I believe in the jumper. I had absolutely zero belief in Sochan’s coming out of college and our staff already have really improved it in two years, I can only imagine what they will do with Castle
If he can get up to 35-36% 3 that will really open up his game and unlock him as a creator
Right there with you. Our staff has done well with shot development so far. Castle also has good FT% and was a much more willing shooter in HS, so I think the shot will be just fine. If he gets up to 36% he’s gonna be really good, and if he develops into a 6’6 2 way creating guard? That’ll be insanely valuable
I'm a UConn fan who watched 90% of games this year — I believe in the jumper too. It was UGLY after he came back from the leg injury and it took him a good chunk of the season to get the feel for it and confidence in it back. But I disagree with the hesitance comment in OP — look at the Alabama game: they showed zero respect for his shot, he took four early threes, making two. He's not scared to miss
I'm most excited for inverted P&Rs with Wemby. Tre Jones got a ton of buckets from those, and Castle should be even better. The short roll is also one of the best ways to leverage Castle's quick decision-making.
Did you watch Castle’s interviews? He kept bringing up how he’s looking forward to screening for Wemby, dude is itching for those inverted P&Rs lmao. I can’t wait
Do any of you ballers ever wishfully imagine yourself to be the Spurs point guard that partner with Wemby? And imagine what passes you are going to make? That you would make a perfect pass to Wemby and he scored the winning bucket in game 7 of finals? Despite how fanciful and far-fetched this all sounds?
Yeah, if we do that, I bet Castle would do that too. Of course he has thought about those rolls, and probably ten more moves that he doesn't have time to share.
I mean we kind of worship Wemby, but more like a spectacle from afar. We don't have the intimate knowledge of basketball to truly appreciate the greatness of him. We don't live basketball.
Castle does, and once he's in the draft he know he actually has a chance to play with Wemby. I mean he's not a fanboy or something but he just know how great Wemby is, and how unreal it would be if he can grow and play alongside Wemby. He could actually be the next Pippen. I am sure all rookies this class, Castle included, would have fascinated moves that they can play with Wemby at some point.
I said last year that I would take Wembanyama first overall just for his defense. Different player, but I'd also take Castle at 4 just for his defense.
Then you see everything else. I think he's the best player in this draft right this minute and it's not terribly close. If he gets his shot going he's going to be a beast.
I think he’s a better pick for us than any of the guys taken above him would’ve been. His defense is legit special, and like you said, if the shot develops, he has a ton of upside
I'm so sick of hearing "BUT HES NOT A POINT GUARD!"
I'm convinced anyone who thinks Castle doesn't have the court vision or IQ to be a point guard, clearly never watched him in college. He immediately is gonna be our second or third smartest player on our team.
He was playing behind a 5th year senior and a first team all-American on the best college basketball team in the country. His talents certainly exceed the role he was given at UConn. Im confident he’ll pick up the offense quickly and the fan base will fall in love with him.
He also lead UConn in scoring in the Final Four. Newton beat him in one game but he scored the most overall.
So, without a full deep threat, while taking the key POA defensive role, and as a freshman, he carried the scoring load more than any other player.
He’s legit a do everything guy (except outside shooting), he doesn’t give up on plays, he knows when to cut and when to pass, he has solid offensive moves inside the arc that people seem to ignore because everyone hears he can’t shoot and assume he’s a defense only player.
Anyone who thinks this boy is all defense no offense please watch the highlights. The euro steps and spins he put on display at UConn make you drool
I’m saying man there’s so much to like about him. If he shot just a few percentage points higher, he’d be the #1 pick easy. Pop is going to love him and he makes the team better day 1.
His vision and IQ aren’t the problem. I pointed these out as strengths. Playing point guard in the nba is hard, even for guys who were lead facilitators in college. It’s even harder when you can’t shoot well and you don’t consistently create separation to pressure defenses. Like I said, I very well could be wrong and I can definitely see Castle developing these things, especially since he was a PG in HS and limited at UConn. He has the tools
It’ll be interesting if pop throws him into the fire game #1 sorta like he did with sochan last season. Or if he tries to bring him along slowly. He has the size to start at the 3 instead of champagnie.
Or start him at the 1 but let Basel and wemby take some of the responsibility of running the offense
I believe he can’t be the franchise PG, that said I do not think the transition will be easy, and I think the fan’s expectations of castle running the point are WAY to high. He’s gunna be a great defender this year, elite even. But I think it’s going to take him most of next year to look competent running the offense. I think their will no doubt be shades of Sochan running point last year where casuals start losing faith in him. That said I think In 2-3 years he can absolutely be an elite two way point guard, if his shot developed, and at worst he’s already going to be a top defensive wing in this league.
UConn fan here.
Castle out of high school was known for his court vision. One of the knocks on him as a 5 star was that he was almost too willing of a passer.
