"Fuck No, I Ain't Coming Off No Bench" - Dylan Harper Made His Stance Pretty Clear About Potentially Coming Off The Bench Again This Season

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

There were a lot of incredible aspects to the Spurs 62 win season last year, and somewhere high on the list rookie season of Dylan Harper. During the regular season, he showed exactly why he was a worthy #2 pick, putting up a solid 11.8/3.4/3.9 in his 22.6 mintues off the bench, which helped earn him First Team All Rookie honors. For most, that's a pretty awesome rookie season. For Dylan Harper, it was just the beginning. Once we got to the postseason, you could make a case that Dylan Harper took another leap and was arguably their second best player. He certainly was outplaying De'Aaron Fox, and it got to the point where we weren't just looking at a talented rookie, we were watching the blossoming of a future star right before our eyes

Entering Year 2, the Spurs are in a bit of a pickle. Everyone knows that Dylan Harper should not only play more, he should probably start. I think when you show out the way he did last year and then factor in another leap of internal development, we're watching a starting caliber player. The issue, is the Spurs are in Year 1 of the Fox extension, which as a reminder looks like this

WOOF

When you pay a guy that kind of money, in most cases he's your starting point guard. It doesn't help that Fox was brutal in the playoffs after tweaking his ankle, and especially in the Finals. The Spurs brought him in as this calm vet presence to help their young backcourt and young franchise player, and yet he was the one making boneheaded plays left and right costing the Spurs Finals games. With Harper playing well at the same time, it's only natural that there's some friction there.

Which brings us to this season. How does Dylan Harper feel about coming off the bench again this season?

Dylan Harper on if he actually thinks he’s going to come off the bench “What’s the political answer here? I’m going to do whatever the team needs me to do, man. If that’s come off the bench…. That’s crazy. Fu*k no. I ain’t coming off no bench.” 

Later in the conversation, Harper walked the Sixth Man thing back: “I was lying"

I mean, I get it. Harper is coming off one of the best postseason runs by any rookie….ever. He's a starting caliber player on a championship caliber team. We just saw it. Hell, maybe the Spurs would be Champions right now if they fully dove into that instead of placating to Fox. At first I thought maybe I was getting Centel'd and that wasn't a real quote from his GQ interview, but it is in fact real

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Let's be honest, if Mitch Johnson doesn't start Harper, he should probably have his head examined. The question then becomes, whose spot does he take?

I highly doubt given his max extension the Spurs are about to move Fox to the bench, even if that would be the easiest swap. I also doubt it's someone like Tobias Harris, because the Spurs just brought him in during free agency to solidify their 4 spot. If you take away Vassell, you're giving up some size on the wing and also your spacing, which is pretty important to have next to Wemby. 

The other problem is let's say they decide it's time to get out of the De'Aaron Fox business and give the keys to Harper. Who exactly is looking to take that contract on? Not only that, but also has salary to send back that makes everything work? That's certainly not a long list. But if you do nothing and you once again bring Harper off the bench, you run the risk of creating friction within that locker room. Let's not forget what also happened during the Spurs Finals run while Fox was playing like ass

I think most people expect the Spurs to be right back in the thick of things again this season, but I do think this is something worth monitoring. As Pat Riley will tell you, "The Disease of More" is a real thing that we've seen take down contending teams in the NBA for decades. You get some success, you get a taste of that good lfie, and you want more. The mindset shifts from doing what's best for the team to what's best for you. Int his case, I do think starting Harper is both best for him and for the Spurs, but I don't know how they balance that all out with Fox's massive contract/role on then books.

At the end of the day, I guess this is a "good" problem to have where your Year 2 point guard is already looking THIS good. If things truly do get dire, the Spurs can attach some of their billion picks and get off the Fox money somehow, someway. But there's also a world where this internal turmoil and drama tanks what should be another awesome Spurs season. We've seen that happen numerous times throughout NBA history, and you can never discount how important chemistry is when it comes to winning at the highest level.