Spurs' next free agency move becomes obvious after re-signing Jordan McLaughlin

The San Antonio Spurs surprised many fans with the decision to bring back guard Jordan McLaughlin to fill out their roster despite luxury tax concerns. Don't get me wrong, as a deep bench guard, the Spur can do far worse, though they could perhaps have done better too.

McLaughlin played 50 games in total last season. And while he isn't a traditional point guard in terms of shot creation, he did give the Spurs a reliable shooter.

Given their shooting woes at various points last season, that was moderately useful. While some fans were hoping for LeBron James or a reunion with DeMar DeRozan, they'll instead get Mclaughlin and like it.

Spurs' Jordan Mclaughlin signing signals their offseason is near done

By re-signing J-Mac, the Spurs roster space now stands at 14 players and pushes them ever closer to the sun—I mean, the luxury tax. It's difficult to imagine a scenario in which they'd cross that tax line.

Prior to him re-signing, they had roughly $4.6 million in space below the tax line. McLaughlin's contract is for the league minimum of $3.3 million, but only around $2.4 million counts towards their books. That is likely due to the NBA covering part of vet minimum contracts if they are non-guaranteed.

That means the Spurs could potentially bring back David Jones-Garcia, whose minimum is projected at $2.4 million. However, it would push them slightly over the tax. The Spurs could get creative by bringing him back on a two-way contract and then converting him to a regular contract once the prorated amount fits under the luxury tax.

If that is the case, then the Spurs would have a full 15-man roster plus Maliq Brown and Ja'Kobe Gillespie on a two-way deal. Having a full roster mid-way through July means San Antonio's front office worked quickly, and few would argue with the results.

Don't expect any more big moves from the Spurs this summer

The McLaughlin signing in and of itself isn't all that impactful—sorry, J-Mac. Instead, it's more about filling out the roster to make sure each position has enough depth. We saw how depth factored in during the NBA playoffs.

Even with De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper at guard, once Fox went down with an ankle injury, the Spurs were paper-thin there. That resulted in Devin Vassell having to slide down and play some minutes at shooting guard.

In fact, Devin Vassell, Castle, and Harper had to play major minutes early in the Western Conference Finals. McLaughlin did play a small role in that series, even hitting a three in a short 3-minute stint in Game 7.

All told, he probably isn't going to have many big moments throughout the year. Despite that, he can be counted on to play 15 minutes when needed during the regular season and five minutes in the NBA playoffs. That is all that can be reasonably expected for the 14th man on the roster.

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