At UConn with newton as our lead guard castle played a bit outside of his role, but as a freshman forced his way onto the court.
I believe in his ability to be a lead point guard, he plays at his own pace, and does just about everything right.
The 3 ball started the year HORRIBLY, however he got better once he got a bit more confident, and the form is far from broken.
I think it was Matas buzelis? Who said castle was his favorite high school player in his class because some of the ways he found him with passes.
Thanks for commenting! I really value the insight of UConn fans since they watched him all year. That’s interesting about castle, I didn’t know he was that much of a passer in HS. His vision was evident at UConn though, and like you said, he plays with very good pace. How confident are you in him as a shot creator at the nba level?
Very confident. With the way the nba has changed lately, the ability to play at your own pace is invaluable. Steph is adept at that, he’s very patient, and a really good finisher 10 feet and under.
I think the jimmy butler comps were pretty fair. But Hurley said he sees a lot of jrue holiday in him.
If his shooting improves and he develops as a shot creator the way you think he will he can kinda be a hybrid of both, which is…scary. Both are big ifs but I’m excited to see how the spurs develop him. Even if he becomes a somewhat worse jrue holiday that’s not a bad outcome
Yeah I’m very high on him. Even if he wasn’t at UConn I love his skill set for today’s game.
He posted up smaller guards with ease, and he’s a workhorse. Incredible parents who gave him a work for everything mindset.
His intangibles are VERY encouraging imo. Plays hard, does what he’s asked, committed to doing what it takes to win. Part of the reason I think his shot could come around is because he seems like a very hard worker and is easily coachable.
Another UConn fan here — I don't think his handle or first-step are elite, but he'll be great at attacking close-outs. It's tough to project shot creation just because the offense last year was so structured and there weren't that many times where he was asked to go one-on-one.
Absolutely, please tell every one of your Uconn friends to come here and talk about Castle, and the UConn team for that matter (which would make us understand Castle more). I really hope I can know more about him. Anything. Basketball or non-basketball. We Spurs fan care a lot about our player himself, esp. his character. Really, we badly need your Uconn insights here.
Nice analysis. One of my favorite pre-draft analysis said, paraphrasing, if Castle was a better shooter, he would have been a clear #1 in this draft. Do you agree?
Yep good point. I also found that distribution percentage very encouraging. He can do it well on the right and god-awful on the left. He really does have a good chance to become an excellent, 38% kind of 3-point shooter. Or maybe he can go Kawhi and straight-up turn himself from a non-shooter to an elite 40%+ 3-point shooter.
Damn, that would be absolutely huge for the team. I feel like if he can turn it quickly and get good reps and chemistry with the team, with everyone else on the team improving we may be able to make a push for the playoffs. And I don't feel like I am overly optimistically here
It’s a blessing he didn’t get to play PG in college because otherwise he would have been drafted 1. Trust the GM. We have been following him for years, we got plenty of data of him playing PG in HS
I had not even considered this point but I think you are right. I believed him to be the best player in the draft anyways but you probably nailed it, we are lucky as hell
Appreciate your analysis, it vibes with my lazy watch of highlights. In which his iq really shines. Its only shooting that looks ugly. Very excited but, feel like he should get game time due to his adaptability.
I believe in the shot and think it can be 30-32% year one. Defense alone would’ve won us a few games instead of Tre trying his best to swat at taller PGs. Super exited about him thanks for the write up OP
He shot 27% from 3 in college, no chance he shoots 30-32% from 3 as a rookie in the NBA where it’s even harder to shoot. This is straight up delusion. He could get there eventually, but to expect that while he is a rookie is just absurd.
He shot 31% in high school and about the same in the Olympics. I think you’re being negative. Obviously needs to improve but 30% isn’t absurd. He shit 80% at combine 3 point star drill, he is putting in the work. Dejounte was bad too at shooting, it will take time. I really don’t think it’s that crazy to think he can hover at 30% in first year. Dejounte was 28% in college and was 39% rookie year in 8 minutes per game, not much, regressed to 26% and then 36%-31%-32% and not is a league average shooter at 36%. Again patience is key but I do think you’re being a bit pessimistic
Shooting well in a combine drill is not impressive or indicative of how you shoot in game. Murray’s 1st year 3PT% was so good because he wasn’t taking many attempts. I’m sure Castle could shoot that if he was also getting low minutes like Murray and only taking a few shots a game, but that isn’t the same as being a good shooter. I’m being realistic. Players need time. A 27% college 3PT shooter won’t get regular minutes as a rookie and manage to shoot 30-32% in the NBA, they’ll struggle and develop their shot over the course of years. We all know this.
