By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-07-17 18:30:25
随着日历翻到七月中旬，圣安东尼奥马刺队的阵容已基本确定。前锋托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris) 是最重要的引援，而替补后卫乔丹·麦克劳克林 (Jordan McLaughlin) 的续约则确保了马刺将保留上赛季的整个后场阵容。
这其中就包括达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)，这位28岁的全明星后卫在五场NBA总决赛中输给纽约尼克斯队的比赛中表现挣扎，而他即将开始执行一份四年约2.22亿美元的顶薪续约合同。鉴于迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 在新秀赛季展现出的激动人心的闪光点，以及二年级生斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 作为进攻核心的崛起，关于福克斯在马刺的未来出现了一些警示。
但在拉斯维加斯的NBA夏季联赛上，经过一段时间的沉淀，从NBA总决赛的紧张氛围中缓过来后，多位球队和联盟消息人士表示，马刺仍然将福克斯视为球队未来的关键组成部分。这些消息人士要求匿名，因为他们未获授权讨论人事问题。他们表示，自从总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 在六月下旬公开力挺福克斯以来，马刺的看法一直没有改变。
“我们对达龙、对他作为一名球员的实力、他为球队所做的一切以及他对这支球队的意义有着绝对的信心，”莱特在6月24日说道。“而且这一点没有丝毫动摇。”
福克斯成了马刺对阵尼克斯系列赛中表现挣扎的典型代表。在第四场比赛最后时刻，马刺领先一分且进攻时间已经走完的情况下，他选择上篮却惨遭封盖的决定，成为了这届充满失误的总决赛中马刺最标志性的败笔。他在该系列赛中场均仅得到12.8分，投篮命中率34.3%，三分命中率25%。
马刺方面淡化了福克斯在季后赛中的挣扎表现，将其归因于带着脚踝伤病出战，并认为他真正的问题在于无法将大量良好的投篮机会转化为得分。在对阵明尼苏达森林狼队的第二轮系列赛中遭遇脚踝扭伤后，福克斯缺席了西部决赛对阵俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的前两场比赛，随后在第三场带伤复出。尽管忍受着疼痛，他仍能相当自如地移动，但他的投篮陷入了巨大的困境。
据这些消息源称，他们也认识到，福克斯目前手握的合同让他无法被交易，通过下赛季出色的季后赛表现来重塑他的价值，对于必然到来的后场接班计划至关重要。卡斯尔已经锁定了一个首发位置，尽管这三名后卫偶尔会一起在关键时刻终结比赛，但马刺不太可能让他们全部首发出场，除非其中一人能成为稳定的投手。
因此，尽管哈珀上赛季已经展现出足够的闪光点，最终会成为一名首发球员，但这在下赛季可能不会发生，除非福克斯愿意接受替补角色。
那么哈珀的下一步是什么？
马刺对这位年轻后卫仍然寄予厚望。许多球探、教练和管理层高管都被他在NBA总决赛这个最大舞台上，作为一名20岁球员所展现出的禁区终结、一线领防和整体沉着冷静所震撼。这些消息人士要求匿名，因为他们未获授权讨论其他球队的球员，他们表示哈珀在总决赛中证明了自己正走在超级巨星的轨道上。
尽管福克斯在季后赛尾声阶段表现极其挣扎，但在持续阅读比赛节奏、组织进攻以在第一次战术配合之外创造良好投篮机会的能力上，他仍然比卡斯尔和哈珀有着显著优势。在两位年轻后卫还在培养这些技能时，这些能力让福克斯对球队至关重要。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 放弃了签下超级顶薪合同的机会，部分原因是为了让马刺在几年后哈珀新秀合同到期时能更容易地续约他，这无疑树立了一个标杆，即牺牲是整个球队阵容中应有的期望。这也是了解哈珀想法的人士认为他下赛季可能不得不承担第六人角色的部分原因，这些人士要求匿名以描述球队动态。
凯尔登·约翰逊的情况如何？
上赛季当哈珀被问及成为第六人的事情时，他告诉The Athletic，他认为凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 才是第六人，而他自己只是替补球员中的一员。那么，对于这位赢得2026年年度最佳第六人奖项的约翰逊来说，接下来会发生什么呢？
尽管26岁的约翰逊今年夏天有资格续约，但来自联盟各队的球探和管理层人员对他能否获得续约合同表示怀疑。他即将进入四年合同的最后一年，下赛季薪资为1800万美元。
约翰逊仍然被尊为更衣室领袖和活力的引擎，但随着哈里斯的加盟和朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 的续约，球队在侧翼位置的竞争比以往任何时候都更加激烈。约翰逊在季后赛中也表现挣扎；他的投篮受到了影响，而他那种直冲篮下的进攻风格在对手强大的前场深度面前并不奏效。
关于杰登·昆坦斯膝盖的最新情况
球队官方宣布，昆坦斯 (Jayden Quaintance)，这位马刺在六月选秀中选中的两名首轮秀中的第一位，本周对他的右膝进行了手术。
昆坦斯在选秀之夜的首次新闻发布会上曾表示，在上赛季仅为肯塔基大学出战四场比赛后，他的半月板需要一次后续手术。他和马刺队都没有提供关于他恢复时间表的任何进一步细节，也没有明确说明他的手术是部分半月板切除术还是更重大的膝盖手术。
联盟消息人士告诉The Athletic，在选秀前评估过昆坦斯的多支球队都预计他需要接受一次可能让他缺席新秀赛季大部分时间的手术。这些消息人士要求匿名，因为他们未获授权讨论其他球队的球员，他们表示，正是由于这种可能性，他们将昆坦斯排在了首轮末段。
然而，其中一位消息人士称，尽管昆坦斯无法完全伸展他受伤的右腿，但他在个人训练中看起来非常出色。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：What I'm hearing about De'Aaron Fox's Spurs future, Keldon Johnson's status and more
What I’m hearing about De’Aaron Fox’s Spurs future, Keldon Johnson’s status and more
As the calendar turns to mid-July, the San Antonio Spurs’ roster is nearly set. Forward Tobias Harris is the most significant addition, while the re-signing of reserve guard Jordan McLaughlin ensures the Spurs will retain their entire backcourt from last season.
