𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Spurs have a problem. It’s a very, very good problem to have.

At the 2024-25 midseason trade deadline, San Antonio acquired De’Aaron Fox to be the team’s point guard and veteran co-star next to Victor Wembanyama. Fox, by and large, has filled his role admirably on and off the court — but has struggled in the playoffs and missed Game 1 on Monday due to an ankle injury.

Enter Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft the following summer.

These playoffs have not only been Wembanyama’s coming-out party but also Harper’s. Starting in place of Fox on Monday, Harper turned in a superb performance with 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals, six assists and just one turnover, as Dan Woike noted below.

Harper’s presence might have helped save the Spurs in the near term, but presents a conundrum in the long term. Next season, Fox starts a maximum contract extension that runs through 2030, and he’s not coming off the bench with that kind of money. But Harper looks so good as a 20-year-old rookie in the playoffs that it’s becoming harder to envision him coming off the bench either.

And there’s also Stephon Castle, the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year who’s also continued blossoming into a crucial part of San Antonio’s core.

There are far worse problems to have than three ball-handling guards with elite potential in the same backcourt. But it could cause headaches for the Spurs down the line.