Sochan shot 24.6% from 3 rookie year and 30.8% year 2. Hell I’ll take Castle improving the same amount and him shooting 33% by the end of his second season
One thing I’m excited about is that he’s a willing screener - imagine the success of Wemby-Jones inverted screens but replace Jones with a stronger finisher in Castle
That will come. We addressed a clear need (perimeter defense) with a great defender who can also create and finish pretty well. All he needs to do is improve his shot and he’s an all-star.
All we had to do was use that 8th pick and we would have had a good draft but we messed up the easiest thing in the world
Brian Wright is the worst GM in the NBA by a lot
Umm trade it away before the draft? For a player?
At some point, one day, some year or some future season - we have to secure players that can play basketball. Our team is ass and we brag about stashing assets in 2031
Smh
Whoever else they considered may have been gone by the time pick 8 came around. The fact that we were only able to secure picks 6-7 years from now kind of shows how low the rest of the league is on this draft too. In 2-3 years we can package those picks either to move up and grab a guy we like or trade for a vet.
Pick - people keep acting like we got “picks” we got one pick
We had a lottery pick and now we have an unknown pick 7 years from now
A swap is not a pick
If the front office thought the draft was that thin they should have gotten a player before the draft instead of hoping someone fell to them and giving a pick away to save money
That’s the thing that bothers me, they did this to save money - not to improve the product on the floor, and our team sucks
We had enough picks yesterday to trade for a star player- we have the same amount of picks
What we don’t have is a competent GM - he’s getting his ass kicked every single year
If there was a trade to make, we could have included this years lottery pick but he can’t get it done
Or how the market operates lol. KD, Bridges, Gobert, DMitch, Siakam - all those dudes required anywhere from 3 to 5 unprotected FRP packages.
The Spurs have 12 unprotected firsts, 2 more lightly protected picks, 4 swaps, plenty of seconds, and young players. The Spurs have set themselves up for a very flexible future.
We had a flexible future yesterday and we couldn’t use it
Not one thing is different - we couldn’t improve ourselves with draft picks and money because our GM is ass
We didn’t get more picks, we pissed away a lottery pick - if you’re betting that Anthony Edwards is going to be worse at basketball in 2030 you’re nuts
are you betting that anthony edwards stays with minnesota that long? id say thats the crazier take
Next, have you been seeing what it takes to land productive nba-ready players today? many many frp. not just one. You are the only person who thinks the spurs took this trade to draft someone in 2030. We just witnessed 5 FRP going to BKN for a glorified role player. thats insane.
Also, we just found 17mil a year to pay zach collins, while many will question the motive there, money is not the concern. you are talking about \~10mil (for lottery player X) for a team that is still struggling to get to the salary floor, let alone aprons, hard cap etc. that math doesnt math
last, who should the spurs have taken in your eyes? id like to hear the prospect we would take in with that pick that would turn this franchise around, cause so far you have thrown out that the 'gm is ass' and its 'payroll related' but yet to shill for an actual player that would move the needle this year or any other year
I don’t think we will use the pick- I think we are too stingy to bring in good players so we will piss it away
We will cry when Wemby goes somewhere that wants to win
We are officially a welfare team
You’re overreacting. We don’t have the same amount of picks, we gained a swap as well. Wright isn’t a perfect GM but saying he “gets his ass kicked every year” is untrue. We’re sitting on the hawks picks because of a smart trade he made. We don’t have to trade for a star this offseason. What if we do, and then a better one becomes available next offseason, and we don’t have the assets anymore? We just need to be patient
A swap is not an extra pick - it’s net zero. We got nothing.
Brian Wright is legitimately the worst NBA GM - no exceptions, this was worse than Primo. The gods handed us a lucky ping pong ball and he is going to find a way to give that away too.
According to Avery Johnson the spurs see Castle as a point guard, like a dejonte Murray type. It makes a lot of sense when you look at it from that angle honestly.
It’s really hard in the modern NBA to build an effective offense with a non-shooting 2 guard.
I’m really skeptical of this pick from a team building perspective. Maybe Castle is a special outlier case due to his work ethic and intangibles, but I am worried.
It’s fair to be skeptical. Being a guard who can’t shoot is a problem in today’s league. This honestly does make some sense from a team building perspective though, spurs are adding a great defender and a high IQ player, 2 areas they struggled greatly with. No one in this draft was gonna check all the boxes. We’ve seen guys with worse numbers than castle develop into good shooters. That doesn’t mean it’ll happen for castle, but it can. He seems like a hard worker and his shot doesn’t look unfixable so I have hope
I am more optimistic. But it's reasonable to be a bit worried. But look at the bright side. As you said, this kid has good work ethic and intangibles. This should really help.
His entire nba career will be defined on rather he can shoot or not. The all defense no offense player has been legislated out of the nba. There are no more Tony Allen's. If you have the ball in your hand's alot and your a guard you have to be able to shoot.
