Season recap: How did San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson do last season?

Season recap: How did San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson do last season?

Let’s go to start looking back at last season and ask, well, how did Kelvin Johnson do? You are Locked on Spurs, your daily San Antonio Spurs podcast, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Welcome back to Locked on Spurs here on the locked on NBA network. I’m your host, Jeff Garcia, sports writer for Kansas 5 San Antonio. And happy Wednesday everybody. Hope you all are doing great. and coming off that whole buzz, that excitement about the NBA draft lottery and the Spurs. But hey, we got to move on, right? But before we can move on to next season, we need to look back at last season and put Kell Johnson in the spotlight. We’re going to recap his uh seasons, 2024 25 season. What did we like? What didn’t we like? Is he part of the rebuild? Is he tradable? Why should the sports even consider trading him? All that and more. And then get into your comments. Lockdown sports fans, guys. Leaving a bunch of comments. We’ll pick out two as always and react to them. As always, subscribe to Lock on Spurs where get your favorite podcast, iTunes, Spotify, Kansas 5 plus app, YouTube, you know where to go do that ASAP. All right, so started by Kevin Johnson, right? You know, he is now the Spurs sixman. He is, you know, you look at his career with the San Antonio Spurs. He went from playing in Austin, having the COVID pandemic impact him, get recalled, get his butt planted into the the the starting unit, at least the San Antonio bench. No more Austin. They remember at one point he was actually the face of the Spurs for a while. Yeah, it was him. He was the focal point and now the Wimby era and he went from starting to now bench. So, he’s really had a roller coaster of a career with the Spurs. But we got to look back, right? Okay, we got to look at how we did last season. What does he factor in moving forward if at all? Let’s go and do that and more. Let’s go and bring in our guest Ro Dominguez of the AP Sports. Be sure to follow him on next at Dominguez. Do that right now. Ro, welcome back to Lockdown Spurs. Thank you for having me. You know, I did my season recap of Ral Dominguez on Media Row. I gave you an A+ here. Always at work, focused, laser focused. And what I like about Raul too, during the games, he’ll look around the crowd and like pick up things. Like when there was like a medical emergency in in the crowd, Raul was like conning it. He’s like, “Hey, did you see this happened here?” So you’re you’re got like an eagle-eyed view of the entire arena where he sits. Probably just my add so probably that’s what it is. Yeah, exactly. Uh again, make sure to follow him on Dominguez. And uh yeah, bro, let’s go and go into it here. Let’s put Kell Johnson in the spotlight in today’s episode. But before we look forward, let’s look back at last season. It’s going to bring up some numbers that he did uh in the 2425 season. 77 games played, did not start a single game. He was completely off the bench for a six-man. He averaged 12.7 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, uh just a turnover. That was it. And he did all that in about 24 minutes per game. shooting wise, 48% from the field and 32% from the uh three line. So again, a very productive season. Uh as a matter of fact, this was wow his third lowest point per game average in his uh tying with San Antonio. Uh you have to go back to his rookie season uh when he averaged 9.1 and then he averaged 128 in 2020 2021. So, looking back at last season, I think what stands out for me, Ro, is that he’s fully embraced the six-man role, hasn’t he? Yeah. I mean, he’s um you know, uh you know, he was a a starter for a while and then, you know, moved to the bench. And again, like you you mentioned, he didn’t start a game at all uh this season, even though they had all the injuries and, you know, he could have easily been plugged into the starting lineup, but just for continuity, he stayed in the in the uh as a reserve and and uh you know, that’s sort of his unit, you know, uh I think he more so than anyone leads that unit. Um so you know he he’s really embraced that role in the same way that uh Manu uh embraced that role where you know it’s this is my you this is my group this is our group you know we’re going to come in there and we’re going to uh you know just uh beat the other uh other teams reserves. So he’s he’s really really embraced this role. Yeah he he really has. And you know we talked about in the intro right now you know his his time with San Antonio has just been up and down. we mentioned from remember he was stashed away everybody in the Austin Spurs system he was not even on the San Antonio bench and it wasn’t for the uh pandemic I believe uh the Spurs got hit with it uh some players got sick and they recalled him and they never looked back and then crazy to think about it wasn’t just a few years ago r that he was actually the face of the spurs pre-wimy it was him he was the one front and center he was the one