Tobias Harris won’t be ready for the start of the Spurs’ season with a calf strain

Tobias Harris will miss the start of the San Antonio Spurs‘ regular season. Coach Mitch Johnson said Monday that the forward’s strained left calf will not be ready in time, taking the team’s biggest summer signing off the floor for Tuesday’s opener against Oklahoma City.

Harris had been listed as questionable for most of the past two weeks, and Johnson described his condition as improving over the weekend. Matt Guzman of SI.com was among those who reported Monday’s ruling. Johnson did not give a return date.

A summer signing still waiting to debut

Harris strained the calf during training camp and sat out the Silver and Black scrimmage and all of San Antonio’s preseason games. Johnson said from the start that the team would not rush the 34-year-old back. The Spurs signed him to a two-year, $31 million contract in July to compete for the starting power forward job next to Victor Wembanyama.

Last season Harris averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 63 games, shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three. Those numbers describe the steady, low-mistake scoring forward San Antonio was paying for, and a rotation built to contend is now without him to open the year.

What it means for the rotation

The Spurs already have their answer. With Harris out, Johnson started Dylan Harper alongside De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle in the preseason, and he has said he plans to open the season with the same group. That three-guard look gives more early minutes to Keldon Johnson, who said he dropped 15 to 20 pounds this summer, and to the reserve forwards behind him.

When Harris returns, his likeliest first role is off the bench rather than an immediate push into the starting five. Follow his status on the WhyNBA injury report.

What comes next

San Antonio hosts the Thunder on Tuesday, October 20, at 9:30 p.m. ET, a rematch of last spring’s Western Conference finals. Follow the game in the Thunder vs. Spurs Game Center. The Spurs then return home against Houston before road trips to Dallas and Utah.