They also had this belief with known bad shooters like Primo, Sochan, and Wesley -- it's not enough to get a guy to go from awful to bad. They need to be at least league average on wide open 3pt looks -- which is 39% -- and open looks, which is 35% (https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/shots-closest-defender-10?SeasonType=Regular+Season&PerMode=Totals&CloseDefDistRange=6%2B+Feet+-+Wide+Open)
Jeremy, who takes 99% of his shots as open (19%) or wide open (80%), shot 32% on wide open and 22% on open. Blake, who takes 90% of his shots as open (16%) or wide open (75%), shot 27% on wide open and 11% on open. Primo's shooting was so bad that the Clippers didn't want to keep trying to resurrect his career despite overlooking his sexual harassment issues. I think our fans are deluded into thinking guys like Chip Engelland and Fred Vincent are abundant across the league and awful to average shot development like Herb Jones is the norm. We fucked up when we didn't promote Chip and let him leave for OKC.
What I'm saying is you can't deem any as successes and they're all way off from even sniffing average. Our only decent shooter, Devin, came out of college as a 41% 3pt shooter. Malaki came out of college as a 40% shooter and has been a below average 3pt shooter. You're saying our scouting and shot development are killing it and I'm saying no they are not.
Of course you can’t deem them successes. Again, it’s only 2 seasons. If you’re expecting bad shooters to become average in 2 years idk what to tell you. More time needs to pass before we can accurately evaluate how successful our shooting development is. Also, I never said our shot development team was “killing it”, I said they’re doing well so far, which they are. Here is how our guys have progressed in 3P% in seasons shooting 2 or more 3 pointers a game:
Tre Jones: 28.5%-33.5% (1 season)
Devin Vassell: 34.7%-37.2% (3 seasons)
Jeremy Sochan: 24.6%-30.8% (1 season)
Keldon Johnson: 33.1%-34.6% (3 seasons)
Malaki Branham: 30.2%-34.7% (1 season)
Blake Wesley: Does not qualify
Our guys are improving as shooters once they get in the league. I guess that’s not the case if you’re comparing to college 3P%, but that’s a flawed comparison because the college line is closer and they were shooting a lower volume. It would be unrealistic to expect Vassell and Branham to be near 40% shooters as soon as they get to the league.
Look at White, Look at Kawhi. Look at how long it takes them to improve their shot from bad to great. This kind of stuff takes time man. Sochan has made some pretty good improvements from a year-by-year basis so far. These are good signs. Jury is still out there of course.
The player development staff with Kawhi is all gone now. DWhite actually did NOT develop much with the Spurs (he started at 34% and finished lhis ast 2 seasons as a 35% and 31% 3pt shooter), it mostly happened after leaving for Boston and he has publicly credited his personal trainer for that improvement. I'm not expecting Sohan to be hitting upper 30s on open to wide open 3s yet but being below to just above 30 after 2 full seasons is hardly a triumph. The last of our decorated dev staff left with Chip in 2022. It's only 2 seasons since so I get the argument that it's a small sample size but Wright has been drafting like we still have miracle workers and the evidence points to the contrary.
herb jones is a great example. his defense got him into the starting line up when he couldn't shoot a lick. and then his shooting improved by leaps and bounds.
I think he’ll be a good off the bench defensive piece. I really don’t think his skillset fits PG well since he isn’t a good shooter or creator. I know he insists on PG, but I think we should experiment and force him to be a SF which better fits his skillset.
I actually don’t completely agree. I’m also skeptical of his ability to become a full time point guard, but we should at least let him try. If it doesn’t work out we can move him to the wing and then target another point guard through draft or free agency (the top 2 guard prospects in next years class are very intriguing). If it does work out then we have our point guard. I think this year we should give him some time at point and some time on the wing
I believe in the jumper. I had absolutely zero belief in Sochan’s coming out of college and our staff already have really improved it in two years, I can only imagine what they will do with Castle If he can get up to 35-36% 3 that will really open up his game and unlock him as a creator
Right there with you. Our staff has done well with shot development so far. Castle also has good FT% and was a much more willing shooter in HS, so I think the shot will be just fine. If he gets up to 36% he’s gonna be really good, and if he develops into a 6’6 2 way creating guard? That’ll be insanely valuable
Chip, if you’re reading this, I miss you.
I'm a UConn fan who watched 90% of games this year — I believe in the jumper too. It was UGLY after he came back from the leg injury and it took him a good chunk of the season to get the feel for it and confidence in it back. But I disagree with the hesitance comment in OP — look at the Alabama game: they showed zero respect for his shot, he took four early threes, making two. He's not scared to miss
I'm most excited for inverted P&Rs with Wemby. Tre Jones got a ton of buckets from those, and Castle should be even better. The short roll is also one of the best ways to leverage Castle's quick decision-making.
