The San Antonio Spurs have built something enviable, but the real test is coming fast: keeping that young core together once the contracts start stacking up.
Extending Victor Wembanyama this offseason was the best move San Antonio made. He chose a maximum contract instead of a “supermax,” a decision that saved the Spurs up to $50 million. That kind of relief matters, because Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are both lined up for extensions over the next two summers, and Carter Bryant, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell are on a similar timeline as well.
That is where the squeeze starts. The Spurs can admire the talent, but they also have to plan for the bill.
On the surface, Castle looks like the sort of player any team would gladly pay at the highest level. In two seasons, he has become one of the league’s top perimeter defenders and a real weapon on offense.
Still, San Antonio is not dealing with just one young piece - it is balancing several.
The league has already seen how these situations can play out. Jalen Duren believes he is the second-best player on the Detroit Pistons and wants to be paid accordingly.
Detroit values Ausar Thompson more than its center, yet Duren still landed a $200 million deal. For some players, getting the biggest possible payday matters more than preserving the flexibility needed to build a winner around them.
So far, Castle has said the right things about winning and keeping his ego in check. But that can change quickly once an extension lands on the table.
"Castle is a tremendous passer, great physical defender, unbelievable in transition," listed Sam Vecenie on the Game Theory Podcast. "It's just figuring out what the future holds for this group because they get expensive starting as soon as next season, when they have to decide whether they want to pay Stephon Castle or not."
Wembanyama’s extension gives the Spurs a rare head start, but even that deal comes with limits. In the first year of it, he will be the 40th highest-paid player in the NBA. Over the life of the five-year contract, it is difficult to picture him ever ranking among the league’s top ten salaries, because other extensions and new deals will keep pushing him down the list.
Castle will not be the one bumping him upward. The Spurs already view Harper as the second-best player on the roster, which leaves Castle as the clear No.
- Players in that kind of role - names like Aaron Gordon, Mikal Bridges, and Immanuel Quickley - are making around $30 million per season, and Castle is likely to land in that neighborhood too, even with a higher ceiling than some of them.
San Antonio does have one edge in its favor: it can offer Castle a starting role on a team built to contend, and that carries weight. Still, the league has seen players such as Duren and Jonathan Kuminga push for more than teams think they are worth.
Duren got paid. Kuminga is still waiting for a major long-term deal.
In Other News...
Julian Champagnie Has Earned A Spurs Role Fans Can't Ignore
Julian Champagnie keeps showing up in ways the Spurs can use. In the preseason opener, he slid into the starting lineup and handled the extra responsibility well, finishing with 10 points in 18 minutes while continuing the steady, low-drama production that has made him one of the more dependable names on the roster. Coach Mitch Johnson has taken notice, and Dylan Harper has, too, which matters on a team still sorting out where all the pieces fit.
For a player whose path to San Antonio has been built on persistence and year-to-year growth, moments like this only strengthen the case that his role is no accident. Champagnie has already turned opportunity into multi-year security with the Spurs, and he is making it harder for anyone to view him as just a depth piece. The bigger question now is how far his standing can rise once the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Face A Tough Keldon Johnson Decision That Could Keep Him Home
Keldon Johnsons future in San Antonio is still open-ended, and for the Spurs, that makes the next move more complicated than it looks. Johnson has not received a contract extension yet, but the team does have salary cap room and at least one recent example of how it could handle a veteran return, which keeps the possibility alive that he remains part of the roster without a long-term commitment.
A short-term arrangement would give both sides some flexibility, and Johnson might be willing to consider it if the money and situation make sense. For the Spurs, the question is whether they want to keep a familiar piece in place while preserving future options, or keep the door open to a different direction as negotiations continue. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Suddenly Have A New Wing Depth Concern To Watch
The Spurs got an unwelcome scare in their second preseason game when Carter Bryant had to leave early after an apparent right ankle injury in the second quarter. Bryant stepped on a teammates foot on the play, interrupting what had been another chance for San Antonio to take a closer look at its wing rotation and how the rookie fits into that mix.
Coach Mitch Johnson confirmed the contact that led to the injury but offered no clarity beyond that, leaving the next few days to determine how serious it might be. For a team already sorting out its depth on the wing, Bryants availability for the rest of the preseason now hangs in the balance, and the Spurs will have to wait for a better read before they know how much this setback could matter. [Read more 🡒]