by Jeff McDonald, STAFF , San Antonio Express-News

Finley, 36, eschewed a second consecutive summer of free agency, exercising a contract option to stay in San Antonio that will pay him $2.5 million next season.

If the Spurs' next offseason move is a success, Finley probably won't wind up having to play center next season.

At the stroke of midnight in New York, which signaled open season on this summer's free agents, Finley - 6-foot-7 and a swingman by trade - officially became the fourth-tallest player on the Spurs' roster.

As this summer's free agency opens, this much is clear: The Spurs plan to do most of their shopping at the big and tall store.

The trade last week that brought in Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee also sent forwards Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto packing. After Drew Gooden became a free agent Tuesday night, the Spurs enter July with just three big men under contract - Tim Duncan, Matt Bonner and Ian Mahinmi.

The good news for the Spurs is that they have options for filling out their frontcourt. Enough so that they didn't hesitate to pull the trigger on the Jefferson deal.

"There are more names at (the) four that we like than there are at the three, as far as free agents go," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

On the heels of perhaps their most successful June that didn't culminate with the raising of the Larry O'Brien trophy - adding Jefferson and drafting lottery-worthy talent DeJuan Blair in the second round - the Spurs are hoping for a July-August encore.

In order to accomplish that, they will need to attract a veteran big man who could plausibly start alongside Duncan.

Some of the Spurs' first calls are likely to go to a pair of Detroit Pistons - Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess - believed to be the cream of this year's big-man crop.

Wallace, who made $13.9 million last season, would have to take a substantial pay cut to extricate himself from what is shaping up to be a messy rebuilding situation in Detroit.

McDyess, meanwhile, re-signed with the Pistons after being included in the midseason Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson deal with Denver. He is expected to court a handful of suitors during his latest flirtation with free agency, the Spurs among them.

The Spurs have other options as well.

They might also talk about re-signing Gooden, who arrived for the April stretch run last season. They also could discuss bringing back Oberto, once Detroit waives him as expected.

One player not expected to be of much immediate help to the Spurs : Tiago Splitter.

The Spurs' first-round pick in 2007, Splitter is expected to remain in Spain for at least one more season.

"Anything can happen," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "But we're not planning on him this summer."

The Spurs , who now have nine players under guaranteed contract, have at their disposal a mid-level exception due to be worth approximately $5.5 million. Majority owner Peter Holt, in keeping with his offseason mandate for the front office to be aggressive in re-tooling the team, has given Buford the green light to spend it all if need be - even with the team already blowing past the luxury tax threshold with the Jefferson deal.

"Peter and his group have given a lot to this city, and this is another example of that," Buford said. "They've challenged us to make this thing better."

The Spurs also have a biannual exception, expected to be worth a shade less than $1.9 million, though they have never used that financial tool before.

Given the "whatever it takes" nature of the offseason so far, it also wouldn't be surprising to see the Spurs explore trade options involving the rest of their expiring contracts - Roger Mason Jr., Bonner and now Finley.

Much of the Spurs' offseason strategy could depend on how Blair, the 6-7 former Pittsburgh All-American considered a second-round steal on draft day, fares in the Las Vegas summer league later this month.

Meanwhile, the Spurs will have decisions to make regarding their own free agents.

Along with Gooden, Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn also saw their contracts expire Tuesday night. As with Gooden, the Spurs will talk to Udoka about re-signing but will likely want to survey the rest of the free-agent landscape first.

The Spurs are not expected to bring back Vaughn, a 34-year-old third point guard who logged just 292 minutes in 30 games last season.

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