Did you watch Castle’s interviews? He kept bringing up how he’s looking forward to screening for Wemby, dude is itching for those inverted P&Rs lmao. I can’t wait
Which says good things about his self-awareness, because he really is well suited for it.
Those post draft interviews hinted at how good his BBIQ is too
Do any of you ballers ever wishfully imagine yourself to be the Spurs point guard that partner with Wemby? And imagine what passes you are going to make? That you would make a perfect pass to Wemby and he scored the winning bucket in game 7 of finals? Despite how fanciful and far-fetched this all sounds? Yeah, if we do that, I bet Castle would do that too. Of course he has thought about those rolls, and probably ten more moves that he doesn't have time to share. I mean we kind of worship Wemby, but more like a spectacle from afar. We don't have the intimate knowledge of basketball to truly appreciate the greatness of him. We don't live basketball. Castle does, and once he's in the draft he know he actually has a chance to play with Wemby. I mean he's not a fanboy or something but he just know how great Wemby is, and how unreal it would be if he can grow and play alongside Wemby. He could actually be the next Pippen. I am sure all rookies this class, Castle included, would have fascinated moves that they can play with Wemby at some point.
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On the other hand, I said nothing about his 3pt shooting? (I assume you replied to the wrong post)
Wrong post, meant to reply to another guy
I said last year that I would take Wembanyama first overall just for his defense. Different player, but I'd also take Castle at 4 just for his defense. Then you see everything else. I think he's the best player in this draft right this minute and it's not terribly close. If he gets his shot going he's going to be a beast.
I think he’s a better pick for us than any of the guys taken above him would’ve been. His defense is legit special, and like you said, if the shot develops, he has a ton of upside
I'm so sick of hearing "BUT HES NOT A POINT GUARD!" I'm convinced anyone who thinks Castle doesn't have the court vision or IQ to be a point guard, clearly never watched him in college. He immediately is gonna be our second or third smartest player on our team.
He was playing behind a 5th year senior and a first team all-American on the best college basketball team in the country. His talents certainly exceed the role he was given at UConn. Im confident he’ll pick up the offense quickly and the fan base will fall in love with him.
He also lead UConn in scoring in the Final Four. Newton beat him in one game but he scored the most overall. So, without a full deep threat, while taking the key POA defensive role, and as a freshman, he carried the scoring load more than any other player.
He’s legit a do everything guy (except outside shooting), he doesn’t give up on plays, he knows when to cut and when to pass, he has solid offensive moves inside the arc that people seem to ignore because everyone hears he can’t shoot and assume he’s a defense only player. Anyone who thinks this boy is all defense no offense please watch the highlights. The euro steps and spins he put on display at UConn make you drool
I’m saying man there’s so much to like about him. If he shot just a few percentage points higher, he’d be the #1 pick easy. Pop is going to love him and he makes the team better day 1.
His vision and IQ aren’t the problem. I pointed these out as strengths. Playing point guard in the nba is hard, even for guys who were lead facilitators in college. It’s even harder when you can’t shoot well and you don’t consistently create separation to pressure defenses. Like I said, I very well could be wrong and I can definitely see Castle developing these things, especially since he was a PG in HS and limited at UConn. He has the tools
It’ll be interesting if pop throws him into the fire game #1 sorta like he did with sochan last season. Or if he tries to bring him along slowly. He has the size to start at the 3 instead of champagnie. Or start him at the 1 but let Basel and wemby take some of the responsibility of running the offense
I think he was a great choice.
I believe he can’t be the franchise PG, that said I do not think the transition will be easy, and I think the fan’s expectations of castle running the point are WAY to high. He’s gunna be a great defender this year, elite even. But I think it’s going to take him most of next year to look competent running the offense. I think their will no doubt be shades of Sochan running point last year where casuals start losing faith in him. That said I think In 2-3 years he can absolutely be an elite two way point guard, if his shot developed, and at worst he’s already going to be a top defensive wing in this league.
Why so sensitive, he isn't.
UConn fan here. Castle out of high school was known for his court vision. One of the knocks on him as a 5 star was that he was almost too willing of a passer. At UConn with newton as our lead guard castle played a bit outside of his role, but as a freshman forced his way onto the court. I believe in his ability to be a lead point guard, he plays at his own pace, and does just about everything right. The 3 ball started the year HORRIBLY, however he got better once he got a bit more confident, and the form is far from broken. I think it was Matas buzelis? Who said castle was his favorite high school player in his class because some of the ways he found him with passes.
Thanks for commenting! I really value the insight of UConn fans since they watched him all year. That’s interesting about castle, I didn’t know he was that much of a passer in HS. His vision was evident at UConn though, and like you said, he plays with very good pace. How confident are you in him as a shot creator at the nba level?
