Rasho

Nesterovic

Rasho reached 11.2 ppg with Minnesota in 2002-03. He collected eight points and 12 rebounds last night. Regarding his role as a scorer, he said, “I’m learning some moves. That’s the direction I’m going.”

Nesterovic still is experiencing some soreness in his ankle. His lateral movement is good in one direction, but not the other, Popovich said. “We thought the four days off would do him some good, rather than him trying to force it (Thursday),” Popovich said.

Nesterovic has become the Spurs’ top priority. If they fail to land him, they’ll probably go after Michael Olowokandi.

We thought players like Nesterovic weren’t supposed to get $45 million contracts in the new NBA. The Timberwolves likely will try for Brad Miller after losing Nesterovic.

The Nuggets, Mavericks and Knicks are believed to be interested in taking Nesterovic away from the Wolves. If the team can’t get Rasho re-signed, they’ll try to replace him with Alonzo Mourning or Karl Malone.

''The money part, if he’s going to come back, has been resolved,’' owner Glen Taylor said. Because the Wolves are offering far more than the mid-level exception, San Antonio is considered their most serious competition for his services.

Nesterovic played 28 minutes -- his most since returning from a sprained right ankle March 28 -- and was limping markedly when he sat down for good with 6:27 left.

A few days after claiming he would score more this season we get this. He only played 22 minutes so it’s too early to tell if he will really be more of an offensive threat or not. Either way, he has value as a fantasy center.

The argument could be made that he had a better game than Tim Duncan, but we’ll take Duncan’s line. Hopefully you had Rasho active, as this type of line probably won’t appear again for another couple weeks.

“I think he’s been awful for a couple of weeks. I’m very disappointed in his play,” Popovich said. “I don’t think he’s competed well. I think he’s played without confidence. He’s taken a back door offensively.” If the Spurs can woo Karl Malone, they could always slide Tim Duncan to center.