Spurs, NBA Veteran Gorgui Dieng Agree to 1-Year Contract

The Spurs are signing NBA veteran Gorgui Dieng to a one-year contract.

The San Antonio Spurs have not been among the more active teams in free agency. They were among only two teams to not have reached an agreement on a contract with a player, but that has now changed. 

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Spurs have reached an agreement with Gorgui Dieng on a one-year contract. 

Free agent center Gorgui Dieng has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 5, 2022

Dieng, 32, is entering his 10th NBA season and is best known for his six and a half season stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves to begin his career from 2013-to-2020. He's a 6-foot-10 big man with some jump shooting range. 

During the 2020-21 season, Dieng had a short stint with the Spurs after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies. He appeared in 16 games and averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. San Antonio didn't re-sign him in the offseason and he instead signed with the Hawks.

Dieng appeared in 44 games with the Atlanta Hawks last season. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game. With centers like Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu ahead of him on the depth chart, there wasn't much room. 

The Spurs currently have Jakob Poeltl and Zach Collins as frontcourt options. They are the third and fourth highest paid members of the roster after Dejounte Murray was traded to the Hawks in exchange for a package centered on draft capital. 

With the Spurs being in the early stages of a rebuilding effort focused on building through the NBA Draft, signing stopgap players to short contracts is the best way to preserve their salary cap flexibility. Dieng presents a veteran player on a team filled with youth.

More depth signings will be something to watch for the Spurs. Using their cap space to acquire bad contracts via trade in exchange for draft capital has been a rumored possibility for San Antonio given their rebuilding status. 

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You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.

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