3 years ago News

Spurs Sign Drew Eubanks to Three-Year Contract, Waive Chimezie Metu

The San Antonio Spurs have signed Drew Eubanks to a three-year deal. (Photo via YouTube)

By Matt Couden

On the heels of the recent NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs have just made several more roster moves as free agency began. That included waiving Chimezie Metu and making sure they bring Drew Eubanks back on a three-year deal. Those moves come right after the team selected Devin Vassell and Tre Jones in the draft. The moves also arrive with the season tentatively scheduled to begin in late December.

Spurs Sign Drew Eubanks, Waive Chimezie Metu

SpursTalk previously reported on the Spurs extending qualifying offers to three players including Jakob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks. Free agency officially started on Friday, November 20, and brought with it a three-year deal for Drew Eubanks.

The 23-year-old Eubanks is going into his third season with the team and has also spent time with the developmental squad, the Austin Spurs. He signed with the Spurs for Summer League play in 2018 after going undrafted out of Oregon State.

According to KENS 5, the new three-year contract with San Antonio is worth $5.29 million for the Spurs big man. The 6-foot-9 power forward/center has averaged 4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and a 62.4 percent field goal rate so far in his career.

In addition to Eubanks’ signing, the team waived fellow big man Chimezie Metu. He had received fewer minutes this past season compared to Eubanks. Metu saw very little playing time at the Orlando bubble, while Eubanks averaged seven points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 17 minutes a game.

The 6-foot-9 Metu came to the Spurs as the No. 49 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of USC. This would’ve been his third year with the team had they decided to keep him on the roster. However, it appears they preferred Eubanks due to the greater minutes he played and what they saw from him.

What’s Next for the San Antonio Spurs?

The moves involving Eubanks and Metu arrive along with another recent move where star player DeMar DeRozan opted into his contract. In addition, despite trade rumors, Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge are still part of the roster, unless something else takes place.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are still in need of centers on their roster, so they may need to do their best to match any offers that Poeltl gets in free agency. If not, it’s possible they could have some sort of trade in mind involving one of the veteran players mentioned, or other players they can make offers to.

In the 2020 NBA Draft, they selected Devin Vassell with the No. 11 pick, and Tre Jones with the No. 41 pick. Vassell is a 6-foot-7 shooting guard out of Florida State, while Jones was a point guard under Mike Krzewszki at Duke University. Based on draft grades out there, including one from Yahoo! Sports’ Ben Rohrbach, the Spurs made decent choices.

As far as the NBA season goes, it’s going to be a quick turnaround for coach Popovich to get his players ready. They’ll report for training camp on December 1. Based on what NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has indicated, the new season will start on December 22, 2020. Visit the main Spurs Talk page for more of the latest team and player updates.