.

"I look forward to playing on this type of team, where getting to conference championships and winning titles is expected," he said. "You just want to be relevant again."

Jefferson has two years remaining on his contract for $29 million, which effectively eliminates San Antonio from taking part in the much-anticipated free-agent class of 2010.

"When you've got an opportunity to win a championship, you've got to go after it," Popovich said. "You can't just bank on someone leaving their team and coming to us. I think a lot of that is pie in the sky, if you're going to put all your thought into just getting that one max player."

The three veterans San Antonio gave up opened some holes on the frontline. Drafting rugged rebounder DeJuan Blair in the second round may have filled some of them.

The Big East co-player of the year as a sophomore out of Pitt last season averaged 15.3 points and 12.3 rebounds. Considered to be a first-round talent, Blair slipped to No. 37 largely because of medial concerns stemming from two ACL surgeries in high school.

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