"Eyebrows all over the NBA convulsed upward on June 30 when forward Richard Jefferson announced he had chosen to exercise the opt-out clause in the final season of his contract with the Spurs.

Passing on $15.2 million, guaranteed, will cause that sort of reaction.

After testing the waters of free agency, Jefferson will at last sign a new deal with the Spurs today that will keep him in silver and black for at least three more seasons — and eventually pay him more than he left behind — a league source said Tuesday.

It's just going to take longer for Jefferson to accumulate all that money.

Jefferson traveled to San Antonio on Tuesday for a physical examination. If cleared by the Spurs' medical staff, he is expected to sign a new contract this morning.

Though it won't be met with the same breathless hoopla that greeted him upon arrival from Milwaukee last summer, Jefferson's impending return stands as a significant development for the Spurs.

With the free-agent market at small forward drying up, Jefferson is among the top remaining options at that position, even in the wake of his mercurial first season in San Antonio.

Returning him to the fold allows coach Gregg Popovich to open the 2010-11 campaign with the same starting lineup he used in last season's playoffs, depending on how he chooses to configure his backcourt."