Guards De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper did not start the Spurs Silver & Black scrimmage on Sunday night on the same team, but that didn’t stop them from eventually playing together.
The three took the court on the same team after Castle was “traded” in the midst of the event from the Black team to the Silver squad.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson plans on using the collection of speedy, rim-attacking players in a three-guard lineup this season. Asked how they looked playing together in the scrimmage, Johnson said, “I just like that they got more reps. We have so many different guys, so many combinations of players that can play together. So we just have to get to it and get hours of on-the-job training and continue to see and feel what works and compliments each other and how we can best help them.
“But they’re pretty talented and they’re good guys, so I don’t have too much concern.”
When asked how he “balances” playing time for such a loaded, deep roster, Johnson said he likes how competitive camp has been as players jockey for bigger roles or playing time.
“Their job is to do what’s asked of them,” he said. “And in that there is competitiveness and there (are) aspirations to guard the guys, take the shots, play the minutes, and that’s OK, that’s what I want. And so the balance is, I’m the balance. And that doesn’t mean that it’s all equal. It does mean that it will all be fair. And I hope they take that frustration at times and anger and channel it in the right way. And that means if someone plays less minutes, then that means they should have more energy to take it out on the court.”