Gilbert Arenas looked at the current state of the San Antonio Spurs roster and said they need to move a key player to help Victor Wembanyama.
The San Antonio Spurs are a team that looks set for the future. After years of floundering after the Tim Duncan era, the Spurs finally found the next face of their franchise when they landed Victor Wembanyama.
In the years since, the Spurs have only added to their exciting young core when they selected Stephon Castle with the #4 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The young star, much like Wembanyama, went on to win the Rookie of the Year award.
It feels like the Spurs’ luck when it comes to landing young talent doesn’t run out, as they got their third straight top-5 NBA Draft pick this year, selecting Dylan Harper with the #2 overall pick.
Harper had a lot of respect for the Spurs growing up, and now he gets to represent the team that set the standard for him as a basketball player.
Harper is showing promise in the NBA Summer League, just like Wemby and Castle did in years past. But Gilbert Arenas thinks the Spurs now have to make a big roster decision over De’Aaron Fox ahead of the new season to best build around Victor Wembanyama.
Photo by G Fiume/Getty ImagesGilbert Arenas says San Antonio Spurs keeping De’Aaron Fox over Dylan Harper won’t work
Gilbert Arenas spoke on his podcast about the San Antonio Spurs. Given how Dylan Harper has played so far in the NBA Summer League, Arenas thinks the Spurs might need to move De’Aaron Fox.
Fox complicates their lineup choices massively, and Harper is showing that he can be a starter and develop with the right amount of minutes.
“Just watching him [Dylan Harper] play, the mannerisms, the style, the speed, the poise, the passing ability? You got him. Castle is about 6’5 too? So you got your backcourt sitting around 6’5, 6’6.
“Both are athletic… Me right now, as a general manager, and I’m watching them play and watching how he is moving? I don’t know what I want to do with Fox.
“Because having them as the 1-2-3 doesn’t even make sense to me anymore. Him coming off the bench? Doesn’t even make sense to me.
“If I want this to be a championship team, I don’t need no waiting period. I need them to get all of the minutes and learn how to be efficient now.
Victor Wembanyama has another athletic teammate in Carter Bryant
Arenas spoke further about the youth movement the Spurs have going, and he believes Carter Bryant is showing he can be the ideal athletic small forward to play alongside Victor Wembanyama.
“With Wemby, now you have Carter Bryant… You have that at your three. So instead of going guard-guard-guard, you got your guard-guard, both athletic, and your small forward, athletic as s***.
“Then you’ve got the power forward and your center? You’re talking about a whole different team. I need him [Harper] and Castle to start playing today.”
Carter Bryant showed his defensive prowess by guarding Cooper Flagg during their Summer League clash.
The Spurs have the young roster most teams would dream of. So their priority should be to develop them as quickly as possible by playing them big minutes.