Why he did it ... Richard Jefferson surprised everyone Wednesday when he opted out of his contract for next season that would have paid him $15 million. What was he thinking? Jefferson's agent, Todd Eley, said the decision is a way to take advantage of a sellers' free-agent market this summer and to hedge against the uncertainty of the next collective bargaining agreement, which will start next summer. "It's not an issue of not wanting to be in San Antonio," Eley told the San Antonio Express-News. "It's maximizing as many opportunities as you can. The Spurs will be one of those teams we talk to in this process. "He wants to see if there's a long-term opportunity," Eley added. "We brought Richard into our program with ideas that he would add a great deal to us," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "As free agency approaches, we'll evaluate Richard's market value as we build our team." Source: SA Express R.C. Buford should win executive of the year for this.
