2024-25 NBA Rookie Discussion Thread (Pt. 3)

[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

1. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs

Season stats: 13.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.5 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1
Draft pick: No. 4

First Victor Wembanyama went out for the season, now it’s guard De’Aaron Fox (pinkie surgery). That largely has flipped the keys to what’s left of San Antonio’s season to Castle to run the Spurs’ attack and put up some numbers to draw ROY votes. Castle is the only rookie to score more than 900 points or take more than 700 shots. He’s tied for most steals (61) among rookies while ranking fourth in minutes logged and in assists.

2. Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks

Season stats: 11.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.2 apg
Last Ladder: No. 3
Draft pick: No. 1

Risacher’s minutes and stats have risen and fallen — he averaged 15 points on 51% shooting this week — but Hawks coach Snyder hasn’t focused on that. “I don’t want us to get hung up on Zacch making shots and saying he played well and him missing shots and saying he didn’t,” Snyder said. “I’m going to get a sign and say, ‘Zacch’s tough, Zacch competes, and Zacch loves to play – and Zacch loves to work.’”

[G R E Y]

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4-6FTs, 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3TOs in 27 minutes.

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[prime1time]

Castle will be the clear cut best guy in this draft when its all said and done, but i am loving watching ZR grow. He will be MPJ with defense.

Alex Sarr says hello

[Mr Puddles]

Castle will be the clear cut best guy in this draft when its all said and done, but i am loving watching ZR grow. He will be MPJ with defense.

Alex Sarr says bonjour

Agreed, Alex Sarr looks like he has the most upside in this draft. Great mobility on defense and has shown enough flashed on offense at age 19 to give Wizards fans reason to be excited.

The Mr. Puddles ranking at this point:
ROY: Risacher (Castle runner up)
Most potential: Sarr
Biggest Steal: Post ( I know he's older, but getting a starter level rotation piece for a playoff team in Bronnie James draft territory is a huge get)
Biggest disappointment: Sheppard (not saying he's a bust, but relative to his draft position and expectations, his first year performance alone has been disappointing)

[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

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[Jamaaliver]

[Bornstellar]

Castle will be the clear cut best guy in this draft when its all said and done, but i am loving watching ZR grow. He will be MPJ with defense.

Alex Sarr says hello

He said what he said

[jasonxxx102]

Castle will be the clear cut best guy in this draft when its all said and done, but i am loving watching ZR grow. He will be MPJ with defense.

Alex Sarr says bonjour

Agreed, Alex Sarr looks like he has the most upside in this draft. Great mobility on defense and has shown enough flashed on offense at age 19 to give Wizards fans reason to be excited.

The Mr. Puddles ranking at this point:
ROY: Risacher (Castle runner up)
Most potential: Sarr
[b]Biggest Steal: Post ( I know he's older, but getting a starter level rotation piece for a playoff team in Bronnie James draft territory is a huge get) [/b]
Biggest disappointment: Sheppard (not saying he's a bust, but relative to his draft position and expectations, his first year performance alone has been disappointing)

Jaylen Wells, arguably the best rookie this season, was also drafted in the 2nd round lol

[Mr Puddles]

Alex Sarr says bonjour

Agreed, Alex Sarr looks like he has the most upside in this draft. Great mobility on defense and has shown enough flashed on offense at age 19 to give Wizards fans reason to be excited.

The Mr. Puddles ranking at this point:
ROY: Risacher (Castle runner up)
Most potential: Sarr
[b]Biggest Steal: Post ( I know he's older, but getting a starter level rotation piece for a playoff team in Bronnie James draft territory is a huge get) [/b]
Biggest disappointment: Sheppard (not saying he's a bust, but relative to his draft position and expectations, his first year performance alone has been disappointing)

Jaylen Wells, arguably the best rookie this season, was also drafted in the 2nd round lol

I put more emphasis on Post being at the tail end of the draft when defining steal. You can have your own preference, there is no set of rules for it or anything.

[jasonxxx102]

Agreed, Alex Sarr looks like he has the most upside in this draft. Great mobility on defense and has shown enough flashed on offense at age 19 to give Wizards fans reason to be excited.

The Mr. Puddles ranking at this point:
ROY: Risacher (Castle runner up)
Most potential: Sarr
[b]Biggest Steal: Post ( I know he's older, but getting a starter level rotation piece for a playoff team in Bronnie James draft territory is a huge get) [/b]
Biggest disappointment: Sheppard (not saying he's a bust, but relative to his draft position and expectations, his first year performance alone has been disappointing)

Jaylen Wells, arguably the best rookie this season, was also drafted in the 2nd round lol

Yes, along with 28 other players.

