The Spurs’ backcourt picture is getting crowded in a hurry, and that’s why De’Aaron Fox keeps showing up in trade chatter.
San Antonio is trying to build off a season in which it believed it should have beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder and made a run to the NBA Finals next summer. For stretches of that series, the Spurs were in control, but they couldn’t keep that edge late in games.
Now the bigger question is how this roster fits together. One report said the organization views Dylan Harper as the second-best player on the team.
“The Spurs internally believe Dylan Harper is their second best player. That's not a slight on De'Aaron Fox or Stephon Castle. Harper is a stud," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said.
Harper isn’t the only young guard turning heads. Stephon Castle is also in the mix, giving San Antonio another explosive perimeter piece with real defensive juice. Charles Barkley thinks that combination could turn into something scary.
“If I'm a guard in the NBA, I do not want to see them boys the next 10 years. They're going to be the new Steph and Klay," Barkley said.
That kind of optimism still leaves Fox as the odd man out in some conversations, especially with his contract. CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn floated a deal that would send Fox to the Toronto Raptors for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
“Not many teams are eager to take on a contract like this, and if the Spurs could move it without paying draft picks anywhere, doing so would probably make sense. Realistically, you're probably looking at teams with bad contracts of their own to move. Maybe Toronto would flip the cheaper Immanuel Quickley along with RJ Barrett,” Quinn wrote.
For San Antonio, that kind of move would give the roster even more guard depth. Barrett and Quickley could come off the bench, and depending on how the lineup is built, either one could also slide into a starting spot at another position.
In Other News...
Spurs Just Got A Bigger SGA Problem Than Last Season
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already a headache for the Spurs, and this preseason suggests the problem may be getting bigger rather than smaller. Oklahoma City is folding more off-ball movement and catch-and-shoot looks into his game, which adds another layer to a scorer San Antonio had already worked to slow down. The Thunder are also getting Jalen Williams back as a secondary playmaker, giving their offense another way to create pressure before Gilgeous-Alexander even catches the ball.
For San Antonio, the challenge is no longer just about picking up SGA at the point of attack and hoping the defense can hold up after that. The Spurs now have to track him through actions away from the ball, while also finding ways to clog Williams' passing lanes and keep Oklahoma City from turning simple movement into easy looks. It is a tougher assignment than last season, and one the Spurs will have to solve if they want to make life uncomfortable for the Thunder again. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Hit With Early Tobias Harris Setback Fans Feared
Tobias Harris arrived as one of the Spurs bigger offseason additions, brought in to add scoring punch and a veteran voice to a young locker room. But the first chapter of his San Antonio stint will have to wait a little longer, after the forward suffered a left calf strain in the preseason and has been ruled out for the season opener.
Head coach Mitch Johnson said Harris is still progressing, but he needs more time on the court before he is ready to go. For a team that signed him to help steady the rotation and provide leadership, the early absence is a reminder that the Spurs will have to open the year without one of the most experienced pieces they added. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs 2022 Draft Class Just Took Another Brutal Hit
The Spurs 2022 draft class has taken a rough turn as preseason roster cuts continue to reshape the league. Jeremy Sochan, Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham, all first-round picks from that class, were waived by their respective teams as clubs trimmed down ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season, a reminder of how quickly early draft momentum can fade when a young player never quite finds a long-term fit.
Sochan was waived by the Knicks after earlier stops with the Spurs and the Blazers, while Wesley and Branham were let go off Exhibit 10 deals and could wind up with G League affiliates. For San Antonio, the bigger picture is hard to miss: the franchise has already moved on to players who bring more versatile offensive tools, leaving that once-promising draft group looking more like a cautionary tale than a foundation. [Read more 🡒]