Carter Bryant will force Spurs to make the trade fans have been clamoring for

With a flurry of offseason moves, the San Antonio Spurs suddenly have five new players. That, ironically, makes the future of the team's longest-tenured player, Keldon Johnson, unclear.

Johnson is the Spurs third-highest-paid player but may soon find himself out of the rotation next season. After all, the Spurs have gotten much deeper over the summer, especially on the wing where Johnson plays most of his minutes.

The Spurs are likely to give the lion's share of backup point guard and shooting guard minutes to second overall pick Dylan Harper. De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle could eat up 33 and 30 minutes, respectively, leaving Harper with up to 25 of the remaining available minutes at guard.

Then Johnson would have to compete with Julian Champagnie and lottery pick Carter Bryant for minutes at backup small forward. Considering that both are better shooters and defensive players, they likely have a leg up in a potential battle for minutes.

Not to mention that Spurs GM Brian Wright specifically stated that he made offseason moves with the goal of improving the Spurs' bench defense.

Johnson may be the odd man out in the Spurs' rotation

Johnson struggles defensively, and his lack of consistency shooting could result in him being out of the regular rotation early on. Even while he has played a lot of minutes at power forward in the NBA, the Spurs have gotten deeper there too.

They have Harrison Barnes, who is projected to start at the four and is the team's best shooter, seemingly cementing his place in the rotation. Then there is Jeremy Sochan, the Spurs' best perimeter defender, and Kelly Olynyk, a big man who can both shoot and pass. That leaves little room for Johnson to play small ball four next season.

Given the limited options for playing time, Johnson could potentially fill in as a utility player, covering for injuries or absences. For instance, if Devin Vassell missed a game, Johnson could start in his place despite potentially being out of the rotation. That doesn't change the fact that he doesn't fit the Spurs' needs any longer.

Carter Bryant could inevitably replace Keldon Johnson

It's a surprising development since when he came out of Kentucky, he was seen as a solid defender and shooter. However, in the NBA, despite his best efforts, he isn't much of a defender. Then there's his weird shooting struggles. It looked as though he would be a great shooter, after averaging 39.8% from deep on 5.1 attempts per game in 2021-22.

During his first 14 games of the 2022-23 season, he shot 42.3% from three on 8.8 attempts per game, before the wheels began to fall off. He finished the season shooting below average and hasn't been an above-average shooter over the last three years.

If he was still a reliable 3-point shooter, then the Spurs could still make use of him offensively, especially with him relentlessly attacking the paint. With Fox, Castle, and Harper on the roster, his only valuable skill—attacking the paint—isn't as useful.

Shooting is far more important offensively, and he isn't up to snuff defensively. Bryant projects to be a solid 3-point shooter, and he has the physical tools and motor to be a special defensive player.

Even if Bryant starts the season behind Johnson, the last time the Spurs had a big rookie wing who could defend at a high level was Kawhi Leonard, and he quickly became a starter. With the Spurs potentially shopping Vassell, it's not crazy to think that's possible for Bryant next season.