Why Spurs' Starting Lineup Dilemma Will Be Solved Behind Closed Doors

SAN ANTONIO — Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, beyond being two of the NBA's brightest young talents, are still kids at heart. At 20 and 21 years old, respectively, they've got time.

They're ready to get to the punch now. As two of the top four players on the San Antonio Spurs, they want to dominate the league. And like two best friends in their 20s, they'd like to do it together. But right now, politics, experience and numbers stand in their way.

Meeting with a GQ reporter months before the beginning of their second and third seasons in the league, the pair seemed content forgetting about all of that for a second.

"I ain’t coming off no bench.” Harper told the magazine after starting just four games in his rookie season, seemingly revealing his hand a little. "That’s crazy. F*** no."

The article, which posted a few hours prior to the Spurs' annual Media Day, included an important bit of context largely overshadowed by Harper's initial answer: he walked back his answer. Citing a smile on his face, the point guard made sure he set the record straight.

"I was lying," Harper told the reporter slyly.

The only issue with Harper's retraction was that he'd already said enough. His quote was destined to follow him for months. So, he shut the door in front of a room full of reporters at Victory Capital Performance Center on Monday, ensuring any talk about his desires this season could only be made out as outside speculation.

"Everyone has a competitive edge," Harper said when asked about the article, "but the biggest thing for me is (doing) whatever I can, like last year, to help the team win. Whatever position the coaching staff thinks is best for me, that's the position I'll have to own."

He continued: “I'm always going to be at the forefront of keeping the team together.”

Sep 28, 2026; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guards Stephon Castle (5) and Dylan Harper (2) pose for photos during Media Day at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Texas. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Where the article showed another, more casual side of Harper and Castle — the Slash Bros, as they've been deemed — Mitch Johnson had no interest in revealing much. His stance, when asked about the possibility of starting Harper, remained considerably vague.

Johnson said Harper and Castle can expect large roles this season, which, given their individual postseason success, is unsurprising. He didn't elaborate at Media Day, either. He and Fox instead focused on the idea of all three guards logging more minutes together.

"I think that we had some success when us three were on the court," Fox said. "It didn't happen a lot, especially throughout the regular season, but I definitely expect to see it more."

The two players who did speak on a potential roster crunch in the starting lineup — Castle and Julian Champagnie, who may be relegated to the bench in favor of 16-year veteran Tobias Harris — only reinforced the Spurs' unified messaging on the matter.

"I don't think it's a thing that I'm paying attention to," Champagnie said. "Obviously, I think we all have a goal to win. However we get there is how we get there. No matter who starts or doesn't start, that doesn't really play a big role in where things are going."

Castle's starting spot appears far more secure, but he was equally dismissive.

"Stuff like that is just outside noise (to) us," the guard said. "Whoever starts, whoever doesn't start — if we all start together — I think we'll be fine either way."

Sep 28, 2026; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guards Stephon Castle (5), De'Aaron Fox (4) and Dylan Harper (2) pose for photos during Media Day at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Texas. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In a matter of three hours, the Spurs took position and made clear they would be sticking to it. Further prodding of Fox, Harper, Castle and Johnson would sooner warrant an eye roll than it would reveal any kind of inner feelings shared over iMessage or FaceTime.

San Antonio's public stance on who starts doesn't eliminate the real basketball question underlying the entire conversation, however. That's what's yet to be resolved.

One seemingly simple solution regarding the guard trio is to start all three. The Spurs, however, have little evidence to suggest a three-guard lineup featuring Fox, Castle and Harper is an automatic answer, especially given how seldom they shared the floor last season.

The trio shared the floor for just 25 minutes in the regular season, posting a minus-26.9 net rating, and 44 minutes in the playoffs in which the Spurs posted a minus-23.2 net rating.

Neither sample is large enough to draw definitive conclusions from, but they both stand in stark contrast to some of the Spurs' more established combinations featuring Fox and Castle.

With Wembanyama alongside them, Fox and Castle posted a plus-15 net rating across 683 minutes. Their trios with Vassell and Champagnie were similarly effective, finishing at plus-12.9 across 607 minutes and plus-12.7 across 656 minutes, respectively.

Starting all three guards might eventually work; San Antonio simply hasn't proven it yet.

"There's definite growth for those three guys," Johnson explained. "Just in terms of playing off each other and continuing to complement each other. They're so dynamic and they're so unselfish, and so they do a great job of putting their energy in the right spots."

Sep 28, 2026; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson answers questions from the media during Media Day at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Texas. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Johnson's eagerness to give all three guards more minutes alongside one another may create chances for them to prove it can work effectively, San Antonio already has considerably more evidence of success with other combinations.

If that comes to fruition and Johnson is faced with a decision on who starts and who doesn't, he may favor Fox, who signed a five-year, $252 million extension with the team over the offseason, over Harper. It would be a logical, somewhat political choice, even if Harper proved to be the best player on the floor, at times, during the NBA Finals.

That wouldn't instantly create animosity between Harper, whose unfiltered answer to GQ suggested starting matters to him, and Fox. It also wouldn't prevent the trio of guards from continuing to grow their chemistry off the floor and lift each other up.

"I feel like we're three high-level guards who are pretty unselfish that can tough the paint whenever," Castle said. "Being able to play off each other as much as we can, whether we have to have two of us on the court or all three of us, I think we'll figure it out."

Any hard conversations that may await the Spurs in the future are going to be hidden from the public eye. And if those conversations deviate from basketball, they won't let on.

But another thing is clear when it comes to Harper and Castle. The two best friends, still kids at heart, will have plenty of time to dominate the league together.

When that time comes, there won't be much of anything standing in their way.

"I feel like the problems we have are good problems," Harper began on Monday, "and I feel like we'll all get along. The chemistry is there, so there's not going to be any problems."

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