By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-06-25 10:11:00
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1月25日，在纽约麦迪逊广场花园，罗格斯大学的迪伦·哈珀在对阵密歇根州立大学的比赛上半场控球。
纽约 — 在那些宁静的时刻——尽管近来这样的时刻并不多——迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 曾任由自己憧憬着他即将开启的生活。
他可能会送出的轻松空接传球。他可能会在宽敞空旷的内线畅通无阻地直奔篮筐。以及每晚在维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 这位挑战物理极限的“外星人”身边打球时，那些习以为常的“我简直不敢相信我看到了什么”的时刻。
自马刺队在周三的NBA选秀中获得榜眼签以来，这个念头经常浮现在哈珀的脑海中，这位前罗格斯大学的球星也意识到，这并非他一个人的梦想。
“这绝对是所有人的梦想，”哈珀周二说道。
在他迄今为止篮球生涯中最重要夜晚的前夕，哈珀深知，在圣安东尼奥与文班亚马并肩作战的未来尚未尘埃落定。
但它已经近在眼前，仿佛能闻到胜利的芬芳。
在退出本月的凯文·杜兰特争夺战，并在过去几周拒绝了榜眼签的屡次报价后，马刺队预计将在周三的巴克莱中心做显而易见的事情——叫到哈珀的名字。
NBA选秀专家将这位19岁的哈珀评为本届选秀中公认的第二号新秀，仅次于杜克大学新生库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg)，后者预计将以状元身份被达拉斯独行侠队选中。
哈珀表示，他乐于看到这样的发展。
“这是一个伟大的组织，从上到下都是非常优秀的人，”哈珀说道，他在选秀前曾两次为马刺队试训。“我喜欢他们的一切。”
与此同时，圣安东尼奥早已张开双臂欢迎哈珀。
多亏了Instagram的神奇之处，哈珀已经看到了自己的画像被喷绘在南城一家海鲜餐厅的外墙上。
2025年6月25日，当地艺术家尼克·苏佩绘制的选秀新秀迪伦·哈珀身着圣安东尼奥马刺队球衣的壁画。
哈珀的看法是？
“球迷太疯狂了，”哈珀说道，“现在还没有尘埃落定，但如果这是球迷们想要的，我可不能说不。”
除了榜眼签，马刺队在周三还拥有总第14顺位选秀权——这是2022年将德章泰·穆雷交易到亚特兰大老鹰队所带来的持续“遗产”——以及第二轮第38顺位选秀权，第二轮选秀将于周四结束。
马刺队总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 可以预见地没有透露他的底牌，但很明显，球队将本周视为其正在进行的重建项目中的又一个里程碑时刻。
“球员们必须上场去证明自己，去赢得他们所拥有的一切，但本届选秀前列确实有一些非常有天赋的球员，”莱特说道，“我们对他们可能带来的东西感到兴奋。”
不出意外的话，哈珀有望成为马刺队连续第三位前四顺位选秀，与文班亚马以及同为年度最佳新秀的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 并肩。
哈珀身高6英尺6英寸，身体结实，是一位得分机器，其冲击篮筐并完成终结的能力应该能立即适应NBA。他在罗格斯大学的唯一一个赛季场均得到19.9分，与同样被预测为乐透秀的埃斯·贝利 (Ace Bailey) 搭档。
哈珀并不能解决马刺队最紧迫的两大需求：三分投射以及补强文班亚马身边前场的尺寸。
同样，哈珀在大学时期展现的持球主导型打法，在已经拥有斯蒂芬·卡斯尔和经验丰富的全明星后卫德阿隆·福克斯的阵容中，可能被视为多余。
无论如何，预计马刺队将重注押宝哈珀的顶级潜力。
ESPN选秀分析师杰伊·比拉斯 (Jay Bilas) 表示，他对于哈珀如何适应马刺队拥挤的后场几乎没有顾虑。
“对我来说，适应性没那么重要，”比拉斯说道，“如果我要做些什么（交易），我也不会用榜眼签来做。我会选中迪伦·哈珀。”
ESPN的另一位分析师，前篮网队管理层高管鲍比·马克斯 (Bobby Marks) 区分了NBA选秀和NFL（美式橄榄球大联盟）选秀，他指出篮球运动中位置重叠的空间更大。
“如果圣安东尼奥是一支NFL球队，他们已经有了两名四分卫，你还会再选一个吗？”马克斯说道，“这和我们在这里（NBA）处理事情的方式不同。如果你觉得他是最好的新秀，即使你已经有了德阿隆·福克斯和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔，你仍然会选他。然后你再去想办法解决。”
那些不担心哈珀如何与福克斯和卡斯尔磨合的人中，就包括哈珀本人。
事实上，如果真能实现的话，哈珀期待能与那对天赋异禀的组合联手。
“成为最好的方式就是与最好的球员一起打球，并与最好的球员对抗，”哈珀说道，“你希望与最优秀的球员并肩作战，成为能够融入其中的一员，即使你需要做出牺牲。”
对马刺队而言，周三的真正悬念将从第14顺位选秀开始。
预计在该顺位范围可供选择的新秀包括乔治城大学中锋托马斯·索伯 (Thomas Sorber)、南卡罗来纳大学侧翼科林·默里-博伊尔斯 (Collin Murray-Boyles)、华盛顿州立大学侧翼塞德里克·考沃德 (Cedric Coward) 或法国内线潜力股琼·贝林格 (Joan Beringer)。
马刺队可能会尝试从第14顺位向上交易，以瞄准一位大个子，例如马里兰大学的德里克·奎因 (Derik Queen)、杜克大学的卡曼·马鲁阿奇 (Khaman Maluach) 或备受推崇的法国球员诺亚·埃森格 (Noa Essengue)。
或者，马刺队也可能重复去年的操作，当时他们拥有两个乐透签，并交易了靠后的一个以换取未来的选秀权。
截至目前，唯一几乎确定的是，哈珀和马刺队似乎正朝着彼此的方向一路疾驰。
周二晚，他在纽约入睡，距离将与文班亚马并肩作战的数月梦想变为现实，只剩一晚。
“这是NBA，所以在事情发生之前你永远不会真正知道结果，”哈珀说道，“直到周三晚上8点，一切都还没有尘埃落定，但我抱有很高的期望。”
FILE - Rutgers guard Dylan Harper (2) handles the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)
