Russ Isabella-USA Today Sports

It’s been rumored that the Utah Jazz would be moving Al Jefferson before the trade deadline, but according to sources, the San Antonio Spurs are the frontrunners when it comes to acquiring him.

Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com had this to say about the Spurs’ pursuit of Jefferson.

The San Antonio Spurs are the front-runners to land Al Jefferson in a trade with the Utah Jazz – and they are frontrunners like Secretariat was in the 1973 Belmont Stakes….

“Those teams are practically incestuous, they are on such good terms internally,” one NBA source told me Wednesday.

The rumored pieces in the trade would be Tiago Splitter, Stephen Jackson, Patty Mills and possibly other under-utilized players such as Dejaun Blair.

If the Spurs are interested in Jefferson, one of the more underrated and effective post players in the NBA, it’ll show that they are preparing themselves for the last hurrah as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili continue to age and play through several injuries. After this season, Al will be a free agent and the Spurs will get $15 million off the books opening things up for management to make a move in the summer time.

During the 2012 season, Al Jefferson is averaging 17.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. By acquiring AJ, they’d place him beside Tim Duncan, who is one of the best front court players of the season. With Duncan’s defense, it’ll be enough to spare Jefferson as he attempts to guard other power forwards in the league. Or maybe it’ll put Duncan back in his natural position as some think of him as the greatest power forward to play in NBA history.

With Utah being a small market, this may be a chance to get something in return for Jefferson, who might not be returning. The deadline is in the next few weeks, so we’ll see if San Antonio makes the move to bolster their chances to compete for an NBA championship in June.