10:57am: The deal is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log. It will run through Tuesday, January 17.
7:14am: Just days after waiving him, the Spurs have agreed to re-sign big man Gorgui Dieng, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). A source tells Wojnarowski that San Antonio is bringing back Dieng on a 10-day contract.
Dieng, who will turn 33 later this month, signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with San Antonio over the summer. The former Louisville standout played sparingly for the team in the first half of the season, averaging 4.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 13 appearances (11.6 MPG), and was perhaps valued more for his veteran leadership in the locker room than his contributions on the court.
Because the Spurs had a full 15-man standard roster, they had to cut a player when they agreed to acquire Noah Vonleh and cash in a salary-dump trade with the Celtics. Dieng was the odd man out, despite having a fully guaranteed salary.
Having already locked in his full-season $2.64MM salary, Dieng will now get the opportunity to double-dip with the Spurs on a 10-day deal, which will pay him approximately $152K.
No corresponding roster move will be necessary for San Antonio to open up a spot for Dieng, since the club waived Vonleh shortly after trading for him. Assuming the signing becomes official today or tomorrow, Dieng will be eligible to play in the Spurs’ next five games, starting with Monday’s contest in Memphis.
So, weird, SA is still saving money as the cash included in the deal amounts to more than they will pay Dieng on 10-days presumably for b the rest of the season.
That’s a new one folks. They Scalped a player that was on the books for the season.
Everyone wins here. Celtics save 6M, spurs net $500k and don’t have to eat money to open a roster spot ahead of what should be an active trade deadline for them, and the player wins too.
Dieng gets his full salary plus another $150k. And, I’m positive Spurs will do another 10 day after this one too so that another $300K on top of his deal.