De'Aaron Fox’s place with the Spurs has become a tricky puzzle, and Dylan Harper is right at the center of it.
Fox enters the 2026-27 season with plenty to prove after Harper’s emergence changed the conversation around San Antonio’s backcourt. Fox was outplayed by Harper in the NBA Finals and, as the source notes, throughout much of the playoffs. That has opened the door to questions about whether Fox is blocking Harper’s development and whether the Spurs should think about moving him.
At one point, the idea of trading Fox was appealing. But the case for that has cooled, mostly because the Spurs didn’t exactly set him up to shine last season. Fox is at his best with the ball in his hands, and he found real success early in the year when both Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle were out.
That’s the central tension now: San Antonio needs Fox to be the version of himself that can help push the team forward, but Harper’s presence makes it harder for Fox to operate that way. If the Spurs simply put the ball back in Fox’s hands next season, and if his speed returns, he could get back to the level that makes him so valuable. That would help the Spurs on the floor and, eventually, could boost his trade value enough to make him movable later.
There’s a strange irony in all of this. Harper has made Fox less valuable, even though without Harper the Spurs would have a straightforward Big 3 of Wembanyama, Fox, and Castle.
Instead, Harper complicates the picture. It’s a good problem to have, but it’s still a problem.
The cleanest answer, aside from trading Fox, is to use him better. The way he performed in the NBA Finals doesn’t define him, but it does reinforce the need for San Antonio to feature him more prominently.
That idea isn’t as backwards as it sounds. Fox’s situation brings to mind LaMarcus Aldrige after the 2017-18 season, when San Antonio turned him into more of a screen-setting big man who stood out of the way on offense instead of making him a focal point.
Gregg Popovich eventually corrected course and leaned into Aldridge’s strengths. The result was Aldridge’s best season, when he averaged 23.4 points and 8.5 rebounds while carrying a shaky Spurs team into the playoffs.
That’s the template here: let Fox do more of what he does best.
For that to happen, the Spurs would need to play him off-ball less and build more pick-and-roll action with him and Wembanyama. Fox would still need to get his quickness back for that to really click, but it would be a major step toward getting him rolling again.
The tradeoff is obvious. Castle and Harper would have to spend more time off the ball.
The encouraging part for San Antonio is that both are getting better as shooters. They would still get their chances to handle the ball, especially Harper with the second unit, but Fox should be the main perimeter playmaker.
If it all works, the payoff is obvious: Fox rebounds, the Spurs keep winning, and maybe the whole thing ends with back-to-back championships before Fox is eventually dealt for positive value. But getting there will require real sacrifice from Castle, and especially Harper.
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Stephon Castle Is Showing The Spurs Something Fans Have Been Craving
Stephon Castles second NBA season has given the Spurs something they have been building toward for a while: a young guard who is starting to look like more than just a defender with upside. The 2025 Rookie of the Year has taken on real responsibility as a primary ball handler in 2025-26, and the difference has shown up in the way he is creating offense while still bringing the defensive presence that made him so intriguing in the first place.
What makes the growth interesting for San Antonio is not just that Castle is producing, but how he is doing it. His development path has started to draw the kind of comparisons that only come up when a player looks like he might be moving from valuable piece to centerpiece, and the Spurs have to be encouraged by the way his playmaking and scoring are coming along together. If that progression keeps going, the conversation around Castle will not be about whether he fits into the future, but how quickly he can become one of the faces of it. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Is Becoming The Rival Fans Love To Hate
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The latest wave of backlash has only added to the sense that Wembanyama is starting to draw the kind of reaction reserved for players opponents and crowds love to target. He has already said he is chasing greatness rather than approval, and for the Spurs, that is part of the package now: a franchise centerpiece who is becoming impossible to ignore, even when the noise around him turns hostile. [Read more 🡒]
Former Spurs Lottery Pick Just Took A Stunning Career Detour
Joshua Primos basketball path has taken another sharp turn, a reminder of how quickly things can change for a former lottery pick. The 23-year-old was once San Antonios first-round selection in 2021, going 12th overall, before the Spurs waived him following serious allegations and he spent time away from the NBA.
After a brief stop with the Los Angeles Clippers, Primo is now moving overseas to try to keep his career going. The latest stop is Russia, where he has signed a one-year deal with BC Parma, a move that underscores just how unconventional his route back into professional basketball has become. [Read more 🡒]