Carter Bryant’s minutes depend on whether Keldon Johnson’s prime arrives at 27

Keldon Johnson turned 27 on Sunday. Twenty-seven is the age when NBA players are supposed to be at their physical peak, and KJ is walking into it as the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Those facts could prevent Johnson from being the minutes-crunch casualty that many thought he might be.

Last season hasn't truly gotten the respect it earned. Johnson averaged 13 points and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes, shot 52% from the field, his best mark since his rookie year, and was the only player in the league to appear in all 82 games without starting one. He also put up 1,081 points off the bench, more than any Spur has in a single season, and the second-highest total in the NBA.

Manu Ginobili is the only other Spur to win that award.

The best version of KJ could still be on the way

Seven seasons in, he's only now hitting 27, because San Antonio drafted the former Kentucky Wildcat at 19. What changed last year wasn't his body; it was his shot diet. A 52% clip from a player who built his reputation on tough, contested, downhill drives is the kind of jump that usually sticks.

Pair that with perfect availability, and you've got the most efficient, most dependable Keldon we've ever gotten, arriving right on time.

Now, we have to be honest about the whole picture: the playoffs were rough for Big Body. He dropped to just under eight points in 18 minutes and shot 41% on the way to the Finals. That's the gap between a good regular-season role player and a rotation piece you trust in June.

But he's in the final year of his four-year, $74 million extension, making $17.5 million with unrestricted free agency waiting in 2027. Nobody on this roster has more riding on closing that gap.

Mitch Johnson is still paid to win and that could impact Carter Bryant's development

Developing Carter Bryant and chasing a title are two different assignments, and Mitch is tasked with both. After 62 wins and a Finals loss, the second one wins every tie. If Keldon is the better player on a nightly basis, Keldon plays. That's not a knock on the kid. CB is still growing, but that's the job of a head coach.

The match was already unforgiving once Coach Johnson suggested starting De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper together. Doing so compresses and congests the wing rotation in a hurry, with Devin Vassell, Tobias Harris, Keldon, Bryant, Julian Champagnie, and Harrison Barnes splitting whatever's left.

Carter played 11.5 minutes a night as a rookie and 8.5 in the playoffs. We watched him grow from the start of the season to the end of it, and he's going to be good. However, "ready" and "better than the reigning Sixth Man of the Year" are still competing ideas.

If Tobias Harris' calf strain keeps him out of the lineup, the door cracks open early for some extra Carter Bryant looks in October, especially if Mitch insists on going small at the four to open games. Those are circumstance minutes, though. The ones that matter will go to the guy in his prime who earned them with years of hard work, and they probably should.

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