Cody Williams - 2024 NBA Draft Prospect

[BatManu20]

Castle should be the pick at 4 if he's there (assuming Risacher is gone). If the somehow Spurs take Cody Williams over Castle, we riot.

[BatManu20]

Castle's floor imo is a Jrue Holiday-type player, which to me is an easy selection. His ceiling is a Jimmy Butler type player, which is an even easier selection. Between his size, his elite defensive traits, his advanced feel for the game, and the intangibles, a 3-point shot is the only thing keeping Castle from being a future All-Star imo. And at only 19 years old, he still has plenty of time to improve on that. Jrue Holiday and Jimmy Butler couldn't shoot the 3 either in college. Castle's FT% suggests he'll get there. Then you're talking about a potential 2-way monster in a few years. Would be an awesome complementary piece to Wemby tbh.

[DPG21920]

Not what I got out of watching Castle at all. Has a decent in between game with some nice floaters and size and good strength at the rim but shies away from shooting the three, which can hopefully be corrected like it was with Kawhi. Right now he looks like a better version of Jrue Holiday at the same age and he seems to have the motor to continue developing, which is something I'm a little concerned about with Williams seeing how disinterested and uninvolved he can look at times when I have watched Colorado games. Not saying I wouldn't draft Williams, as he could be a nice swing for the fences at 8.

All that’s fair and if you’re asking me what my personal ranking is? I probably have Castle slightly ahead of Cody. Just not a massive gap is all IMO. I saw a lot more hesitation than many of yall from Castle and not just from 3. But that’s just my take and I know that’s sort of anti-consensus on this board.

I also think Cody’s injury played a role to a degree and like we saw with Derrick White when he had a down year after injuries and what he looked like when healthy, I think same for Cody most likely.

[DPG21920]

Castle's floor imo is a Jrue Holiday-type player, which to me is an easy selection. His ceiling is a Jimmy Butler type player, which is an even easier selection. Between his size, his elite defensive, his advanced feel for the game, and the intangibles, a 3-point shot is the only thing keeping Castle from being a future All-Star imo. And at only 19 years old, he still has plenty of time to improve on that. Jrue Holiday and Jimmy Butler couldn't shoot the 3 either in college. Castle's FT% suggests he'll get there. Then you're talking about a potential 2-way monster in a few years. Would be an awesome complementary piece to Wemby tbh.

His floor is not Jrue lol. If that were the case he’s easily the number one pick. Now, may he turn out that good? Absolutely theres a chance of that. But his floor is not a DPOY multi time champion winner like Jrue

[BatManu20]

His floor is not Jrue lol. If that were the case he’s easily the number one pick. Now, may he turn out that good? Absolutely theres a chance of that. But his floor is not a DPOY multi time champion winner like Jrue

Yea maybe Jrue is a bit ambitious as a floor. A better, bigger, and more intelligent Marcus Smart then? Either way, I think he's actually one of the safer bets in this draft to become AT LEAST a very good starter for years to come. He has one of the highest ceilings in the draft imo if/when that shot comes around.

[spurraider21]

His floor is not Jrue lol. If that were the case he’s easily the number one pick. Now, may he turn out that good? Absolutely theres a chance of that. But his floor is not a DPOY multi time champion winner like Jrue

tbh

if his floor was jrue, the hawks would even take him

[SpursFan86]

Yea maybe Jrue is a bit ambitious as a floor. A better, bigger, and more intelligent Marcus Smart then? Either way, I think he's actually one of the safer bets in this draft to become AT LEAST a very good starter for years to come. He has one of the highest ceilings in the draft imo if/when that shot comes around.

Man I think even that is a bit generous of a floor. Smart was a ~35% 3 point shooter on solid volume in his best years…it’s entirely possible Castle doesn’t sniff that if his jumper doesn’t develop.

[Chinook]

Sure - Im just not worried about minutes even if we take projects. Literally half the team has proven very little to nothing and several are still young themselves still and can be replaced. It would be one thing drafting 2 projects and forcing them into a rotation over good players, but replacing Branham/Blake minutes for example with these guys is really not that different or big of a deal IMO.

You take BPA period IMO and there will be minutes even if you stack in free agency and trade. Just means you are waiving guys like Branham/Blake to do it and open up minutes or trading Tre Jones etc..

