The Spurs face a complex offensive problem that will haunt them all summer

The Spurs' roster situation left many confused last summer, particularly their backcourt. De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper were an odd fit, but they were able to stave off critics with their success through the regular season. Now, after a rough Finals loss, those concerns are resurfacing. The Spurs must figure out a way to better optimize this combination of players.

"Look, a year ago, the questions were being asked. Why are you maxing out Fox if you drafted Harper? How are these guys going to play with Castle there as well?" Marc Stein ponders on the ALL NBA PODCAST. "And, I mean, how do the Spurs undo the logjam?"

It's a fair set of questions to ask at this point. De'Aaron Fox struggled in the series against the Knicks, posting just 12.8 points per game, but Mitch Johnson refused to cut his minutes. At the same time, Dylan Harper was great in the Finals, averaging 18 points, but didn't have the ball in his hands as much as he should have.

The Spurs were able to ignore it for a while, but now it's more apparent than ever: they have a backcourt problem that must be fixed if they want the best out of their players.

Dylan Harper must be allowed to spread his wings

Harper deserves a ton of credit for the sacrifices he made this season. It's not easy for a second overall draft pick to head to a team with a stacked backcourt like San Antonio's. Yet he accepted his role off the bench and excelled, playing a big part in the Spurs' deep playoff run.

But his standout Finals performance revealed one thing: he's more than a sixth man. From what we saw from him on that stage, he has more than enough potential to become a top-five point guard in the NBA. There were several nights in that series where he was San Antonio's most consistent form of offense.

The Spurs can't keep him in a reserved role for long. It's not that he's just some impressive young player showing us great early flashes. San Antonio was just a better team on a lot of nights when he was on the floor, as he provided flawless finishes at the rim and solid mid-range jumpers off the bounce.

What does this mean for De'Aaron Fox?

I want to be honest about De'Aaron Fox's situation. At the time the Spurs extended his contract, the idea of him being an experienced shot creator on a youthful team made a ton of sense. And he delivered in that role through the regular season, but his playoff blunders made everything look bad in hindsight.

So the idea of Fox playing with Harper and Castle sounded good initially, but it aged badly due to his underwhelming postseason performance. It's an unfortunate development, but the Spurs need to work their way around it. Because again, they'll be doing themselves a disservice by continuing to limit Harper.

It's going to get difficult. Opting to start Harper over Fox won't be easy, as one player is making $55M per year while the other is heading into his second season. Could you trade De'Aaron for pieces that fit better? Possibly, but there are going to be questions about his playing value after that series.

What started as something promising turned into a glaring question mark that will loom over this organization all summer long. Now, you do have to applaud the Spurs for taking a gamble on their backcourt situation, and it did create some good moments. But at this point, it's time to make some adjustments.

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