THIS is SHOCKINGLY Good (and Bad?)!
Since the All-Star break, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper have been making serious noise and to my surprise, their production has been rivaling (and even surpassing) De’Aaron Fox.
In this video, I’ll break down the stats, impact, and eye test to see what’s really going on. Is this just a hot streak, or are Castle and Harper already becoming the future of the Spurs? And what does this mean for Fox’s role moving forward?
#spurs #sanantoniospurs #wemby
Twitter: https://x.com/TSRsports50
TSR Sports is a YouTube Channel that covers the San Antonio Spurs live as well as the latest news, trades and rumors. TSR features all our favorite Spurs: Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Luke Kornet! GO SPURS GO!
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40 Comments
Spurs fans how excited are you with Steph and Dylan's play lately? Any concerns with Fox? What is the future of our backcourt? Thanks for watching and GO SPURS GO!
I say A.. let's see what happens in playoffs.. go spurs go…
Great Spurs won, but lets also remember the goats , Uconn. Amazing year
Our three headed monster at PG is amazing because it brings different looks to opposing defenses.
We just need to figure out which pairing to use in which situation to optimize their strengths.
Castle and Fox work well together when Castle is running point and Fox is being an off ball scorer and secondary creator on offense.
Dylan Harper works great with Castle when Harper is running point and Castle is off ball.
Fox and Harper also works well when Fox is running point and Harper is playing off ball because it allows Fox to drive and kick out to Harper at the 3 point line.
Again, we need all three. We just need to get better at figuring out situational awareness to know which of these pairings is best for a given point in the game.
It better be option A.
A
He’s teaching our younger core playoffs he will lead.
Some combination of A and B
D. Some games when I think of De'Aaron Fox I think of Pete Rose.🤷🏿♂️
I think fox is a good player, but definitely not great, and his shooting is a horrible fit with this team,imagine if the spurs had a point guard that draws a double, or a point guard defenses had to start guarding way beyond the arch,that's what we need for the money, id rather trade fox and get another max player, honestly I think even a mid grade guard like cj Malcolm would be a way better fit for spurs,fox is so overpaid ,yes spurs are great,but we would be way better with a shooter,in today's NBA if your under 6-3 you have to be a shooter,honestly i think its gonna catch up to us in playoffs, all the guards need to be 5 feet away to effectively score
Problem is: there's only 1 ball. Each of these guards are great creators for themselves but average passers. Thats why it is frustrating to watch so many empty possessions where its just a 1 on 1 with these guys. I think Fox gets traded when Wemby gets his contract
If you're 6-3 or under you have to have an elite jumpshot or whats the point of having a smaller player,and for that price omg we may as well have gotten stepg curry,like i said before for that money you have to draw a double team, lets be honest alot of players are doing what fox does,hell tre Jones can basically do everything fox does an we were paying him pennies
Fox is clutch. His veteran presence is going to be vital this year.
Trade Fox for a good power forward . Start Harper at shooting guard and Castle at point guard.
Tsr I can forgive the season if he performs like a max player in the playoffs. He is saving his energy for the postseason
Come on De Aaron, we need your experience for the playoffs 🙌
No more sacrifice, play natural 👍
Only thing that bugs me regarding Fox is the shooting splits. That's the one thing sacrifice cannot explain. I can see an argument for the 3pt% but the FT% is a head scratcher.
Can we get to the WCF without Wemby?
I don't see how we could trade fox with his contract and how he has been playing. I hope his contract doesn't affect us extending our lotto guys on rookie contracts
To me its all about efficiency. Idc how many points a player puts up. Right now, fox is crazy INefficient. Im wondering if he's dealing with an unknown injury, like his hand or something.
Don't ever say slinging that D in reference to the Spurs.
We are a bit over a week away from seeing why we have Fox on a max deal. As has been said by many others…he is letting the young duo go to work, and letting them develop. His usage is low and that can impact his flow. It will be different in the playoffs. Or if Wemby misses games…we'll see a big jump in usage these last couple games, depending on how much time Wemby misses. It will be interesting in 2 years, as he is getting close to the end of his contract….by then Castle/Harper will be much further along and we'll be entering money crunch time, the way OKC is about to. By then, let's plan on having a chip or 3 so he can be traded to another team for picks/assets.
Denver…the low oxygen hits different players differently (same problem in Utah). Notice how, as the game went on, shots started being short…that was really most likely due to the thin air taking it's toll. Playoff against Denver, at least they will be there for a period of time, and get accustomed, especially by the second game.
