The Spurs looked smart when they landed De’Aaron Fox. They may already be staring at the downside.
San Antonio’s point guard room is crowded with talent, and that’s exactly why this has become such an interesting problem. Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Fox give the Spurs a mix of ball handling, scoring, and playmaking that no other team can really match.
On paper, it’s a luxury. In practice, it’s creating a new question: if the Spurs had known Harper was coming in the 2025 NBA draft, would they still have made the Fox trade?
Probably not.
That doesn’t erase the appeal of the move at the time. San Antonio gave up very little to get Fox, so the trade still looks solid in hindsight.
But the next part is where things get tricky. Fox’s max contract starts next season, and that deal could become a burden for a long time.
Even so, there’s still reason to think he can bounce back in 2026-27.
Harper’s breakout is what makes the whole thing feel different now. The Spurs have a two-time All-Star in Fox and a young guard in Harper who could push past him as soon as next season.
That says plenty about Harper’s ceiling. It also raises the uncomfortable possibility that San Antonio may have committed to Fox right before another guard arrived who could be even better.
That wouldn’t be ideal for a team that needs Fox to get back near his best. Last season, he wasn’t there. If he can return to the kind of production he had with the Sacramento Kings - 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists - that would mean a lot for San Antonio.
Harper’s rise doesn’t change the need for Fox to play well. It just adds pressure to the equation. The Spurs need both guards to level up if they want to chase a championship next year.
And if Fox does find that old form again, the fit gets a lot more dangerous for everyone else. He’d give San Antonio a slasher who can get to the rim whenever he wants and force defenses to collapse. Pair that with Harper and Stephon Castle, both of whom also have a knack for getting downhill, and the Spurs suddenly have a three-man attack built to live in the paint.
Victor Wembanyama makes the whole thing even more intimidating. He might be the best player in the NBA by the end of next season. If all of it comes together, San Antonio could be in championship territory, and Fox could start looking like the max player the Spurs hoped they were getting.
If not, the Harper development will keep making that gamble look worse.
In Other News...
Spurs Backcourt Squeeze Is Putting De'Aaron Fox In A Tough Spot
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Foxs recent playoff showing and the shape of his contract have only sharpened the discussion about where this all goes next. The Spurs have reason to be patient, but they also have to balance development, cap planning and roster fit, which makes Fox one of the most interesting names on the roster even without an active trade market. [Read more 🡒]
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Barnes is expected to be one of the steadying presences in that mix, giving the team a veteran voice as it balances development with the push to keep improving. For a Spurs group still building toward long-term success, his role is no longer just about filling minutes - it is about helping connect a promising roster and showing what the next step is supposed to look like. [Read more 🡒]
The Spurs Rivalries That Will Define This New Era
The Spurs are entering a stretch where the old map of the Southwest Division no longer tells the whole story. As San Antonio tries to build toward being a Western Conference force again, the matchups that matter most are shifting around them, with Dallas and Houston still carrying the regional heat, Minnesota emerging as a newer barometer and New York and Oklahoma City adding some unexpected texture to the mix.
What makes this next phase interesting is how many of those rivalries are being shaped by roster changes and recent team performance rather than tradition alone. The Spurs have a chance to define their own hierarchy in the 2026-27 season, but the real question is which opponent ends up becoming the one that best reflects how far this group has come, and which matchup might still have a chapter or two left to write. [Read more 🡒]