The San Antonio Spurs are pretty much done making moves this offseason. Last season was the second 22-60 season in a row—not what the front office and coaching staff expected. It was clear that the plan going into the summer was to improve the roster but do it intelligently. There are still talented young players here who have the potential to be high-level contributors in the NBA, and this organization isn’t one to give up on their projections too early.
That ideal can sometimes be described as stubbornness, a potentially fatal flaw for any franchise, but you can’t lob that accusation at San Antonio. There is nothing wrong with exhausting all options before moving on from players. It’s called being thorough, and when you’re a small market team, you don’t have the luxury of just moving off of guys, hoping someone else will want to join the squad.
This is just one reason why resigning Sandro Mamukelashvili and Charles Bassey was a good move, but that’s already been covered. Unless a deal comes along that Brian Wright is unable to say no to, the Spurs will enter the season as currently constructed, and that should tell you something.
1. Keldon Johnson is not getting traded
Hopefully, Johnson can keep himself insulated from social media because, as soon as he does something fans don’t like, questions will be asked about why he wasn’t traded. But the answer to that question is simple: there wasn’t a good enough offer out there. Johnson’s age and contract make him a valuable commodity, and the Spurs shouldn’t give him up for less than he’s worth.
There were rumblings through most of the season about KJ’s status as trade bait. Fans have been so desperate to get back to winning that his sometimes frustrating playstyle, merged with those rumors, has amassed almost deafening calls to trade him—he seemed like a prime candidate, but that didn’t materialize.
Everything else Brian Wright has done this offseason has been right. The Castle pick looks phenomenal and the veteran additions are perfect for this roster. It would be disingenuous to assume he was asleep at the wheel where Johnson is concerned, and it’s not like the former Wildcat can’t play, but he only shot 35% from three last season. This league demands space and shooting from most of the wing players in the NBA, so that number needs to increase immediately.
At 24 years old, Keldon is not a finished product. The Spurs may be banking that his growth hasn’t stopped. What’s clear is that next year, his contract will be a little more tradeable than it is now, since the number goes down from 20 to $19 million. If he doesn’t make the improvements necessary to fit with the roster, we may find ourselves back in the same situation. Until then, get ready to see the Big Body bang for the Silver and Black in October.
2. The plan for the Spurs future is now a hybrid
There have been warring factions within the fan base about the direction the Spurs should take during their rebuild. People can’t even agree on how long the rebuild has been going on. I believe that the indication that the team was going into rebuild mode was the Dejounte Murray trade, but that’s neither here nor there.
A large segment of fans believe San Antonio should take it slow and build through the draft completely, while others think that they should floor it like Vin Diesel racing for pink slips due to how advanced Victor Wembanyama is. What many didn’t take into account was how the Spurs were accumulating assets and what it would allow them to do.
They selected very good players that fit around Victor Wembanyama in one way or another. They drafted Devin Vassell to space the floor, Jeremy Sochan to guard the guys that others can’t, a backup point guard you can place your faith in to run things when the starters are out, and Stephon Castle, a big guard who can do just about anything.
But even teams that build through the draft add talent to help push them over the top. Golden State did it with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Kevin Durant. Boston did it with Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis. The Spurs showed they are willing to add pieces to push their ceiling because they still have a treasure chest of assets to pivot whenever they need to, if necessary. The best part is that they can still develop their core guys while doing it.
3. Dominick Barlow is not coming back
This one is a little sad. Barlow brought such great energy off the bench. It felt like there was a noticeable pop to the vibe when he stepped on the court. His leap from freshman to sophomore was notable and many fans hoped he would continue to develop into a rotational player.
A young man unafraid to challenge Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim is a man worth taking an interest in. Unfortunately, the Spurs must feel that it’s in the best interest of the team to move on, as there are no roster spots left. Best of luck to Barlow.
