Carter Bryant's potential with the Spurs hinges on something he can't control

The San Antonio Spurs should have high hopes for sophomore prospect Carter Bryant, but his potential hinges on something that's out of his control. The Spurs have already shaken up their rotation, opting to start De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, and Victor Wembanyama together.

The jury is still out on that lineup, but we are already seeing the ripple effects of the starting five change. With Vassell starting at power forward, it throws the rotation into chaos. Instead of Julian Champagnie or Tobias Harris starting at the four, they will now both come off the bench alongside Keldon Johnson.

Having three forwards in the second unit is unusual and could spell trouble for Bryant. He is currently buried on the small forward and power forward depth chart. As a result, it may be even harder for Bryant to find minutes.

Carter Bryant's potential with the Spurs hinges on playing time

In the team's first four games, Bryant has played just 38 minutes total—with most of it coming in garbage time. That is disappointing, and it suggests that Bryant may not be in for the breakout season many fans had hoped for. Instead, he is being used sparingly in short stints as a high-energy player.

Even then, it's hard for him to get any sort of rhythm playing just five minutes here and seven minutes there. Unfortunately, San Antonio may not have an easy fix for this situation.

Keldon Johnson also finds himself in a similar situation. With both Champagnie and Harris coming off the bench, Champagnie may end up playing small forward, which could limit Johnson's role. Bryant finds himself in a similar boat.

The Spurs suddenly have a logjam at forward

Even if Johnson has a smaller role than expected, Bryant can't carve out a major role with the Spurs rotation as it is. The best-case scenario for Bryant is that Coach Mitch Johnson eventually moves Vassell to the bench for Champagnie or Harris.

Having Vassell go back to being a wing could free up minutes for the second-year player. I fully expect that to be the case once Harris makes his debut. If that were to happen, then Bryant could finally have a clear path toward minutes.

In that scenario, whatever happens next would be up to him. If he continues to improve as a defensive player, knock down open threes, and actually finish at the basket, then he could carve out a consistent role as a three and D wing.

That's something San Antonio should hope happens with them needing another lockdown perimeter defender. Unfortunately for Bryant, they have made it harder for him to find playing time to start the season.

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