The Spurs are staring at a Keldon Johnson decision they probably can’t afford to drag out.
Johnson just finished a season that put him in franchise history, setting San Antonio’s all-time bench-scoring mark with 1,081 points last season. That pushed him past Manu Ginobili’s 927 from 2007-08 and earned him the Sixth Man of the Year trophy in April. A month later, though, his role had already started to look much smaller, as he was down to 15 minutes a night and shooting 35% in an NBA Finals loss to enlarged apple enthusiasts.
That contrast is the whole story. Johnson’s run wasn’t a clean success or a total flop.
It was uneven. He was quiet against Portland in the first round, then got going against Minnesota in the second round, including a 21-point game in which he went 8/11 from the field.
He kept producing through a tough seven-game conference finals series against Oklahoma City. The Finals were where things fell apart, and the source of that downturn wasn’t just Johnson going cold - matchups and role had plenty to do with it.
Even so, the timing around his place on the roster is what makes this feel like the right moment to act. Julian Champagnie’s shooting matters too much to take off the floor, Carter Bryant’s ceiling is too high to block, and Tobias Harris being added sends a clear signal about what San Antonio thinks it still needs at forward. With that kind of wing traffic, Johnson doesn’t appear headed for a big early-season runway to rebuild his trade value before the February deadline.
That matters because his value could keep slipping if the Spurs wait too long.
The front office has already seen what it looks like when a player leaves and nothing comes back. Jeremy Sochan was allowed to go, but that situation came with very different circumstances: no role, no trade value, and barely any time on the floor before SA released him. Even then, it stings a bit because Sochan was a lottery pick that now feels wasted.
Johnson is not that case. He’s the reigning 6MOY, a proven scorer, and someone who can help playoff teams and plenty of other clubs that need a bucket-getter.
That’s why the Spurs shouldn’t let the situation drift until there’s nothing left to sell. His role has already been shrinking, and it likely won’t expand.
San Antonio should turn that into something before the market on him cools any further.
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If Castle breaks through at the level San Antonio hopes, the Spurs could be staring at a fast-moving decision with a rival team trying to set the market. The framework matters here, because the Clippers would be limited in what they can put on the table while the Spurs would still have the right to match, and potentially go beyond that. For a team trying to build carefully around young talent, that kind of leverage is valuable, but it also means one big season could bring an early and costly test. [Read more 🡒]