The San Antonio Spurs’ lottery luck continued last June when they received the second overall pick and used it to take then-Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. After Cooper Flagg, Harper was widely considered the second best player available.
Even with the Spurs already having De’Aaron Fox in the fold and Stephon Castle, they took Harper anyways, giving them three dynamic ball-handlers, and two lefties in Fox and Harper. San Antonio even doubled down on the trio when they re-signed Fox to a max extension this past August.
The fit between the three may look awkward on paper, but the on-court production has been there for all three. As a result, the Spurs are the second seed in the Western Conference. Harper has thrived in his sixth man role and Fox and Castle have been a seamless on-court fit. Even with these factors, a tough decision looms for the Spurs.
San Antonio is not going to be able to keep all three guards for for the long run
Thanks to the NBA’s new CBA and the restrictions that come with being a second apron team, the odds of the Spurs keeping Fox, Castle, and Harper in the future are quite low.
With Victor Wembanyama due for an extension this summer, Fox’s extension kicking in soon, and Castle becoming extension-eligible in 2027, San Antonio will find itself in a cap crunch.
In addition to that, Harper has shown that he has the mold of a lead guard. He has an incredibly high level of poise for a rookie, he operates smoothly in the pick-and-roll, and he is elite at getting downhill to the basket. He has Cade Cunningham-esque abilities in his game and we’ve seen Cunningham blossom as the lead guard in Detroit. Harper can follow that path.
This season, Harper is averaging 11 points per game, three rebounds, and four assists in 22 minutes, while shooting 49 percent from the field. Those averages jump to 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists per 36 minutes. He is also coming off the Rookie of the Month award for February, where he averaged nearly 13 PPG, four rebounds, and five assists on 56 percent shooting.
The bottom line is Harper has already proven himself to be a starting-caliber guard in the league. He has the ceiling to be an All-NBA level guard during his prime. The question is will that opportunity come with the Spurs and Wembanyama? Or will it come with another team down the line? Time will tell, but San Antonio will be forced to make a decision.