"Meet the new starting small forward, same as the old starting small forward.

After a week of flirting with other small forwards, the Spurs will open the preseason tonight at the Toyota Center with Richard Jefferson still on the roster and the remaining three years and $30.5 million on his contract still on the team payroll.

Friday's NBA deadline for executing amnesty on a player – waiving him in order to clean his contract off the books for salary-cap purposes – came and went without Jefferson being jettisoned.

The Spurs had been strongly considering releasing the 31-year-old Jefferson, but backed away when they couldn't seem to attract a suitable replacement. Though amnesty is off the table for the 2011-12 season, the team could still use the one-time provision for next season beginning in July.

In two seasons with the Spurs, Jefferson averaged 11.6 points. He shot 44 percent from 3-point range last season, a career-high and fifth-best in the league.

"He had a hell of a year for us," coach Gregg Popovich said. "I think he'll just move forward from there.""