at uh San Antonio community events it was him thrust him to the spotlight and he really embraced that a role that that’s reversed those career numbers uh in that season and then for him to go from starting alongside Wimby for a while then now the bench I mean he’s he’s pretty much done it all. Let’s not forget too, Raul, he’s the longest tenur Spur. So this whole thing about the Spurs are young, I guess, by age, but by experience, they’re kind of not. Raul, looking at last season with Kell, do you do you think this is going to be his permanent role moving forward? [Music] Oh, I think it definitely is. I think he’s and I he sort of embraced his and and the same way that Manu came off the bench and Boris Dia and and Patty Mills and uh you know just just I I think he’s great for uh he’s great as a reserve because of the energy he brings in. you know, he can go in there and just sort of turn it up, you know, offensively and he brings that energy and, you know, a lot of times, um, even obviously the reserves need to score, they need to play defense, but just that energy, you know, that boost, you know, anytime he starts to check in, you know, the fans get excited because they know he’s going to provide some energy. they know he’s going to, you know, maybe make a dunk and and and, you know, flex like he does and scream and, you know, that that’s a huge boost, you know, cuz uh uh, you know, depending on how the the the first unit is doing, you know, here lately, it seems like the first unit has been struggling. So, the second unit has had to come in and sort of, you know, build back up the build the energy up and and, you know, build the momentum and and he’s done a great job. I I think he’s sort of taken a leadership role as u, you know, in the reserve unit. Yeah, absolutely. And that’s what I like about him. I think he’s the glue guy that kind of keeps this team together in the locker room. Like Rao and I, we’ve seen him in there. You know, he is just making the room light, very chipper. Uh, you know, just he’s a car he’s a character. Yeah, I mean he he’ll go from picking on Bassie because Bassie had an incrementous game that maybe he’s going to drug test him to talking about how many cowboy boots he has at his home uh to even picking on Chris Paul last season about how he dresses all preppy. So this guy here really keeps the locker room fancy, you know, as far as just just more upbeat, you know, whether win or loss. And he’s very open about that too, Raul. He’ll say, you know, like, you know, we got to stay positive. You rarely see him really get down. Maybe once in a while you see him kind of get bummed out over or lost, but normally he would tell us in that conference room role and he goes, “I’m just Ken. I’m just going to smile. You know, we just got to move forward.” I like that energy he brings. Yeah. And you know, I I know you’ve heard it and for those people that that you know uh don’t aren’t uh fortunate like we are to be able to go backstage. I mean, you hear them sometimes like especially after the you know the games the games they won big games that they win. It’s like you hear Kell screaming, you know, it’s like you know, you know, he’s just Yeah. Yeah. back there yelling and celebrating and you know that fills the arena and it always kind of makes the reporters laugh and there’s even times when someone’s doing an interview and you hear Kell yelling from the the locker room. It’s not him yelling like, you know, an angry yelling. It’s him just celebrating, you know, just shouting in exuberance. And uh, you know, that always, again, that makes the reporters laugh. You know, you can hear the guys in the back, you know, laughing and joking around and, you know, whenever he’s screaming and yelling and again, it’s sort of a punctuation. you know, if if they do well, uh, you know, you know, if they’re going to if they have a really good win or, you know, win a last second shot or something, you know, you know, as Kell’s running down that hall to go back to the to the locker room, you’re going to hear him scream, you know, celebration. So, yeah, and that’s that’s what that’s what teams need. I was just say teams need that sort of that vocal energy. One of my favorite moments as far as team interaction with Kell was we were at the Victory PL Victory Capital Performance Center and Trey Jones at the time was doing a postpractice chat and the entire chat during you know when Trey Jones was talking to everybody. You just hear Kelly Johnson repeating Trey Jones, Trey Jones for the entire show to the point where Trey Jones just had to stop in the middle of the conference and looked over everybody’s shoulder and go like and he looked at us like he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t stop, you know. So, uh that tells you type of teammate he is. But all in all, again, great glue guys we’re talking about here. uh locker room on the court. Great with the media. He’s also very very uh you know embracing of his role as sixman. He never made waves. At least to our knowledge. He hasn’t made any waves. He’s doesn’t grumble about it. He embraces it. We looked at