"The Spurs aren't done re-shaping their roster.

By week's end, Richard Jefferson likely will be back at a salary tolerable to Spurs fans and chairman Peter Holt. Raja Bell may also be a Spur, at last. Gregg Popovich would have kept him on his roster in 2000 if only he hadn't given in to others on his staff who liked Derrick Dial more.

Bell would be a huge defensive upgrade over Roger Mason Jr. and just as reliable a 3-point shooter.

Others understand Bell's value, too, even at age 33. Would a defensive stopper who once clothes-lined Kobe Bryant turn down Bryant's promise to welcome him to a team that has won the last two NBA titles?

More to the point: Can he forgive the Lakers for having spent all but $1.8 million of their mid-level salary cap exception on Steve Blake?

The Spurs, remember, have $2.365 million left from the mid-level salary cap exception.

Having already completed his major summer upgrade by adding the best big man from the European leagues, Gregg Popovich can go into the 2010-11 regular season knowing his plan to keep Tim Duncan fresh for the playoffs has a chance to be implemented, at long last. Tiago Splitter will need 40-50 games to get a sense of how Popovich's system works, but sitting Duncan for long stretches no longer carries the defensive risk of watching DeJuan Blair defending 7-footers.

The Spurs may lose a game or two waiting for Splitter's learning curve to flatten, but they shouldn't be scrambling from the back of the playoff pack again. They should be better equipped for a good start — Manu Ginobili, rested and ready; Tony Parker, healthy and motivated; Jefferson, schooled in a system that once puzzled him — and the Western Conference won't be as daunting as it was a year ago.

The Lakers still are the Lakers, even if they lose Shannon Brown. The Zen Master returns, and so do Bryant and Pau Gasol.

The migration of talent to the East, though, has shifted the power structure."