The good news for Jefferson and the Spurs is the fact that the injury is believed to be minor. The team will take another look at his thumb next week to give a definite return date. With training camp two weeks away, he may have to miss the first week of training camp. However, there’s a chance he’ll be ready for the beginning of the camp.

When Bruce Bowen recently retired, Jefferson’s role on the Spurs grew even more. Without Bowen around to defend, Jefferson’s defense is going to be key to the Spurs this season. As long as he’s healthy, he’s destined to play a lot of minutes for San Antonio.

In the last two seasons, Jefferson played all 164 games. He averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists last year with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Richard Jefferson - San Antonio Spurs (Image: Zuma Press)

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Richard Jefferson Dislocates his Thumb

In return for Jefferson, the Bucks got salary relief in the threesome of Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas. Both Bowen and Oberto have partially guaranteed contracts that will create space under the NBA’s luxury tax. Out of the three players, the only one who may suit up for the Bucks is Thomas.

Last season, Jefferson averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He shot 43.9% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the three-point arc. In 2003 while with the New Jersey Nets, Jefferson played against the Spurs in the NBA Finals. The Spurs won the series in six games to capture their second NBA championship. Since then, San Antonio has won two more championships.

Jefferson and the Spurs hope that he’s can be a key contributor to championship number five.

Richard Jefferson joins Tim Duncan on the San Antonio Spurs (Image: Zuma Press)

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Richard Jefferson Traded to the Spurs