Dylan Harper talks to media at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Harper is widely expected to be taken No. 2 overall by the Spurs on Wednesday in the 2025 NBA draft. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dylan Harper participates at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Harper is widely expected to be taken No. 2 overall by the Spurs on Wednesday in the 2025 NBA draft. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
West guard Dylan Harper (2) gets ready to dunk the ball during the first half of the boys 2024 McDonald’s All American game at Toyota Center on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Houston.
Rutgers’ Dylan Harper (2) tries to score under pressure from Purdue’s Braden Smith (3) in the first half at Mackey Arena on March 4, 2025, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Harper is widely expected to be taken No. 2 overall by the Spurs on Wednesday in the 2025 NBA draft.
Dylan Harper talks to media at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Harper is widely expected to be taken No. 2 overall by the Spurs on Wednesday in the 2025 NBA draft. (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. Harper is widely expected to be taken No. 2 overall by the Spurs on Wednesday in the 2025 NBA draft. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Dylan Harper’s mural joins the wall of spurs players on Southtown restaurant Rudy’s Seafood ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft tonight.
点击查看原文：Dylan Harper's future with Spurs all but certain in NBA draft
Dylan Harper’s future with Spurs all but certain in NBA draft
Rutgers’ Dylan Harper controls the ball during the first half against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 25, 2025, in New York.
NEW YORK — In the quiet moments — not that there have been many lately — Dylan Harper has allowed himself to daydream about what his life might soon be like.
The easy lob passes he might throw. The wide-open, spaced-out paint he might traverse unfettered en route to the basket. The nightly “I can’t believe what I just saw” moments that become routine when playing alongside the physics-defying extraterrestrial that is Victor Wembanyama.
It is a thought Harper has entertained often in the month since the Spurs obtained the No. 2 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft, a fantasy the former Rutgers star realizes does not belong only to him.
“That’s definitely a dream of everyone’s,” Harper said Tuesday.
On the eve of the biggest night of his basketball life so far, Harper knows a future next to Wembanyama in San Antonio is not yet set in stone.
