3 teams that can help the Spurs and themselves with a Keldon Johnson trade

On a recent episode of the Hoop Collective, Marc J. Spears tabbed Keldon Johnson as the most interesting member of the San Antonio Spurs from a trade perspective.

“You know who I got my eye on with the Spurs? Keldon Johnson. I keep hearing this buzz about, not sure if he fits in well with this group going forward and should he be coming off the bench. If there is a player that I think does get moved from the Spurs, my guess is it'll probably be Keldon Johnson.”

Johnson is just 24 years old and in the first year of a four-year, $74 million contract. Spears criticism about his fit aside, he's averaging 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc. His scoring is down significantly from last season but a lot of that is ceding offensive primacy to Victor Wembanyama and he's clearly making an adjustment — his rebounds and assists are career-highs.

The Spurs are also 3-20 and something isn't working right but Johnson is putting up numbers and between his offensive and defensive versatility and very reasonable contract, he's a very valuable asset for San Antonio. Still, he's four years older than Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham and it's not completely absurd to think the Spurs could shop him looking for point guard help to scaffold the development of their other young players, along with draft picks that could help them build around Wemby's timeline.

Here are three deals that put Johnson in a position to make a huge difference on his new team and help fill some serious needs for the Spurs.

3. A Keldon Johnson trade with the Magic gives the Spurs a point guard stop-gap

The Magic took off when Markelle Fultz went down with injury and Cole Anthony took on a larger role. Fultz has remade his career and become a very solid player but his lack of outside shooting is just too detrimental to the Magic in combination with Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. The Magic would probably like Suggs and Black to be their backcourt of the future anyway, so this gives them an opportunity to move Fultz (who is also a free-agent this summer) and add some much needed shooting and scoring on the wing.

Johnson will still likely come off the bench and, between Franz Wagner, Black, Gary Harris, Jonathan Isaac and Joe Ingles, won't be able to just walk in and play 35 minutes per game. But he's a very good shooter and a more polished self-creator than anyone out of that group other than Wagner. He can perform in the Magic's defensive scheme and, under contract for three more years at a very reasonable $17.5 million, he's available to fill a larger role as Isaac, Harris and Ingles eventually move on.

For the Spurs, Fultz probably isn't a long-term solution at point guard. But he's long, a good defender and creative off the dribble. He doesn't dominate the ball and, assuming he's back soon, could help organize the offense and create easy buckets for Wembanyama and others. Okeke and Houstan are worth a flyer and the Spurs also get a first-round pick for the trouble.