PORTLAND, July 26 -- Derek Anderson finally got some long-term security Wednesday, receiving a multi-year contract from the San Antonio Spurs and engineering a trade to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Anderson, 27, and fellow guard Steve Kerr, 35, were acquired by the Trail Blazers, who sent guard Steve Smith, 32, to the Spurs. Anderson received a six-year deal reportedly worth $48 million.
The Trail Blazerswill be the fourth team in as many seasons for Anderson, who averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 82 games for the Spurs last season.
"Derek is one of the premier guards in the NBA today," Blazers president Bob Whitsitt said. "He's a great floor leader and is an outstanding individual."
Despite his talent and athleticism, Anderson was not given a multi-year deal by Cleveland, the Los Angeles Clippers or San Antonio, all of whom traded him or allowed him to leave via free agency.
"I just think people never stuck by what they said," Anderson said. "They said one thing and did another."
After signing Anderson for one year at $2.25 million last year, the Spurs were looking to lock him up with a long-term deal. They asked aging center David Robinson to take a pay cut in order to offer Anderson a significant raise.
But the Spurs offered Anderson a six-year, incentive-laden deal worth up to $43 million that did not have the maximum raises each season. Last week, Anderson said he would not go back to the Spurs and opened talks with the Blazers, who offered him a six-year, $34 million contract.
"Those guys (Blazers) stuck by me and said they were gonna pursue me and that's what they did," said Anderson, who added that the Blazers initially showed interest in him last summer. "Loyalty's a big thing to me."
At almost the same time, Smith was refused an extension on his contract, which has two years and $19 million remaining, and demanded a trade. He listed four teams as possible targets, one of which was San Antonio.
Faced with the prospect of losing Anderson and getting nothing in return, the Spurs agreed to the first sign-and-trade deal of the summer. They boosted Anderson's package and threw in Kerr to make the salaries balance in a deal for Smith.
The 6-5 Anderson was a 1997 first-round pick of Cleveland, which refused to offer him a six-year extension at the maximum salary after his second season. The Cavaliers traded him to the Clippers, who allowed him to leave via free agency. Anderson found the market dry and settled for the one-year deal with the Spurs.
"I really think everybody here is sincere about what they do and what they say," Anderson said. "I'm looking forward to the next six years, to winning a championship, not just talking about it."
Anderson is expected to start at shooting guard ahead of Bonzi Wells, who took Smith's job midway through last season. Wells tore his ACL late in the regular season.
The 6-8 Smith averaged 13.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 81 games last season, his 10th in the NBA and second with Portland. He spent his first three seasons with Miami and five with Atlanta. He has averaged 16.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 691 career games.
The 6-3 Kerr is a 13-year veteran with two years left on his contract. He is the NBA's all-time leader in three-point percentage at .462 and averaged 3.3 points in 55 games last season.
Kerr won consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1996-98. The following season, he signed a five-year, $11 million deal with the Spurs and became just the second player in NBA history to win titles in consecutive seasons with different teams.
