Player Best Guard rotation in the NBA for the next decade

[rjv]

wait. i thought at least two of them are getting shipped out for an aging star.

 

[Raven_]

pg rotation please.

 

[scott]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998492270438527005

It's a really interesting trio in that their impact is very different. It's like a choose your character portion of a game where you either choose from fights with different balance settings.

Harper: Offensive Firecracker but weak defensively
Fox: Still offense first, but more well rounded
Castle: Defensive Powerhouse with some offensive limitations

A really nice complement to one another

 

[Guru of Nothing]

I can't wait to see our Wemby/3-guard lineup after they get warmed up. I expect they will become the the core of the closing unit soon, and Mitch can use the 5th position as a lever to combat matchups.

Fun times!

 

[Paramore]

 

[frenchfred]

I think we’re going to be a fucking problem for OKC because of this. Maybe not this year, but soon.

I think that as soon as Wemby learns how to read a double team and Castle improves his outside shooting we are in. Right now, Wemby slows down the offense by dribbling and holding onto the ball too long but he will learn how to go in quickly to avoid the double team or kick it on the outside for an open jumper.

 

[Splits]

I can't wait to see our Wemby/3-guard lineup after they get warmed up. I expect they will become the the core of the closing unit soon, and Mitch can use the 5th position as a lever to combat matchups.

Fun times!

you're gonna have to wait because by the time Wemby returns in Jan/Feb, 1-2 of our guards will be out with a vaginal strain for a few months

 

[DaSlicer]

you're gonna have to wait because by the time Wemby returns in Jan/Feb, 1-2 of our guards will be out with a vaginal strain for a few months

 

[BacktoBasics]

In the game thread there were what felt like four pages of username Arg-something trippin out over this topic - I only started chirpin about this after that, lol

If one or two of these guys shine and one defers then you get people complaining that the one who deferred should be traded and played like ass.

Every game night a handful of our members shit the bed.

 

[scott]

If one or two of these guys shine and one defers then you get people complaining that the one who deferred should be traded and played like ass.

Every game night a handful of our members shit the bed.

Kind of like everyone getting on Vassell's case for not showing up yesterday... at the end of the day there is only 1 ball. We still scored 135 points... so it's not like Devin was ass and was holding back our offense. He only took 5 shot... and honestly that's all there was room for him to take... and that's BEFORE we fold Wemby back into the lineup!

Back to the topic of our 3-headed monster... They combined for 42 shots last night, which coincidently 42% of our 99 attempts. Once Wemby is back, that will probably trend down a little bit and most games we should probably anticipate one of them not taking a ton of shots. The nice thing about having 3 of them is that we don't rely upon them to all be at peak performance every single game (which almost no player is).

I'm a broken record at this point, but it's also why people should get over the notion of turning Devin into TMIII... for what? So TMIII can take 6 shots and everyone can complain about how he sucks?

 

[BacktoBasics]

Kind of like everyone getting on Vassell's case for not showing up yesterday... at the end of the day there is only 1 ball. We still scored 135 points... so it's not like Devin was ass and was holding back our offense. He only took 5 shot... and honestly that's all there was room for him to take... and that's BEFORE we fold Wemby back into the lineup!

Back to the topic of our 3-headed monster... They combined for 42 shots last night, which coincidently 42% of our 99 attempts. Once Wemby is back, that will probably trend down a little bit and most games we should probably anticipate one of them not taking a ton of shots. The nice thing about having 3 of them is that we don't rely upon them to all be at peak performance every single game (which almost no player is).

I'm a broken record at this point, but it's also why people should get over the notion of turning Devin into TMIII... for what? So TMIII can take 6 shots and everyone can complain about how he sucks?

Yeah Vassell did exactly what he should have done and that’s not force his way into the offense. Take what the game gives you, that’s his role. Get in where you fit in.

Honestly years past Dev would have jacked his way into a dogshit night.

 

[Exstatic]

Kind of like everyone getting on Vassell's case for not showing up yesterday... at the end of the day there is only 1 ball. We still scored 135 points... so it's not like Devin was ass and was holding back our offense. He only took 5 shot... and honestly that's all there was room for him to take... and that's BEFORE we fold Wemby back into the lineup!

Back to the topic of our 3-headed monster... They combined for 42 shots last night, which coincidently 42% of our 99 attempts. Once Wemby is back, that will probably trend down a little bit and most games we should probably anticipate one of them not taking a ton of shots. The nice thing about having 3 of them is that we don't rely upon them to all be at peak performance every single game (which almost no player is).

I'm a broken record at this point, but it's also why people should get over the notion of turning Devin into TMIII... for what? So TMIII can take 6 shots and everyone can complain about how he sucks?