I put more emphasis on Post being at the tail end of the draft when defining steal. You can have your own preference, there is no set of rules for it or anything.

I guess I just disagree with your take that he's a future rotation piece for a playoff team.

Box scores and highlights are really overrating his impact

[Mr Puddles]

Jaylen Wells, arguably the best rookie this season, was also drafted in the 2nd round lol

Yes, along with 28 other players.

I put more emphasis on Post being at the tail end of the draft when defining steal. You can have your own preference, there is no set of rules for it or anything.

I guess I just disagree with your take that he's a future rotation piece for a playoff team.

Box scores and highlights are really overrating his impact

Honestly I wouldn't know, I don't really watch basketball.

[AFM]

This kid is playing too well right now

Watch on YouTube

[prime1time]

Castle will be the clear cut best guy in this draft when its all said and done, but i am loving watching ZR grow. He will be MPJ with defense.

Alex Sarr says hello

He said what he said

Castle is playing well but the questions surrounding him before the season was his 3-point shooting. And this still has not been answered. In the month of March he's shooting 33.3% from 3 on 5.5 attempts. For the season Sarr has attempted more 3's than Castle and makes them at a higher percentage. And in March Sarr is shooting 6 3's a game and making 38.3% of them. Spurs fans dominate the thread and they can believe what they want. But belief is not the same as reality. If you would have told people before the draft that Sarr would be shooting that many 3's at that percentage in March and then tell them how Castle is playing no one would take Castle over Sarr. All you're showing is that Spurs fans are overly sensitive and lack objectivity.

[prime1time]

Alex Sarr says hello

He said what he said

Castle is playing well but the questions surrounding him before the season was his 3-point shooting. And this still has not been answered. In the month of March he's shooting 33.3% from 3 on 5.5 attempts. For the season Sarr has attempted more 3's than Castle and makes them at a higher percentage. And in March Sarr is shooting 6 3's a game and making 38.3% of them. Spurs fans dominate the thread and they can believe what they want. But belief is not the same as reality. If you would have told people before the draft that Sarr would be shooting that many 3's at that percentage in March and then tell them how Castle is playing no one would take Castle over Sarr. All you're showing is that Spurs fans are overly sensitive and lack objectivity.

At least say that we should let it play out lmao. Calling Castle the best player in the rookie class this early and getting defensive when someone questions it is not normal. lol.

[Bornstellar]

Alex Sarr says hello

He said what he said

Castle is playing well but the questions surrounding him before the season was his 3-point shooting. And this still has not been answered. In the month of March he's shooting 33.3% from 3 on 5.5 attempts. For the season Sarr has attempted more 3's than Castle and makes them at a higher percentage. And in March Sarr is shooting 6 3's a game and making 38.3% of them. Spurs fans dominate the thread and they can believe what they want. But belief is not the same as reality. If you would have told people before the draft that Sarr would be shooting that many 3's at that percentage in March and then tell them how Castle is playing no one would take Castle over Sarr. All you're showing is that Spurs fans are overly sensitive and lack objectivity.

My response was obviously in jest bud, talk about being overly sensitive...

I'm happy that Sarr is coming around for y'all. Really. It doesn't change the fact that Castle is going to win ROY. I also don't think most people care that someone is having a hot streak shooting wise the first 3 weeks of March. Sarr was drafted #2 for a reason, no one is disputing his talent. But all buddy did was make comment about Zacc and Steph, you mentioned Sarr, I joking respond by saying he said what he said and now you're going off about Spurs fans being overly sensitive

We have nothing to be sensitive about my guy. We are going to have the last two ROY winners. Be happy that your guy is finally looking like a player worthy of being drafted #2 instead of trying to crap on Spurs fans

[Mr Puddles]

Sarr having himself a nice 5 day stretch: 23 ppg, 61% TS including 48% 3P (on 7.5 attempts a game), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 blocks and a steal per game.

[wemby]

Basically everything you posted comes down to 3 pt shooting, if Spurs intended Castle to be as efficient as possible, they'd have him shoot much less 3s and all those efficiency stats would jump, however Spurs want him to develop so he's doing things he's doing things he's not yet good at (i.e., shooting) while Risacher is playing a very limited role as a 3&D guy with no creation responsabilities whatsoever, so obviously he should be more efficient. Same thing as why rim rolling bigs perform faster than guards. If you account for role, however, Castle has shown A LOT more than Risacher, basically everywhere but 3 pt shooting, and it's not even close IMO.

