Dylan Harper just killed the biggest argument for trading De'Aaron Fox

Dylan Harper recently joined Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson and explained why playing with three ball-handlers never bothered him. By the time he was done, he'd made it a lot harder for anyone in Spurs Nation to argue for trading De'Aaron Fox.

"Fox basically took me under his wing my whole first year and helped me and allowed me to grow in this space," Harper told Robinson. He went further, shutting down the exact concern that's fueled a year of Fox trade takes: "Me and him never had a problem. I've never seen a problem playing with two to three ball handlers on the floor."

Then he handed Swipa flowers most guys wouldn't hand a teammate eating into their touches: "He's a big factor, and he's a big piece in us winning now and in the future."

Harper isn't the one asking Fox to leave

That last quote matters more than the mentorship stuff, honestly. Harper is the guy whose development this whole three-guard arrangement was supposed to threaten. He's the one who was going to get squeezed for shots, squeezed for reps, and squeezed out of becoming what the Spurs drafted him to become.

Instead, he's out here calling the former Kings guard his "uncle" and crediting him for teaching him how to "take control of the game." If the 2025 number 2 pick says the fit works, that's the review that actually counts. Not mine. Not yours. His.

The Spurs' 2025-26 success make the "why" even harder to answer

It's not like Harper's take exists in a vacuum, either. San Antonio went 62-20 and reached the Finals before running out of gas against the Knicks. Whatever legitimate questions existed last October about too many ball-dominant guards and not enough touches were answered during a seven-month run of excellence.

Of course, none of that erases the real stuff. D. Fox's four-year, $229 million extension kicks in this season, Victor Wembanyama's usage will continue to run high, and Stephon Castle isn't going anywhere. I still believe that a decision about moving Swipa could become necessary, depending on how effective the three-guard lineup is this year.

But the Silver and Black also showed how they felt about Fox when they paid him, and a team that just made the Finals with this group has earned the right to let it play out instead of forcing a decision nobody in the building is asking for.

"Someday we might have to" isn't the same conversation as "we need to right now." The Spurs don't owe anybody a trade just to solve a problem their own franchise guard says doesn't exist. Harper's the one living the reality nightly. He just told everyone it works. Listen to him.

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