Micah Parsons put the Spurs' NBA Finals loss on one coaching choice, and the Dylan Harper debate is not going away quietly.
San Antonio lost the title in five games after repeatedly building leads it could not protect.
The hardest question now is whether Mitch Johnson trusted the wrong guard for too long.
Parsons blamed Johnson's rotation call after the Knicks closed the series with a 94-90 Game 5 win in San Antonio.
"Sometimes you gotta make hard decision as a coach! Them not handing Harper the keys for this playoff just cost them a championship!"
The frustration is easy to understand. Harper came off the bench in Game 5 and gave San Antonio 25 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes, while De'Aaron Fox finished with seven points, no rebounds and five assists on 3-of-15 shooting.
That was not an isolated contrast. Harper averaged 18.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the Finals, shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 76.2 percent at the line.
Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
Fox averaged 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists, with 2.6 turnovers, while shooting 24-of-70 from the field, 7-of-28 from three and 9-of-10 at the line. He also had the late Game 4 mistake that helped New York complete the largest comeback in Finals history.
Johnson never fully moved off Fox, and that loyalty now looks expensive. The veteran still has value, but his Finals made the Harper question impossible to park for another season.
Fox is entering the final year of his old deal at $37.1 million before a four-year, $221.76 million extension begins. That extension is projected at $49.5 million, $53.46 million, $57.42 million and $61.38 million through 2029-30.
Harper is on a very different track. His rookie deal is worth $56.14 million over four years, with $25.36 million guaranteed, team options in years three and four and restricted free agency in 2029.
That is the real roster problem. Harper is younger, cheaper and looked more comfortable next to Victor Wembanyama when the Finals tightened.
The Spurs do not have to trade Fox tomorrow, but they do need to decide who controls the offense. Based on the Finals alone, it is easy to see why the franchise would prefer the guard who was still rising when the veteran was fading.
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