But it is close enough to taste the breakfast tacos.
Having bowed out of this month’s Kevin Durant chase and rebuffed offer after offer for the No. 2 pick over the past few weeks, the Spurs are expected to do the obvious thing and call Harper’s name Wednesday at the Barclays Center.
NBA draft experts rate the 19-year-old Harper as the clear-cut second-best prospect in this year’s field behind Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, who is expected to land with Dallas first overall.
It is a turn of events Harper says he would welcome.
“It is a great organization, great people up and down, top to bottom,” said Harper, who worked out twice with the Spurs during the pre-draft process. “I love everything about them.”
San Antonio, meanwhile, is already embracing Harper.
Thanks to the wonders of Instagram, Harper has seen the mural of his likeness that has been splashed across the outer wall of a Southtown seafood restaurant.
A mural painted by local artist Nick Soupe of draft prospect Dylan Harper in San Antonio Spurs uniform on June 25, 2025.
Harper’s takeaway?
“Fans is crazy,” Harper said. “Nothing is set in stone yet, but if that’s what the fans want, I can’t be the one to say no.”
In addition to the No. 2 pick, the Spurs enter Wednesday with 14th overall selection — continued spoils from the 2022 trade of Dejounte Murray to Atlanta — and the 38th pick in the second round, which concludes Thursday.
Spurs general manager Brian Wright predictably isn’t tipping his hand, but it is clear the team views this week as another high-water moment in its ongoing rebuilding project.
“Guys got to go out there and prove it and earn everything they get, but there’s some really talented players at the top of the draft,” Wright said. “We’re excited about what they may bring.”
Barring something unforeseen, Harper stands to become the Spurs’ third consecutive top-four selection, joining Wembanyama and fellow Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.
A sturdy, 6-foot-6 scoring machine whose ability to get to and finish at the rim should translate immediately to the NBA, Harper averaged 19.9 points in his lone season at Rutgers while tag-teaming with fellow projected lottery pick Ace Bailey.
Harper does not address either of the Spurs’ two most pressing needs: Three-point shooting and size to bolster the frontcourt around Wembanyama.
Likewise, the ball-dominant game Harper displayed in college could be viewed as superfluous on a roster that already includes Castle and veteran All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox.
Expect the Spurs to place a major bet on Harper’s elite upside anyhow.
ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas said he had little concern with how Harper might fit in the Spurs’ crowded backcourt.
“For me, the fit isn’t as important,” Bilas said. “If I were going to do something (trade-wise), I wouldn’t do it with that (No. 2 pick). I would take Dylan Harper.”
Fellow ESPN analyst Bobby Marks, a former front office executive with the Nets, drew a distinction between the NBA and NFL drafts, noting there is more room for positional overlap in basketball.
“If San Antonio was an NFL team and they already had two quarterbacks, would you draft a third?” Marks said. “That’s different than how we go about things here (in the NBA). If you feel like he’s the best prospect, and you already have De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, you still do it. And then you go figure it out.”
Among those unbothered about how Harper might gel with Fox and Castle is Harper himself.
In fact, Harper is looking forward to teaming up with that talented duo, should it happen.
“The way to be the best is to play with the best and play against the best,” Harper said. “You want to play with the best players all around and be one the guys who can fit in, even if you have to sacrifice.”
For the Spurs, the real questions on Wednesday begin at pick No. 14.
Prospects projected to be available in that range include Georgetown center Thomas Sorber, South Carolina wing Collin Murray-Boyles, Washington State wing Cedric Coward or French big man project Joan Beringer.
The Spurs could attempt to move up from the 14th spot to target a big man like Maryland’s Derik Queen, Duke’s Khaman Maluach or Noa Essengue, a highly regarded Frenchman.
Or the Spurs could repeat what they did last year when gifted with a pair of lottery picks and trade the later one for future considerations.
The only thing close to certain, for now, is that Harper and the Spurs appear on a collision course with each other.
He went to bed Tuesday night in New York one sleep away from making his months-long dream of playing with Wembanyama a reality.
“It’s the NBA, so you never really know until it happens,” Harper said. “Ain’t nothing set in stone until (Wednesday) at 8 o’clock, but I’ve got high hopes.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News