How Mitch Johnson plans to make use of second-year guard Dylan Harper this season after his dynamic efficiency within the playoff ranks as one of many largest story strains heading into the beginning of coaching camp on Tuesday.
The Spurs coach didn't shed a lot mild on the subject at media day Monday, however he did reveal he desires Harper and the group's different two rim-attacking guards, All-Star De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Fortress, on the courtroom collectively extra this season.
"I see all three of them enjoying collectively," Johnson mentioned. "I don't know the definition of 'much more,' however I feel greater than we did within the common season (in 2025-26) for certain."
Harper got here off the bench final season whereas Fox and Fortress began, however many observers consider he ought to have an even bigger function this season after his sturdy play in opposition to New York within the Finals. The No. 2 general decide of the 2025 NBA Draft scored 21 factors off the bench in Sport 4 in opposition to the Knicks to grow to be the youngest participant at age 20 years and 100 days outdated to attain 20-plus factors in NBA historical past.
Harper adopted up that efficiency by scoring 25 factors in Sport 5. The Spurs, nonetheless misplaced each video games as they fell to New York in 5 video games.
"Everybody has a aggressive edge to them, however the largest factor for me is no matter I can do identical to final yr to assist the group win, and no matter place that each one the coaches suppose is finest for me to be in, that's the place I’ve going," he mentioned. "So no matter occurs this yr, simply know that ain't going to be no dangerous nothing for me. I'm at all times going to remain constructive and I'm at all times going to be on the forefront of simply retaining the group collectively."
Fox mentioned he's all in on Johnson's plan to play him, Harper and Fortress collectively extra.
"I positively count on to see it extra," he mentioned.
Fortress downplayed hypothesis about who will begin, calling it "just about all outdoors noise for us."
"Whoever begins, whoever doesn't begin, all of us begin collectively, I feel we'll be tremendous both manner," he mentioned. "I really feel like we're three high-level guards which are fairly unselfish that may contact the paint each time. And, yeah, I feel simply with the ability to play off one another as a lot as we are able to, whether or not we have now to have two of us on the courtroom, three of us on the courtroom, I feel we'll determine it out and it'll proceed to develop because it did final yr."
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