Pick No. 4: San Antonio Spurs select Stephon Castle
This is an extremely pivotal draft for the San Antonio Spurs, who also have the No. 8 overall pick. Rookie of the Year and last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Victor Wembanyama, has already ascended to superstar status despite being only 20 years old. It’s imperative that the Spurs hit on at least one of their top ten picks to surround Wemby with more talent to build around. Not only do they have more pressure to make a playoff push by as early as next season, but they likely won’t find themselves in a position to pick in the top five again, as long as Wembanyama remains healthy.
San Antonio could take this pick in several directions, including Matas Buzelis or Reed Sheppard, if he's still on the board. In this scenario, they go with UConn guard Stephon Castle. As a freshman at Connecticut, Castle averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 47/27/76 shooting splits. The main concern with Castle is whether he can progress to become a capable floor spacer at the next level; this is even more critical when playing alongside someone like Wemby, who consistently draws double teams.
However, Castle is one of the best defenders in the entire draft class. At 6-foot-6, he has elite positional size for someone who views himself as a point guard in the NBA. With Castle and Wemby, the Spurs would establish a new team identity predicated on length and defensive versatility.