Before selecting Stephon Castle on Wednesday with the fourth overall choice in the 2024 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs had been associated with him for a considerable amount of time.
Castle currently starts as the starting guard for the Spurs because of an evident need in their backcourt. Victor Wembanyama will have a lot more space on the court because to his two-way play and ability to set up shots for teammates on the wings. Based on Wemby’s communication to Castle following his draft selection, it appears that Wemby knows what Castle can do for him and the Spurs offense as a whole.
Wemby welcomed Castle to the Spurs and expressed his excitement at having him join the team via a kind FaceTime conversation.
Wembanyama was selected first overall by the Spurs just a year ago, so he naturally recalls what it’s like to be in the green room on draft day.
Wembanyama is the ideal base upon which the Spurs can expand. He still has a lot of room to grow in his offensive skill set, and he’s already perhaps the league’s most valuable defender.
The Spurs’ generational talent made history by being the youngest player to make the First Team All-Defense after winning 2023–2024 NBA All-Defensive First Team accolades.
Wemby averaged a league-high 3.58 blocks and 1.24 steals in addition to 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in 29.7 minutes. He finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. With 254 blocks in the regular season, he led the NBA in blocks and finished with the greatest block % in the league (10.01), surpassing Manute Bol’s record with the Washington Bullets in 1985–86.
Since Bol, he is the first rookie to lead the NBA in blocked shots, and since Dallas Mavericks center Shawn Bradley in 1993–94, he is the first rookie to average three or more blocks per game.
The Spurs have been searching for a guard since the end of the previous season to go with Wembanyama. The squad gains a potential outside danger for the next ten years in Stephon Castle, who was drafted.
This offseason, the franchise has been linked to experienced guards like Chris Paul and Darius Garland. Now that the draft is over, the team probably won’t be able to sign Garland, but Paul would be a good short-term alternative to help Castle learn the ropes. Although CP3 isn’t the same player he once was, a low-cost one-year contract would make him useful. Although the Warriors would have to pay a significant price for what is effectively a backup guard, they are interested in having him return.
However, Castle should be able to adjust to the NBA game quite quickly. If the Spurs are correct, they have identified their player to start the ascent into contention alongside Wembanyama.
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