Spurs face a familiar Keldon Johnson dilemma they will never completely solve

Next season will be a make-or-break year for San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson. In fact, despite being the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Johnson may be entering his last season in San Antonio.

He's been with the Spurs for seven years but has yet to receive a contract extension, meaning the writing could be on the wall. Johnson has come a long way, with him embracing coming off the bench after previously having been a starter and even the team's leading scorer.

As a sixth man, he's thrived with his high-energy play being a perfect fit and helping to lift San Antonio's second unit. Still, he has some of the same frustrating flaws that have plagued his game.

Keldon Johnson's flaws should frustrate the Spurs

He has tunnel vision at times, causing him to miss obvious passes. Even worse, Johnson attacks the paint with reckless abandon. That can be a great thing, but it becomes a problem when he doesn't have an advantage.

He also has the tendency to force the issue in transition, even when he doesn't have the numbers. Defensively, he has never been great, but he got exposed in the playoffs.

His physicality makes him capable of defending bigger players. Even so, it hurts San Antonio when he fouls everything that moves and their opponents are in the bonus.

All that is to say that after seven seasons, he hasn't solved those issues and neither have the Spurs.

Of course, having a talented, albeit flawed, player isn't the end of the world. Especially with him being the reigning Sixth Man of the Year and on a tradeable contract.

The Spurs are at a crossroads with Keldon Johnson

Trading Johnson would be an unpopular move considering just how beloved he is to both the team and to San Antonio. Then again, him returning after next season seems highly unlikely given the team's finances.

In fact, trading him during next season could prove tricky given how close they are to the luxury tax. They would either have to package him and Harrison Barnes together for a smaller salary.

Or trade Johnson for a player making around his $19 million salary. Given those options, San Antonio will probably hold on to him for all of next season, barring a trade that's too good to pass up.

Overall, while Johnson has reigned in some of his negative tendencies, he hasn't completely fixed them. Thus, having him as a regular season workhorse and relying on him less in the playoffs before letting him leave in free agency is probably the most likely scenario.

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