All-Star Weekend gives Harper a special chance Castle must move aside for

Stephon Castle was 2024's Rising Stars MVP, and he'll have a chance to win that honor against his year, but I have another proposition. Dylan Harper should take the reins. allowing him the cleanest path to the award. If the fourth overall pick has the ball in his hands most of the night as the primary playmaker, he can give the Spurs two separate winners in back-to-back seasons. That would be cool.

Let's never forget why we're all here. Sports are cool and fun. They bring each other together and yada yada yada, but the reason we're all showing up is because of the awesome factor. For San Antonio fans, it wouldn't get much cooler than seeing two of our guys get some love for showing out on All-Star Weekend in consecutive years.

Harper can win Rising Stars MVP but it won't be easy

This has the potential to be one of the most explosive iterations of this event that we've ever had. The young players in the NBA right now are truly special, so seeing them get a chance to go at it should give us some fun hoops to absorb. At the same time, the heightened level of skill we're about to see will also make Dylan's shot at winning MVP much more difficult.

We believe in our guys, but there should be immense respect paid to the field. First of all, Carter Bryant just got the nod to substitute for Cedric Coward, who was ruled out due to injury. He'll be on Team Vince with Derik Queen, VJ Edgecombe, and Matas Buzelis. There is a ton of athleticism on that team and some savvy skill to boot. They won't be an easy out. (But if they win, CB better get the MVP)

Team T-Mac will be led by Kon Knueppel and Tre Johnson. Those guys can get hot in a hurry, and they have a group of scorers on their team who can fill it up quickly.

Personally, I think Team Melo has the advantage. Cooper Flagg won't be participating, but alongside Castle and Harper, they have the tough shotmaking of Ace Bailey, size from Donovan Clingan, and some sharpshooting from Reed Sheppard. It's a pretty balanced team, and I'm favoring them to come out on top.

But all of those guys, including Jeremiah Fears, have the potential to have big games and earn the title of Most Valuable Player. As last year's Rising Stars MVP and as the reigning Rookie of the Year, Castle will likely have more leeway to do what he wants. I'd love to see him cede most of the on-ball duties to Harper.

Give the rook every opportunity to make his first All-Star Weekend as memorable as possible, and make everyone in San Antonio proud. It's the Spurs way.