The San Antonio Spurs could’ve done better than Donatas Motiejunas

The San Antonio Spurs filled their 15th and final roster spot by signing Donatas Motiejunas, but they could’ve filled that position with a more useful player.

The San Antonio Spurs found themselves with an open roster spot after buying out the rest of Pau Gasol’s honorous contract and waiving him before he eventually landed in Milwaukee.

The Spurs’ front office has decided to replace Pau with Donatas Motiejunas, who had spent this past season playing in China where he put up humongous numbers (27.3 points, 14 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals in roughly 34 minutes per night).

However, I think there were some superior options to Motiejunas on the open markent and San Antonio might’ve made a mistake signing a player with Motiejunas’ checkered injury history.

First of all, I don’t think the Spurs necessarily needed to add another big man in the wake of Pau’s buyout.

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I would’ve liked to see Drew Eubanks get some more playing time with the big league squad if they felt the needed another big man after tearing it up with the G League Austin Spurs this year, and he showed some serious flashes in his limited minutes in San Antonio this season.

If the Spurs were dead set on adding a big man, I think Trevor Booker, Quincy Acy, Thomas Robinson, and Marreese Speights would’ve all been better options than Motiejunas with Booker being the best of the bunch.

Booker, Acy, and Speights have all played in the NBA more recently than Motiejunas, who last appearead in an NBA game with the Pelicans during the 2016-17 season.

The idea of Motiejunas may be a better player than any of those other options, but we just haven’t seen that type of play from him in this league in a long time.

There are also a couple of wing players who could’ve helped the Spurs more than Motiejunas down the stretch including Nick Young and Michael Beasley.

Each of those players both have obvious concerns off the court, but one of them could’ve help San Antonio’s relative lack of wing depth as the 15th man. And each of them can play in nearly any matchup, while Motiejunas’ effectiveness will be matchup dependent.

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Ultimately, the signing of Motiejunas won’t have a huge effect on this team and I do trust the Spurs’ scouts when finding players overseas.

However, I think there were a few better options out there than signing a player that hasn’t played in the league in a few years with his fair share of injury issues.