The San Antonio Spurs, after rising up in the NBA Draft lottery, are expected to draft Rutgers' standout Dylan Harper, pairing him with Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama in the young core.
Harper averaged 19.4 points, four assists, and 1.4 steals in his lose season with the Scarlet Knights. His outside shooting is not elite, but there are hopes he can space the floor for the Spurs.
However, not everyone is convinced that the Spurs will pick him second overall.
"That’s the pick belonging to the San Antonio Spurs, and while everyone has them taking Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, sources say that’s not a done deal," Hoops Wire's Sam Amico reported on Wednesday.
While there is plenty of quality talent in the draft, Harper seems to be the clear-cut second-best player behind Cooper Flagg. If the Spurs shock the world, there are three solid options for them to add with the second pick.
1. Kon Knueppel
Kon Knueppel was the second-best player on the Duke Blue Devils, next to Flagg, and is one of the best shooters in the country. He averaged 14.4 points while shooting 40.6 percent from deep, and he can do a little bit of everything on both sides of the floor.
While he doesn't project to be a possible franchise player like Harper, he is a better fit, although the Spurs are expected to take the best player available.
Barring a trade, the Spurs could start De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, and Wembanyama with Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, and Knueppel coming off the bench, giving them plenty of depth on the wings.
2. Tre Johnson
Johnson is a better scorer than Harper, but that's all he can do better.
Johnson is a solid defender, but he does not make his teammates better on offense like Harper does. However, he led the SEC in scoring last season and can score from anywhere. With Castle and Fox not really serving as shooting threats, Johnson adds an outside threat, although he is much more ball-dominant than Knueppel, likely keeping the ball out of the hands of better players.
He can handle the ball, pull up in midrange, or get to the rim. There's no doubt that he's the best scorer in the draft, although Harper is simply the better player.
3. Khaman Maluach
In the NBA, Wembanyama shared the floor with Zach Collins. In the Olympics, he shared the court with Rudy Gobert, and neither worked out.
If the Spurs reach for Khaman Maluach with the second pick, it would demonstrate unwavering faith that a twin towers lineup would work, and so far, the track record says otherwise.
Maluach is an elite rebounder and interior scorer who is a mammoth of a human, but the fit next to Wemby could be deplorable, and the Spurs shouldn't be willing to roll the dice with the second pick.
If the Spurs aren't sold on Harper, trading back in the draft makes a lot of sense, as plenty of teams are itching to have their pick of the litter after the Dallas Mavericks pick Flagg.
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