That includes De’Aaron Fox, the 28-year-old All-Star guard who struggled in the five-game NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks and is set to begin a four-year maximum extension for approximately $222 million. In light of Dylan Harper’s exciting flashes in his rookie season and second-year man Stephon Castle’s ascension as an offensive hub, there were some flags raised about Fox’s future in San Antonio.
But at the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas, with a little more time to decompress from the tension of the NBA Finals, multiple team and league sources said the Spurs still see Fox as a critical part of the team’s future. Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel matters, said the Spurs’ view hasn’t changed since general manager Brian Wright publicly went to bat for Fox in late June.
“We have the ultimate faith in De’Aaron and who he is as a player, what he’s been for us and what he means to this team,” Wright said on June 24. “And there’s no wavering in that at all.”
Fox became the poster child for the Spurs’ struggles against the Knicks. His decision to go for the layup and get blocked at the end of Game 4, when San Antonio led by one point with the shot clock off, stood out as the defining blunder of a finals full of them for the Spurs. He averaged just 12.8 points per game in the series while shooting 34.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3.
The Spurs have downplayed Fox’s playoff struggles as a product of playing through an ankle injury and maintain that his real issue was his inability to convert a lot of good looks. After suffering an ankle sprain in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Fox missed the first two games of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder before returning in Game 3 to play through the injury. While he was able to move fairly well despite the pain, his shooting struggled mightily.
There is also an understanding, according to those sources, that Fox is not tradeable on his contract at the moment, and rehabbing his value with a good playoff performance next season will be crucial to an inevitable backcourt succession plan. Castle is locked in as a starter, and though the three guards closed games together on occasion, it’s unlikely the Spurs would start all of them unless one of them becomes a knockdown shooter.
So while Harper showed enough flashes last season to eventually become a starter, it probably won’t happen next season unless Fox is willing to come off the bench.
So what’s next for Harper?
The Spurs still have high hopes for their young guard. Many scouts, coaches and front office executives were blown away by his paint finishing, point-of-attack defense and overall composure as a 20-year-old on the biggest stage in the NBA Finals. Those sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss players on another team, said Harper proved in the finals that he is on a superstar track.
Though Fox struggled mightily to finish the postseason, he still has a significant advantage over Castle and Harper in his ability to consistently read the tempo of the game and organize the offense to create good looks beyond the first action. Those skills make Fox vital to the team as the two younger guards build those skills.
The fact that Victor Wembanyama passed up the chance to receive a supermax contract, in part to make it easier for the Spurs to pay Harper when his rookie contract expires in a few years, certainly helped set the standard that sacrifice is expected across the roster. It’s part of why people familiar with Harper’s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe team dynamics, acknowledge that he could have to take on a sixth-man role next season.
What about Keldon Johnson?
When Harper was asked about being a sixth man last season, he told The Athletic that he saw Keldon Johnson as the sixth man and that he was just one of the bench players. So what’s next for Johnson, who won the 2026 Sixth Man of the Year award?
While Johnson, 26, is eligible for an extension this summer, scouts and front office personnel from around the league expressed doubt that he will receive one. He is entering the final year of a four-year deal and will make $18 million next season.
Johnson is still revered as a locker room leader and effort engine, but the team has more competition at the wing than ever with Harris’ addition and Julian Champagnie’s extension. Johnson also struggled in the postseason; his shooting took a hit and his barreling-to-the-rim driving style didn’t work against the tremendous frontcourt depth the Spurs faced.
An update on Jayden Quaintance’s knee
Quaintance, the first of two first-round picks for the Spurs in June’s draft, underwent surgery on his right knee this week, the team announced.
Quaintance said in his first news conference on draft night that he needed a follow-up surgery on his meniscus after playing in just four games for Kentucky last season. He and the Spurs did not provide any further details on his timetable or any clarification on whether his surgery would be a partial meniscectomy or a more significant procedure on the knee.
Multiple teams that evaluated Quaintance before the draft anticipated he would need a surgery that could hold him out for most of his rookie season, league sources told The Athletic. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss players on other teams, said they ranked Quaintance at the bottom of the first round because of that possibility.
However, one of those sources said Quaintance looked fantastic in his 1-on-0 workout, even if he could not fully extend his injured right leg.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic
