Fan favorite Keldon Johnson has been a mainstay on the San Antonio Spurs for the last six seasons, but his role may soon change. Johnson has seen his role steadily diminish, going from being a starter, even leading the team in scoring in 2021-22, to coming off the bench.
His role could get even smaller with offseason renovations to the roster. The addition of Dylan Harper will likely mean that he will play some at shooting guard, taking away wing minutes from Johnson.
Johnson is more of a combo forward, but Julian Champagnie could take minutes away from him by playing at both shooting guard and small forward.
Keldon Johnson may not be a rotation player next season
Then there is the addition of Carter Bryant. Bryant already looks like a defensive demon. The last time the Spurs had a wing prospect this good on defense was Kawhi Leonard, and he quickly became a starter as a rookie.
That might not happen for Bryant. But with GM Brian Wright prioritizing defense in his roster moves, coach Mitch Johnson might prioritize the same with his rotations.
With Johnson’s inconsistency as a shooter and lack of defense, it’s difficult to justify playing him over Champagnie and possibly even Bryant, making his role questionable. He could still be a high-energy spark plug off the bench, but perhaps Johnson only gets spot minutes or even has a few DNPs next season.
If that’s the case, then suddenly Johnson’s contract becomes a problem. He is set to make $17.5 million next season and the season after. While that seems like a reasonable number, if he isn’t a rotation player, then that might become a bit of an issue.
The Spurs had a similar issue when Zach Collins fell out of the rotation despite being owed $35 million over the next two seasons. He was ultimately traded to the Chicago Bulls.
It cost the Spurs the top-10 protected Bulls pick they owned that would have conveyed as the 12th selection in this year’s draft. They could have even used that pick to package Collins with Johnson or another Spur to land Kevin Durant, but that’s a moot point.
Keldon Johnson controls his own future
Johnson’s contract probably won’t reach that toxic level, and he might fit better on another team that has more shooting. That’s getting a little ahead of ourselves.
The best-case scenario is that Johnson’s play during the second half of last season wasn’t a mirage and that he can keep his spot in the rotation. That might keep Bryant from getting minutes, but if he isn’t as ready to play as we hope, then that might not be such a bad thing.
That would help the Spurs on the court while keeping their options open in case a star becomes available. In that case, Johnson and Devin Vassell’s contracts could be packaged together. In the meantime, Johnson’s role will likely diminish, potentially even falling out of the rotation and becoming expendable.