San Antonio Spurs: 4 Low-risk veterans who could fill "spark plug" role

Option 1: Jamal Crawford

If Carmelo Anthony gets a redemption tour, then Jamal Crawford is certainly deserving of one. The last time he played an NBA game, he was dropping 51 points at age 39 on 18-of-30 shooting off the bench. Again, that was at age 39!

Crawford is as microwave as a player gets and is the perfect fit for a team that needs a guy who can go 10 games out of the rotation and drop 25 and five assists the next time out. By all accounts, Crawford still wants to play, and for a minimum contract, the Spurs should be the team to let him.

Crawford loves Coach Popovich on and off the court, and Popovich loves guys willing to play any role to help a team win.

Option 2: Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans is a personal favorite of mine. Things haven't quite panned out for Tyreke after a historic Rookie of the Year campaign, but make no mistake, Evans is more than a one-hit-wonder.

Tyreke boasts career averages of 15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game over a 594-game sample size. By all accounts, his second-best season was actually his second most recent where he averaged 19.4, 5.1, and 5.2, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, 80 percent from the line, and 40 percent from deep.

The most impressive thing was that Tyreke did this on a Memphis team where his role kept changing from role player to the sixth man to the third option on offense to ultimately the first option when Gasol and Conley would miss extended time due to injuries. Is any of this starting to sound familiar?

If you're thinking of Manu right now, you're not alone. Also a lefty SG with shifty drives to the basket, tight handles, and great yet still underrated passing, Tyreke constantly draws Manu-esque comparison, and sees them himself, previously asking for Manu-esque roles. His highlights will definitely remind you of an older Manu.

Ok, now let's deal with the elephant in the room. Tyreke is currently banned from the NBA, but his two years should be up, provided he takes the steps necessary to get right with the league. I think he would because, at the end of the day, Tyreke wants to play basketball. Heck, the guy was even going to go overseas at some point to keep playing the game.

At the end of the day, Tyreke would be as good as his attitude allows him to be, and Popovich has managed some pretty unique personalities including Dennis Rodman and Stephen Jackson in the past.

I'm confident Pop could keep him accountable and, for the veteran's minimum, he would be the perfect guy to plug in if White, Murray, or Lonnie go down for an extended time.