Tim Duncan left the Spurs' practice facility Wednesday a little wetter and $122 million richer than when he arrived. And if handing Duncan the biggest contract in franchise history wasn't enough, Spurs officials also threw in some help.

A few hours after Duncan put pen to paper on his seven-year, $122 million deal, the team added his latest 7-foot sidekick, signing Slovenian center Rasho Nesterovic to a six-year, $42 million contract. The Spurs can only hope Duncan's newest partnership is as productive as his previous, when he won two championships starting alongside David Robinson.

"Tim likes having a soldier next to him," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "A big guy has been really important to his success and having someone we could at least announce as a (center) helps. I don't know whether it's All-Star voting or what, but Tim wants to be announced as a (power forward)."

Whatever position Duncan chooses to play, the Spurs were simply glad to lock up the NBA's two-time reigning MVP for the prime of his career. Duncan's new contract, which he has the flexibility to terminate after the fifth and sixth seasons, is worth almost twice as much as the franchise's previous richest deal ? the six-year, $66 million deal Robinson signed in 1994. Because Duncan commanded the league's maximum salary, negotiations didn't take long.

"We asked him what he wanted," Buford said. "Then we said, 'Thank you.' It was pretty cut and dry."