Very confident. With the way the nba has changed lately, the ability to play at your own pace is invaluable. Steph is adept at that, he’s very patient, and a really good finisher 10 feet and under. I think the jimmy butler comps were pretty fair. But Hurley said he sees a lot of jrue holiday in him.
If his shooting improves and he develops as a shot creator the way you think he will he can kinda be a hybrid of both, which is…scary. Both are big ifs but I’m excited to see how the spurs develop him. Even if he becomes a somewhat worse jrue holiday that’s not a bad outcome
Yeah I’m very high on him. Even if he wasn’t at UConn I love his skill set for today’s game. He posted up smaller guards with ease, and he’s a workhorse. Incredible parents who gave him a work for everything mindset.
His intangibles are VERY encouraging imo. Plays hard, does what he’s asked, committed to doing what it takes to win. Part of the reason I think his shot could come around is because he seems like a very hard worker and is easily coachable.
Agreed and his shot is far from broken. It got significantly better about midway through the season too.
In his post draft interview he specifically points at his passing ability being the tool he’s most excited to show off since he didn’t get to at UConn
I forgot he said that. So happy we drafted someone who is looking forward to getting Wemby the ball, lord knows how much we need that
Another UConn fan here — I don't think his handle or first-step are elite, but he'll be great at attacking close-outs. It's tough to project shot creation just because the offense last year was so structured and there weren't that many times where he was asked to go one-on-one.
Absolutely, please tell every one of your Uconn friends to come here and talk about Castle, and the UConn team for that matter (which would make us understand Castle more). I really hope I can know more about him. Anything. Basketball or non-basketball. We Spurs fan care a lot about our player himself, esp. his character. Really, we badly need your Uconn insights here.
Nice analysis. One of my favorite pre-draft analysis said, paraphrasing, if Castle was a better shooter, he would have been a clear #1 in this draft. Do you agree?
I forgot to mention that Stephon castle has that dawg in him. He also has a cool name. These things bode well for NBA players (I’m only half joking)
Our rook is a Castle!
The best Steph C in the league.
He’s a good FT shooter and also shot 50% 3P% from the right wing. The raw material is there to develop a consistent shot
Yep good point. I also found that distribution percentage very encouraging. He can do it well on the right and god-awful on the left. He really does have a good chance to become an excellent, 38% kind of 3-point shooter. Or maybe he can go Kawhi and straight-up turn himself from a non-shooter to an elite 40%+ 3-point shooter. Damn, that would be absolutely huge for the team. I feel like if he can turn it quickly and get good reps and chemistry with the team, with everyone else on the team improving we may be able to make a push for the playoffs. And I don't feel like I am overly optimistically here
It’s a blessing he didn’t get to play PG in college because otherwise he would have been drafted 1. Trust the GM. We have been following him for years, we got plenty of data of him playing PG in HS
I had not even considered this point but I think you are right. I believed him to be the best player in the draft anyways but you probably nailed it, we are lucky as hell
Appreciate your analysis, it vibes with my lazy watch of highlights. In which his iq really shines. Its only shooting that looks ugly. Very excited but, feel like he should get game time due to his adaptability.
I believe in the shot and think it can be 30-32% year one. Defense alone would’ve won us a few games instead of Tre trying his best to swat at taller PGs. Super exited about him thanks for the write up OP
Thanks for reading! I will be over the moon if he’s above 30% year 1. I also believe in his shot
He shot 27% from 3 in college, no chance he shoots 30-32% from 3 as a rookie in the NBA where it’s even harder to shoot. This is straight up delusion. He could get there eventually, but to expect that while he is a rookie is just absurd.
He shot 31% in high school and about the same in the Olympics. I think you’re being negative. Obviously needs to improve but 30% isn’t absurd. He shit 80% at combine 3 point star drill, he is putting in the work. Dejounte was bad too at shooting, it will take time. I really don’t think it’s that crazy to think he can hover at 30% in first year. Dejounte was 28% in college and was 39% rookie year in 8 minutes per game, not much, regressed to 26% and then 36%-31%-32% and not is a league average shooter at 36%. Again patience is key but I do think you’re being a bit pessimistic
Shooting well in a combine drill is not impressive or indicative of how you shoot in game. Murray’s 1st year 3PT% was so good because he wasn’t taking many attempts. I’m sure Castle could shoot that if he was also getting low minutes like Murray and only taking a few shots a game, but that isn’t the same as being a good shooter. I’m being realistic. Players need time. A 27% college 3PT shooter won’t get regular minutes as a rookie and manage to shoot 30-32% in the NBA, they’ll struggle and develop their shot over the course of years. We all know this.
I am just saying it can work out.
It can, but it isn’t likely, that’s what I’m saying
Sochan shot 24.6% from 3 rookie year and 30.8% year 2. Hell I’ll take Castle improving the same amount and him shooting 33% by the end of his second season
Fair enough, Sochan has definitely seen a lot of growth. If Castle follows that same trajectory, he could be a really exciting player.
