The San Antonio Spurs certainly have a bright future with a collection of young talents.
However, jumping at the Western Conference, which is expected to be tougher than the previous year, is still a high job for them.
The Spurs were on the right track last season, but then their star Victor Wenbanyama suffered from a blood clot, which ended his season early.
Entering this season, Wenbanyama is cleared to play, and the Spurs have a capable roster, but one ESPN analyst still doesn’t think San Antonio is set up for immediate success.
The Spurs were lucky when they drafted Dylan Harper after winning the second pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Harper is taking part in a busy backcourt alongside Stephon Castle, who won the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year, and All-Star Dearon Fox, whom the Spurs traded to the trade deadline.
Having a lot of talent is a good problem, but ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst won’t be sold immediately with the Spurs’ three-guard strategy. He spoke today about his concerns about the NBA.
“They have two different teams, so they need experience (play together).
“They have veterans on their roster, but along with Dylan Harper, the top two of their overall picks, he’s already suffering a wrist injury. Unfortunately, he’ll miss out for a while.
He continued. “Together with him and Stefon Castle, you’re committed to playing two very young security guards, and if you’re talking about recipes to win in the NBA, it’s not playing a young security guard.
“De’aaron Fox, obviously, they’ve made so many promises. They’ve put other veterans on the roster, such as Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes.
“But for me, they’ll have to walk a little bit between raising the young guys they drafted to put next to Victor and whether they actually want to win in a very competitive Western conference,” Windhorst said.
“So the big thing about the Spurs is that they have three guards: Dylan Harper, Stefon Castle and De Aaron Fox. They want to play all three. They cherish these three.”
This opens up the key points of Windhorst. “So, for me the question is, how do they play those security guards, because I think they owe themselves to play those young guys.
“So I have a great faith in the future for the Spurs. I don’t know if I’m on sale as the year they’re diving into the top six.”
There were questions about what the Spurs lineup will look like this season, and how they will combine the three security guards.
Rookie Harper will learn under starting point guard Fox and begin his career from the bench.
Castle, meanwhile, can play in guard and forward positions, and could remain in the Spurs’ starting lineup.
On paper, the Spurs have a promising young team, but now it’s about putting together the pieces.