Devin Vassell on Dylan Harper: “He was upset with playing time and different roles that he was in.”
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Ever since hearing that Mitch Johnson and Fox are repped by the same agency, it all made sense.
Klutch politics.
Congrats btw.
LeBron’s revenge for 2014
LeBron making sure Wemby never comes close to his legacy.
I dunno. Wemby is doing a good job of that himself
Hes 22 and just made the finals lol
Much like another player who lost his first Finals
he’s taking his talents to Galveston Beach
Yeah he shouldn’t have won a game in his first finals.
Rent free. He just didn’t get it done. Had a Steph 2016 level pass in game 2
Playing LeLongGame
Maybe it’s on Ron Harper 🤣
Thanks.
Good luck with getting Fox off your team.
I’d imagine Big Boss Man Popovich steps in eventually before it spirals out of control?
El Jefe for a reason
Lmao this is the best response you could’ve given
its kinda fitting they faced the Knicks who have a beef with Rich Paul/Klutch
that’s why Knicks have no Klutch players on the team
This is depressing to me
Don’t worry. One Klutch client is for sure off the roster next year!
The most important one. Sean Sweeney.
Wait no shot? Really? Lol spurs got fucked by LeBron once again!
I think Mitch Johnson was under “well management paid 300m for Fox so I gotta play him” even when it is not working out
Keldon Johnson too lol
the 3 Klutch Musketeers of Ass
basketball terrorism, thy name is Klutch
Yo this is crazy. I just looked up and it’s true
NBA needs to do something with Klutch and Rich. They have too much politics and power with everything basketball related it’s beyond insane
damn TIL.
also, gg
Holy shit . 5head play to keep the spurs in check
Klutch Sports Group
Fuck Klutch. Can’t wait until they have no power in the league
I knew the Fox situation would be a problem eventually. But I did not think it was going to be this magnified this early…. And in the fucking finals.
Harper was giving us problems all series, dude is legit…. (also how tf did Rutgers miss March Madness last yr)
As someone rooting against the Spurs, I was dreading a pregame tweet saying the Spurs had moved Harper into the starting lineup over Fox.
Thankfully, that tweet never happened.
They had zero cohesion plus Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper weren’t compatible on offense because they both wanted the ball in their hands at all times.
Eh. It wasn’t necessarily that Bailey needed the ball in his hands as he couldn’t even dribble that well. Bailey was really raw at Rutgers. They just legit had no one outside those 2. Needed Omoruyi to stay. Harper and Bailey also had been injured a various points in the year and they were basically the only players on the team. Need a whole team to play basketball.
Mitch Johnson is not that kind of coach.
If i was harper I’d be so pissed at fox and Johnson rn
I would hope he would have more perspective and be happy to have made it to the finals and be given starter minutes as a rookie
His dad should be helpful in that regard
More perspective would be we’re in the finals and not playing our best players
Fox was instrumental in defeating OKC, which happened only 10 days ago despite everybody having seemingly forgotten it.
The mental toll of the WCF was felt throughout the entire Finals. It does not diminish the Knicks’ performance in any way, but I hope people won’t suddenly forget what this team did with a core so young. It was their first postseason, even Durant’s Thunder reached the Finals on their third try.
It’s pretty obvious DF is gonna be massively overpaid, but he helped Castle and Harper grow during these playoffs. If the staff slowly lowers his minutes to increase Harper’s, then I’m pretty sure everything will be fine, and he doesn’t look like the guy who will start sulking because he doesn’t get his 15 shots a game.
Yeah plenty of blame to go around but for some reason 90% of it goes to Fox and Mitch Johnson
There was definitely big we beat okc, this is going to be easy now energy. Weren’t ready for the moment
Too level headed of a take here.
But will be important to gauge Harper’s real maturity and make sure that he feels like he’s progressing and earning and not just getting passed over. Brunson is in NY because the Mavs had Luka in his spot.
Don’t want Harper to feel overlooked OR entitled. Probably the most important path to navigate for Johnson and the Spurs moving forward with Fox.
Spurs beat OKC because they didn’t have J Will, not because Fox is so good.
Spurs are 4-1 vs the Thunder in the regular season and playoffs when JDub is healthy. This narrative that we only lost because he didn’t play is wrong.
Dam man every time Harper made a drive and even if he missed, I was still nervous. That guy is a walking bucket.
Dude just jacking up shots and bricking them lmao
Y’all gotta trade him asap
Beautiful thing was they were mostly open too. Would make a move, create space then clank it
For real. I think he easily had the best shot quality of any major player on either team over the whole series and yet he just kept clanging open threes and rimming out open, self-created middies.
