By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-06-12 11:44:03
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2025年5月14日，星期三，迪伦·哈珀在芝加哥举行的2025年NBA选秀联合试训中接受媒体采访。（美联社图片/南永许）
诚然，马刺队期望全明星后卫 达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 能在秋季训练营开启时保持健康、充满饥饿感，并且——或许——身价暴涨2.29亿美元。
同样，马刺队后场还拥有一个冉冉升起的新星，他就是 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) ，NBA的卫冕最佳新秀。
那么，如果这些既有事实会阻止俱乐部通过在今年的NBA选秀中用榜眼签选中罗格斯大学的天才球员 迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 来进一步充实他们的后卫阵容呢？
执教哈珀上赛季的教练表示，那将是一个错误。
“糟糕的决定，”罗格斯大学主教练 史蒂夫·皮基尔 (Steve Pikiell) 本周表示，“他是一个非常、非常特别的球员。”
有迹象表明，马刺队高层同意皮基尔的观点。
哈珀被普遍认为是6月25日选秀大会上第二位被叫到名字的球员，紧随达拉斯独行侠用状元签选中杜克大学球星 库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg) 之后，后者是本届选秀公认的状元大热门。
在其他情况下，这个选秀权对马刺队来说将是一个不假思索的选择。即便考虑到哈珀可能如何融入马刺队后卫线人才济济的阵容，这个选择或许依然成立。
除非发生某种交易，否则马刺队将拥有抢先得到哈珀这位人才的优先权。
“他是一名精英球员，”皮基尔说，“他天生就是打篮球的料。”
皮基尔此话并非夸张。
19岁的哈珀是五届NBA总冠军得主 罗恩·哈珀 (Ron Harper) 的儿子。他的母亲玛丽亚也是一位篮球狂热者。她曾在新奥尔良大学打过大学篮球，现在是哈珀的母校 唐博斯科预科学校 (Don Bosco Prep) 的助理教练，该校位于新泽西州。
“身高6英尺6英寸，体重220磅的哈珀，”皮基尔说，“身体素质出众，就像一辆坦克。”
哈珀真正的天赋在于，他能灵活地驾驭着那卡车般强壮的身躯，无论有没有挡拆，都能从左右两侧突破到篮下，利用吉诺比利般精妙的技巧和步法完成篮下终结。一次又一次。
在罗格斯大学唯一的大学赛季中，哈珀场均贡献19.4分，在内线的投篮命中率接近70%。
“他是一名左撇子，但他左右手都能进攻，”皮基尔说，“他擅长在封盖者面前完成终结。”
哈珀是本届选秀中预计进入前五顺位的两名罗格斯大学新生之一，尽管这支天赋异禀的“猩红骑士”队未能获得NCAA锦标赛资格。身高6英尺8英寸的罗格斯大学前锋 埃斯·贝利 (Ace Bailey) 则能够解决马刺队对前场高度的需求。
贝利是一名投篮手感柔和的球员，拥有多种得分手段，他为“猩红骑士”队场均贡献17.9分。
也许不足为奇，在哈珀因高位踝关节扭伤缺席一月大部分比赛期间，贝利表现出色，在此期间三次砍下30+。
贝利仍需打磨，被认为是一个比哈珀更长期的培养项目，而哈珀则被誉为一名即插即用的NBA轮换球员，拥有几乎无限的潜力。
“他们都是杰出的新秀，未来都会成为非常、非常出色的职业球员，”皮基尔说，“无论他们去哪里。”
马刺队似乎已经锁定了哈珀，选秀分析师预测他将成长为全NBA级别的天赋球员。哈珀在圣安东尼奥的适应性问题确实存在。这也是其他球队打电话给马刺队询问交易得到榜眼签可能性的原因之一。
马刺队的后场阵容拥挤，即便考虑到现任首发控卫 克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 预计的离队。他们需要三分投射和前场深度，而哈珀在这两方面都无法立即带来显著提升。
在福克斯和卡斯尔身上，马刺队已经拥有了两名持球型后卫，他们最擅长的都是冲击内线，为自己或队友创造进攻机会。鉴于后场人才的过剩，哈珀可能会被视为多余。
皮基尔表示，尽管哈珀上赛季在罗格斯大学因需要而大量持球，但他相信哈珀在任何阵容搭配中都能胜任有球或无球的角色。皮基尔还说，哈珀在NBA能打三个位置，在某些情况下甚至能防守四个位置。
在哈珀的大学教练看来，他在圣安东尼奥的适应性问题被夸大了，而一支放弃哈珀的球队将自担风险。
“天才后卫永远不嫌多，”皮基尔说，“而他就是最顶级的球员之一。”
在不到两周的时间里，马刺队有望将这一理论付诸实践。
Dylan Harper participates in the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dylan Harper talks to media at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dylan Harper talks to media at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dylan Harper participates at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Khaman Maluach, from rear left, and Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson participate in the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
点击查看原文：Spurs skipping Dylan Harper in draft would be mistake, coach says
Spurs skipping Dylan Harper in draft would be mistake, coach says
Dylan Harper talks to media at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
It is true the Spurs are expecting All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox to arrive at fall training camp healthy, hungry and — possibly — $229 million richer.
