The Spurs intrigue me with these kinds of moves. They only get guys who play a certain way -- including a rabid commitment to defense, and a certain selflessness. But then every now and again they bring in a guy who defies the stereotype.

And a lot of time it works!

I have watched a lot of Damon Stoudamire, and find him to be someone who sometimes thrills you with his effort on both ends of the court. And other times? To my thinking, when you're undersized, you have to be excellent at nearly everything to keep from hurting your team. You know you'll be giving up some size and the many advantages it conveys in the game of basketball, so you must handle, shoot, and pass well for your team to succeed. (See Sebastian Telfair's lack of a jump shot as exhibit A.) And on defense -- you better get after it like a cranky terrier.

Stoudamire does all that at times. Then he seems to lapse into stretches of dissatisfaction, when he lacks the fire. He was a big star in high school, college, and early in his NBA career. I tend to think he'll always see himself as a first-option scorer on a great team, and I think he's a little disappointed when the game doesn't shake out like that.

In any case, Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News, who is not naming any sources, is reporting on his blog that Stoudamire is likely to become a Spur after he clears waivers:

It can't happen until early Wednesday evening, when Damon Stoudamire clears waivers, but it now appears likely the Spurs will sign the 5-foot-10 point guard who on Monday finalized terms of a buyout of his contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Stoudamire had expressed interest in signing with both the Spurs and the Boston Celtics, but seems to have settled on San Antonio as his destination of choice.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who doubles as the team's vice-president of basketball operations, can't speak about Stoudamire until he clears waivers tomorrow night. He did, however, express a high degree of interest before Monday night's game against the Utah Jazz in whether or not Stoudamire had officially gotten out of his deal in Memphis.