The San Antonio Spurs have reloaded. After drafting Dylan Harper with the No. 2 overall pick a few hours ago, the team used its second lottery pick on forward Carter Bryant out of Arizona, a 6-foot-8 forward with loads of upside on the defensive end. Bryant spent just one year at Arizona, where he shot 37.1 percent from deep and averaged 1.9 steals + blocks per game.
There are still plenty of questions to be answered about the roster makeup of this team, but right now, here's what I foresee for Mitch Johnson in his first year as full-time head coach.
Spurs projected lineup after drafting Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant
Position | Starter | Bench |
|---|---|---|
Point guard | De'Aaron Fox | Dylan Harper |
Shooting guard | Stephon Castle | Julian Champagnie |
Small forward | Devin Vassell | Keldon Johnson |
Power forward | Harrison Barnes | Carter Bryant |
Center | Victor Wembanyama | Jeremy Sochan |
Dylan Harper may come off the bench to start the season
And that's not his fault — but De'Aaron Fox is certainly locked in as the starting point guard and it'll be tough to unseat Stephon Castle after his ROY campaign. By the end of the year, I assume Harper has overtaken that other starting backcourt spot, but I think he'll have to earn it throughout the year.
Vassell, Barnes and Wemby round out the rest of the starting lineup, while Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan and Carter Bryant get valuable backup minutes.
Of course, this lineup doesn't include Chris Paul, who's an unrestricted free agent next week. Paul is another big decision the front office needs to make; he's been great in his role with San Antonio, but there's already a crowded backcourt here and Paul's production has been dwindling in the past few years. Signing him to a veteran's minimum and having him basically on call if someone gets hurt isn't a horrible idea — but San Antonio could be ready to thank him for his services and move in a younger direction.
Carter Bryant is a definite project — a raw, talented, moldable player — but San Antonio's lack of wing depth will force Mitch Johnson's hand early, and Bryant could see the court a good amount early on. That's good, because we'll quickly see what the Spurs have in him, and maybe not so good because... his minutes could be a roller-coaster early on.