6’6” Jrue holiday that really needs to work on shooting
He's going to be the best two way player in this draft. We got a great pick and I'm elated.
One thing I’m excited about is that he’s a willing screener - imagine the success of Wemby-Jones inverted screens but replace Jones with a stronger finisher in Castle
I like castle - I wish we had more consistent offensive weapons too When we can’t score, we are really bad
That will come. We addressed a clear need (perimeter defense) with a great defender who can also create and finish pretty well. All he needs to do is improve his shot and he’s an all-star.
All we had to do was use that 8th pick and we would have had a good draft but we messed up the easiest thing in the world Brian Wright is the worst GM in the NBA by a lot
On who? Who would you have drafted at 8? There was not a great prospect on the board they all had GAPING flaws.
Umm trade it away before the draft? For a player? At some point, one day, some year or some future season - we have to secure players that can play basketball. Our team is ass and we brag about stashing assets in 2031 Smh
Whoever else they considered may have been gone by the time pick 8 came around. The fact that we were only able to secure picks 6-7 years from now kind of shows how low the rest of the league is on this draft too. In 2-3 years we can package those picks either to move up and grab a guy we like or trade for a vet.
Pick - people keep acting like we got “picks” we got one pick We had a lottery pick and now we have an unknown pick 7 years from now A swap is not a pick If the front office thought the draft was that thin they should have gotten a player before the draft instead of hoping someone fell to them and giving a pick away to save money That’s the thing that bothers me, they did this to save money - not to improve the product on the floor, and our team sucks
We will get them. Next year’s class has a lot of talent. We have enough picks to trade for a star player when the time is right
We had enough picks yesterday to trade for a star player- we have the same amount of picks What we don’t have is a competent GM - he’s getting his ass kicked every single year If there was a trade to make, we could have included this years lottery pick but he can’t get it done
bro, you need to chill out. you are not reading the timeline correctly, and sure as hell not been watching how SAS operates.
Or how the market operates lol. KD, Bridges, Gobert, DMitch, Siakam - all those dudes required anywhere from 3 to 5 unprotected FRP packages. The Spurs have 12 unprotected firsts, 2 more lightly protected picks, 4 swaps, plenty of seconds, and young players. The Spurs have set themselves up for a very flexible future.
We had a flexible future yesterday and we couldn’t use it Not one thing is different - we couldn’t improve ourselves with draft picks and money because our GM is ass We didn’t get more picks, we pissed away a lottery pick - if you’re betting that Anthony Edwards is going to be worse at basketball in 2030 you’re nuts
are you betting that anthony edwards stays with minnesota that long? id say thats the crazier take Next, have you been seeing what it takes to land productive nba-ready players today? many many frp. not just one. You are the only person who thinks the spurs took this trade to draft someone in 2030. We just witnessed 5 FRP going to BKN for a glorified role player. thats insane. Also, we just found 17mil a year to pay zach collins, while many will question the motive there, money is not the concern. you are talking about \~10mil (for lottery player X) for a team that is still struggling to get to the salary floor, let alone aprons, hard cap etc. that math doesnt math last, who should the spurs have taken in your eyes? id like to hear the prospect we would take in with that pick that would turn this franchise around, cause so far you have thrown out that the 'gm is ass' and its 'payroll related' but yet to shill for an actual player that would move the needle this year or any other year
I don’t think we will use the pick- I think we are too stingy to bring in good players so we will piss it away We will cry when Wemby goes somewhere that wants to win We are officially a welfare team
lmao. and you are 15. have a nice day
You too! Enjoy the next 7 years waiting to see who we drafted last night
You’re overreacting. We don’t have the same amount of picks, we gained a swap as well. Wright isn’t a perfect GM but saying he “gets his ass kicked every year” is untrue. We’re sitting on the hawks picks because of a smart trade he made. We don’t have to trade for a star this offseason. What if we do, and then a better one becomes available next offseason, and we don’t have the assets anymore? We just need to be patient
A swap is not an extra pick - it’s net zero. We got nothing. Brian Wright is legitimately the worst NBA GM - no exceptions, this was worse than Primo. The gods handed us a lucky ping pong ball and he is going to find a way to give that away too.
According to Avery Johnson the spurs see Castle as a point guard, like a dejonte Murray type. It makes a lot of sense when you look at it from that angle honestly.
That honestly does make sense. He’s a better prospect than Murray was too.
If he develops a better shot, he’s gonna be an all-star for multiple years
It’s really hard in the modern NBA to build an effective offense with a non-shooting 2 guard. I’m really skeptical of this pick from a team building perspective. Maybe Castle is a special outlier case due to his work ethic and intangibles, but I am worried.
