Stephon Castle

[babyjax13]

Comes down to shooting for him. Is he Okoro or something better?

You don't like the Jimmy Butler comp? Especially down low when he does what he wants and draw fouls?

When has a Jimmy Butler comp resulted in a star player? I've fallen for a big, physical, rebounding guards who can playmake that don't shoot threes on volume so many times because of how much I love Butler - they are almost always huge dissapointments. I like Castle for what he is, a linking playmaker who is going to score off of cuts, etc. But his ability to be a high-impact rotation guy is completely dependent on becoming a passable shooter.

[Chuck Everett]

Pick him San Antonio. You need a physical defender on the wing aside from Sochan.

[amcoolio]

I've never seen a player remind me so much of Isaac Okoro

You just can't draft a guard that high that has zero touch with his shooting form inside the arc and a slow, plodding 3 pt shot (that doesn't connect either)

[FarBeyondDriven]

Comes down to shooting for him. Is he Okoro or something better?

100%. Though, I don't think he's anywhere near as hopeless as a guy like Okoro. I just think he lacks confidence. He knows he's got much better shooters around him so he takes a backseat to them. It's frustrating because you can see him overthinking. He had two threes go half-way down in this game which is a shame. He shoots it well from deep with great rotation and rarely misses badly. I think it's just confidence. As far his FT shooting his whole set up sucks. But again, great rotation and touch. I do love how he's really good on defense and can run an offense and rebound. He does all the little things. Holiday and Butler are solid comps. I think he'll go anywhere from 5-14

[ItsDanger]

He's listed as 6'6, need to see his measurements at combine. Looks closer to 6'4 to me.

[crows2]

The pleasing thing is that he’s shown he’s capable of being a role player on a good team. What most people seem to forget when scouting is that only a few players each draft (maybe even less so this year) will become number 1 or 2 options in the NBA. Sometimes it’s better to draft for role players than for potential stars; something a team like the Heat does well.

[2weekswithpay]

Comes down to shooting for him. Is he Okoro or something better?

You don't like the Jimmy Butler comp? Especially down low when he does what he wants and draw fouls?

Personally, I think the Butler comparisons are overused. Butler has insane strength for a wing and even in college had a ridiculous free throw rate. Castle has a free throw rate of 38.3 and Butler had a free throw rate of 1.047(!!!) as a sophomore playing 20 minutes a night.

[ItsDanger]

Comes down to shooting for him. Is he Okoro or something better?

You don't like the Jimmy Butler comp? Especially down low when he does what he wants and draw fouls?

Personally, I think the Butler comparisons are overused. Butler has insane strength for a wing and even in college had a ridiculous free throw rate. Castle has a free throw rate of 38.3 and Butler had a free throw rate of 1.047(!!!) as a sophomore playing 20 minutes a night.

Butler was really good at Marquette, just look at his FT rate. I don't see the comparison at all. Castle is a better athlete at same stage but so are a lot of guys

[Dat2U]

I don't see much upside in guys that are literally scared too shoot. It doesn't matter how likeable a guy is or how great a teammate is. It doesn't matter if he does everything right is built like an adonis and gives 100% ... if he's hesistant shooting college 3s... imagine him trying to make NBA 3s consistently. He's going to kill spacing until he proves otherwise.

[Benjammin]

Maybe it's just me, but I like guards who can shoot. In today's NBA, every position has to be able to shoot. You can get away with one player on the court who can't hit threes, but that guy better be solid from mid-range. When you have two guys on the court who can't hit threes it really makes the job of the defense much easier for double-teaming and rotations.

[darbstar]

I see him as similar to Michael Kidd Gilchrist

[BigGargamel]

The pleasing thing is that he’s shown he’s capable of being a role player on a good team. What most people seem to forget when scouting is that only a few players each draft (maybe even less so this year) will become number 1 or 2 options in the NBA. Sometimes it’s better to draft for role players than for potential stars; something a team like the Heat does well.

I guess it depends on where you draft a guy. If you're picking in the top five, yeah, you want that potential star. Even in a draft like this. There are guys with a lot more upside that bad teams are going to want. But I do agree, when you get down to 10-14, he could be a good value.

I'm just not really a fan of his. I don't know what he can give you. So-so defender. Not a confident shooter or scorer. Decent ball handler I guess but not a point guard, though he can play it a bit.

If I'm drafting 6-14 I'm going to take a guy that has a discernible skill. Clingan, Knecht, Dillingham, Walter, you know what those guys can do for you. What does Castle do well? I wouldn't take him over McCain.

[The-Power]

Pick him San Antonio. You need a physical defender on the wing aside from Sochan.

