The San Antonio Spurs are back among the contenders in the NBA this season. The franchise has a 43-16 record so far this season, as they look to end a seven-year playoff drought after spending the 22 seasons before that as playoff mainstays. Center Victor Wembanyama has led the effort, while other stars such as guards De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle have carried the load whenever Wembanyama's been absent.
Wembanyama is averaging 23.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks this season in 45 games. Whenever the French center has missed time, the Spurs have comfortably relied on summer signing Luke Kornet to fill the hole. But there's no depth in the position beyond Wembanyama and Kornet.
In order to address this potential weakness, the Spurs signed NBA veteran Mason Plumlee to a 10-day contract earlier this month. Now, Shams Charania has confirmed that Plumlee's 10-day contract will be converted to a regular league minimum contract for the Spurs' playoff push.
"Mason Plumlee is signing a deal with the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season, Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN. Plumlee completed his first 10-day contract and now will finish his 13th NBA season in San Antonio."
Plumlee didn't play in the last five Spurs games while on his 10-day contract. However, it seems the veteran impressed the coaches enough to secure a spot for the remainder of the season. Even if he doesn't get much runtime on the court, his veteran presence has to be helping the Spurs and Wembanyama navigate their return to competitiveness.
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Plumlee averaged 7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists over his 13-year career. He played for the Charlotte Hornets earlier this season, averaging 1.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14 games. He's no longer a reliable starting center for a competitive team, but he can definitely fill a rotational role behind Wembanyama and Kornet.
The Spurs are coming off a 126-110 win over the Brooklyn Nets, a strong follow-up performance to their contentious 110-107 win over the Toronto Raptors before that. Their next game will come against the New York Knicks on Sunday, giving Plumlee an opportunity to make his Spurs debut after five DNPs during his 10-day contract.