Mitch Johnson didn’t walk into an easy first head-coaching job. He inherited the Spurs with the weight of a proud franchise on his shoulders and the shadow of Gregg Popovich hanging over everything.
That’s a brutal setup for anybody, let alone a 39-year-old in his first shot at running an NBA team. But Johnson has handled it with the kind of steadiness that makes San Antonio look like it made the right call.
What stands out first is how certain he seems of himself. Johnson doesn’t come across like a coach trying to prove he belongs.
He looks like someone who already knows exactly what he wants his team to be. That confidence has become the backbone of the Silver and Black’s structure, and it’s been especially important as the job has demanded so much from him so quickly.
Part of that has shown up in the way he’s managed the roster. Johnson has not been afraid to make uncomfortable choices if they help the team.
Jeremy Sochan is a good example. The ex-Baylor Bear is still looking for a standard contract, but Johnson gave him opportunities when he was still with the Spurs.
When Sochan wasn’t producing enough as a starter, Johnson moved him to a bench role where he could have become a useful depth piece. He simply didn’t fit the direction the roster was taking, and the Spurs moved on.
The same kind of thinking showed up with Harrison Barnes. Johnson put the former Kings forward on the bench after more than a decade as a starter, opening the door for a young, undrafted Julian Champagnie to enter the lineup because it made more sense for the team.
Barnes went from Mr. 100% to Mr. Occasional DNP, and that shift also created more minutes for Carter Bryant.
That doesn’t mean Johnson is handing out playing time just to keep the development project moving. The Spurs are still trying to win, and he has made that clear.
Plenty of fans want Bryant to take the next step, and it’s easy to see why. He’s explosive athletically and a hellacious defender, the kind of player people can already picture as one of the league’s best 3-and-D wings.
But he isn’t there yet, and Johnson hasn’t forced the issue.
Keldon Johnson is still getting real minutes, and for good reason. Fresh off a Sixth Man of the Year award-winning season, KJ remains too good to push aside just because Bryant has upside.
Mitch Johnson isn’t going to bench the better player simply because the younger one might eventually get there. If Bryant earns that role, the coach will make the move.
Until then, he’s sticking with what’s earned, not what’s imagined.
That approach has paid off in a way that’s hard to ignore. Under Johnson’s watch, Stephon Castle won Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama won Defensive Player of the Year, San Antonio reached an NBA Finals, Dylan Harper looks like a star, Champagnie broke the Spurs’ single-season three-point record, and De’Aaron Fox is playing the most efficient ball of his career.
There’s more, but that’s the shape of it. The Spurs chose the right man to follow Gregg Popovich’s footsteps. He’s one interim year, one full year, and two weeks into the job, and while there are plenty of strong coaches around the league, it would be tough to name three who clearly would have done better in the same stretch.
In Other News...
Spurs Are Making Fans Wait On Two Key Additions For A Reason
The Spurs have spent the early part of the season waiting on two offseason additions who were supposed to deepen the rotation right away. Tobias Harris is still working back from a calf strain, while Jayden Quaintance remains sidelined as he rehabs a torn meniscus and ACL, leaving San Antonio without two players it expected to lean on as the year got underway.
Mitch Johnson has made the reasoning plain: the team is not interested in rushing either player just to get them back on the floor. Harris is expected to return sooner, but the bigger picture is the same for both, with the Spurs taking a cautious approach and making sure each is fully recovered before he is asked to play meaningful minutes again. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Face A Tough Carter Bryant Decision Much Earlier Than Expected
Carter Bryants first week-plus with the Spurs has already turned into a test of patience. Through San Antonios first seven games, the young forward has been on the floor in small doses while trying to find his footing on both ends, and the early returns have been uneven. Even with coach Mitch Johnson keeping him in the mix, Bryant has not yet done enough to force a bigger role, which is a tricky place to be this early in a season.
The timing is awkward because the Spurs forward group has gotten more crowded with Tobias Harris now in the picture, and that only makes every minute harder to come by. For Bryant, the path forward is pretty clear even if the opportunity is not: he has to clean up the mistakes and give the staff a reason to keep expanding his role. Otherwise, a rotation spot that already looked uncertain could get even tighter in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Keldon Johnson Knows One Big Spurs Night Changed Nothing
Keldon Johnsons strong night in the Spurs win over the Jazz gave San Antonio a useful reminder of what he can bring when hes aggressive and engaged. It also fit neatly into the teams broader push to keep building habits, because Johnson made it clear afterward that one good game does not change the bigger picture for him or for the group.
Johnson said his focus stays on improving every day and keeping his effort level high, even with playing time up for grabs around him. For a Spurs team still sorting out roles and looking for consistency, that mindset matters as much as any box-score burst, and Johnson seems determined to keep contributing without letting one encouraging performance turn into a comfort zone. [Read more 🡒]