San Antonio Spurs add Dylan Harper at No. 2 to join Wembanyama, Fox, Castle on youthful roster

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Dylan Harper is eager to fit in as seamlessly with the San Antonio Spurs as he has with their fans, who have already embraced the Rutgers point guard before he has suited up for a practice.

San Antonio selected Harper with the second pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night, adding even more youth to a promising roster led by All-Stars Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. San Antonio also took Carter Bryant, a 6-foot-7 wing from Arizona, with the 14th selection.

Spurs fans were looking forward to Harper, whose image was on a mural unveiled this week by the same Rudy’s Seafood restaurant that painted Wembanyama’s image months before the Spurs were awarded the No. 1 pick in 2023.

“It’s just very surreal,” said Harper, who saw the painting on Instagram. He also received a raucous reception from a few thousand fans who watched the draft on a big screen at the Spurs practice facility.

The enthusiasm is understandable considering San Antonio has missed the playoffs for five straight seasons immediately following a stellar run of five NBA titles during 22 straight postseason appearances.

Harper and Carter join a team that also includes rookie of the year Stephon Castle and veterans in Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson. Wembanyama and Castle won back-to-back rookie of the year honors for San Antonio.

In Harper, the Spurs believe they have another rookie who can have an immediate impact.

“When you play with a bunch of great players, it just brings the best out of you,” Harper said. “They’ve got a great core over there. I’m just ready to get in there and make an impact any way I can with those guys.”

Harper was regarded as the second-best prospect available behind Duke’s Cooper Flagg, who was selected first by the Dallas Mavericks.

The son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Harper averaged 19.4, 4.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals in his lone season at Rutgers.

Harper joins a backcourt that already has point guards in Fox and Castle, but the Spurs had no hesitation selecting the 6-foot-6 guard.

Harper said he can easily fit his game into a lineup alongside Fox and Castle in what has become something of a positionless league. He was also eager to get on the court with the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama, who missed the final 30 games of the season with a blood clot in his right shoulder.

″All the guys, but I think Stephon Castle is a big one, obviously besides Wemby,” Harper said. “Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox. When you play with such good players, it just elevates your game. When you’ve got that many ball handlers on the court, you can really space the court out. It makes the game so much easier for everyone else. Just having the opportunity to be on the floor with all of them is great.”

Bryant averaged 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds and shot 37% on 3-pointers in his lone season with Arizona. San Antonio acquired the 14th selection as part of a 2022 trade with Atlanta that sent Dejounte Murray to the Hawks.

The Spurs also held the 38th selection in the second round.

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Dylan Harper poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected second by the San Antonio Spurs In the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dylan Harper hugs supporters after being selected second by the San Antonio Spurs In the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dylan Harper greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected second by the San Antonio Spurs In the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dylan Harper reacts after being selected second by the San Antonio Spurs In the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)