Cerberus

 

[poopbox]

Decade? We signing Fox to ANOTHER max after this one

 

[Paramore]

i like the Cerberus symbolism

apt

 

[OK Computer]

Kind of like everyone getting on Vassell's case for not showing up yesterday... at the end of the day there is only 1 ball. We still scored 135 points... so it's not like Devin was ass and was holding back our offense. He only took 5 shot... and honestly that's all there was room for him to take... and that's BEFORE we fold Wemby back into the lineup!

Back to the topic of our 3-headed monster... They combined for 42 shots last night, which coincidently 42% of our 99 attempts. Once Wemby is back, that will probably trend down a little bit and most games we should probably anticipate one of them not taking a ton of shots. The nice thing about having 3 of them is that we don't rely upon them to all be at peak performance every single game (which almost no player is).

I'm a broken record at this point, but it's also why people should get over the notion of turning Devin into TMIII... for what? So TMIII can take 6 shots and everyone can complain about how he sucks?

RE: Three-headed monster
It almost feels like a new age Spurs-zag-while-others-zig. We forget that the Spurs are basketball innovators: Manu coming off the bench, plucking overseas talent before anyone else, Beautiful Game, etc…

Is having three star point guards another innovative idea? The Spurs have been trying this for a decade now, back when people scratched their heads when they drafted combo PG after combo PG (Dejounte, White, Lonnie…). Was this their ultimate goal all along?

I can’t think of another team right now that even has the same core makeup as the Spurs do right now and that’s not even thinking about Wemby.

It feels like to me that this three-headed monster enables them to have the game plan of always letting one of the three “distract” away the opposing team’s best defender as Fox did with Herb Jones, and let one of the other two feast. It seems like this will be their primary go-to offensive strategy in games - a luxury most teams don’t have. Or at least tire their defenders out, similar to what Tony Parker did when he ran around in offensive sets and caused his matchup to tire out.

Decade? We signing Fox to ANOTHER max after this one

We will go on a three-peat with Castle, Harp as major contributors before Fox’s contract is up and it will convince him to take a pay cut.

 

[mudyez]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998492270438527005

It's a really interesting trio in that their impact is very different. It's like a choose your character portion of a game where you either choose from fights with different balance settings.

Harper: Offensive Firecracker but weak defensively
Fox: Still offense first, but more well rounded
Castle: Defensive Powerhouse with some offensive limitations

A really nice complement to one another

I wonder if Harpers D-eficits have anything to do with having less Wemby minutes and probably more none-Weby-none-Kornet minutes?

 

[spursfanfromafar]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998492270438527005

It's a really interesting trio in that their impact is very different. It's like a choose your character portion of a game where you either choose from fights with different balance settings.

Harper: Offensive Firecracker but weak defensively
Fox: Still offense first, but more well rounded
Castle: Defensive Powerhouse with some offensive limitations

A really nice complement to one another

The numbers shouldn't be read as they are. This is because Fox / Castle / Harper have largely played in different lineups. Fox has played in fewer lineups with Wemby and Castle in and so his defense on/off numbers are skewed by that factor. Similarly Castle has largely played with Wemby and the other roll players and has shared little time with Fox..so his offensive on/off numbers are skewed. Harper has played a lot of minutes with Sochan as center and a center-less lineup and so his defensive raw +/- numbers should also be taken with a pinch of salt.

The way I look at this three is thus -

Fox - Regained his form after return from injury and has frankly carried the Spurs to a 8-3 record without Wemby. Which is impressive. His 3p shooting has been never better while his clutch performances have been terrific and in par with his reputation.

Castle - had taken a leap in becoming a borderline all Star before a hip injury. Much better on both on ball and off ball defense. Much better as a playmaker and passer even though he still needs to cut on his turnovers. 3pt Shooting specifically on the dribble, still prevents him from being an All NBA / All Star player and looking at his improvements..I think that will come.

Harper - Easily among the most impressive rookies in an impressive class. As of now tied with Knueppel and Edgecombe in terms of impact and with Flagg in terms of talent. But seems to have the best upside outside of Flagg due to his preternatural finishing and playmaking combo. Again a consistent jump shot short of greatness but it doesnt look far away.

All three together have obvious advantages in terms of playmaking, driving and kicking, ball swiping and turnover generation and in general awareness. But the shooting is still iffy and Spurs fans should be patient till Harper and Castle put themselves together on that front. All said, the future and the present are both bright with this trio.

 

[eric365]

I wonder if Harpers D-eficits have anything to do with having less Wemby minutes and probably more none-Weby-none-Kornet minutes?

