The Spurs cement their intentions for Mason Plumlee after necessary signing

The Spurs just added what will likely be the final piece to their championship aspirational puzzle by signing Mason Plumlee for the rest of the season, per ESPN's Shams Charania. The 13-year vet's 10-day contract expired this morning, and San Antonio wasted no time locking up the athletic 7'0" center for the playoff run.

What the Spurs just added is incredibly valuable

Plumlee hasn't even played a real game for this team yet. They were taking their time to get him ramped up for live action since he hasn't been on a court this season as he recovered from surgery on his groin. The front office and coaching staff must have seen enough because they could have signed him to one more 10-day contract to make him prove his worth on the floor.

Clearly, that wasn't necessary.

What he brings to the table, however, will be imperative to the Silver and Black's chances of withstanding anything the pitfalls of the postseason can dredge up. For one, Victor Wembanyama is going to be challenged physically until he proves he can hold up under the relentless pressure of playoff intensity.

I believe he can, but that doesn't mean that he won't find himself in foul trouble every now and then. Western Conference teams boast a lot of size, and if Wemby or Kornet find themselves in foul trouble, rotations become dicey for the Spurs.

I'm not the biggest Alperen Sengun believer, but if Charles Bassey is San Antonio's only option to guard him, Julius Randle, or heaven forbid, Nikola Jokic, we're going to have a problem. I don't expect Plumlee to turn into prime Dikembe Mutumbo, but his size makes him a more desirable option in those matchups. Plus, he gives Mitch Johnson more wiggle room to deploy French Vanilla.

Plumlee allows Wemby and Kornet more time on the floor together

After the All-Star Break, Spurfect Blog's editor, Carolina Teague, asked Coach Johnson if he was considering playing his two primary big men together more often. The short answer was yes, but the dynamics of the rotations around making that happen were a bit more complicated at the time.

Coach has been consistent with his desire to keep at least one of the two on the court at all times. They pretty much stopped playing Bassey and Kelly Olynyk entirely over the past month plus. Those guys just weren't providing much when they were on the floor on either side of the ball. If they had been, we likely would have seen more French Vanilla by now. This signing is the solution to that.

Plumdog Millionaire has always been a defender with solid rim protection ability. In theory, he'll anchor the defense in small spurts to allow Mitch the luxury of unleashing the Twin Tower lineups we've all been craving. Mason Plumlee affords the Spurs more versatility, adds more size, and brings additional playoff experience with 71 postseason games under his belt. They'll pay him less than $1 million.

A tip of the cap to Brian Wright. That's value.