It is likewise true the Spurs also boast in their backcourt an up-and-coming star in Stephon Castle, the NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year.
And if that combination of facts were to preclude the club from adding to their guard room riches by selecting Rutgers phenom Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick in this month’s NBA Draft?
That would be a mistake, says the man who coached Harper last season.
“Bad decision,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said this week. “He’s a special, special player.”
There are signs members of the Spurs brass agree with Pikiell.
Harper is widely expected to be the second name off the board June 25, right after the Dallas Mavericks spend the No. 1 pick on Duke star Cooper Flagg, the draft’s consensus top prospect.
Under other circumstances, the pick would be a no-brainer for the Spurs. It possibly still is, despite understandable concerns about how Harper might fit on the Spurs’ guard-heavy roster.
Barring a trade of some sort, the Spurs will get first dibs on Harper’s spoils.
“He’s an elite player,” Pikiell said. “He was born to play basketball.”
Pikiell means that in a literal sense.
Harper, 19, is the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper. His mother, Maria, is as much of a hoop head. She played collegiately at New Orleans and is an assistant coach at Harper’s alma mater, Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey.
At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Harper is “built like a tank,” Pikiell said.
Harper’s true gift lies in nimbly maneuvering that Mack-truck physique to get to the rim in either direction, with or without ball screens, using Ginobili-esque craftiness and footwork to finish at the basket. Over and over again.
Harper averaged 19.4 points in his lone college season at Rutgers, converting nearly 70% of his shots in the paint.
“He’s a lefty, but he can go both ways,” Pikiell said. “He has a knack for finishing around shot-blockers.”
Harper is one of two Rutgers freshmen slated to go in the top five of this year’s draft, despite the fact the prospect-laden Scarlet Knights failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. At 6-foot-8, Rutgers forward Ace Bailey would address the Spurs’ need for added size in the frontcourt.
A smooth shot-maker boasting an array of ways to score, Bailey averaged 17.9 points for the Scarlet Knights.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Bailey was at his best when Harper was out for much of January with a high-ankle sprain, posting three 30-point games in that span.
Still a bit under-polished, Bailey is considered a longer-range project than Harper, who is billed as a ready-made NBA rotation player with almost unlimited upside.
“They are both exceptional prospects and will be really, really great pros,” Pikiell said. “Wherever they go.”
The Spurs appear to have zeroed in on Harper, who draft analysts project to blossom into an All-NBA type talent. The question of Harper’s fit in San Antonio is valid. It is one reason other teams have called the Spurs inquiring about trading for the No. 2 pick.
The Spurs’ backcourt is log-jammed, even with the anticipated departure of incumbent starting point guard Chris Paul. They need 3-point shooting and frontcourt depth, and Harper does not immediately move the needle in either category.
In Fox and Castle, the Spurs already have a pair of ball-dominant guards whose best skill is barreling into the paint and creating offense for themselves or others. Given that glut, Harper could be seen as redundant.
Though Harper was ball-dominant at Rutgers last season by necessity, Pikiell is confident he can play on or off the ball in any sort of lineup configuration. Harper can play three positions in the NBA and could guard four in some cases, Pikiell said.
To Harper’s college coach, the fit issue with San Antonio is overblown and a team that passes on Harper does so at its own peril.
“You can never have too many talented guards,” Pikiell said, “and he’s as good as they come.”
In a little less than two weeks, the Spurs could be poised to put that theory to the test.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News