Stephon Castle: Future Elite Role Player or Future Star

[daslicer]

Agreed. Situation matters and it’s an interesting thought experiment to consider what becomes of Parker and Ginobili on a different team? Same for Klay and especially Draymond in GS. The gravity of a transcendent players cultivate the players around them.

Klay would have been great anywhere he played. He had a great skill set in his quick release and great shooting. His game would have worked in any system. He would have still been a guy getting 20 plus points per game on any other team. The benefit of playing in GSW was that it allowed him to win multiple les by playing with a great player in Curry. Now Draymond would have been out of the league had he not played on GSW.

[spurraider21]

hate to state the obvious but frankly depends on how much he can improve his shot

if he remains a subpar shooter (but at least better than say, Andre Roberson), he seems to have enough game to carve a role even if its not a full time long term starter

if he becomes a solid enough shooter where teams cant just comfortably sag off pick and rolls, then he can become a high end role player

if he becomes a knockdown shooter the way nephew developed, there is star upside. i do consider this to be the least likely outcome

[Frenchfred]

I think his career will go the way of some combination of Marcus Smart and Jrue Holiday. High end role player.

if he becomes like Jrue, that would be awesome and one good piece for a championship team.

[spursparker9]

Tbh, he seems to have the boring personality of Nephew. Which is actually great as their pure focus is only on basketball which would explain their great work ethic.

Great work ethic and less distraction and complacent would surely yield results

[ginobilized]

I'm going to wait until he has played 1 game and then make sweeping generalizations of his future only to pivot 180 degrees when he has another game that is better/worse than first game. Rinse and repeat 80 x.
This is the SpursTalk way.

[couchman]

People need to reset expectations and give Castle time.
Right now the question is whether he will be a bust or not.
The shooting is awful and I’m rooting for him to fix it but it won’t happen overnight.

[KingKev]

I'm going to wait until he has played 1 game and then make sweeping generalizations of his future only to pivot 180 degrees when he has another game that is better/worse than first game. Rinse and repeat 80 x.
This is the SpursTalk way.

I’ll wait till his first breakout game to consider whether he is the reincarnation of Tony, Manu or Kawhi or maybe a better version of all 3.

[exstatic]

People need to reset expectations and give Castle time.
Right now the question is whether he will be a bust or not.
The shooting is awful and I’m rooting for him to fix it but it won’t happen overnight.

Right now, that’s literally the only thing wrong with his game. He needs one coin flip to go right. People crapping on him wanted Thompson twins last year,who each need like 4-5 coin flips to go right. People love the shiny things. They run fast and jump high.

[wildbill2u]

Discussion above seems to prove how calculating and smart he is about his future. You have to respect that, especially from a youngster making choices about where to enroll for his next step.

[z0sa]

Without a consistent outside shot, he will have trouble even reaching elite roleplayer status. With it, he could absolutely be a future star. Too early to tell, but he's already got a better shot than Sideways-Spin Sochan.

[spursistan]

Bump.

Seen how his shot is starting to slowly come around mid-season, I am far more bullish on Castle's prospects now than I were at start of the season. I firmly believe we may have drafted the best overall player in the draft with the fourth pick (it is gonna come down to him or Risacher eventually)

After watching glimpses of his 'player package', Stephon passes the eye test with flying colors: youngin' fearlessness, veteran-like poise and maturity on court. Just that unquantifiable It factor about him we all saw in rookie Kawhi before he went rogue. But, unlike Leonard, Castle's presser soundbites alone screams a future team leader/Alpha and should Wemby recoil from assuming such role..

Tentative Career Projection for Castle as of Feb 2025.

High-end Ceiling (20%) : Second-tier star in the mold of Jimmy Butler
Middle-end Ceiling (50%): 2nd/3rd banana in the mold Middleton or Jrue-Holiday
Low-end Ceiling (30%): Elite Role in the in the mold of Celtics' Derrick White

[RC_Drunkford]

He’s already started making off the dribble pull up 3s. Kid gon be a monster

[Extra Stout]

Castle’s advanced stats are still messy and he makes a lot of mistakes, but it’s clear he’s special.

[DAF86]

Castle’s advanced stats are still messy and he makes a lot of mistakes, but it’s clear he’s special.

I wonder how those metrics look in these past games after he clearly leveled up.

[spursistan]

I wonder how those metrics look in these past games after he clearly leveled up.

Most exciting development is his shooting levelling up to where he is no longer completely ignored by opposing D ala Sochan. Dude earned 30-32 minutes a night if not for the rotten politics of team hierarchy.

