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SALT LAKE CITY — According to a report by ESPN's Marc Stein, Jimmer Fredette is in Texas and has signed a training camp agreement with the San Antonio Spurs.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports expanded on the terms, saying that Fredette's deal includes a modest financial guarantee, though not a full season. Fredette will have to make the roster out of training camp.
Fredette has yet to live up to the hype and hysteria of his senior season at BYU and the tenth pick of the 2011 NBA draft. In his four seasons in the league, Fredette has averaged 6.1 PPG, 1.4 APG and has shot a career mark of 38 percent from 3-point range.
Fredette will look to crack the roster with his ability to shoot the long ball in training camp. Fredette struggled in 50 games with the New Orleans Pelicans last season, putting up career lows in shooting with 3.1 PPG and shooting just 19 percent from the 3-point line.
Wojnarowski further reported that New Orleans didn't want Fredette back on the roster.
Fredette must prove himself as a shooter and adequate defender to earn head coach Gregg Popovich's trust, as this may be Fredette's last chance to stay in the NBA.
Fredette will also join a couple of former MWC/WCC standouts in San Antonio.
Former San Diego State Aztec forward Kawhi Leonard has exceeded expectations after being selected with the 15th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Leonard was voted as Defensive Player of the Year this past season after he was voted as the NBA Finals MVP in the Spurs' 2014 championship run. Leonard just signed a five-year deal worth $90 million to stay with the Spurs.
Former Saint Mary's Gael Patty Mills has been a key scoring threat off the bench for Spurs in their playoff runs.
The Spurs have had an exciting off-season, to say the least. They signed All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge to a four-year $80 million deal, former All-Star forward David West to one-year deal for the veteran's minimum and traded a second round pick for to the Sacramento Kings for Ray MacCallum. The Spurs also convinced future hall-of-famers Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to return another year before retiring.
In training camp Fredette will be competing for time with Mills and MacCallum for the back-up and third-string point guard position.
The Spurs will be Fredette's fourth team (Kings, Bulls, Pelicans) in five years. Nathan Harker is a sports writing intern currently enrolled at Brigham Young University majoring in broadcast journalism. Nathan can be reached at nathan.harker32@gmail.com or via twitter @nharker3207.