Lights were too bright unfortunately
Yep I called it out last summer that the extension was a mistake and here we are!
The Spurs weren’t bidding against anyone. They needed to let him go to FA and negotiate off of using his bird rights.
But, he forced his way to San Antonio for a pittance because the Spurs promised him the extension, no?
He said the quiet part out loud with Harper. Spurs might need to attach the 20th pick to get off Foxs contract
I just checked, he has FOUR seasons at $60 million left after this one
I got the Nets as a potential landing spots for Fox lol
I would throw up
“Hey Sean, remember when you won a championship here? Well now we need a favor.”
They could overpay for him AND Austin Reaves
I don’t think they can with MPJ on team unless you expect him to be in the deal.
I dont think the spurs need mpj, they need big body not another giraffe
No chance in hell. Jordi is familiar with his game.
Do not put that evil on me. I have been through too much shit to go through Fox.
Gonna take more than the 20th pick. But better to do it now before it takes 3-4 picks down the road.
I think depends on the team especially if another team is sending a bad contract back. I think the nets would do it. Reunites Fox with Jordi Fernandez and allows them to go a different direction at 6 if they aren’t high on Acuff. Fox would allow them to probably evaluate and develop their other talent by giving them a functioning PG. MPJ would be a good target for SAS.
Nope gonna cost more than 20,
The 20th? lol you need multiple GOOD firsts to get off that massive contract.
People were saying the same thing about MPJ and jrue
Yeeep.
Whoever trades for Fox is going to be happy about it I think.
Hell, I would totally take the Suns doing this trade. Something like Green and Grayson for Fox and 20th, maybe a few 2nds in there.
MPJ had 2 years left at \(40M. Fox has 4 years left at \)60M. Not comparable at all.
such an exaggeration lmao, no you don’t
Teams need good point guards. I’d be stunned if it took a lot more than one pick to trade him.
Hey I’d take Fox and our 2031 pick from the Dillingham trade in return for Randle and DiVincenzo. Spurs would get a true 4 and a veteran off guard to complement Castle/Harper instead of taking the ball out of their hands. Randle obviously has his own inconsistency issues but is on a much shorter contract that would expire right when they need to start paying Harper.
Randle would also play much more consistently with a team that could clear out the paint when he isos because they have a shooter at the 5 like Wemby
Make that 2 picks
At that point you might as well swing for a big trade. Idk about 2 picks just to dump a guy
That’s a 4 year contract. It will absolutely take at least 2 FRP to dump that contract.
As a Bucks fan I could see us being a team that could take Fox on as we start our 4 year purgatory. Myles Turner + Kuz works salary wise. Spurs get the size they need and Kuz is an expiring. If they think think they’re gonna be good those picks will be low 1sts.
Spurs are going to need to attach more than that to offload him.
Everyone saw how he played and no one is gonna wanna help the spurs. So let’s see what happens
lol, they’ll need a lot more than that to move Fox.
20th pick aint getting rid of that contract. Dude has mega negative value.
Spurs clearly needed a guy who could closeout for them. Wemby doesn’t have the offensive bag to do so. Neither does castle tbh. Harper can do it. His shot is good, but can be improved
As good as Harper played he also missed a ton of shots tonight down the stretch.
He proved he has a half court bag this entire series. Missing a few shots in the end doesn’t mean he can’t be clutch in the future
But it does for wemby according to everyone now.
Wemby struggled to consistently create a good shot all series
The stars on this team are very young. They all have a holes in their games. They’ll get better and they’ll be back.
I’d argue that this finals runs is way ahead of schedule.
Yeah no one expected them to be here start of season
Is great experience for them and if they treat it as the learning moment it is, they should come back better
20,21,22. Definitely ahead of schedule and most great players don’t win one till 26⁄27
I think the offensive structure looks very different next year, imo the plan should be to have Harper be more or less the first option (even though Wemby will be leading scorer) he was an elite lead guard prospect, and with a year of experience should be ready to jump into that role
Wemby can still be the first option I just don’t want him handling the ball as often out on the perimeter. Id like to see him running more offense closer to the basket or even the elbow. He should needs a go to move, and he doesn’t look like he’s going to be a low post bruiser so maybe he needs to emulate Duncan and Dirk
All playoffs. Wemby is so good but it’s not as dominant as the stat lines would lead folks to believe. He has lots of growth to do
He wasnt afraid to take them and he was taking the right shots. Late in the game, the only Spur not shitting the bed was him, he was still trying to play his game.