some of the numbers they did last year. One thing that did stood out for me is minimal turnovers. He only had about about one turnover a game. I think that’s pretty good. Roll off to me. That’s a sign of his basketball IQ just getting better and better. Your thoughts? Yeah, I mean he he’s really blossomed. I mean, you mentioned earlier about him not getting a lot of playing time. Um he didn’t he rarely got into games and I don’t know if you remember this, but uh when when Pop uh had to take a game off for uh I think at that time they called it undisclosed uh illness or something and um Duncan took over and he actually put Kell into the rotation. Uh brought him in off the bench. I think this was his maybe his sophomore or second year I believe uh with Kell. He hadn’t played much as a rookie. Hadn’t played much in his second year. Um I believe it was second year and Tim put him in and he did a great job and cuz I I know fans have been clamoring for for for Kelvin to come in uh for them to start playing him. Uh Tim puts him in there and he does a great job and then he pretty much stuck after that, you know. Yeah. So, uh, you know, as far as maturity, like, uh, you know, I know there was, I believe at first there was Pop was talking about, well, he needs to play defense, focus more on defense, but he’s done that. He’s improved defensively. You know, he’s still he’s not uh, you know, I love Kell, but I don’t think he’s ever going to be an alldefensive NBA team. But, but he works hard on defense. You know, he he helps out. He he dies for loose balls. You know, he’s a guy that can get the, you know, they call the 50/50 ball. So, like you’re mentioning with the turnovers, like he’s gotten a lot smarter. You know, his shots are he’s not forcing shots. Uh so, yeah, he’s you can tell that experience has really helped him as far as being on the court all the time. Yeah, absolutely. You know, we’re not done talking about Kell Johnson. When we get back, we’re going to continue looking back at how he did last season and then ask the big question, how does he factor in moving forward? What can he do or should the Spurs flip him? You know, that’s on the table, too. We’ll talk about that and more right here on Lockdown Sports with Rahul Dominguez of the AP Sports. Follow him on X at Dominguez Single. But first, I want to talk about Wayfair. The days are getting longer, the weather’s warming up, and people are spending more time outside, which means it’s a perfect time to refresh your outdoor space. Whether you’re working on a big backyard, small balcony, Wayfair has everything you need to make it feel more like you. Wayfair’s massive selection of outdoor essentials makes it easy to transform any space into your ideal summer setup. From comfy conversation sets to sleek dining tables, outdoor decor, they got it all. And at prices that fit your budget. Hey, I love the mix of new styles they offer. 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Didn’t he set a Spurs franchise record for the most points scored off the bench? He passing Manu Genobi. Yeah, he actually is now the franchise alltime leading bench scorer passing Manu. To me, I don’t think that got highlighted enough. That’s a major accomplishment for Kelvin. Your thoughts, Ro? Oh, yeah, definitely. And then uh you know uh obviously Mu played in a time where maybe the scores weren’t weren’t quite as big and uh you know, but but Kell has been just consistent. He hasn’t, you know, been flashy. isn’t a, you know, he’s a guy that can get, you know, 30 points, but usually it’s somewhere between 10 to 20 points and, uh, you know, he just does it all within sort of the framework of what the Spurs want want to do. So, um, that’s a huge accomplishment. You know, obviously anything anytime you have, uh, much in the same breath as, you know, Manu, I mean, that that’s that just speaks volumes. Yeah, exactly. Now, you know, you mentioned the defense. That’s been kind of the biggest gripe with Kell last season. A lot of fans were saying, “Oh my good, defense is going to slip because K is out there.” You’re right. He is trying, but for me, that’s thing number one. He’s got to get a little better on defense. Sure, you know, he has the human eraser behind him, uh, Wimi, if they’re on the court together. No, Castle is going to help maybe defend on some of those perimeter players better, but I’ll need to see him get better defensively. And I bring that up is because you look at some of the um plus minus uh numbers for him. Uh whenever he’s on the floor, Raul, the Spurs defensive rating is about 118.4, which is not bad. Uh so there’s that. Whenever he’s off the court though, it gets slightly better at 116.6. So you see kind of a little bit more defensive uh issues for the Spurs. much, but it is there. So, overall, that for me has to be number one. If he get better defensively, I think that’s going to really improve his game. Uh, he’d be a great two-way player, and I think that’ll bode well for the Spurs rebuild and how he can maybe become a staple in the Spurs rebuild long term as opposed to being a tradable, you know, asset, if you