Mohammed Or Nesterovic Likely To Exit

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Gregg Popovich leaned against the wall just outside his office at the AT&T Center and smiled. Though the Spurs and Dallas Mavericks were an hour away from meeting in Monday's seventh and decisive game, he already had seen enough to be impressed.

Never had Popovich been involved in a playoff series where the margin between victory and defeat was so thin and the competitiveness so fierce.

"Whoever loses," Popovich said, "will still feel like they have a hell of a basketball team, that's for sure."

A day later, the Spurs' championship reign having ended beneath the frustration of a Game 7 loss, Popovich felt the same. Even more so after watching his team erase a 20-point deficit before fading in overtime.

"We're a hell of a basketball team, and Dallas is a hell of a basketball team," Popovich said. "They get to go forward this year. But I've never been more proud of a team and the way they competed."

In that sense, Popovich is glad the Spurs don't need to change their core this summer. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are returning and ? judging from the 32.3 points Duncan averaged in the Western Conference semifinals ? all appear to be near their prime or, in Parker's case, approaching it.

The Spurs also figure to surround their three stars with more than a few familiar faces. Of the 14 players on the team's roster, only four are free agents: Nazr Mohammed, Nick Van Exel, Sean Marks and Melvin Sanders.

Van Exel is retiring, and there's a good chance Mohammed, who turned down a contract extension before the season and played sparingly in the playoffs, also won't be back. If the Spurs do re-sign Mohammed, then Rasho Nesterovic probably would be traded. Investing $14 million in two centers in the league's small-ball era is unlikely.

"We have to figure out what we want to do, as far as bigs are concerned," Popovich said. "Do we want (power forwards) or do we want (centers)? How small do we want to play, or how big do we want to play? Do we want to try to be big, even if somebody else is small?"

The NBA free-agent pool this summer isn't deep compared to other years, and the Spurs don't have a first-round pick in next month's draft. But they will explore signing two previous selections: Argentine forward Luis Scola and Lithuanian forward/center Robertas Javtokas.

Depending on how much of the Spurs' $5.1 million midlevel exception Scola seeks ? the team also has a $1.75 million exception available ? Javtokas might be more cost effective. Trading Scola's rights or working a sign-and-trade deal with Mohammed are other options.

The Spurs nearly traded Brent Barry midway through the season, and they still would like to get younger and more athletic on the perimeter. Sooner rather than later, they need to start grooming someone to succeed Bruce Bowen.

Popovich, however, isn't ready to declare the team eligible for AARP benefits just yet. Versatility, he said, is almost as important as athleticism.

"I listen to how athletic Dallas was and how we couldn't handle it, and it just makes me smile," Popovich said. "If you win, there's all kinds of things you did well. If you lose, there's got to be reasons why you lost.

"So if they're more athletic, I need to figure out how much more to win by a point. How much more athletic is that?"

Robert Horry, who declared himself a "dinosaur" a week ago after watching the Mavericks zip by him, told his teammates during Tuesday's season-ending meeting they could help themselves by arriving at training camp in shape.

"For a guy who's been around the block a long time to say he's going to get himself physically ready to compete next year means a lot," Michael Finley said. "Hopefully, everybody took that to heart and that's our motto going into the summer."

The Spurs expect to have six players compete in this summer's World Championships, including three starters. Duncan, however, isn't among them. He will rest his right foot, even though it didn't seem to trouble him much, if at all, during the playoffs. </div>

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