Tony Parker Signs Extension With San Antonio

News broke yesterday that Tony Parker, San Antonio's All-Star and Former Finals MVP, has been given a 4 year, $50 million extension.  This takes away the distraction of Parker being an expiring contract, and it should solidify this team for now.  As for the deal itself, given Parker's quality and age, I think its a more than fair deal.  He'll be 33 when the deal ends.

Other players payed around the same per year?

• Josh Smith
• Rajon Rondo
• Luol Deng
• Rip Hamilton
• Ben Gordon
• David Lee
• Danny Granger
• Chris Kaman
• Andrew Bogut
• Emeka Okafor
• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Manu Ginobili

I'd rather have maybe three or four of the guys on that list over Tony Parker at full health.  Good extension for San Antonio, they've always been one of the better run front offices of the last decade.  And now that Parker has financial security, he can just worry about trying to get this team one more ring.

2010-11 Season Previews: San Antonio Spurs

Bat-Manu

The NBA Season is fast upon us, so its time for the Pick and Scroll to begin previewing each team. We're going to go in order from worst previous record to best. We're doing the Spurs, trying to get one more title before Tim Duncan rides off into the sunset for good.

2009-10 Record: 50-32
Additions: Tiago Splitter (FA), James Anderson (Draft), Bobby Simmons (FA), Gary Neal (FA)
Subtractions: Roger Mason, Ian Mahinimi, Malik Hairston, Keith Bogans

Unsung Heroes: Southwest Division

Players are often described as being "overrated" or "underrated".  In the NBA, this often translates to overrated players being players that are good, but vastly overpaid for their abilities, or who get more media exposure than some other players, while underrated often means a player who is making a pittance for his current production (funnily enough, underrated players tend to become labeled overrated when they get new, bigger contracts).

I do think there are some underrated players though, players that aren't as widely known for their roles on their team, who don't often get mentioned for their contributions but are indeed integral parts of their team.

Over the next week or so, I'll be looking at each team to find one "underrated" player for each team in the league.  Tuesday, we looked at the Atlantic Divsion, Wednesday the Central, and yesterday the Southeast. After the jump, we leave the East Coast and travel to the Southwest.