The draft is BPA. Free agency is not. The draft comes first and thus informs teams of what their free-agent needs are. Ultimately, the FO should be trying to put together a functional team that efficiently uses its talent to win games. That means not letting guys like Champ, Bran, Wes and the rest have rotation spots without challenge. If you try to take a BPA approach to free agency and overstock your roster with on position, you fail to bring in adequate compe ion and depth for the other positions. The team can end up without a viable starting SF and no real means of bringing one in and having Champ continue to start there. Blake and Malaki could end up as the bench guard rotation while Cissoko is cut because the Spurs decided to use two top-10 picks, their big junk of cap space and the RE all on front-court guys. To me, that would be a disservice to Wemby, Vassell and every other Spur trying to win games. The team has too many holes to triple-dip on a position.

The team doesn't need their picks to be stars or even starters right now, but they do need them to be real NBA players. In other words, the ability to contribute immediately while building toward their upside should be factored into the definition of BPA the team is using to make their picks.

[BatManu20]

tbh

if his floor was jrue, the hawks would even take him

Should've added poor man's* Jrue tbh. The point still stands though. I don't see how anyone could hate that pick assuming Zacc is off the board (I'm confident he will be).

[BatManu20]

Man I think even that is a bit generous of a floor. Smart was a ~35% 3 point shooter on solid volume in his best years…it’s entirely possible Castle doesn’t sniff that if his jumper doesn’t develop.

It's a possibility of course, but I think the odds are strongly in his favor given his mechanics and FT%. The odds of him not improving from 3 whatsoever in his career are lower than the odds of him improving to even NBA average (around 36%) in due time imo. None of these guys come without major red flags tbh. Even Risacher and Sarr. That's why this draft is such a crap shoot. To me, Castle is definitely one of the safer picks, especially if those aforementioned guys are off the board. I certainly wouldn't take 188 lbs Cody Williams over him.

[NASpurs]

I get the point of the discussion and how there's not really much to talk about besides hypotheticals but the end of the day, it's funny when the Spurs end up drafting Topic with the #4 pick.

[BatManu20]

I get the point of the discussion and how there's not really much to talk about besides hypotheticals but the end of the day, it's funny when the Spurs end up drafting Topic with the #4 pick.

Highly doubtful, though you never know with BW. That'd be a big swing given the recent red flags though. At 8 would be much more palatable and much better value if they're going to go that route.

[Kurik]

To be honest I think Castle’s floor is in the realm of a bigger Bruce Brown. But you don’t draft Castle for his floor either.

[NASpurs]

Highly doubtful, though you never know with BW. That'd be a big swing given the recent red flags though. At 8 would be much more palatable and much better value if they're going to go that route.

Yeah exactly but... it's the Spurs we're talking about here

Some will come out that they heard discussion about a team picking 5 - 7 wanting Topic/Salaun/*insert name* so they jumped the gun picking him 4 lol

I'm just ready to be left scratching my head June 26th.

[BatManu20]

To be honest I think Castle’s floor is in the realm of a bigger Bruce Brown. But you don’t draft Castle for his floor either.

I see the comparison, but I think you're underselling Castle with that one imo. He definitely has more natural talent than Brown tbh, who was a SRP. He certainly has a better feel for the game than BB. Castle was a 5-Star recruit and a Top-10 Nationally ranked player coming out of high school for a reason.

[DPG21920]

The draft is BPA. Free agency is not. The draft comes first and thus informs teams of what their free-agent needs are. Ultimately, the FO should be trying to put together a functional team that efficiently uses its talent to win games. That means not letting guys like Champ, Bran, Wes and the rest have rotation spots without challenge. If you try to take a BPA approach to free agency and overstock your roster with on position, you fail to bring in adequate compe ion and depth for the other positions. The team can end up without a viable starting SF and no real means of bringing one in and having Champ continue to start there. Blake and Malaki could end up as the bench guard rotation while Cissoko is cut because the Spurs decided to use two top-10 picks, their big junk of cap space and the RE all on front-court guys. To me, that would be a disservice to Wemby, Vassell and every other Spur trying to win games. The team has too many holes to triple-dip on a position.

The team doesn't need their picks to be stars or even starters right now, but they do need them to be real NBA players. In other words, the ability to contribute immediately while building toward their upside should be factored into the definition of BPA the team is using to make their picks.

Ya - that’s fair. I was just saying I don’t foresee too much over lap and that’s all sort of baked in and that any player coming in would have a clear path and that if we wanted a guard in FA too, it would be because we likely let one go as well etc…So its no different drafting Castle and having Tre/Branham on the roster already vs drafting Castle, signing a PG and trading Tre/waiving Branham etc..

[DPG21920]

Should've added poor man's* Jrue tbh. The point still stands though. I don't see how anyone could hate that pick assuming Zacc is off the board (I'm confident he will be).

