Dylan Harper Is FOR REAL | Rachel Nichols & Chris Mannix

Dylan Harper Is FOR REAL | Rachel Nichols & Chris Mannix

San Antonio is ridiculous. Like Webmanyama were both in on. But one things Wemanyama’s been doing that he’s doing the Giannis thing, right? Like he’s dropping the shoulder and just bowling guys over. We saw him do it in against Luke Cornet, a teammate in the the black white scrimmage they had. Yep. I was watching parts of their game. Well, made Luke Cornet look like a puppet. Just ragdalled them. Ragdalled them. I watched the game against Indiana. I forget who he did it, too, but he did the same thing. Just dropped the shoulder and and mowed guys down. This is something that the Spurs coaching staff has been hammering him about, you know, for for a while now. Like you’ve got the strength. Yeah. Like you’re no longer this rail thin rookie. You’re a thirdyear guy who’s put on a lot of muscle this off seasonason. You can do this. Bull guy’s over. His decision-m has been better. Like he Look, our SI’s the top 100 came out. I had him in the top five. I think he’s a top five player in the NBA right now. No question about it. Dylan Harper though. Dylan Harper is the truth. That’s is the truth. Like I I know we’re all excited about Cooper Flag and I’m among the people excited about him. Like I I think did the the Mavs started at point guard recently. Like he’s like he’s going to be able to do a lot of different things. He’s already doing all the things. Tons of things for them. But Dylan Harper’s the truth. Like that’s what I’m talking about. You know, the Spurs for the last couple of months, they’ve been like quietly fist pumping, you know, in San Antonio being like, “We know what we got. We know this kid can play.” tonight and watching him in the preseason, 19 years old, looking like he’s 25 in terms of strength, the the quick first step, the burst, the aggressive to finish at the rim, the chemistry is already developing with Victor Webbyama. Like, this kid is the real deal. I think Mitch Johnson’s toughest challenge in the first Well, he’s not going to have this challenge early on because Dear Fox is out with that hamstring injury, but when Dearron Fox comes back, you got to find minutes for Dylan Harper. like you’re going to have to play these three guard lineups with Stephan Castle who also needs to play big minutes. Like that that team is legit. I I think their learning curve is going to be very short. Like they are going to be really good really quickly even in that conference. Well, that’s why to me when you posit between those two teams, which is the most interesting to watch right now as you watch preseason basketball. Look, for me it’s the Spurs only because I think there’s a real big swing on how good they could be with the Magic really by virtue of a they were a a team that was complete enough before Bane got there that we all know that Bane getting there, what he unlocks and what he turns them into. And the East just isn’t as interesting. The path is more clear. We know where they’re going to be. You think they’re going to be in the conference finals? I’m curious of the other two favorites to be in the conference finals, the Knicks and the Cavs, who you think isn’t getting there. I think the Knicks I’m a little less optimistic about the Knicks only because I got to see this new because you’re from Boston or No. Oh, I got to see this new Mike Brown motion offense in action. Like does like I I think it’s great in the preseason to see guys kind of flying around dribble handoffs, no dribbles, pass. It looks great. Looks great. But I’ve said this before, like offense was not the Knicks problem last year. They were top five in offensive efficiency. You may hate the way they do it, but they were able to ground out points at an efficient rate. And look, Jaylen Brunson over the last couple of years in that offense turned into an allNBA guard, an all-star starter, all those things. Like, is Jaylen Brunson going to be fully comfortable in a system that might see the ball taken out of his hands more? Now, it’s theoretically for the greater good, maybe makes them more diverse in the playoffs, but I need to see that in action first. I’ve also been less optimistic about the Jordan Clarison stuff. like Jordan Clarkson. This was five years ago. I would have been more bullish on Jordan Clarkson, but his shooting percentages have gone down as of late. Gershon Yabiselli, okay, great numbers last year for a really bad 76ers team. I just need to see it. I need to see it more on the court. I It’s there’s obviously questions about Orlando, but that defense, it’s going to travel, right? That defense is going to make them tough against everybody. If they’re going to grind out games in the ‘9s the way that the old ‘9s teams ground out games in the 80s, they’re going to be tough to beat in the postseason. Yeah. No, no, I agree. But again, I know more who they are, so I’m interested to see them through the season. I’m excited about them. They’ve got a lot of talent on that team that that’s not just sort of OG, it’s cool, but it’s going to be great to watch them now with that energy of Bane because some of their offense was so difficult to watch last year and this year I’m Oh, good. These guys are going to get unlocked and it’s going to be more exciting watch to watch the Magic than it was before. But the Spurs to me are the question mark of where they’re going to end up. And I think they could end up taking a bigger leap this season than a lot of other people are picking them at. I agree. I could easily see them making the playoffs without the playin. I could see them as as a six seed, maybe even a five seed if everybody can stay healthy. I I just I’m fascinated to see what the Spurs do with that those three-headed monsters. Like look, it’s crazy. Like they just signed De’Arren Fox to a four-year extension. Dear Fox, a really good player. He is an all-star caliber guy, but it’s clear the future of this team is Dylan Harper and Stephan Castle. But that’s a team where as they’re constructed right now is not going to be the team that we eventually see, right? So they’ve got the capital, we already know, to make moves. that Fox signing is just as much to lock him up into a contract as it is to say, “Oh, he’s our point guard of the future.” So, that’s a team. I mean, if they knew, like, look, we all know the Fox deal was made with the understanding that this was the deal that he was going to get. That’s how it works in the NBA. I mean, would they have done the deal if they knew they were getting Dylan Harper with that number where they kept their I didn’t give up a ton to go get Fox? I was going to say I don’t think they gave up that much. I think obviously it didn’t work out because of the injury situation with Webyama, but be I think that if Webyama had been able to play through the rest of the season, having someone like Fox there would have really helped this development and also just his satisfaction on the team because, you know, it’s it’s so interesting. There was all this chatter around Luca and Dallas for years, right? Oh, they better keep Luca happy. You know, that timeline ticks faster than you think. Oh, it’s a good thing they made the finals because Luca would have started looking around even after they dealt him. We heard some of the sort of I hate to say the word propaganda, but let’s just call it what what it was. Propaganda out of the Dallas front office that was about like, oh, he might not have signed the he might not have signed it. He might not have signed the big deal. All of that stuff because there was this sort of chatter of is Luca going to be happy if they don’t succeed, right? He’s he’s on a mission. I’m not sure Luca Donuch was as much on a mission at that age as Victor Webbyama is. Victor Webbyama seems like the kind of guy who wants to see progress and I think that they needed to have Fox there to sort of bring that progress that was expected had he played out the rest of the season. I think that it’s a contract now that especially as the CBA as we march forward into this new TV money era and the salary cap just keeps going up. That will be a tradable contract. I I just think they know they know that that was a move that wasn’t necessarily locking in Director Webbyama’s partner for the next 10 years. Well, you think about it. Is there any team in the league I I would say Oklahoma City would be the only argument that has a better that has a big three you would take other than San Antonio’s. And I’m I’m just going to put Fox in Fox, Harper, Wem. I’m taking Victor. I don’t care if Victor Webyama is playing with you and me and you’re in that boot walking boot that you’re wearing right now. That’s a shot. That’s the one I’m taking to start my team. Make some corner threes. You know.

Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols break down how the Spurs have looked during the preseason and why San Antonio will have to find minutes for #2 overall pick Dylan Harper when De’Aaron Fox returns from injury

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