NBA teams often try to avoid redundancies on their roster. If you’ve got a player with a particular skill set, you may not need another. Unless you’re talking about 3-and-D wings, chances are, you’d prefer another type of player to complement that player.
Just ask Denver Nuggets General Manager Calvin Booth. Recently, he made some interesting comments about constructing his championship roster. Booth said that “overlap is a silent killer”. He’s right. Are the San Antonio Spurs aware of this principle?
After all, they’ve got both Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson on the roster. These are both good young players. They’re also both undersized wings. Meanwhile, neither is consistent enough from long range to be considered a 3-and-D yet. Vassell and Johnson may not be an optimal fit.
Could the Spurs send Johnson to the New York Knicks as a result?
NBA Trade Proposal — New York Knicks Land Keldon Johnson
San Antonio Spurs Receive: G/F Evan Fournier, G Miles McBride, 2024 First-Round Pick (NYK), 2028 First-Round Pick (Swap – NYK)
New York Knicks Receive: G/F Keldon Johnson
With that said, overlap is a secondary concern. The priority is to land an elite player. Once you’ve got one of those, you can build around him. That’s something that the Denver Nuggets haven’t had to worry about in a while.
In all likelihood, you think they’ve got the best player in the NBA. Perhaps you’re a Joel Embiid loyalist or a Giannis Antetokoumnpo guy. You’re entitled to your viewpoint.
Still, if you poll experts, you’ll get a consensus: Nikola Jokic is the best player in the NBA. At this moment, nobody can seem to solve the Joker. The Spurs are hoping they’ve landed a similarly unsolvable player.
NBA TRADES & RUMORS: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks Updates
Jokic may be the league’s present, but Victor Wembanyama will be the future if he hits his ceiling. The Spurs need to put the right group around their presumptive franchise player. Does this deal get them off on the right foot?
Why The San Antonio Spurs Do The Deal
The Spurs don’t have to subscribe to our logic. All it would take is a leap in three-point efficiency from either Vassell or Johnson, and they could justify keeping each. At the same time, even in that event, it may not be optimal – whether it’s justifiable or not.
After all, both men stand around 6’5. When they share the floor, the Spurs will likely be at a size disadvantage on the wings.
In short, they’re not the worst possible fit together, but they may not be ideal. At this stage in the Spurs’ rebuild, they might as well be aiming to put an ideal roster around Wembanyama.
NBA TRADES & RUMORS: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks Updates
So, we’ve got them keeping Vassell and moving Johnson. The Spurs should like Fournier’s expiring contract, but they should like a first-round pick and a swap more. Should the Knicks give up draft capital for Johnson?
Why The New York Knicks Do The Deal
We’ve talked at length about Johnson’s fit alongside Vassell. Let’s talk about Johnson in general. This is a shot-creating wing and a solid defender. Whether he’s a perfect fit with the rest of the Spurs’ roster or not, Johnson is a good NBA player. At his age, he’s got borderline star potential as well.
Is he a perfect fit with the Knicks? It’s hard to say. Size-wise, he can play alongside RJ Barrett on the defensive end. Offensively, the Knicks would likely prefer one of them to develop into a better shooter, as with the Spurs trying to balance Johnson and Vassell. That’s fine.
Johnson may end up being a better player than Barrett – in that event, the Knicks could put Barrett on the trade block. Meanwhile, they won’t mind parting with Fournier. He’s openly expressed discontent about being on the Knicks.
NBA TRADES & RUMORS: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks Updates
In all likelihood, the organization would like to get him out of their locker room. After all, roster redundancy isn’t the only concern that an NBA team has to manage.
