Curtis Jerrells

[...] Beyond that pairing in the backcourt lies some shooting depth with Della Valle, whose shot was anomalously off last season yet who has turned in a decade now of heady off-ball movement and quick shooting off the catch, and Dairis Bertans, who has been doing much the same for even longer. Curtis Jerrells and Andrea Cinciarini return as ball handling depth (as can Bertans if needs be), with Cinciarini's slow-footed surety as a playmaker and leader ever reliable in times of need, while Jerrells is similarly always good for some spot-ups, step-backs and pick-and-roll plays. Roster balance and multi-positional defence may be concerns going forward, but the backcourt is a strong one. [...]

Like Gist, Jerrells, Temple and Gee were covered in the Spurs summer league roster round-up thing. Jerrells averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 assists on 43% shooting; Temple totalled 11 points in his only 1 game; Gee averaged 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals, and was the team's best player. All of them did better than Baylor centre Josh Lomers, who in 4 games recorded only 21 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 blocks, 5 turnovers and 11 fouls. Tough week for Josh Lomers.

Curtis Jerrells

Like Gee, Jerrells has an unguaranteed contract for next season. So do Garrett Temple and Malik Hairston (who seemingly is beyond the summer league thing now). He was a camp invite and late call-up to the Spurs last year, spending all the time in between with the Toros, where he averaged 20.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. Jerrells didn't shoot the three much in Austin, which is unusual considering that it's one of the things he did best at Baylor, yet this clearly did not hold him back any.

- Curtis Jerrells

Baylor graduate Jerrells did not get drafted, yet was able to secure a $75,000 guaranteed contract from the San Antonio Spurs to attend their training camp. It had initially been announced that Jerrells had signed with the Pistons, but San Antonio's improved amount of guaranteed money won them the day. Despite the money, Jerrells never really had much of a chance of making the Spurs roster, which therefore meant that they spent $150,000 (after tax) on a player that they knew wouldn't play for them. The reason for this is obvious; it is not in any way coincidental that Jerrells later signed with the D-League and was immediately assigned to the Spurs affiliate (which they own), the Austin Toros. Essentially, they kept him in house and expanded their roster. They technically had no claim to him, but they had him where they wanted him, and where they had the inside track on his progress and abilities. And that's surely the aim of signing anyone. It's not illicit; it's shrewd.

However, when the Spurs needed some ten day contract guard help midseason, they instead opted to sign Cedric Jackson and Garrett Temple, not Jerrells. This was a genuine eye opener. All that manipulation of the system to get the player where you wanted for when you wanted, and then you didn't want him. Bizarre.

On the season, Jerrells is averaging 20.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, shooting 48% from the field and 35% from three point range. He totalled 98 points and 19 assists in his last three games, leading to player of the week honours.