1:17pm: The Spurs have officially signed Howard, the team announced in a press release.
12:34pm: While most NBA teams are spending the day shedding players from their rosters, the Spurs will increase their roster count by one. According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, the club has reached an agreement to sign Josh Howard to a non-guaranteed contract.
McDonald writes that the deal is expected to be finalized later today, but Howard’s stint on the Spurs’ roster may not last long. According to the Express-News report, it looks as if Howard may be released in order to sign a D-League contract. The Spurs would then hold his D-League rights, allowing them to monitor the veteran forward’s progress with the Austin Toros as he recovers from a knee injury. It’s not clear yet whether Howard has agreed to such a plan, but if he’s quickly cut by the Spurs, he’d still be free to sign with any NBA team, even if he’s playing for the Toros.
The Timberwolves signed Howard a couple weeks into the 2012/13 season in order to provide depth on an injury-ravaged roster. However, the 33-year-old fell victim to that injury bug himself about a month later, suffering a torn ACL which required season-ending surgery. Prior to going down, Howard averaged 6.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 11 contests for Minnesota.
San Antonio had been carrying 14 players on its roster, so the club won’t have to waive anyone to clear room for Howard.