Kobe shit. I respect it.
Vassell is also incredibly steady, just more of a role player and less productive.
Yeah, he’s not a problem, just isn’t going to be a top star level
I think he was gassed, having done a lot more work than usual. He will build stamina over the years.
He was clearly gassed. All of the shots he missed towards the end were short. Even that layup he had just didn’t have enough juice.
He did look tired in the fourth, could see it in his eyes during dead balls.
Playing both ends with max effort will do that to you.
Genuinely I do wonder how different the Spurs would’ve been this year if they went for Trae Young instead of Fox. Obviously defense would be less strong, but New York showed that you can cover for small guards that play poor defense.
I do think Trae’s offense has plateaued a bit since that 2021 run, but man I’d rather trust him to make some clutch shots over Fox.
If it was trae they probably would have lost to the thunders. Fox handled the pressure from their perimeter defenders exceptionally well. Spurs genuinely looked like they were incapable of taking care of the ball when fox was out. Fox just seemed completely unaffected. Trae being even smaller, slower, and less strong would only make it harder for him.
They win the series if they have Trae young instead of Fox
New York City would be SICK if Trae efficiently closed out each of these games
They are extremely young and they just had an amazing learning experience
Saying this live is fucking crazy no? Like why are you airing out someone else’s beef?
He was clearly referring to the overall season and not just the playoffs.
Yeah this also wasn’t like a new thing. Dylan has alluded to struggling with it throughout the season. Its not necessarily about Fox either. It was more so about him being the 2nd pick and not really getting the same opportunities and accolades as players below him like Kon and VJ. Also, as good as Dylan was in the playoffs, I don’t think he had actually shown that he was ready for more playing time until post-ASB. He was pretty up and down before that and he’s acknowledged that.
And I’ll throw in, it was always said in a positive, constructive way. He’s been extremely consistent saying he’d rather be with the Spurs and competing for championships than playing more minutes for a non-contender. There hasn’t been a single time he’s sounded even remotely sour.
I dont think that really matters? If he wants to complain about that he can say it himself and if not hes probably not doing it for a reason. Its insane to do
He’s #2 pick, of course he wanted to start
I have no issue with him feeling that way. Or even if he came out and said it. Just found it weird to come from someone else is all.
it’s not something that needs to be said especially after you lose the finals. like where’s the PR training lol
I wouldn’t be saying it to the media though.
It’s not as bad if it’s just referring to the entire season, when compared to only referring to getting time in the finals imo
Most talented rookies, whether on good or bad teams usually feel this way when they have to earn time.
Yea i mean I guess its not as bad. Just seems wild to me. Maybe he doesnt care and its no big deal.
He was referring to earlier in the year, post title is misleading
Because it’s not that deep. It happens to a lot of young talented players on good teams. They don’t always get the opportunity to shine that they think they deserve and sometimes they are right in that thinking. He didn’t say it was a fight, or mistrust, just that the kid was frustrated at times in the season.
Players don’t usually say stuff like this publicly but I like that he said it because it’s interesting, gives a little more insight into what’s going on, and I don’t think it actually makes anyone involved look bad. I always wonder whether super talented young players prefer to go to a good team where they’ll play a smaller role but will actually win stuff or a bad team where it very quickly becomes their team and they can do whatever they want but they’ll probably just lose a lot.
The title is taking this way out of context. Watch the vid, he was talking about earlier in the season
Watch a short clip, who was time for that when titles on this sub are always accurate and in perfect context?
people not getting this is sarcasm
In this series, Dylan Harper was more than NBA ready. He was their best guard
Hell. He was their best player in Game 5. lol. He was the catalyst.
They better ship off Fox somehow and give Harper the keys
Harper is legit. That guy has a very bright future in the NBA.
I’d be too if I saw Fox being a basketball terrorist
Mitch Johnson is clueless
Fox gets brought in for some vet experience among the young ones, but he’s a Kings vet, what do they know about winning lmao
I’ve been saying this for a while now. He has vet experience with morale and locker room stuff and did a good job stepping in as a slightly older guy on the team. But he was in Sacramento… so he has absolutely no deep playoff experience whatsoever. Literally could have just been a 2nd year player or something out there lol
I don’t have a strong opinion about Mitch Johnson, but clueless seems a bit strong considering the season the Spurs had (his 1st full season as head coach), no?
First season with Fox as well. He came from the kings so deep playoff minutes was experience he doesn’t have, and now he does.
I mean, this is fox’s first full year with spurs. He could get better. I trust the spurs. They’ll make the changes needed.