[Marvin Martian]

Alex Sarr says hello

He said what he said

Castle is playing well but the questions surrounding him before the season was his 3-point shooting. And this still has not been answered. In the month of March he's shooting 33.3% from 3 on 5.5 attempts. For the season Sarr has attempted more 3's than Castle and makes them at a higher percentage. And in March Sarr is shooting 6 3's a game and making 38.3% of them. Spurs fans dominate the thread and they can believe what they want. But belief is not the same as reality. If you would have told people before the draft that Sarr would be shooting that many 3's at that percentage in March and then tell them how Castle is playing no one would take Castle over Sarr. All you're showing is that Spurs fans are overly sensitive and lack objectivity.

Except that Castle's shooting doesn't matter as much as people thought. He is very skilled and crafty around the rim and can draw fouls at an elite rate. I don't think people saw that coming. Even if he doesn't improve his shooting significantly, he can still score with decent efficiency. When you add in the off ball ability, playmaking, and defense, you have an elite prospect in mold of Jimmy Butler

I haven't watched Sarr this season. But looking at his numbers, he is shooting well as of late. Question is as a prospect, how is he better than say, Myles Turner?

[FarBeyondDriven]

He said what he said

Castle is playing well but the questions surrounding him before the season was his 3-point shooting. And this still has not been answered. In the month of March he's shooting 33.3% from 3 on 5.5 attempts. For the season Sarr has attempted more 3's than Castle and makes them at a higher percentage. And in March Sarr is shooting 6 3's a game and making 38.3% of them. Spurs fans dominate the thread and they can believe what they want. But belief is not the same as reality. If you would have told people before the draft that Sarr would be shooting that many 3's at that percentage in March and then tell them how Castle is playing no one would take Castle over Sarr. All you're showing is that Spurs fans are overly sensitive and lack objectivity.

Except that Castle's shooting doesn't matter as much as people thought. He is very skilled and crafty around the rim and can draw fouls at an elite rate. I don't think people saw that coming. Even if he doesn't improve his shooting significantly, he can still score with decent efficiency. When you add in the off ball ability, playmaking, and defense, you have an elite prospect in mold of Jimmy Butler

I haven't watched Sarr this season. But looking at his numbers, he is shooting well as of late. Question is as a prospect, how is he better than say, Myles Turner?

I mean, Myles Turner is a borderline top 10 center. Sarr is already basically Myles Turner at 19 y/o. That's his floor. Evan Mobley or a little better is his ceiling. Not too shabby for one of the weakest drafts in history eh?

[prime1time]

He said what he said

Castle is playing well but the questions surrounding him before the season was his 3-point shooting. And this still has not been answered. In the month of March he's shooting 33.3% from 3 on 5.5 attempts. For the season Sarr has attempted more 3's than Castle and makes them at a higher percentage. And in March Sarr is shooting 6 3's a game and making 38.3% of them. Spurs fans dominate the thread and they can believe what they want. But belief is not the same as reality. If you would have told people before the draft that Sarr would be shooting that many 3's at that percentage in March and then tell them how Castle is playing no one would take Castle over Sarr. All you're showing is that Spurs fans are overly sensitive and lack objectivity.

Except that Castle's shooting doesn't matter as much as people thought. He is very skilled and crafty around the rim and can draw fouls at an elite rate. I don't think people saw that coming. Even if he doesn't improve his shooting significantly, he can still score with decent efficiency. When you add in the off ball ability, playmaking, and defense, you have an elite prospect in mold of Jimmy Butler

I haven't watched Sarr this season. But looking at his numbers, he is shooting well as of late. Question is as a prospect, how is he better than say, Myles Turner?

If you're not going to actually watch Sarr play is their any reason to have a conversation? about him As for your other point, I think it's a mistake this early in his career to say Castle will go the Jimmy Butler route. There's only one Jimmy Butler and his play style doesn't mesh nicely with other skillsets. Butler's skillset works because he can take over games offensively in the playoffs and be ball dominant. Because you guys have Wemby in key moments the ball won't be in Castle's hands. This is why your analysis is flawed. Jimmy Butler spent his career as a 1. The Spurs have a 1 and it's not Castle. As good as a Castle might be, a non shooting version will not work.

You say Jimmy Butler, I say Tyreke Evans. Next year when you're at full strength where does Castle fit into the offense? Fox will need his shots. Wemby will need his shots. This is the challenge of player projection. It's not just talking about players in a vacuum. It's about understanding what your team needs to do to win, how player skillsets fit together and how productive players can be in that role. With Fox and Wemby already on your roster, either Castle improves his 3-point shooting or he will likely have to find a new team. Like Josh Giddey. Wemby has one more offseason before his grace runs out and people will start to criticize his lack of winning.