Tony Parker has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the Spurs.

Parker was eligible to become a free agent as a member of the 2011 class.

?I didn?t mind playing through the year,? Parker told the Express-News on Saturday. ?But it?s great to have security,  and not go through a whole season worried if I get hurt or if I play bad. Now I can just focus on  the team and hopefully have a great season and win a lot of games.?

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he was happy to have one potential distraction off the table.

?I don?t know what was going to happen (in terms of distraction), but whatever was going to happen probably isn?t because he signed,? Popovich said. ?He?s been a big part of what we?ve been doing around here for a lot of years. To have him in the fold and be a Spur for this long is fantastic for us, and hopefully for him, too.?

Unless coach Gregg Popovich has a last second change of heart, the Spurs will carry 14 players on their roster to begin the 2010-11 season.

That means all three players with non-guaranteed contracts -- guard Garrett Temple and forwards Alonzo Gee and Bobby Simmons -- will make the team.

The NBA allows teams to carry 15 players on their roster.

Acknowledging that financial considerations were a factor, Popovich said last week that the coaching staff and player personnel department seemed most inclined to trim the roster to 13.

"I think there's a good chance we'll start the season that way (with 14)," he said Sunday.

"I'm not sure we'll stay that way, but most likely we'll start that way."

The Trail Blazers are among the teams interested in Anderson Varejao should he become available, reports Sam Amico of NBA.com.

In addition to Portland, Houston and San Antonio like Varejao as well.

The Spurs have picked up the fourth-year option on the contract of guard George Hill.

Hill is now signed through the 2011-12 season. He averaged 12.4 points and 3.6 assists last season.

The Spurs waived forward James Gist on Tuesday.

The move allowed San Antonio to get down to the league-maximum of 15 players.

Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News writes that the Spurs aren't done with their cuts as they are expected to enter the regular season with 13 players.

"We've been thinking about 13 more than any number," coach Gregg Popovich said.

"Obviously, that can change, but 13 is the number we've been thinking about for most of the time. If we go to 14 or 15, there's going to have to be a pretty good reason for it."

The Hornets have acquired guard Curtis Jerrells from the Spurs in exchange for a second-round draft pick.

Jerrells went undrafted in 2009 and spent much of last season with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

LeBron James and Chris Bosh were held out of the final three quarters of Miami's preseason loss to San Antonio on Saturday night.

Dwyane Wade sat out the game with a sore hamstring.

James said he could have played more "but I'll go off what coach [Erik Spoelstra] and the coaching staff want me to do and we go from there."

Spoelstra said he wanted to look at other players.

"Tonight we took a step backward, but we had a lot of key guys out," James said. "We haven't put in a lot of our stuff, they haven't put in a lot of their stuff, so you just go and take it for what it is."

Spurs forward Antonio McDyess doesn't plan to play past this season.

McDyess, 36, is San Antonio's oldest player.

"I didn't know what to expect when they signed me (in 2009), and I'm glad to be back," McDyess said, "but I think this is it. I'm the oldest player (on the Spurs) now, and I feel like it. I'm not trying to see any more years. I'm pretty sure this is it.

"My body just can't take it. I'm not Juwan Howard. I can't believe he's still out there, even though he is in great shape."

McDyess said his goal for the preseason is to play just enough to get a rhythm and get in game condition.

"Coming in this year, I worked hard this summer to keep my wind in good shape," he said. "I don't play any five-on-five, but I shoot, run and lift. Doing that keeps me prepared."

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford discussed point guard Tony Parker's future with the team recently.

Parker will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

"I wouldn't discuss what's said privately, but there's no reason why we wouldn't want Tony to be a part of our organization," Buford said when asked whether Parker told him that he wanted to remain with San Antonio.

"He's been a great contributor to our success, and it's a circumstance that I think organizationally our history has been to provide continuity both from the ownership and the coach and the players. We'll continue to talk, and if there's a point in time where there's an agreement to be had that works for everybody, then there will be some kind of an announcement. If we don't, then we'll continue to talk and approach things in free agency (next summer)."