A closer look at Spurs rumors: Darius Garland, Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson

There have been some mostly tenuous but entertaining rumors surrounding the Spurs this offseason. The PtR staff takes a closer look at them.

The Spurs are rumored to be interested in Darius Garland. How serious do you think the interest is and how much would you be willing to give up on a trade?

Marilyn Dubinski: I take every rumor with a grain of salt because so few ever actually end up being true or at least come to fruition. With that out of the way, if I were the Spurs, I’d be concerned about Garland’s high salary vs. availability. He has averaged just 61 games per season and has yet to appear in 70 games in his five years in the NBA, and yet he is owed $163 million across the next four years at a salary that caps out at almost three times higher than Keldon Johnson and almost $15 million more than Devin Vassell at their peak pay seasons. Considering a trade would have to include at least one of them, I don’t think he’d represent enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. I’d rather the Spurs look at the draft or go with a more affordable point guard in free agency, like Tyus Jones.

Mark Barrington: At some point, the Spurs may be faced with the tough decision of whether to pay an expensive free agent or two to put themselves into contention. But the timing isn’t right for that for the 24-25 season, when they’ll still be in the early stages of a rebuild. Garland would definitely move the needle some, but it’s really too early to make that kind of a move on a player unless it’s someone who could be a foundational piece for title contention for years to come. I like Darius, but he isn’t that guy.

Jesus Gomez: It makes sense for the Spurs to at least pick up the phone and ask about the availability of any good young point guard, so I’m sure they will do their due diligence, but the Cavaliers are in win-now mode so they’ll probably ask for Devin Vassell in return or try to work a three-team trade that nets them a star-caliber wing. Vassell is not untouchable but I wouldn’t trade him for Garland. If all it takes is a couple of first-rounders to work something out, it’d be worth pulling the trigger, but using too many assets on someone who hasn’t shown the ability to be the second-best player on a contender seems foolish right now.

J.R. Wilco: I actually like Garland a lot, it’s just that I like him in Cleveland. If PATFO is going to spend some of their considerable draft capital to bring in some established talent, then I’d expect for that player to have fewer then three considerable negatives. Garland is short, is often injured, and is expensive. I’m with Barrington: eventually the team will be making a deal, but right now seems too soon, and as much as I enjoy watching him play, Garland doesn’t seem like the guy to move for.

The Spurs have been linked to Stephon Castle. Do you think he’s a good target with one of the top eight picks?

Dubinski: I can’t pretend to be an expert on college players, but from what I’ve seen and read, he fits everything the Spurs love in a player. The only issue is his shooting, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tired of the Spurs drafting non-shooters. (The only Spurs picks on the roster that were shooters coming into the draft are Vassell and Malaki Branham, and the latter hasn’t lived up to that label yet.) That being said, assuming the Spurs use both picks, they can go with different types of players, so I would be fine with Castle if they use the other pick on a shooter like Reed Sheppard.

Barrington: With this year’s draft, you aren’t going to get a player that’s dominant on both ends of the court, even with the high picks that the Spurs have. They will probably end up picking up a defensive player with offensive potential and a pure scorer. I can see Castle filling one of those two roles, and maybe Dillingham at the other.

Gomez: Everything I’ve seen from Castle suggests he would be a great addition, especially if he’s there at eight. Defensive versatility and secondary playmaking are things the Spurs are lacking at guard and Castle should help fix those issues. The offense will likely flow through Wembanyama, so not having a traditional high-usage point guard is not a huge problem. Castle’s poor shooting is, but if the Spurs feel like they can fix his shot like they did with Derrick White and especially Dejounte Murray, they could be getting a Marcus Smart-type contributor, which would be fantastic.

Wilco: If the Spurs take Castle at 8 then it says a lot to me about their confidence in fixing his shot sooner rather than later. I like him a lot because he does everything besides shoot threes. Problem is that you could say that the biggest need for the Spurs is floor spacing. So, as much as I love his all-around game, I don’t expect to see him in Silver and Black.

The Spurs are rumored to be willing to listen to offers about Keldon Johnson. How likely do you think a Keldon trade is and what’s a deal you’d make involving him?

Dubinski: I have said from the outset that the Spurs need to have a high asking price for him because he brings some intangibles that can’t be replaced and is on a steal of a deal. The trade would have to represent an immediate upgrade without overpaying, but because he in on such a good contract, that would be hard, and players the Spurs are rumored to have interest in like Garland, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, etc. wouldn’t make me excited. (Now, if the Celtics wanted to talk Derrick White…)

Barrington: Sure, the Spurs will be listening to offers, but there’s almost no chance that anyone will offer Wright anything close to what the asking price would be. He’s a player that’s much more important to the Spurs than he would be to any other team. Even though he didn’t have a great year last season, he’s super important to the locker room and I have a feeling he’ll have a better year this season with a more defined role.

Gomez: The Spurs are in a weird spot with Johnson because he’s in a fantastic contract, brings leadership and can actually play and contribute, but he might not fit long-term because he doesn’t bring consistent shooting and defense. I won’t be surprised if they listen to offers, but it only makes sense to part ways if someone overpays for Keldon. If all the Spurs get back in a trade is a good rotation player, they might as well just keep Johnson around, at least for another year. If they get someone who can start and be a legitimate upgrade, then a trade would make sense, but it’s unlikely someone would offer that.

Wilco: The only reason we’re talking about this is because of the most specious draft rumor the Spurs have been tied to yet. Last summer the question was about which starter would move to the bench to make room for Wemby. The answer was eventually KJ. This off-season, the question is about which player is the most likely to be traded, and the player that’s easiest to point to yet again is Johnson. I mean, the Finals haven’t even started yet and I’m already tired of it. What was the question again?