"Richard Jefferson walked off the floor after the first practice of training camp Friday, took one look at the assembled media horde waiting for him and smiled.

"I feel like I just got traded here," Jefferson joked.

Only 72 hours earlier, Jefferson's Spurs career had been fitted for a toe tag. The Spurs had all but decided to exercise their one-time amnesty provision on him, prepared to offer him a handshake, a ticket out of town and several million dollars to chase other small forwards on the free-agent market.

The Spurs still could do all of the above.

But for now — and with that being the key phrase — Jefferson began his third Spurs training camp in the same manner he'd opened the previous two: as the team's apparent starter at small forward.

"Things could happen, or things could stay the same," said Jefferson, 31. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm a Spur right now."

Jefferson, of course, has heard the rampant speculation that he was not long for the Spurs. Earlier this week, he was telling teammates that team officials had informed him he would be waived."