[Mikesatx]

I’m probably going to get killed for this but I see Kobe. He’s willing to sacrifice for his team which Kobe didn’t always do. His presence and confidence are really similar to me. Both 6’6 and hyper athletic. Obviously I’m a huge fan of his and believe he will be great.

[spursistan]

I’m probably going to get killed for this but I see Kobe. He’s willing to sacrifice for his team which Kobe didn’t always do. His presence and confidence are really similar to me. Both 6’6 and hyper athletic. Obviously I’m a huge fan of his and believe he will be great.

Nah man, that's a bit of a stretch Could change, and i agree he has the "it" factor but that's not enough. I have him pegged in these more realistic player ceiling outcomes .

Bump.


Seen how his shot is starting to slowly come around mid-season, I am far more bullish on Castle's prospects now than I were at start of the season. I firmly believe we may have drafted the best overall player in the draft with the fourth pick (it is gonna come down to him or Risacher eventually)


After watching glimpses of his 'player package', Stephon passes the eye test with flying colors: youngin' fearlessness, veteran-like poise and maturity on court. Just that unquantifiable It factor about him we all saw in rookie Kawhi before he went rogue. But, unlike Leonard, Castle's presser soundbites alone screams a future team leader/Alpha and should Wemby recoil from assuming such role..


Tentative Career Projection for Castle as of Feb 2025.


High-end Ceiling (20%) : Second-tier star in the mold of Jimmy Butler
Middle-end Ceiling (50%): 2nd/3rd banana in the mold Middleton or Jrue-Holiday
Low-end Ceiling (30%): Elite Role in the in the mold of Celtics' Derrick White

[rascal]

I’m probably going to get killed for this but I see Kobe. He’s willing to sacrifice for his team which Kobe didn’t always do. His presence and confidence are really similar to me. Both 6’6 and hyper athletic. Obviously I’m a huge fan of his and believe he will be great.

No, Kobe was more fluid and smoother with his shot and smoother as a player overall.

[Mikesatx]

Castle is a rookie and Kobe is a top 15 guy of all time. By the time his rookie deal is up we’ll see the trajectory. I agree that he has the “it” factor. I don’t think I’m seeing him through my Spurs rose colored glasses. I really think he is going to be a superstar. The comps on Butler are tough for me because of all the bull Butler has put past teams through. That being said if he is Butler without the drama and stays in SA for his career his number gets retired and he’s in the hof.

[DAF86]

Castle is a rookie and Kobe is a top 15 guy of all time. By the time his rookie deal is up we’ll see the trajectory. I agree that he has the “it” factor. I don’t think I’m seeing him through my Spurs rose colored glasses. I really think he is going to be a superstar. The comps on Butler are tough for me because of all the bull Butler has put past teams through. That being said if he is Butler without the drama and stays in SA for his career his number gets retired and he’s in the hof.

I don't see Kobe at all on Castle's style, tbh. Stephon reminds me more of Wade with those eurosteps to get to the basket.

[Mikesatx]

I can see Wade more than Butler. I don’t remember Wade as much early in his career as I do Kobe because we had to go through the Lakers. Kobe was y and confident. Even when he did stupid he was unfazed. In Castle I don’t see the iness but I definitely see the confidence. He does stupid too and also seems unfazed. They both look like they know they are better and want to rip your heart out.

[dn0774]

Castle has a physicality that is very promising, usually you don't see guys as young as him this filled out already. I'm really intrigued to see how he develops his body going forward because he doesn't need to add more size as many young players typically need to do. His finishing around the rim has really improved in just the last two months. Wish he could be take part in more traditional lineups (ie Castle at 2, no Sochan, legit big defender behind him) because I think he could thrive even more.

I do think his average first step will handicap how high he can top out ultimately.

[DAF86]

Castle has a physicality that is very promising, usually you don't see guys as young as him this filled out already. I'm really intrigued to see how he develops his body going forward because he doesn't need to add more size as many young players typically need to do. His finishing around the rim has really improved in just the last two months. Wish he could be take part in more traditional lineups (ie Castle at 2, no Sochan, legit big defender behind him) because I think he could thrive even more.

I do think his average first step will handicap how high he can top out ultimately.

Weird opinion, seeing how even with that (I don't know if it's really all that) average first step, he can get to the rim at will.

Players like Luka have shown us that you don't need to be the fastest guy out there, if you have the skills and the IQ, you can get to the rim at will.

[SouthernFried]

Looks a lot like an early Kawhi, imho.

[100%duncan]

Looks a lot like an early Kawhi, imho.

He's better than rookie and Sop re Kawhi tbh.