Spurs' shutting down Dylan Harper indicates Brian Wright made the right decision

The Spurs are doing exactly what they should be doing by shutting down Dylan Harper for the rest of the Summer League. We've seen enough, and Brian Wright was smart not to trade away the chance to draft the former Rutgers stud.

This decision is predictable for several reasons. Top-tier prospects often don't play all the games of SL. Victor Wembanyama didn't, Cooper Flagg won't, and those two guys didn't have to deal with a groin issue.

Harper showed the Spurs a lot in two Summer League games

Most people don't realize that Flagg reclassified in high school, so he could graduate early and get to the NBA faster. He was originally expected to come out of next year's class, and had he maintained that course, Harper would have been the consensus number one pick. San Antonio benefited immensely from Flagg's decision.

That explains why many considered this to be a two-person draft, first and foremost, despite the plethora of talent in the class. The number one pick is often a tier or two above the rest of the prospects, but there were essentially two number one picks this summer. You protect those guys.

As longtime Spurs insider, Don Harris said in the post above, Harper is still rehabbing his groin injury. It's Summer League. There is nothing more worthless in the grand scheme of the season than Summer League basketball. The smart thing to do is to sit down your star offseason acquisition and let him get fully healthy for the upcoming campaign.

Training camp will start in about two and a half months. That will, hopefully, give D Harp plenty of time to reach 100% before then. Groin injuries are like Zack Snyder fans. They linger for way too long, not allowing you to move on after they've had their time in the sun. If a player is dealing with one during the season, it's common to see that same ailment emerge repeatedly.

The best bet for the Silver and Black would be to do everything they possibly can to make sure Harper doesn't have to deal with that. He averaged 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists in 21 minutes a night in two games. The defense that the top lottery pick showed was tremendous.

His acrobatic block showed playmaking as a defender, and his big-time clutch bucket showed poise in the crunch time. Dylan's willingness to take and make that shot was also notable because he didn't shoot the ball very well in that second game, but he didn't let that deter him. The rookie maintained his confidence and made a play when his team needed it most. There's nothing else we need to see right now.