I wouldn’t hate it at all. I would be excited. But even though I wouldn’t hate it that doesnt mean I can unsee his flaws lol

[BatManu20]

Yeah exactly but... it's the Spurs we're talking about here

Some will come out that they heard discussion about a team picking 5 - 7 wanting Topic/Salaun/*insert name* so they jumped the gun picking him 4 lol

I'm just ready to be left scratching my head June 26th.

Salaun is the one I'm worried about tbh. If he's on the board at 8, think the Spurs might be too tempted to pass on Wemby's buddy. Then that would signal that we're definitely not in "win-now" mode as he's a couple away from even being a starter imo, let alone a productive one.

[DPG21920]

I get the point of the discussion and how there's not really much to talk about besides hypotheticals but the end of the day, it's funny when the Spurs end up drafting Topic with the #4 pick.

Thats the one dude who is NOT on my list lmao. But Im prepared for it.

[spurraider21]

Should've added poor man's* Jrue tbh. The point still stands though. I don't see how anyone could hate that pick assuming Zacc is off the board (I'm confident he will be).

i liked castle until people started talking about him as a point guard. i dont see it. supposedly he was a lead guard in high school but i didnt see it in college, even from a traits perspective. he's a good passer in traffic, there's that. but i dont think he creates separation off the dribble, isnt much of a midrange shooter either. its just kinda bullyball toward the rim. and i think hes a good ballhandler for a wing but i dont see lead guard chops. and then when it comes to playing off wemby, with all the inverted pick and roll stuff he likes to do, outside shooting feels like a requirement, not a bonus feature

[BatManu20]

i liked castle until people started talking about him as a point guard. i dont see it. supposedly he was a lead guard in high school but i didnt see it in college, even from a traits perspective. he's a good passer in traffic, there's that. but i dont think he creates separation off the dribble, isnt much of a midrange shooter either. its just kinda bullyball toward the rim. and i think hes a good ballhandler for a wing but i dont see lead guard chops.

Yea I definitely don't see a true PG either with Castle. He's a combo guard who has good enough passing that it'll be a plus-trait for him as a wing, but no way should that be his full-time position imo. In his defense, he definitely sacrificed some playing for a loaded UCONN squad with older players, so maybe there's more there than he was able to show last year, but he'd have to really turn it on in his Rookie year to be considered a lead guard imo. And I just don't see that being the case.

[DPG21920]

i liked castle until people started talking about him as a point guard. i dont see it. supposedly he was a lead guard in high school but i didnt see it in college, even from a traits perspective. he's a good passer in traffic, there's that. but i dont think he creates separation off the dribble, isnt much of a midrange shooter either. its just kinda bullyball toward the rim. and i think hes a good ballhandler for a wing but i dont see lead guard chops. and then when it comes to playing off wemby, with all the inverted pick and roll stuff he likes to do, outside shooting feels like a requirement, not a bonus feature

Yup. He’s like Derrick White but without as much confidence of a 3PT shot or PG in a pinch duties. I do think he will excel in this system more than others though as he has a high iq and processes things well and he wont be a CP3 like PG in this system. He should do great as either someone making decisions off of the ball swinging and/or someone you can put in PnR even as a screener where he can apply pressure going to rim and make good reads etc…

But your point about the shooting is true. Wemby is going to have the ball A LOT and will be making most of decisions. Devin too. We aren’t drafting a CP3 type PG for this system. We are drafting what BOS has: a bunch of guards/wings that are very good on defense, can handle duties in a pinch and all bring the ball up the floor quickly and are good off ball making decisions or shooting 3’s etc…

[spurraider21]

Yup. He’s like Derrick White but without as much confidence of a 3PT shot or PG in a pinch duties. I do think he will excel in this system more than others though as he has a high iq and processes things well and he wont be a CP3 like PG in this system. He should do great as either someone making decisions off of the ball swinging and/or someone you can put in PnR even as a screener where he can apply pressure going to rim and make good reads etc…

But your point about the shooting is true. Wemby is going to have the ball A LOT and will be making most of decisions. Devin too. We aren’t drafting a CP3 type PG for this system. We are drafting what BOS has: a bunch of guards/wings that are very good on defense, can handle duties in a pinch and all bring the ball up the floor quickly and are good off ball making decisions or shooting 3’s etc…

yeah... thats also why ive really leaned away from Topic as a fit, and into Sheppard and Dillingham. at this point i think im comfortable saying I have reed above dilly, though i both have them in tier 1 alongside Risacher

[baseline bum]

I get the point of the discussion and how there's not really much to talk about besides hypotheticals but the end of the day, it's funny when the Spurs end up drafting Topic with the #4 pick.

me, I'd rather have Cody #4.

[baseline bum]

nm I see you answered that in a previous post