Spurs Go Full Chaos Mode With Three-Guard Starting Lineup Around Wembanyama

Mitch Johnson is officially rolling out the three-guard experiment for the San Antonio Spurs season opener on Tuesday. According to Underdog NBA, Dylan Harper is getting the starting nod alongside De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and Victor Wembanyama.

Starting three point guards and a 7-foot-4 alien sounds less like a cohesive basketball strategy and more like a lineup you accidentally auto-generate in a video game when you forget to set your rotation.

"Mitch Johnson previously noted that fans would read into this lineup no matter how he answered questions about it."

Fox is coming off a season where he put up 18.6 points and 6.2 assists across 72 games for San Antonio. Now he is sharing the backcourt with the 20-year-old Harper, who averaged 11.8 points last year, and Castle. Throw in Vassell on the wing, and the Spurs are basically daring opponents to try and keep up with a track meet.

For anyone looking at player props or game totals, this starting five is a massive green light for pace. You do not put Fox, Harper, and Castle on the floor together to run slow, methodical half-court sets. The over on transition points might hit before the arena finishes selling its first round of beers.

Johnson previously joked that fans would read into this lineup no matter what he said, and he was absolutely right. San Antonio is trying to figure out how to maximize Wembanyama's window, and surrounding him with three primary ball-handlers is certainly a choice. If it works, it is visionary. If it fails, the half-court spacing will look like a rush-hour traffic jam.

We will see exactly how this chaotic blueprint translates to real basketball when the Spurs host the Sacramento Kings. Fox gets to test this new track-meet offense against his old squad right out of the gate, which is exactly the kind of early-season drama we deserve.