Dylan Harper, the 19-year-old son of five-time champion Ron Harper, is a blue-chip prospect who will presumably be obtainable at quantity two on NBA Draft evening (June 25) after Cooper Flagg is chosen. He can be the most effective participant for the Spurs to seize due to his expertise, pedigree and poise.
Harper is a 6’6” southpaw combo guard who was exhausting to hurry up on the faculty stage and scored effectively contained in the arc at 57.4 %. Being in San Antonio would make the guard room a bit crowded, however it’s tough to ascertain him falling under seventh in minutes due to his match and traditionally, quantity two picks common 26.1 minutes as rookies for the reason that 1999-00 season.
Impressively, he stays calm underneath stress and may take the large photographs late, as evidenced by his two enormous baskets on the finish of the second half towards Seton Corridor, which included the game-winning pull-up triple. See for your self:
Having one other versatile ball handler like him is a power, as he generally is a transition risk and a 3rd choice to run display screen rolls with Victor Wembanyama or others. Wemby’s dimension, catch radius and mobility will make a neater goal who can roll or pop. Moreover, mixing De’Aaron Fox’s velocity with Harper’s playmaking may make one other impactful pick-and-roll combo.
But, Harper may even must get used to enjoying in further movement with the Spurs and being off-ball since his physique will not be robust sufficient to deal with a few of the league’s prime defenders. His first rate catch-and-shoot capacity will make it simpler to regulate within the Spurs’ system and it might be exploited extra usually through the use of him as an off-ball screener.
He doesn’t have Stephon Citadel’s torque, however he can glide to the basket and might be a reliable possibility, operating performs for the second unit. Significantly, his capacity to get separation will assist the discharge valves like Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie swish deep jumpers. Remember the fact that being an even bigger ball handler makes it simpler for him to dissect a show-and-recover and a blitz or to overpower smaller defenders. Test this out:
Moreover, he has the defensive potential to be a pest with good foot velocity and his 6 ‘10 wingspan, disrupting ball handlers as he tags them one-on-one or is available in as a helper. His measurables and maneuverability may also be an asset when shifting right into a zone or full-court press.
Some issues are his low assist-to-turnover ratio (1.67), recording extra turnovers than assists in 24.1 % of his video games at Rutgers, and his 3-point proportion is under common (33). But, these shouldn’t be sufficient to persuade the Spurs to go one other route. Harper may be very gifted and may be one of the crucial dynamic gamers from his draft class plus an instantaneous contributor as a result of he can play subsequent to De’Aaron Fox, Citadel, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.
Particularly, he’d be capable to present his athletic presents early enjoying with Wemby or Fox, as they make coverages overreact, permitting Harper to assault area on catch-and-go strikes.
He may be a powerhouse when he places on dimension and with some seasoning from the coaches. Contemplate how a lot Wembanyama and Citadel improved simply as rookies. One of many good indicators about Harper that ought to translate is that he received to the road a good quantity at college (5.8), being eighth in makes an attempt for the Huge Ten convention.
The NBA arms race will kick off on Draft evening. Fortunately for the Spurs, it doesn’t get safer than selecting Harper at quantity two.
