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Keldon Johnson to Spurs: San Antonio's Current Roster After 2019 NBA Draft
June 21, 2019
The San Antonio Spurs have selected Kentucky guard Keldon Johnson with the No. 29 pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
Johnson is the second first-rounder the Spurs added after taking Luka Samanic with the 19th overall selection. Here's how the team looks after those moves.
Check out B/R NBA draft expert Jonathan Wasserman’s scouting profile on Johnson.
Spurs Active Roster and Average Salary (Expiration Year)
Bryn Forbes, SG: $3M (2020)
Chimezie Metu, PF: $1.3M (2021)
Davis Bertans, SF: $7.3M (2020)
Dejounte Murray, PG: $1.6M (2020)
DeMar DeRozan, SG: $27.8M (2021)
Derrick White, PG: $1.7M (2021)
Jakob Poeltl, C: $3.1M (2020)
Keldon Johnson, SF: $1.6M (2023)
LaMarcus Aldridge, PF: $25M (2021)
Lonnie Walker IV, SG: $2.6M (2022)
Luka Samanic, PF: $2.2M (2023)
Marco Belinelli, SG: $6M (2020)
Patrick Mills, PG: $12M (2021)
Quinndary Weatherspoon, SG
Ben Moore, PF: RFA
Dante Cunningham, PF: UFA
Donatas Motiejunas, PF: UFA
Drew Eubanks, C: RFA
Quincy Pondexter, SG: UFA
Rudy Gay, SF: UFA
The freshman was the third-leading scorer for the Wildcats behind PJ Washington and Tyler Herro with an average of 13.5 points per game, but he has a chance to have the best NBA career of anyone on the roster.
At 6'6", Johnson has good size to be a 2 in the NBA and the skill set to match it perfectly.
Even if inconsistency was a problem for him this past season, the guard showed that at his best, he can be an elite scorer who can get into the lane and attack the basket or knock down shots from the perimeter. He showed both of these skills during his 25-point effort in the NCAA tournament:
Despite a slow start to the year, he finished the year shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range and could potentially be even better down the line.
On the defensive end, Johnson has showed he can be an above-average player who has good enough length and strength to shut down top scorers on the perimeter.
The question going forward is whether he can show more consistency and aggressiveness on both sides of the floor in order to fully reach his potential.
Johnson entered college as a 5-star recruit considered the No. 13 overall player in the 2018 class, per 247Sports, and he hasn't done much to hurt this initial projection.
He could potentially be a useful part of the Spurs' rotation next season, but he was drafted for the type of impact he could make down the line. Based on San Antonio's track record of player development, he landed in a franchise that should be patient with his overall progression.
Salary info via Spotrac.