It’s fair to be skeptical. Being a guard who can’t shoot is a problem in today’s league. This honestly does make some sense from a team building perspective though, spurs are adding a great defender and a high IQ player, 2 areas they struggled greatly with. No one in this draft was gonna check all the boxes. We’ve seen guys with worse numbers than castle develop into good shooters. That doesn’t mean it’ll happen for castle, but it can. He seems like a hard worker and his shot doesn’t look unfixable so I have hope
I am more optimistic. But it's reasonable to be a bit worried. But look at the bright side. As you said, this kid has good work ethic and intangibles. This should really help.
His entire nba career will be defined on rather he can shoot or not. The all defense no offense player has been legislated out of the nba. There are no more Tony Allen's. If you have the ball in your hand's alot and your a guard you have to be able to shoot.
Our scouting team followed him all season. They wouldn’t have drafted him if they didn’t think they could fix his shot. I think he’ll be fine
They also had this belief with known bad shooters like Primo, Sochan, and Wesley -- it's not enough to get a guy to go from awful to bad. They need to be at least league average on wide open 3pt looks -- which is 39% -- and open looks, which is 35% (https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/shots-closest-defender-10?SeasonType=Regular+Season&PerMode=Totals&CloseDefDistRange=6%2B+Feet+-+Wide+Open) Jeremy, who takes 99% of his shots as open (19%) or wide open (80%), shot 32% on wide open and 22% on open. Blake, who takes 90% of his shots as open (16%) or wide open (75%), shot 27% on wide open and 11% on open. Primo's shooting was so bad that the Clippers didn't want to keep trying to resurrect his career despite overlooking his sexual harassment issues. I think our fans are deluded into thinking guys like Chip Engelland and Fred Vincent are abundant across the league and awful to average shot development like Herb Jones is the norm. We fucked up when we didn't promote Chip and let him leave for OKC.
Not a single person you named has spent more than 2 seasons on the spurs. You can’t deem these guys as failures with a sample size that small.
What I'm saying is you can't deem any as successes and they're all way off from even sniffing average. Our only decent shooter, Devin, came out of college as a 41% 3pt shooter. Malaki came out of college as a 40% shooter and has been a below average 3pt shooter. You're saying our scouting and shot development are killing it and I'm saying no they are not.
Of course you can’t deem them successes. Again, it’s only 2 seasons. If you’re expecting bad shooters to become average in 2 years idk what to tell you. More time needs to pass before we can accurately evaluate how successful our shooting development is. Also, I never said our shot development team was “killing it”, I said they’re doing well so far, which they are. Here is how our guys have progressed in 3P% in seasons shooting 2 or more 3 pointers a game: Tre Jones: 28.5%-33.5% (1 season) Devin Vassell: 34.7%-37.2% (3 seasons) Jeremy Sochan: 24.6%-30.8% (1 season) Keldon Johnson: 33.1%-34.6% (3 seasons) Malaki Branham: 30.2%-34.7% (1 season) Blake Wesley: Does not qualify Our guys are improving as shooters once they get in the league. I guess that’s not the case if you’re comparing to college 3P%, but that’s a flawed comparison because the college line is closer and they were shooting a lower volume. It would be unrealistic to expect Vassell and Branham to be near 40% shooters as soon as they get to the league.
Look at White, Look at Kawhi. Look at how long it takes them to improve their shot from bad to great. This kind of stuff takes time man. Sochan has made some pretty good improvements from a year-by-year basis so far. These are good signs. Jury is still out there of course.
The player development staff with Kawhi is all gone now. DWhite actually did NOT develop much with the Spurs (he started at 34% and finished lhis ast 2 seasons as a 35% and 31% 3pt shooter), it mostly happened after leaving for Boston and he has publicly credited his personal trainer for that improvement. I'm not expecting Sohan to be hitting upper 30s on open to wide open 3s yet but being below to just above 30 after 2 full seasons is hardly a triumph. The last of our decorated dev staff left with Chip in 2022. It's only 2 seasons since so I get the argument that it's a small sample size but Wright has been drafting like we still have miracle workers and the evidence points to the contrary.
herb jones is a great example. his defense got him into the starting line up when he couldn't shoot a lick. and then his shooting improved by leaps and bounds.
I think he’ll be a good off the bench defensive piece. I really don’t think his skillset fits PG well since he isn’t a good shooter or creator. I know he insists on PG, but I think we should experiment and force him to be a SF which better fits his skillset.
I actually don’t completely agree. I’m also skeptical of his ability to become a full time point guard, but we should at least let him try. If it doesn’t work out we can move him to the wing and then target another point guard through draft or free agency (the top 2 guard prospects in next years class are very intriguing). If it does work out then we have our point guard. I think this year we should give him some time at point and some time on the wing