De’Aaron Fox’s future with the San Antonio Spurs could be in jeopardy after his disappointing 2026 NBA Finals performance against the New York Knicks.
However, Brendan Haywood, who won the 2011 championship with the Dallas Mavericks, believes the blame for San Antonio’s Finals letdown should not be limited to Fox alone but should also extend to Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson’s rotations.
Brendan Haywood Criticizes Mitch Johnson’s Decision To Start Struggling De’Aaron Fox Over Dylan Harper
On Sunday, Haywood expressed frustration on “UnitedWeCast” over Johnson’s failure to recognize that rookie guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, had emerged as one of the Spurs’ most reliable offensive players in the Finals.
The former NBA center suggested that Johnson’s insistence on leaning on Fox in big moments could come back to haunt him.
“You scared to play Harper over Fox,” Haywood said. “That’s how you lose the locker room. That’s how you slowly but surely lose the locker room.”
Haywood acknowledged that completely benching Fox was unrealistic, but maintained that Johnson should have made Harper a bigger offensive focal point early on.
“There was a time in this series where he wasn’t supposed to bench Fox, but he was supposed to flip that usage to where Harper got more usage, even when those two were on the court together,” Haywood explained. “Mitch didn’t have the stones to do it, and the Spurs are paying the price.”
Ric bucher and Brendan Haywood believe that San Antonio spurs coach mitch johnson has lost the locker room and upper management trust because he was scared to make the adjustment of benching de’aaron fox for dylan harper on these series against the New York Knicks pic.twitter.com/DeuVUg1twA
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@Thechat101) June 14, 2026
While Fox struggled in the Finals, Harper looked comfortable on basketball’s biggest stage. The rookie averaged 18.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across the five-game series while shooting 49.3% from the field.
Harper scored at least 15 points in four of his five Finals appearances. The 20-year-old also became the youngest player in Finals history to record a 20-point game, scoring 21 points in Game 4 followed by a team-high 25 points in Game 5.
On the other hand, Fox’s numbers were bleak. The two-time All-Star averaged just 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists while shooting 34.3% from the field and 25.0% from 3-point range.
He scored fewer than 20 points in four of the five contests and ended the Finals with a 7-point outing on 3-for-15 shooting in the Spurs’ Game 5 defeat.
Following the Finals, Spurs wing Devin Vassell revealed that Harper had also grown frustrated with how Johnson utilized him.
“He was upset with playing time and different roles that he was in,” Vassell said. “But when we needed him most, he stepped up, and we have a star in the making.”
Fox’s lucrative four-year, $221.8 million contract extension is set to kick in. The deal will pay him nearly $50 million next season and more than $60 million annually by the 2029-30 campaign, making it difficult to reduce his playing time.
Whether that means Fox’s future lies elsewhere or simply that Harper will receive a larger role alongside him next season remains to be seen.
