The San Antonio Spurs already have high-level guards De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle in town, although with the second overall pick, they are expected to take Dylan Harper out of Rutgers.
Harper is clearly the second-best player in the draft behind Cooper Flagg, and is expected to be a foundational player for the Spurs to build around. Praised for his playmaking and ability to get to the rim, he has an All-Star ceiling, and the Spurs are more than happy to have three facilitators on the floor with Victor Wembanyama.
Harper has been compared to James Harden, Cade Cunningham, and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the praise just keeps coming in.
"This is a guy who reminds me a little bit of a jumbo Jalen Brunson, someone who has really good size, can be a playmaking, on-ball creator, someone who I think for the Spurs can be kind of a driving force as an initiator on offense," said CBS Sports' Kyle Boone. "And obviously you're looking to add pieces around Victor Wembanyama."
In college, Harper averaged 19.4 points, four assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 33.3 percent from deep and 48.4 percent from the field. In his third season with the Villanova Wildcats, Brunson averaged 18.9 points, 4.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and shot 40.8 percent from the floor and 52.1 percent from the field.
While Harper is bigger, Bruson is better about taking contact, although he did come out of college two years older and much more polished after playing three seasons under Jay Wright. Harper, on the other hand, might have a higher ceiling, although he will certainly be rough around the edges from day one.
While having three point guards might be unconventional for the Spurs, there is no denying that they are assembling a young and talented roster around Wembanyama, and Harper is just the icing on the cake.
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