Now that the San Antonio Spurs have gone further into a rebuild, they face a lot of uncertainty with the upcoming season. The San Antonio Spurs traded away their sole star, Dejounte Murray, and added three teenagers in the first round of the NBA draft, proving that they don’t plan on competing anytime soon.
They also have three veterans that appear likely to be traded. Jakob Poeltl, Doug McDermott, and Josh Richardson aren’t likely to finish the year with the Spurs. However, other players have the opportunity to step up as well, and they will have to in order to keep the team competitive next season. Keep that in mind as we go through and predict the team’s leader in every statistical category.
San Antonio Spurs scoring leader: Keldon Johnson
With few primary scoring options for the San Antonio Spurs, Keldon Johnson is the most likely candidate to lead the team in scoring. While Devin Vassell could theoretically improve enough to challenge Johnson for that honor, Johnson averaged 17 points per game last season, compared to Vassell, who averaged 12.3 points.
With more shots and increased usage, Johnson seems primed to bump his scoring to around 21 points per game. That would be virtually identical to what he averaged during the second half of last season and would give the team a respectable number-one option, even if the rest of the team isn’t quite talented enough to compete.
Moreover, it would signal that he has star potential. With Johnson under contract for another four years after next season and set to make $18.5 million a season, it could prove to be another steal of a deal for the Spurs. That, of course, assumes that he leads the Spurs in scoring next season, which I believe that he will.