This summer the San Antonio Spurs had interest in Clippers forward Elton Brand but they passed because of Brand's restricted free agent status that gave the Clippers 15 days to match any offer.

The Spurs and Brands agent, David Falk, discussed a front-loaded deal that the Clippers might not match but the Spurs didn't want their capspace to be tied up by the deal.

"They had the cap room and were the defending world champions, and I was a semi-free agent, so of course I had to think about them," Brand said of the Spurs. "But we didn't talk that much.

"It was definitely understandable. When you're the defending world champions, you have to try to improve your team because everybody is going to be gunning for you. If I was unrestricted it might have been different. But they had to look in other directions."

It's a good thing that the Spurs didn't make the offer.

The Clippers matched a similar deal put forth by the Miami Heat.