Spurs' Johnson has tough decisions ahead as team's depth improves

Recency bias in today’s NBA says overall roster depth is a key to success. Look at the current champion Oklahoma City Thunder, to prove that sentiment. Having the ability to deploy multiple threats across all five positions can wear down opponents and provide matchup problems.

The Spurs are building properly. Their team has been constructed with that relentless pressure in mind.  There are 12 players who will wear the Silver and Black this season, and they all could earn quality minutes. But the pundits will tell you there’s a fine line between having too little depth and too much of it.

Too much of a good thing could be a bad thing

The Spurs have a logjam at certain positions. They don't have enough at others. Brian Wright and co. have done a masterful job building this roster from the ground up over the last several seasons, but the time is now to begin to tweak it to achieve what all of Spurs Nation would like to see—sustained success.

The team has a glut of wings. So many that there won’t be minutes for quality players. Stalwart players like Stephon Castle are likely going to see minutes at the guard position, but that doesn’t mitigate the problem of allotting game time to other deserving guys.

Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, and others will be competing for security at two, possibly three positions. There isn't enough time to go around for all of those players, and some will be unhappy with their roles on the team.

Other wing-type players can at least be counted on to fill roles at other positions. Jeremy Sochan, Kelly Olynyk, and rookie Carter Bryant are capable, size-wise, to play minutes at the power forward position and could mitigate how turgid the wing is. As Olynyk is a seven-footer, he’ll likely see the majority of his minutes at this position.

On the contrary, the team lacks depth in certain areas. The rotation at shooting guard is a question. Several of the previously mentioned players can play the position, but the Spurs don’t have a true shooting guard expected to earn quality minutes. Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox can play the role, but are primarily point guards.

Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell are likely to play forward roles here, with a company of others fulfilling the rest of the time.

The Spurs don’t have a lot of depth behind Victor Wembanyama either. They did sign Luke Kornet away from the Celtics this offseason to sure up the backup spot, and could also use Olynyk in the spot if need be. With Wembanyama coming off a major injury, the Spurs may want to ease him back into games early in the season.

The center position is not nearly as much of a concern as it was at the end of the season last year. The team also still has the option of trying to re-sign either Bismack Biyombo or Charles Bassey as well if they do decide to bring the Slenderman along slowly to start.

With the way the roster is currently constructed, new head coach Mitch Johnson is going to have to be diplomatic with playing time early on. The Spurs have their core pieces, and those players will get the bulk of the game action, but Johnson will have to determine his ancillary pieces and how they all mesh together.

Where does that leave a player like Julian Champagnie? He’s under contract for a time and is an effective player in his role. Is he locked out now that the Spurs have so many wings?

Does Stephon Castle continue to play the minutes he was last season, or does the addition of Dylan Harper take some of those away?

Is the team good enough as currently constructed to be a playoff team? Is the roster littered with quality depth? Quality is more important than quantity. This question can't be answered right now, and Spurs Nation will have to be patient as the team navigates these waters of the early parts of the grind.

The Silver and Black have a lot of questions to answer. It’s a good problem to have. It’s likely there will be some more tinkering from now until the trade deadline to fine-tune the 12 players who are counted on to impact each game the most to give the team the best chance at a playoff berth.

As the team comes together and the season moves along, the player battles will take care of themselves, and the minutes will be earned more so than distributed by Coach Johnson. The depth will end up being an advantage that a savvy organization like the Spurs will use to their advantage.