Report: The Spurs are high on Stephon Castle

A jumbo guard with good handles and two-way potential has grabbed the Spurs’ attention.

Assuming the Spurs keep their two top-8 draft picks, the odds are pretty high they will select a ball-handler with one of those picks. We’ve heard names like Nikola Topic, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, but one name that has flown a bit under the radar is Stephon Castle: a 6’6” guard out of UConn who won Big East Freshman of the Year and the national championship despite playing out of position last season.

Lately, he’s been rising up the draft boards, and according to Kelly Iko of The Athetlic, the Spurs are a team that is very high on him.

“The Spurs are said to be big fans of UConn’s Castle, league sources said, and he is moving up their draft board. San Antonio has two top-10 selections and could take Castle with either the No. 4 or No. 8 pick.”

I won’t go too deep into Castle’s potential fit with the Spurs since his Prospect Preview is coming up, but to summarize, he could play the role of jumbo point guard or secondary ball-handler/wing. He’s good at getting to and finishing at the rim, but his outside shot needs some work. He’s also considered a strong defender who could guard the 1-4 spots. Basically, he’s a lot of things the Spurs would want and is a consistent three-point shot away from being ideal. He has gone from simply a lottery prospect to some mock drafts having him in their top 5, so the Spurs would maybe have to nab him with the 4th pick if they decide he’s their man.

Even though this draft class has been downplayed a bit due to the lack of a franchise player (and it doesn’t help that it’s sandwiched between the drafts of Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg), it’s becoming more and more intriguing based on the numerous possibilities for potentially high-end role players, and Castle is another in a long list of players who would fit the bill.