Fox is not clutch and misses too many easy shots. Maybe he was better in Sacramento because they didn't have as many talented guards besides Monk. I think Harper should be in the starting lineup.
I just wish Mitch handles the minutes more accordingly with the 3 guards. Like against the Nuggets for example, I dont understand why Fox had such a longer leash playing 40 min while Harper only plays 20 and he was outplaying him. Mitch just gotta do a better job to see who is playing good and not and leave them there on the floor or on the bench.
What was his numbers for the 2nd half of last year when he joined the spurs?
I think Harper will deserve more minutes next season. Sorry Fox, but the area 52 is getting bigger
I really hope he shows up in the playoff. I watched every single spurs game and I noticed a trend with him this season. If the spurs played a team and the game is close with 2-3 minutes left, Fox is going to make questionable decisions. He did it against the GSW ( with curry) , the bulls ( at Chicago), Memphis and Denver. I’m not sure if it’s because he was named clutch player and now he has to always deliver. Unfortunately, he also disappeared against big teams. He didn’t have much of an impact against Boston, Minnesota, Denver (last game), New York. However, he played really well against Detroit ( second game). He was super aggressive from the start. I don’t know maybe it’s the key. The coaching staff needs to let him attack at the beginning and then later ask him to let Castle run things. He is struggling from being cold to getting hot.
Fox feels lackluster. I know he is giving opportunities to the younger guys, but I just feel eh about his performance. It does not feel like his performance lately is passionate, aggressive, or inspired lately.
I think subconsciously, Fox is unhappy with the decreased playing time (no matter what he says for PR ,[public relations]) and it's reflecting on his performance.
Nuggets game is an good experience when play offs come around its going to be another level of intensity keep the 3 guards for now maybe need to trade vassell,Harrison barnes,olynik,biyombo,waters&Mclaugh lin to ease up the huge salary pay out & get an power foward & a young shooting stretch 4
Castle gets mugged every game and no calls till after the second half….EVERY GAME!!
Dylan Harper shooting basically 60/50 splits is absurd!! he’s also only behind sga on games with shooting 60% 15+ pts. I really think he’s gonna be a superstar. When is the last time we’ve ever seen a guard so efficient and mature?? He barely ever makes mistakes and he’s GREAT defensively one of the best screen navigators and positional guard defenders.
Fox has a good mentality for the team, bu honnestly he is not a leader, if vic has a bad game now i don t even think this will be the guy who step up, it s was bice to have him for this year but he has to go so everybody can be happy, next year i would bench him if he stays, harper bring us already more and he can develop a lot, but fox has to go somewhere to perform or no one will give him more than 15 mil next contract because he will just be a good bench player
Fox has not shown me anything. Everytime I watch him he's messing up.
I think that the nuggets game has a bad effect for a lot of Spurs fan in the way they see Fox. For me, I think the answer to your question : I wish Fox is an A, he isn't C but I fear he is more of a B.
I really hope that Fox will prove in the playoffs that he deserves is max contract. But I fear his max contract is going to be a worry but it will be time to pay Castle and Harper.
Bench Fox and start Harper.
Here’s the facts:
Fox 🦊 signed a FOUR Year $229 MILLION Max extension Contract with the Spurs in August 2025. He is a fantastic addition to the team, and will be instrumental for our Playoffs experience coming very soon! 🔜
He’s also a great mentor for our current and future guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. This season especially we witnessed Castle’s game improve, and Harper coming off the bench his rookie year has been extremely impressive following Fox’s starting role.
Here’s what the Spurs can do to Maximize our assets with Fox.. 🦊 We let him play out THREE years of his Contract through 2028. He starts next year as potentially his last year starting, depending on how he does in this year’s Playoffs of course.. We get the Most out of him and his huge contract, and by the time we have to Pay Victor Wembanyama AND Stephon Castle Max Extension Contracts in 2028, we TRADE FOX 🦊 for a great Power Forward or Center.. OR we trade him for future first round picks and a Decent Power Forward or Center. Future first round picks keeps our Team Young, and protect our Dynasty Longevity.
That way we don’t waste our current Assets and we still get the Maximum benefit from his current Contract, while he helps us win the next two years of Championships. By the fourth year 2028, Fox is already gone and Castle and Harper is our back court of the future in two years from now. Because we will definitely need to pay Harper a Max Extension deal by 2030z. Boom 💥 problem solved and Spurs stay young and fresh for a whole Decade.
I trust the coaches to make the decision on playing time.
All players are complete junk until they prove themselves.