The one from his new head coach.

It was a text message from Tim Duncan that ultimately alerted Jefferson to his faux pas. Then, the Spurs captain offered his newest teammate a friendly warning.

"He said, 'Don't get traded twice in one day,'" Jefferson said.

Eventually, Jefferson got a hold of Popovich, who is out of town, and the two enjoyed a brief conversation. By Wednesday morning, Jefferson was on his way to San Antonio, ready to get acquainted with his new Basketball home.

Heralding it as "an exciting day in our franchise's evolution," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford introduced Jefferson at an evening press conference at the team's practice site.

Decked in a new gray Spurs polo shirt, and grinning next to his new silver-and-black jersey emblazoned with No. 24, the 29-year-old Jefferson trumpeted it as an exciting day in the evolution of his career.

"I look forward to playing on this type of team, where getting to conference championships and winning titles is expected," said Jefferson, an eight-year pro who was on the 2003 New Jersey team the Spurs beat to claim their second NBA title. "You just want to be relevant again."

The Spurs are hopeful Jefferson can produce the same effect for them. Acquired in a three-team trade that cost the Spurs Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, Jefferson should help give the Spurs the offensive firepower they lacked at the end of last season, which ended with a first-round playoff loss to Dallas.

Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 forward, is a career 17.7 points-per-game scorer. He can play a little defense, too. Part of his job description in San Antonio will be to guard the other team's best perimeter scorer on a nightly basis.

Popovich coached Jefferson as an assistant on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team in Athens, where both men fostered a healthy appreciation of one another. Duncan, Jefferson's future text-messaging buddy, also played on that team.

"He's got a toughness to him," Popovich said of Jefferson. "He's a competitor. He gives us that added quality, which is important when trying to get a championship."

By trading for Jefferson, and the remaining $29.2 million of a contract that runs through 2010-11, the Spurs have pre-emptively removed themselves from the bidding for top-flight free agents next summer. In a sense, the Spurs decided to take the bird in the hand now - Jefferson - instead of waiting to see what comes out of the free-agent bush next year.

"When you've got an opportunity to win a championship, you've got to go after it," Popovich said. "You can't just bank on someone leaving their team and coming to us. I think a lot of that is pie in the sky, if you're going to put all your thought into just getting that one max player."

The deal will leave the Spurs with just three big men under contract on July 1 - Duncan, Matt Bonner and Ian Mahinmi. The front office believes the hole in the frontcourt can be more readily addressed via free agency.

"If you look at the free-agent list, there's nobody this summer who is going to be in the same ballpark as Richard Jefferson," Popovich said. "This is kind of like a bonus, to do it with a trade, and we still have our (mid-level exception) to go after a four-man. There are more names we like at four than there are at the three, as far as free agents go."

Jefferson is just happy the Spurs liked him enough to make him the centerpiece of their offseason.

Just last week he was in Milwaukee, working out and preparing for his second season with the Bucks. Now, he is taking a deep breath before embarking on his first season with the Spurs .

"This really hasn't set in for me," Jefferson said. "My phone hasn't stopped ringing. I just need to get home for a little bit, relax and let it all settle in."