David West takes $11 million pay cut to sign with Spurs

Free agent forward David West has sacrificed a significant amount of money and will sign with the San Antonio Spurs, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge. The former All-Star will likely sign for the veteran's minimum, turning down interest from the Wizards and Cavaliers.

West turned down a player option that would have paid him $12.6 million next season in order to sign for a contender and try to win a championship. The Pacers have been West's home for the past four years, but they went from being the best team in the East to completely falling out of the playoffs last year, which is a concern even though Paul George will be back to start this season.

The Spurs and Wizards quickly pursued West, but neither could approach his previous year's salary. Washington had the full mid-level exception of $5.4 million to offer, and the Cavaliers entered the bidding late, offering the $3.8 million taxpayer mid-level exception. But in the end, West chose to follow LaMarcus Aldridge to San Antonio, even though it meant a huge pay cut.

Before Indiana, West spent the first eight years of his career with the New Orleans Pelicans (then known as the Hornets). West has stayed remarkably consistent ever since 2005-06, when he broke double-figures for the first time by averaging 17 points per game. He's averaged at least 11 points per game each of the last 10 seasons and exceeded 17 points in seven of those campaigns.

The Spurs are getting the depth they needed inside after clearing the decks to sign Aldridge. West and Boris Diaw give Gregg Popovich two versatile power forwards off the bench to mix and match lineups, and the former Pacer should be able to take the more physical defensive assignment when he shares the court with Aldridge. West made it clear he would leave money on the table to join a contender and he did just that. With his addition, the Spurs have enough talent to beat anyone.

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