SAN ANTONIO – As reported a few days ago, the San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have officially signed Dante Cunningham.
Per team policy, terms of his deal were not disclosed, but it is rumored that Cunningham has signed a 1-year deal from anywhere between the veteran minimum (about $2.1 million) to $2.5 million.
The 31-year-old Cunningham spent last season with the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets, averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 73 games between the clubs.
Standing at 6-foot-8 and weighing 230 pounds, Cunningham has established himself as a physical defender and solid rebounder. He’s also begun developing an outside shot.
Cunningham is a career 33 percent shooter from beyond the arc, but in the last two seasons, he’s shot over 40 percent on 3-point attempts from the corners.
While the loss of Kyle Anderson to the Memphis Grizzlies provided a hole in the Spurs’ frontcourt, Cunningham can fill that void by playing multiple positions.
As our own Paul Garcia wrote, while Cunningham mainly logged minutes at the power forward slot last season, he also has the ability to play small forward or as a small ball center.
The Cunningham signing brings the Spurs officially to 13 players on the roster as we await the official signings of Bryn Forbes and Marco Belinelli.
Here is another big that will do his due diligence, he will be asked to deal with the like of Draymond Green and other like him. He is a taller Trevor Ariza type player who can hit the 3 and be someone who harasses on the defensive end. Defense is his calling card. Will he be a 3 and D replacement for Green. Possibly. We will see.