Even worse, Harper has tons of minute without both

Harper played 283 minutes. 78 with Wemby, 68 with Kornet
So 137 minutes (half his time) without any sort of rim protection

Dylan Harper 2025-26 Lineups | Basketball-Reference.com

Get Dylan Harper's 2025-26 5-Man, 4-Man, 3-Man, and 2-Man Lineup Combinations on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

The Dylan Harper / Wemby duo has a crazy +- of +39,8 per 100 possessions

 

[scott]

RE: Three-headed monster
It almost feels like a new age Spurs-zag-while-others-zig. We forget that the Spurs are basketball innovators: Manu coming off the bench, plucking overseas talent before anyone else, Beautiful Game, etc…

Is having three star point guards another innovative idea? The Spurs have been trying this for a decade now, back when people scratched their heads when they drafted combo PG after combo PG (Dejounte, White, Lonnie…). Was this their ultimate goal all along?

I can’t think of another team right now that even has the same core makeup as the Spurs do right now and that’s not even thinking about Wemby.

It feels like to me that this three-headed monster enables them to have the game plan of always letting one of the three “distract” away the opposing team’s best defender as Fox did with Herb Jones, and let one of the other two feast. It seems like this will be their primary go-to offensive strategy in games - a luxury most teams don’t have. Or at least tire their defenders out, similar to what Tony Parker did when he ran around in offensive sets and caused his matchup to tire out.

We will go on a three-peat with Castle, Harp as major contributors before Fox’s contract is up and it will convince him to take a pay cut.

Interesting thought.

My guess is that the Spurs didn't plan this, but were smart to take a look at the hand they were dealt with the #2 pick falling in their lap and quickly saw the advantages that having these three guards creates.

I think they've always valued guards who can handle the ball, and they didn't necessarily draft Castle to be "PG of the future" - they drafted him as a guard who fit their mold of a guy who can handle the ball (they also have had Devin handling the ball quite a bit over the years). By not having any set notion of "we have our PG in Castle" - having a more flexible view of positionality gave them the green light to pull the trigger on Fox because they had no concerns about how the two fit together. And then when Harper fell in their lap, the quickly and easily adapted their plan to one that works with star power at the highest usage (not to be confused with USG) positions (ball handling guard and star big). Hats of to the brain trust for this one.

 

[scott]

The numbers shouldn't be read as they are. This is because Fox / Castle / Harper have largely played in different lineups. Fox has played in fewer lineups with Wemby and Castle in and so his defense on/off numbers are skewed by that factor. Similarly Castle has largely played with Wemby and the other roll players and has shared little time with Fox..so his offensive on/off numbers are skewed. Harper has played a lot of minutes with Sochan as center and a center-less lineup and so his defensive raw +/- numbers should also be taken with a pinch of salt.

The way I look at this three is thus -

Fox - Regained his form after return from injury and has frankly carried the Spurs to a 8-3 record without Wemby. Which is impressive. His 3p shooting has been never better while his clutch performances have been terrific and in par with his reputation.

Castle - had taken a leap in becoming a borderline all Star before a hip injury. Much better on both on ball and off ball defense. Much better as a playmaker and passer even though he still needs to cut on his turnovers. 3pt Shooting specifically on the dribble, still prevents him from being an All NBA / All Star player and looking at his improvements..I think that will come.

Harper - Easily among the most impressive rookies in an impressive class. As of now tied with Knueppel and Edgecombe in terms of impact and with Flagg in terms of talent. But seems to have the best upside outside of Flagg due to his preternatural finishing and playmaking combo. Again a consistent jump shot short of greatness but it doesnt look far away.

All three together have obvious advantages in terms of playmaking, driving and kicking, ball swiping and turnover generation and in general awareness. But the shooting is still iffy and Spurs fans should be patient till Harper and Castle put themselves together on that front. All said, the future and the present are both bright with this trio.

All fantastic points.

 

[DTW]

Harper and Castle have the potential to become the best back court in the league eventually, but obviously their shooting needs to improve and Castle needs to accept that he needs to be the secondary ball handler, whether he's playing with Fox or Harper.

By not reining him in, the Spurs are enabling his commandeering.

 

[spursistan]

Yea, F**k Giannis

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998985410400362575

 

[SupremeGuy]

Their first game together was almost losing to the 3 wins pelicans. Lol.

Winning is winning, baby.

 

[SupremeGuy]

Harper and Castle have the potential to become the best back court in the league eventually, but obviously their shooting needs to improve and Castle needs to accept that he needs to be the secondary ball handler, whether he's playing with Fox or Harper.

By not reining him in, the Spurs are enabling his commandeering.

Yeah Point Castle seems to have really made him elevate his play.

I was already a big fan of his. I've mentioned it a few times that I think Castle has more dog in him than Wemby.

 

[DAF86]

View attachment 61
Smartphone copy paste test…

The Slash Brothers.