The Spurs nearly traded Brent Barry on Thursday afternoon in a multi-team deal that would have netted New Orleans guard J.R. Smith, two NBA sources said.

The deal was close enough to completion ? one opposing team executive said he had heard it was done ? that Spurs officials initially told Barry he might not need to board the team's charter flight here.

The deal unraveled near the league's 3 p.m. trade deadline, which was an hour before the Spurs were scheduled to depart. After Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Barry the trade was dead, Barry accompanied the team here.