will, uh, moving forward. Raul, talk about his shooting, though. That’s another thing that probably needs some work as he continues to develop in the NBA. Your thoughts? Uh I think his shooting’s actually improved greatly. I mean, his three-point shooting is is definitely improved. I don’t know what the percentages were, but yeah. Uh he always seemed like when they needed a three-point shot that he could hit it. Um gotten a lot more confident with the shot. Um you know, he’s not forcing shots up like he used to. Um, you know, to to me, his offensive game has really really become a huge asset. I mean, uh, the thing I like about Kell’s game is he’ll hit those threes, but then he’ll also, uh, you know, even though he he’s lost weight, he’s still a big guy. He’s still very strong. So he he doesn’t hesitate to drive to the basket and get contact and either you know score on a contested layup or or you know get either an on or three like uh he doesn’t you know just three points three-pointers or you know just scoring in the lane. Um so you know to me his his shooting uh has has definitely improved. I think his three-point uh stroke is is really good right now. Uh, I think I’d like to see him maybe uh add a little bit more on the mid-range game just to kind of free himself up, you know, uh to be kind of a three- tier scorer, but uh um I think his offense is obviously huge asset for him. I mean, uh yeah, u there times when when Spurs in the second unit needs a basket, uh he he’ll force his way in there, especially late in the late in the season when when Fox were gone. Uh he was, you know, he he was probably their most consistent scorer as far as hey, we need a bucket. he would find a way to get either with a three-pointer or driving into the lane. Yeah. Uh, you know, also shot creation. I’d like to see him create a lot little shot a little for his own a lot better next season. Look at some of the numbers here. Uh, he shot 69% Raul from the field on assisted uh shots. So, whenever you know his teammate from they threw him the ball, more than likely he knocked it down. but unassisted when it’s just him. Uh 31%. 31% shooting off unassisted shots. So that needs to get better as well. But again, you know, I don’t know if we’re there yet. Is that’s kind of like the big elephant of the room right now. Is Ken is he is what he is at this point of his NBA career? I mean, basically what you see is what you get now. No, I I think he’s definitely could still improve. And and I say that again. I’m I’m a a fan of Kell’s game. I I think he brings a lot to the Spurs, but I think he can definitely improve, but but I think um his improvement will come when the Spurs improve. Like like it’s got to be tough. Mhm. you know, especially with all the injuries and and the different uh you know, that the Spurs had different rotations they had and you never knew who was going to be in that second unit, you know, uh whether one of the second units were were going to be, you know, have to go to this become a starter because someone was injured or maybe he did the rotation a little differently where someone was starting, you know, Julian was a starter for a long time, then he went to the to the reserves and then he went back to starters for a little bit. Um, no big man. Kell had to be, you know, be one of the big men, uh, for a while, you know. Uh, I think that also help hurt him defensively because he’s having to guard different positions, you know, depending on on what um, you know, depending on on on who the Spurs had on the court, you know, I think he was the tall one of the tallest ones on the court. Uh, in the reserve unit, you know, uh, him and and and Mamu. Um, so that’s got to be tough. So, I I think once that second unit sort of um gets a little bit more uh a little bit more solidified, I think that’s going to help him defensively and offensively. Uh because he’s going to kind of know his role better. He’s going to know his teammates better. Uh it’s going to be sort of like that, you know, hopefully that second unit with Manu and Patty and Boris and Thiago where they get used to each other and, you know, can kind of uh build on that chemistry. Uh I think this year was just sort of like okay Devon’s uh going to be in the in the reserve unit going to be you know like Kelvin Devin Julian Mamu this game okay next game it’s going to be Kell Julian Mamu Bassie like it it like it changed almost every game. Yeah. So I I think um once the Spurs solidify their their their whole roster and especially the second unit I think it’s going to help Kell out a lot. I think I think he’s going to improve um a lot. You’re going to see a big improvement from him. Yeah, you can definitely see the want is there, you know, for him slimming down no longer the big body uh to at least getting as Ro you highlighted he’s getting better with his offside shot. Um you know, maybe I should clarify what I meant by that earlier is he just yes, his shot has improved, but it’s still inconsistent. So there’s that. So hopefully he’ll become a little bit more consistent shooter moving forward. So there is room for improvement. But Raul, you