San Antonio Spurs Expected to Avoid Key Redundancy originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The San Antonio Spurs, around Victor Wembanyama, seem to have built a pass-first lineup. Reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and midseason trade acquisition De’Aaron Fox are both solid facilitators, but they didn’t stop there.

The Spurs also drafted Dylan Harper second overall this summer, expected to be the best point guard in the 2025 draft class. If the Spurs could do it all over again, they would likely not have pulled off the Fox trade, but adding an established All-Star is hard to regret, especially when they didn’t have to break the bank to add him.

Wembanyama, Fox, and Harrison Barnes seem to be the cemented starters heading into next season, and there is a world where the Spurs start Fox, Harper, and Castle in a movement-heavy lineup.

However, none of them are elite shooters, and pairing Wembanyama with floor spacers seems to be ideal for his success, and only two of those guards are expected to crack the rotation, with one of either Harper or Castle leading the second unit.

“Harper should compete with Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell to see who starts next to De’Aaron Fox to open the season in San Antonio,” predicted The Athletic’s Law Murray.

Vassell shot 36.8 percent from deep last season and is a necessity in the offense as a floor-spacer. Neither Harper, Castle, nor Fox has a track record for being volume shooters, and it stands to reason that, while San Antonio values playmaking, it could be too much of a good thing.

To start his career, expect Harper to come off the bench, leading a unit of Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, and Luke Kornet, although he will get plenty of run with the starters throughout his rookie season.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.