Dylan Harper will crack starting lineup if one thing goes right and one goes wrong

After the Spurs traded for Kelly Olynyk, I wrote about what the depth chart would look like and suggested that Dylan Harper would begin the season in the starting lineup. I no longer believe that to be the case after more consideration. As currently constructed, San Antonio would be wise to lean on the guys who have been there.

De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama haven't had much of a chance to play together, so we need to see what that looks like with Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and Harrison Barnes rolling with them. However, I do still believe that Harper could wind up starting games, depending on a couple of variables; one awesome, and the other, not so much. Let's start with the latter.

Devin Vassell offensive struggles could cost him his starting spot

Generally, teams want as much balance as possible in their starting lineup. Fox and Castle are the downhill drivers, Barnes and Vassell are to provide the shooting, which allows additional space for everyone else to operate, especially Wembanyama, who will be tasked with doing some of everything.

Out of the players in the starting lineup, the only one you'd have questions about is Dev. It's fair to point out that he spent the majority of last summer rehabbing a foot injury, so he wasn't really able to work on his game like that. It was obviously a contributor to his slow start. You hope that with a full summer to train, he takes another step forward, and we can put last year's woes in the rearview mirror.

But he'll have to prove it first. His defense has taken a step back over the last couple of years, too, so the Spurs have not been getting what they expected from the Georgia-born guard. If he hasn't returned to his defensive form, that's one thing, but coupling it with more offensive inefficiency in his fifth year would likely force Coach Mitch Johnson to put him on the bench for Dylan Harper, if the rookie surprises us.

Harper could step in if he's making catch-and-shoot threes

Don't listen to the naysayers who claim Dylan Harper cannot shoot. They are not telling the whole story. It's fair to criticize the ex-Rutgers star's pull-up threes, but with a team with Wemby and so many other playmakers, he shouldn't even have to attempt many of those. He shot 37% on catch-and-shoot opportunities last year, and they didn't have the greatest spacing.

Son of five-time champion, Ron Harper, Dylan strikes me as an intelligent player. He's going to be in the right place at the right time on defense more times than not. He'll pay attention to detail and give immense effort, so I'm not worried about him on that side. You saw how high he scaled to block that shot in a Summer League game with a compromised groin. Effort won't be a problem.

So, it's the shooting that you'll want to see from him. Vassell and Harper are both listed at the same height, so you don't lose any size with that substitution, but you put another playmaker on the floor. Indiana and Boston have shown everyone how difficult it is to defend teams that have three or more of those playing at the same time.

If the Spurs want to take the Manu Ginobili route, they could always just leave Harper on the bench and put in someone like Julian Champagnie. He played well with the starters before Vassell returned from his early injury last year. But Harper is another option that can't be dismissed because I believe he'll be an impactful player from the very first game of the new season.