Lol don’t air out the dirty laundry. This is a fair point, but keep your mouth shut.
I think he’s referring to over the season as a whole and not the finals. Since he says after referencing the other rookie going into G league.
Title is misleading the question was about his role at the BEGINNING of the regular season when Harper played fewer minutes
Nah, keep it up Devin
Fuck that. It was criminal how Johnson and Fox ran the offense into the ground. Air it out and get those losers out of here
Yeah, he’s the better player but Coaching and front office politics are keeping his minutes down.
They need to ban wemby from the 3 point line for all of next year. He needs a go to move from the post or something. This whole being a 8 ft tall and launching 3s like a guard is gonna hurt him more than help
He doesn’t have the gas tank or strength to wrestle into position down low every possession. He needs to take plays off standing at the perimeter.
I think he’s knees made out of aluminum tho
He’s just too big to be initiating his offense behind the three point line. He’s going to get stripped. Doesn’t really have the sand in the pants to post up 20 times a game like Jokic either. Should really just develop a middie and learn to face up from the elbow where he can get to the basket in 1-2 dribbles. He’s obviously skilled enough. Like a better version of Embiid
I kept my mouth shut but I fucking knew it man. This mother fucker Dylan Harper needed more mins than both castle and fox
It just fucking sucks because we didn’t know we would get Harper after we got Fox. But now we’re here so let’s see what happens
Castle has been great except the finals, what are you talking about. He and Harper will be a great pairing in the backcourt
As he should be. Fox starting and getting so much playing time is criminal.
Fox: 7pts in 37min
Harper: 25pts in 31min
In 3 of the other 4 games, it was the same story—Harper contributed more in less time than Fox
Rich Paul made the call
Keep that in-house, guy.
Apparently the comment was about earlier on the season. And some guy trimes it to the short vide we see here making it appear as if Harper was pissed about minutes in the finals (which he probably is but Vassels comment is not about that)
Any Spurs fan should be upset by this. Dude was obviously the best guard on the team. A rookie supplanting a high paid player is not a problem unless you’re dumb as fuck. Especially when it’s the playoffs.
So now fox finally has the championship experience that spurs traded him for, oh wait so does the rest of the teammates. Time to dump him
mitch johnson is a moron
Starting the guy who’s clearly out the door over ur superstar rookie is interesting
Yea fox aint the guy
I hate it when people let contracts determine playing time instead of performance.
yeah and fox will never accept 6th man role
He’s right but I don’t think you’re suppose to air out dirty laundry like that.
He’s talking about through the season
Harper over Fox every day of the week
Harper isn’t represented by Klutch and the cult leader of Klutch Rich Paul. Guess who is, Deaaron Fox and Mitch Johnson. And there lies the problem.
Teams play the guys they pay the most, and Fox has a high salary. That said, I think you should play the best player regardless of age and salary. There were so many times during this playoff run that I’d hear announces/broadcasters say things like “boy, another possession that Harper doesn’t touch the ball” after a bad possession.
Forget salary. You’re trying to win. Put the ball is the hands of the guy who will do the best things with it.
Harper is going to be a star next to Wemby. His composure, poise, and ability is already phenomenal. Fox and his salary need to go and the Spurs need to reinforce the bench with the money they get from dumping him. Their bench stunk outside of Harper. They’ll be back though.
Fair
Being an alpha your entire life, only to be bench by someone inferior has to sting.
The paraphrasing in the title from what he actually said makes it sound so bad and it’s not
This is ironic because it is more likely that Vassell than Fox gets traded away to move Harper into the starting lineup.
I feel like this is something youre not supposed to say , especially after a Finals loss. This is undeniable shade at the coaching staff and Fox’s play.
Crazy how things work in life
Fox sent Haliburton packing forcing kings hands
And now he might be sent packing by Harper from Spurs
Yeah, I saw some people saying “the Spurs paid Fox, they have to play him” or whatever.
But they also drafted Harper, and he knows as well as everyone that he was their best guard this series. He’s gonna want a starting role next year, if they try to bring him off the bench behind Harper there’s gonna be trouble behind the scenes.
They’re gonna have to choose, this is why they should’ve just played the best lineups this series and figured out the rest in the offseason. Now they didn’t get a ring and they’re still gonna have to navigate these Harper/Fox tensions.
If SAS isn’t careful, they’re going to end up with a Brunson Mavs situation. They gotta move Fox this off-season.
This is something you keep in house. The Spurs are dumb off the court as well as on it.
Spura so damn lucky to get harper after getting Wemby.