Horrible trade proposal doesn't get Spurs proper compensation for Keldon Johnson

It really seems like the longest-tenured player on the Spurs roster is only a placeholder for the time being. He hasn't been dealt yet, but nearly every proposal that pops up on the feed features him. He's the first obvious candidate to be moved, so I guess that's why Yahoo! Sports put him in a mock trade for a straight-up swap with the New York Knicks to bring Josh Hart to San Antonio, but that's a hard no.

Misleading title aside, there's no reason for either team to make that trade. "Knicks trade pitch sends Josh Hart out West for 22.0-PPG scorer" is a laughable way to frame who KJ is, and that's not to slight him, but he averaged 22 points one time, and anyone who knows ball knows that averaging 20 points as the first option on a terrible team doesn't mean that much.

Tom Thibodeau would pull the remaining hair he has left out of his head if he had to coach Johnson. He's a defense-first guy, and that area has been lacking in Keldon's game for a long time. The writer even went so far as to call the Spurs' forward a "three-and-d" player. Just a gross misrepresentation of who he is. That doesn't even take San Antonio's side into account.

There's no room on the Spurs roster for Josh Hart

First of all, KJ is younger and cheaper than Hart. The Knicks' hustle guy is 30 going on 31, and making $19 million this upcoming year, and it goes up over the next two seasons, compared to Johnson's $17.5 million, which will stay at that number the following year before coming off the books.

Neither player can shoot threes reliably. Hart averaged 14 points last season, and Keldon put up 13. Both guys are energy players, and while Josh can play defense at a higher level, he's still only a 6'4" shooting guard who can't really shoot. Do I enjoy watching him make plays for New York? Sure. But do I think he'd be some difference-maker in San Antonio? Definitely not.

The Spurs have enough guards on their roster already, especially ones with questions surrounding their shooting ability. Adding another one on the other side of 30 who would expect major minutes would be an injustice to this roster and to Josh Hart.

San Antonio is better off keeping Johnson until a more sensible deal arises. It's definitely not this one.