know, we are in a rebuild. This team is in a rebuild. They they got to, you know, still fashion the roster around Wimi. Yeah. I mean, Kell’s name always comes up during trade talk, you know, because you mentioned it, you know, the the the uh team friendly contracts. Him and Devin, you know, both have team friendly contracts. They’re both young. They haven’t hit their primes yet. um you know, very good players, you know, uh they’re not going to be, you know, superstars, but they’re guys that that are are, you know, can really help a team and and help build a team and be part of a you know, um you know, a championship squad. You always need those kind of players, you know. Um so, you know, I’m sure Kell’s name is going to come up in contract. I’m sorry, trade talks. He always has. Uh but but I always just define it. I remember when were talking about well Kevin should be playing that that did that great job in the Olympics. Um you know uh people were talking about oh you know we’re going to lose him. uh you know because I know Draymond Green was a huge fan of his and what he brought to the team and and I remember people oh he’s gonna leave us he’s gonna leave us you know and you know people were worried them about him leaving either through a trade or through free agency and then now at this point some people are like oh you know get rid of him so it’s sort of funny how fickle they can be but um I think uh Kell’s name will definitely be brought up it was brought up I think during the de’ar and Foxs you know I’m not saying that he was brought up by the Spurs, but fans were talking about, well, we should trade him for Garren Fox or we should trade Keller for this person. So, his name’s going to come up again. Uh, personally, I don’t think the Spurs should trade him. I think he’s part of that core. He’s part of the foundation, the chemistry. Uh, Wimi loved him, you know, uh, the coaches love him. I think those kind, like you mentioned, he’s a glue guy. You need those kind of glue guys. So, I I just I just don’t think that they should trade him, but his name is definitely going to come up because uh and the reason why he’s going to come up in trade talks is because teams see see that they see what he brings. They they see that he’s on a team friendly contract. They see that he’s young. So, that that’s a valuable asset for any team. Absolutely. We’re not done talking about Kellen Johnson. Uh when we get back, uh we’re going to wrap this uh topic up and then get into some lockdown Spurs fan comments. You’re leaving a bunch of them. We’ll pick two in just a few seconds. joined by Ra Dominguez of the AP Sports. But first, I want to talk to you about car gurus. Shopping for a car should be exciting, not exhausting, but between the confusing prices and hidden fees, it can feel overwhelming. That’s why I love Car Gurus. 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As the new leader of the Decepticons, I command you to subscribe to lock on Spurs with Jeff Garcia. And we are back right here on Lock Spurs joined by Ro Dominguez of the AP Sports who I hear might go number one overall in the NBA draft now the lotteryy’s over. You know, you know from San Antonio. Well, the the U 2K. Yeah. Yeah. The 2K version maybe. But all right, we’re talking about Kell Johnson. Now, we’ve been throwing a lot of stuff out there from you know, how he did last season, how he impacts the Spurs off the X’s and O’s, you know, just his his, you know, his likeness, you know, that he, you know, his craziness, his insanity, his energy, all that stuff. He even asked about, you know, whether or not he’s still a tradable asset. We’re gonna keep on that topic right now. Ro um you look at what he his his contract is right now. He’s due 17.5 million in 20 26 27 and then next season he is due 17.5 uh to 25 26 season. That’s a very flippable contract. But we asked why wouldn’t the Spurs want to trade him? You hit the big one right there. Just the glue guy, the culture, that leadership. again, he is the most senior spur on this roster. You know, maybe maybe, you know, Mitch Johnson can unlock another level for him now with Mitch being the new head coach moving forward. We’ll see that. But I think what’s really standing out for me, why they want to keep him aboard is that he, again, going back to the six-man role, he’s fully embraced it. He’s fully embraced it. Say what you will about the Spurs. Perhaps a new big three with Castle, Fox, and Wimby, but maybe it’s a big four because the Spurs have their centerpiece to build on with Wimi. They got their cup supplemental players with Fox and Castle. Maybe they got the six-man for their rebuild in Kellen Johnson. So, that’s something to think about as well. Uh, again, just it’s just there’s just so much. He’s been in trade rumors since about 2022, I believe. uh you heard his name to Zack Lavine and Brook Lopez and recently he has Darren Fox, you know, so he’s always been in the rumor mill, but the Spurs never pulled the trigger on that. For me, Raul, I think what it’s going to take for the Spurs to pull the trigger on each trade with him, it’s got to be a