Spurs' silence on Keldon Johnson is becoming impossible to ignore

Plenty of people assumed Keldon Johnson's future would become clearer once extension season opened. The longest-tenured Spur on the roster only has one year left on his deal, and as one considered the "heart of the team," you'd think they'd lock him up.

He certainly wants to be here. Johnson has made that much crystal clear over the years, and his letter to fans in The Players' Tribune only reinforced that desire. Instead, nothing. It doesn't have to mean a ton, but it could also be everything, as sometimes, silence speaks much louder than words.

The Spurs have already rewarded other players

If San Antonio had done nothing, this would be a nothing-burger, but that's not the case. Re-signing Harrison Barnes was one thing, as he was a free agent. The Silver and Black likely wanted to go ahead and take him off the market quickly, valuing his veteran leadership and locker room presence. It makes sense to take care of his deal fairly quickly.

Julian Champagnie is another case. Champ had another year on his contract. The Spurs didn't have to extend him now, but they clearly believe the former 76er has a future here, so there was no reason to wait around. Getting him to sign on for a couple of extra years at a fair price was a priority and a pretty obvious one, but it still begs the question, "What about Keldon?"

They went out and added another player in Tobias Harris, who can play the same position KJ does. Harris won't be making $15-16 million a year over two seasons to ride the bench, I can tell you that. We still don't even know whether the ex-Pistons forward will start or not. My instincts tell me Champagnie will retain the starter role for the spacing he provides, but nobody can say with 100% certainty.

We can safely predict that both of those guys will play a bunch of minutes, though. And Carter Bryant is up next. If he continues to develop as we expect, he'll be the quintessential 3&D player every team in the league would covet. There's no way he doesn't get more time on the floor next season. He's too impactful as a versatile defender and explosive rim runner.

Johnson is in a unique situation with the Spurs

Victor Wembanyama is also extension-eligible, and the Spurs haven't gotten that done either. That's fair enough to point out. But nobody is concerned about Wemby's future. That's tied to the Alamo City. They'll sign that deal when they get to it. The Alien could simply be traveling abroad, visiting his family in France, or taking up another soul-searching excursion. You never know with him.

Johnson is a different story. His future hangs in the balance. That seems crazy to say fresh off a Sixth Man of the Year campaign, but his inconsistency in the playoffs was a return on the bad habits that had fans throwing him in every trade proposal they could think of a year earlier.

The Spurs' silence on his contract may mean they feel the same, and with uncertainty, anything is possible, including the end of KJ's time in San Antonio.

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