For the Spurs' Malik Hairston and Marcus Williams, D-Day has almost arrived. Five days remain before the NBA's roster deadline Monday, and they have almost certainly begun to do the math. There is one likely spot up for grabs. Two legitimate contenders for it. One preseason game left. Put together, that's not a lot of time to make a closing argument.
Hairston, a 6-foot-5 second-year forward, and Williams, a 6-foot-7 third-year wing, both have fans throughout the Spurs' organization.
Both are former second-round picks, and both are former Development League All-Stars. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn't seem eager to cut either.
"They've steadily improved since the day they became a part of the program," Popovich said. "They've put in their time in the D-League in Austin and summer leagues with us. They've both continued to develop nicely."
Hairston was obtained in a draft-day deal with Phoenix in 2008, part of the same trade that also gave the Spurs the No. 37 pick used to select rookie DeJuan Blair this year. He appears to be a front-runner for the Spurs' 15th and final spot after following a successful run in the Las Vegas summer league.
Williams, who lost time during the summer due to a wrist injury, has played more sparingly this preseason. He did not play against Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
The Spurs could save some money by declining to keep a full complement of 15 players. Popovich intimated earlier this offseason that a non-guaranteed player would have to wow him to make the team.
Whatever happens to Hairston and Williams, Popovich is confident that cut day won't be the last he sees of them.
"They're both going to have a place in the league," Popovich said. "They're good enough to be in the league and will make a team."
Work in progress: Popovich released some semblance of a regular rotation during the 119-102 win over Oklahoma City.
The result? The Spurs hit 14 of 19 3-point shots, had five players score at least 13 points, and eclipsed the century mark with 10:08 to play.
Not bad considering many of the combinations Popovich used were playing together for the first time.
"It's like every timeout there's still a lot of questions being asked, a lot of things needing to be explained," new small forward Richard Jefferson said. "Sooner or later, it's going to be a matter of everybody knowing their job and just needing to go out and execute it."
