Spurs shopping Jefferson before trade deadline

Displeased with the way he has fit into their system, the San Antonio Spurs are attempting to trade forward Richard Jefferson just days before the trade deadline, multiple league sources have confirmed.

However, because of Jefferson's lack of production this season, as well as his $14.2 million salary, it does not seem likely the Spurs are going to find any takers.

"They're trying, but there may not be a market for his contract," one Eastern Conference executive told SI.com.

Jefferson has one year and $15.2 million remaining after this season.

The calls being placed by Spurs general manager R.C. Buford are a stark admittance that he made a mistake when trading Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto to the Milwaukee Bucks for Jefferson, envisioning him as yet another talented scoring option to complement Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Instead, the 29-year-old Jefferson is having the worst season since his rookie year, averaging 12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists as he has struggled to fit in with the Spurs' primary trio.

Perhaps even more intriguing is whether Buford's intentions with Jefferson is a sign that he thinks the Spurs in their current form cannot win a title. The Spurs are essentially tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns for the fifth seed in the Western Conference but have lost eight of their past 14 games.