player that pushes this team into a championship contender. It has to be that that they got to be out of their rebuild and just are missing some sort of big piece to push them over a hump. I think that is what may push the Spurs to trade him uh again if they have, you know, playoff champ playoff runs of championship dreams dancing in their heads. Ro, your thoughts? Yeah, I mean it’s always going to be sort of uh you know, sort of um out there again that he’s going to be a player that could trade again. you know, he’s a he’s a the type of player, the type of contract that that other teams covet, him and Devin, uh you know, both good contracts, you know, good young players. So, it’s always going to be out there, but uh one thing that I was kind of I lean on now is you look at Oklahoma City, uh that’s such a great roster and it’s like they they they come at you like in waves. just like, you know, starters go out, the second unit is just as good. It’s just like, you know, they mix it up and, you know, they bring all these different guys off the ro off the bench and such a deep roster. So, you know, and they all mesh well and uh, you know, they’re all young, too. That’s the other thing that that about the Oklahoma City roster is, you know, so many great young players and and they’re so deep. I I think that’s what the Spurs want to build. Um, you know, I think that’s what they’re trying to build. I think Kell and and guys like Kell and Devin are big part of that. Uh, you know, young player that they can bring off the bench that that’s going to, you know, just sort of continue the the the run that the first unit’s on. Uh, so so I know that the temptation is there to um trade a player like Kelvin, you know, or temptation is there for the fans. So, hey, let’s trade Kell for this player or that player. Um I I personally like uh you know having a deep bench, having the assets. So you know maybe like you mentioned like maybe a year from now they say hey you know what or maybe even during the season hey uh there’s a player we feel that’s going to push over the top or maybe uh you know down the road uh you know maybe include them in in a deal or someone else in a deal. But you do that when you have a bunch of assets the way Oklahoma City did. Oklahoma City was able to to get Gordon Haywood last year. Uh didn’t work out, but they had the assets to to make that trade without hurting the team. So maybe down the road, but uh as far as Kell, but again, I I think he’s just too valuable uh to this rebuild trade him. I believe last season, I think it was Mitch Johnson. I said here I got the quote here about Kellen like and I think I think you and I may have been in that conference um chat. He says quote Kellen quote far more valuable than just a trade asset. So that is what Mitch Johnson believes. I think the team believes that again it’s really going to have to be that type of player that the Spurs really feel that this is going to push him into deep playoff runs or championship contention. And I think that’s the only way to do it. I think right now, despite what you say fans may say about Kell being consistent shooter. Oh, he’s tradable. I think as of this moment, you keep them on board. Let’s see how the next season plays out. Let’s see how this this team does. But I really wouldn’t be surprised moving forward if once the Spurs are out of the rebuild and again are still flirting with, you know, a playoff, you know, maybe maybe they say they get to the playoffs and they just keep getting bounced after round one or go into round two and keep getting bounced, then I think you might have to revisit this chat here. But there’s no doubt about it. Cen, versatile, embraces his six-man role, really good in the San Antonio community, you know, you know, willing to do the dirty work, bringing that energy in the court, on the court. He is definitely what the Spurs need at this moment moving forward. All right, those are our thoughts about Kevin Johnson and last season and then of course with him moving forward. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment of the Lockdown Spurs YouTube page and of course following Ro on X Dominguez single. Speaking of blocked on Spurs YouTube, let’s go and pick out a couple comments and give our reaction to them. First one comes from Leon J301. He says, quote, “Crazy that people think Brian Wright is a terrible GM.” Laughy emoji. Laughy emoji. Laughing emoji. Laughing emoji. He says, “Casual takes.” What do you think about that, Ro? You think Brian Wright gets the the kind of the wrong end of the stick here among fan base? Oh, I don’t I think there’s no question that that he gets bashed way too much. Um RC Beert was a hard act to follow obviously, but you know, even RC made some moves that fans didn’t like. I think I think it’s a bit bit of nostalgia, you know, like oh remember this championship? Yeah. Remember this name, Lucas Amich? That was under RC Buer’s watch. So, you know, I think Brian gets bashed too much. I I think it’s also because I think um fancy like hey like Damen Litter was available or this player was available why didn’t we go get him