They also need players that can shoot and are a threat to score and make life easier for Victor, not add more players who add to that burden because they can't shoot and aren't a threat to score.

I like Castle and I don't think he's a hopeless case as a shooter, but he's bound to be a role player who requires certain line-ups until he can shoot reliably. He's not going to help teams that are already challenged offensively for the time being.

[Chuck Everett]

Pick him San Antonio. You need a physical defender on the wing aside from Sochan.

They also need players that can shoot and are a threat to score and make life easier for Victor, not add more players who add to that burden because they can't shoot and aren't a threat to score.

I like Castle and I don't think he's a hopeless case as a shooter, but he's bound to be a role player who requires certain line-ups until he can shoot reliably. He's not going to help teams that are already challenged offensively for the time being.

Yeah, the Spurs problems are definitely not on offense. They lose a lot of close games because of defense and if they need offense then they should use FA for that.

[HadAnEffectHere]

The Spurs' problem is that every player on their roster other than Wemby is not great and every player other than Wemby and Tre Jones is bad.

Vassell and Sochan could eventually be good, but they're very not good right now.

The Spurs need to draft based on if they think Vassell and Sochan will eventually learn how to play basketball.

[DOT]

I'm not just saying this cause I'm a UConn fan, but I think he'd benefit tremendously from another year in college

He has great feel for the game and athleticism, but his skills are lacking. Another year of training and development and he'd look so much better, plus he'd probably get the chance to be the guy since at least 3 of the other 4 starters are leaving

But I get why he wouldn't, next years' class is much stronger so if he doesn't ball out his stock's gonna plummet.

[Catchall]

In today's game, guys who don't shoot at least league-average don't get much playing time. Floor spacing is just that important.

[SeattleJazzFan]

In today's game, guys who don't shoot at least league-average don't get much playing time. Floor spacing is just that important.

what did kawhi shoot from three as a frosh? as a sophomore? Castle is a 76% FT shooter so it's not as if he's hopeless. he's 19. 19 year olds improve. of course it's a risk drafting him over say, somebody like Jakobe Walter, from a shooting standpoint, but he does other things better than Walter. there isn't a prospect in the draft without risk.

the biggest mistake draft geeks or actual experts make is forgetting guys improve their shooting all the time, significantly, from the the time they are freshmen to their 2nd or 3rd years in the league. granted, they don't all get to where they need to be, hence the risk, but it is commonplace.

[Catchall]

In today's game, guys who don't shoot at least league-average don't get much playing time. Floor spacing is just that important.

what did kawhi shoot from three as a frosh? as a sophomore? Castle is a 76% FT shooter so it's not as if he's hopeless. he's 19. 19 year olds improve. of course it's a risk drafting him over say, somebody like Jakobe Walter, from a shooting standpoint, but he does other things better than Walter. there isn't a prospect in the draft without risk.

the biggest mistake draft geeks or actual experts make is forgetting guys improve their shooting all the time, significantly, from the the time they are freshmen to their 2nd or 3rd years in the league. granted, they don't all get to where they need to be, hence the risk, but it is commonplace.

Kawhi is one of the most outlier development success stories. For every Kawhi, there are a dozen Kris Dunns, Bruce Browns, Troy Brown Jr.s, Emmanuel Mudiays, Dalen Terrys, etc. It would be one thing if Castle had amazing measurables and athleticism, could guard 1 - 5 like Scottie Barnes, etc., but he's essentially a 2-guard.

Players like that get drafted all the time, but rarely in the top 10. Normally they drop to the end of the lottery due to the risk factor. That's where Jonathan Givony has him slated currently.

[HadAnEffectHere]

In today's game, guys who don't shoot at least league-average don't get much playing time. Floor spacing is just that important.

what did kawhi shoot from three as a frosh? as a sophomore? Castle is a 76% FT shooter so it's not as if he's hopeless. he's 19. 19 year olds improve. of course it's a risk drafting him over say, somebody like Jakobe Walter, from a shooting standpoint, but he does other things better than Walter. there isn't a prospect in the draft without risk.

the biggest mistake draft geeks or actual experts make is forgetting guys improve their shooting all the time, significantly, from the the time they are freshmen to their 2nd or 3rd years in the league. granted, they don't all get to where they need to be, hence the risk, but it is commonplace.

I mean, this is also survival bias, lol.

The big concerns with Castle's jumpshot are

1. His percentages were terrible despite all of his jumpers being unguarded.
2. His form is terrible
3. He was extremely scared to shoot

So the FT% is a positive, but these are three negatives. #3 in particular is super worrying.