Despite De'Aaron Fox's Late Scratch, Spurs Confident in 'Dynamic' Starting Guard Trio

SAN ANTONIO — Mitch Johnson's held his smile for almost a few seconds too long.

Asked who would be in the San Antonio Spurs' starting lineup to begin their five-game preseason slate on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks, the coach first tried to be facetious.

"Five guys we feel really good about," he said as his smile grew. Then he gave a real answer: De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama.

Those plans changed shortly before tipoff. Fox arrived at the arena experiencing soreness and was ruled out last minute, prompting Johnson to insert Julian Champagnie into the starting lineup instead. The three-guard experiment will have to wait.

Johnson acted unsurprised by his announcement, though he already knew it would be biggest talking point of the evening, especially since Harper had shown more than enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup during the Spurs' NBA Finals run in June.

Oct 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson speaks with guard Dylan Harper (2) during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A math problem seemed to be the only thing stopping him from joining Castle and Fox; if the Spurs wanted to have a lead guard running the second unit, Harper was a prime candidate. Him off the bench also allowed Johnson more size and shooting in his first five.

The coach committed to giving the three guards an opportunity to figure it out.

"They are extremely dynamic and talented," Johnson said. "It's as much of allowing them to be on the court and learn how to complement and play with each other (as it is) us as a staff ... to put them in situations and environments to be successful."

Last year, Fox, Castle and Harper shared the floor for just 25 minutes in the regular season, posting a minus-26.9 net rating, and 44 minutes in the playoffs with a minus-23.2 net rating.

Additionally, Harper's 34.3-percent shooting clip from 3 last season ranked the highest of the three guards. Johnson made clear he doesn't see it as a dooming factor, emphasizing the growth he saw throughout the season and the potential for better consistency.

"That group showed some improvement tremendously," he began, "individually and collectively shooting from 3. When we had our proper spacing ... passed the ball to the right people and people were prepared and anticipating their shot, all those guys shot well."

Jun 13, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots the ball as New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) defends during Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Asked about facing the three guards, Hawks coach Quin Snyder kept things simple. While stopping all three of them would be ideal, he recognized how unlikely it would be.

"They're really good," Snyder said. "Guys that have feel, quickness (and) strength manifests itself in a lot of ways. It's hard to lock in on any one of them. I think the first thing is it makes them more difficult to defend in transition ... we have decisions to make all over the place."

The Spurs leaned into their strengths last season, allowing Harper, Fox and Castle to get to the rim in different ways. In spurts when Castle and Harper began hitting their shots from beyond the arc more frequently, San Antonio's offense noticeably flourished.

Whether or not the guards are successful from 3-point range against Atlanta could expose a broader issue with Johnson rolling with the lineup on a regular basis. But all parties know well enough to take preseason results and trends with a grain of salt, especially early on.

"You start to play your normal minutes in the fourth or even sometimes the last game," Fox said at shootaround on Thursday. "It's different for everybody Obviously, at some point ... (you) will want to play what my minutes will look like just to make sure you're ready for it."

Answers about how effective the Spurs' experimental lineup will be will become clearer with more minutes and reps, though Fox's absence delayed the first opportunity to gather them. In the meantime, Johnson isn't interested in the back-and-forth.

Should fans read into his first decision in his second full season as head coach? It doesn't matter what he says. The outcome will be the same.

"They're going to read into whatever they want to read into," Johnson said, smiling again. "We have incredible depth that will ... have a lot of starting and finishing groups. Excited to continue to grow, get these guys on the court and build off what we've done in camp so far."

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