you know um but then you you look at what he’s been able to do I mean you know he wisely and the Spurs organization wisely sort of took a step back in order for them to be in position to to you know get the number one pick and you know fortunately they did and they get Victor you know uh and then now they have all these assets it’s, you know, uh they have two number one picks for a deep 2025 draft. Uh uh multiple picks over the next, I think it’s four or five years, I think. So, I mean, Brian’s done an amazing job, you know, uh and he’s done it while staying within the budget. Uh you know, uh keeping this group, you know, they’re all relatively about the same age, so they’re they’re building up together. uh you know and as they decide to take let’s go get you know I I think the hot rumor now is Giannis um you know but they have the assets to where if they do find a match that they have the assets to do that and the reason why they have those assets and some valuable assets you know the first round picks and the young players the whole reason why they have those in the first place is because of Brian Wright. Absolutely. And you know, a lot of Spurs fans say, “Well, look what Brian Rice’s done in the draft. You know, picking Wimby, that’s obvious.” You know, oh, getting castle. Yeah, that’s obvious. Let’s see how he does with player trades. Well, he did one recently with Darren Fox. Remember, there was rumblings that it was going to be Vel, Kell, some sort of combo with that Sohan and, you know, first round picks and he didn’t give up any of that to Sacramento. None of that went out the door. So, I think that spoke well for uh Brian Wright to managing that deal and where it didn’t hurt the Spurs uh too too much uh with uh you know the move they made to get Fox. So, but I I definitely know Spurs fans are watching him how he does in this current draft you know at uh you know who they pick where they landed all that good stuff. Will they make a trade? You know bringing like you said Giannis that’s the big hot rumor right now. We’ll see how he does. But yeah, I think Brian Wright definitely gets a lot gets bashed a lot by the fan base and we’ll see if they ease up moving forward. All right, the next comment comes from here we go from A-Rods Z with a Z21. He says, “Well, let’s see. Both the Rockets and the Pistons made the postseason this year. Both those teams lost out on Victor Wayyama in the lottery and we Spurs still can’t get to 40 wins. We are not ahead of schedule. So, uh, A-Rod here has reacted to a recent lockdown Spurs where we asked, “Are the Spurs ahead of schedule?” Now, the premise there, Raul, was well, the Spurs have changed since we last asked that question. Fox is now a Spur, Castle come on the scene. Wimi is only getting better. And of course, you know, the draft with NBA draft this summer, you know, who they’ll pick. So, this fan is saying no, they’re not ahead of schedule because they can’t even get to 40 wins. What do you stand on that world? Do you think the Spurs are ahead of schedule in the rebuild? Um, it’s tough to tough it’s tough to say because uh because of the injuries and such. Uh I think if Victor was healthy, I think they’d definitely get to 40 wins. Uh you they got to 34 with with Windy missing about a quarter of the season. Um you know, lost De’Arren Fox as well. um you know during that same time period. So so it’s tough to tell but I think the thing people also need to realize is yeah you know Houston and Detroit missed out on on Victor but uh they were in the draft lottery for a lot more year lot more years than the Spurs were. And I think that’s part of it. You know you you build through the draft you know you get the different assets you know you get a high draft pick and you let him develop. Um, you know, Spurs have this is what the second year I believe the second year they’ve only the second year they’ve been in the lottery since, you know, getting Tim Duncan. So, um, you know, it takes a little while. You know, you can’t just say, “Oh, we got Victor. We should have been, you know, in the in the playoffs.” Like, it doesn’t work that way. It does not work that way unless, you know, you have the rest of the team. And, uh, I think they’ve done a good job building um, you know, sort of, you know, building this roster. Um, but you know, it’s going to take time and and again, if Victor’s healthy, I think they win 40 games. I think next season once you have a healthy Victor, a healthy De’Aran plus a draft picks, you know, I’ve heard I think I said on this Yeah, I said on this on lock on before that uh I I think the Spurs going to make the playoffs. I think they’re going to be a top six team maybe four as long as you know they stay healthy. Yeah, that that that’s key. They got to stay healthy. And you know, speaking of Giannis, you know, just look what he’s going through right now. He went from winning an NBA title and then nothing after that. It’s just been fumble after fumble, mismanagement of the team, injuries, uh, you know, other teams getting hot at the right moment. So, things can happen. So, you know, take just take a listen