It’s reasonable to have initial doubts on how Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson plans to fit Dylan Harper alongside De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, especially when San Antonio largely shied away from three-guard lineups last season. After acquiring Fox in February, the Spurs used him with Castle and Chris Paul for just 75 possessions together across 36 minutes, according to data from NBA.com and Cleaning the Glass.
Harper’s 6’5 frame provides some positional optionality in the event Johnson brings him along in a similar manner to Castle’s rookie season. Castle started more than half of his 81 games during his Rookie of the Year-winning campaign, but rarely for an extended period of time at once. Johnson searched all season for optimal pairings while trying to accommodate his veteran ballhandlers.
Harper was a solid off-ball player at Rutgers, connecting on around 37 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s. While fans should not expect an apples-to-apples conversion rate in his first year in the NBA — Houston’s Reed Sheppard, for example, shot less than 34 percent from 3 after hitting over 50 percent of such shots at Kentucky — Harper’s mechanics should seamlessly transition to the pros. Improvement from Castle, who shot just 31 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s, could be the key to making this potential three-guard pairing work.
Regardless of whether Harper starts, Johnson should be excited about the prospect of adding a talented, powerful guard with downhill gravity, playmaking chops and a high on-court intellect. Harper’s ability to push the tempo meshes well with Fox and Victor Wembanyama, arguably the most lethal spacing big in the league.
Defensively, a Spurs unit that finished 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions could use Harper’s willingness to compete, especially considering he’s a young player who will exert considerable energy on offense