While many were celebrating the San Antonio Spurs’ pick of Dylan Harper, not all were impressed, as the Spurs already have a star who shares the same position as Harper. That star is De’Aaron Fox, a veteran who averaged 23.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists last season as per Basketball Reference.
One of those people who did not like the Spurs picking Dylan Harper was former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas. He made his feelings about San Antonio’s No. 2 pick during an episode of his podcast, “Gil’s Arena.”
“Are you planning on bringing them off the bench and then Harper’s your point?” asked the former Washington Wizards star. “That’s why I don’t get this pick because you have Fox, right? Fox, and you have Castle now as your shooting guard, are you going to remove him and bring him back off the bench? Because that’s what he did most of the year until Fox got hurt.”
Arenas argued that the Spurs have too many shooting guards with De’Aaron Fox and Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, that picking another one in Dylan Harper did not make sense, unless they plan on playing Harper as a point guard, which would be unlikely. This seems to be overcrowding the Spurs roster without much evident benefit.
However, Dylan Harper is already familiar with situations where he would have to share the spotlight with other guards like Fox and Castle, as he used to share the spotlight at Rutgers with Utah Jazz No. 5 pick Ace Bailey, a fellow star guard who also liked having the ball in his hands.
As for San Antonio, the team is known for developing its players for the long term, with Fox and Castle possibly taking on a mentorship role for the young Harper to develop him further.
With Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, the San Antonio Spurs Boast a Young Core
Even with the San Antonio Spurs probably facing some rotation issues at shooting guard, this leaves the team with a very young core and possibly a bright future, especially with French star Victor Wembanyama at the center of it all.
In addition, current Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle is showing that he also has a bright future ahead of himself, though he did have some shooting woes last season. This is where Dylan Harper might come in, as he could remedy Fox and Castle’s lack of shooting.
The son of former NBA champion Ron Harper averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4 assists during his freshman year, and shot 48.4% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc. While Wemby can be their anchor on the inside, Harper can get things done outside, and the Spurs are planning to develop him further.
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