from there, Spurs fans. You know, you can have a generational talent like Giannis. you can have a generational channel like Wimi, things just happen. So, but luckily for the Spurs, you know, they’re trying to do things the right way. Hence the whole we’re not going to skip steps, although I think they sometimes are skipping steps, but nevertheless, um you know, things do happen. So, a lot of patience is going to be needed, but hopefully not too too much moving forward because yeah, I love to see Spurs back in at least playin action because even it’s been a while Spurs have been in the playin. I think the last time they’re in the plan, wasn’t that against Denver? I think I don’t remember. It was Denver. It was Yeah, this Yeah, with with the Yeah, I can’t remember. It was Denver or believe it was Denver. Yeah, but it was uh with Dear, I think Demar’s first year, I think it was here. First year here. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that was uh Derek White’s coming out party where he dunked all over some Nuggets player and some ugly ugly Go on YouTube everybody look up Derek White dunk on Nuggets. your your mouth will just drop. You see when he did that. But all right, thank you all for leaving those comments right here on Locked on Spurs. Keep them coming. We’ll talk about them in a future episode of Lockdown Spurs. Hey, before I let you go, bro, check this out. Look at this. I think I really need to update this Keller Johnson photo here. Look at that. We got Kaden Bates Deop still in the Spur uniform there. We got Kellen wearing number three there. Yeah, I saw I saw that and I was I was looking at it going like uh I was going like I don’t I don’t first I I didn’t recognize it at first and I was like I don’t think that guy plays anymore and it’s all bad. How was it? It’s coach Dagnald from the coach Dagnal from the OKC and I he kind of was like Jordan Jordan Houndstein from uh Oh yeah. Spurs PR. So I thought maybe maybe Jordan was watching over them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Note to self, update this Kelvin Johnson photo there. But I was getting the kick out of it. I usually flash images for fans just, you know, just throw them out there. And during one of the breaks, I was like, “Hey, wait a minute. Oh my god, he’s not even wearing number zero right now.” You get one with that. Yeah, you should get one of him maybe wearing a cowboy hat. You know, he’s always wearing a cowboy hat now. Yeah. And isn’t it funny? It’s We gotten accustomed to it now. like when he shows up for the post conference chats. So, it’s just Cody in the cowboy, you know, outfit, man. But he’s, man, he really embraced the Texas culture. You know who he reminds me of? Um, uh, that vibe that he gives out, Carmel Malone. Carmealone was country. Caramel was country. I believe Carmealone, didn’t he show up to games in in the tractors and something like that or like big he had like the the the 18 wheeler the I don’t know that I don’t know I’m not you know the the the the front part of the 18-wheeler you know the Yeah, whatever they’re called. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Carmelo was country everybody. Yeah. He was rocking cowboy boots uh before Keller was the games. So, uh, yeah, but you know, I love see Well, I was going to say Kell is just an urban cowboy, so he’s not he’s not Well, he’s Yeah. You know, but no, he he’s definitely embraced San Antonio. He’s living in Bernie now. You know, he loves the area. He loves the the culture. So, you know, to me, another reason to keep him like he he loves the city and the city loves him. So, yeah. Exactly. All right. Again, we want to thank Raul Dominguez for stopping by here on Lockdown Spurs to chat all things about Kell J. Again, leave those comments everybody. Follow Raul and Axe at Dominguez. Leave him a comment there. Also, you leave a comment on Lockdown Spurs YouTube page. As always, we’ll be back tomorrow. Yeah, talking all things silver and black as the offseason continues. Now that the lottery is over, we got an NBA draft to worry about. All right. So, we’ll probably be talking about that as the days uh unfold before the big event out in Brooklyn, New York. But for Raul Dominguez, I am Jeff Garcia. We’re going to put a lock in this episode of Locked Gone Spurs. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]

With Keldon Johnson’s impressive stats and ability to energize the team, the San Antonio Spurs are navigating a promising path forward.

Host Jeff Garcia and guest AP Sports’ Raul Dominguez dissect Johnson’s impact, potential trade value, and how he fits into the Spurs’ strategy alongside rising star Victor Wembanyama. They also tackle fan reactions to GM Brian Wright’s decisions and the team’s rebuilding efforts.

0:00 Intro: Recapping Keldon Johnson’s season
5:36 Johnson’s role as sixth man and energy
11:06 Johnson’s improvement and maturity
17:44 Trade rumors and Johnson’s value to Spurs
24:39 Johnson’s contract and future with team
31:40 Brian Wright’s performance as Spurs GM
37:15 Are the Spurs ahead of schedule?

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