Predicting Stephon Castle’s career ceiling and floor player comparisons

Lost in the excitement of the San Antonio Spurs' offseason that saw them make two surprising trades and sign a future Hall of Famer is fourth overall pick Stephon Castle. Castle isn't necessarily an afterthought, but he doesn't figure to factor into the Spurs' rotation as much as a typical fourth-round pick would during their rookie season.

However, his play during the NBA Summer League suggests that he might be able to make an impact. Castle primarily played on the wing at Connecticut but has experience playing point guard and showed the ability to play with the ball in his hands. With the addition of Chris Paul, he will probably play primarily off the ball next season, and given his lack of shooting, that could affect his ability to score.

Fortunately, he is considered to be one of the best defenders in his draft class and can earn minutes on the wing by shutting down opposing guards. The tools are there for Castle to be a very good player for the Spurs, especially if he can play point guard in the NBA. Even still, he has high boom and bust potential. Next, we'll take a look at his floor as a player and then his ceiling and project what he will become for the Spurs.

Predicting Stephon Castle's floor

If nothing else, Castle should be able to defend several positions effectively in the NBA. That's not nothing, but his two biggest swing skills are shooting and playmaking. In recent years, the Spurs have had a spottier record teaching players how to shoot, with Jeremy Sochan still working on that skill entering his third year. San Antonio can be patient and hope that Castle's shot comes around.

If it does, then the Spurs won't have to worry about him being a negative on offense with him being able to hit open threes and defend. Another route to him being a capable offensive player is his being able to be a primary or secondary ball handler.

If he can run pick and roll, then not being a knockdown shooter becomes less of an issue, so long as the Spurs can put four shooters around him, hopefully including Sochan. Castle already looks to be a better mid-range shooter than a 3-point shooter, so there is the possibility that he gets buckets off of pullup jumpers if he plays point guard or runs a pick-and-roll.

At the moment, I'd trust Castle to be a primary or secondary playmaker. One who can create for others, hit pull-ups, or attack the rim more than being able to do that and also be an above-average volume 3-point shooter. That player type isn't as valuable in today's NBA unless they are in the right lineup and system, but the Spurs may be able to make it work.

Floor: A bigger Cory Joseph

Predicting Stephon Castle's ceiling

The best-case scenario for Castle involves him being able to play point guard full-time. That would remove the need for the Spurs to trade for a point guard and solve the long-term question mark at that position. If Castle can play the one, then that likely means that he has not only shown enough shot creation but also become enough of a scoring threat.

Playing with the ball in his hands would minimize teams leaving him wide open, and even if they sag off him or go under on screens, there seems to be a decent chance that he can at least hit an open mid-range jumper. He has also shown a knack for using screens, which should help him get into the paint where his size at 6'6 can help him as a finisher.

Of course, playing alongside Wembanyama will help too, with teams likely struggling to figure out how to defend him. With Wemby playing the five and most opposing teams only playing one big man at a time, there probably won't be much rim protection if he sets a screen and pops out to the 3-point line.

Or, Wembanyama could screen off Castle's man, forcing a switch with Wembanyama being guarded by a player far shorter, which could force a double and lead to another Spurs being open. Castle almost wouldn't have to do much to be effective in that situation, but he showed that he was a good passer at UConn and even has a knack for feeding big men for easy shots.

If he can do that with the Spurs, then that raises his ceiling with him being able to play point guard while also probably being able to defend one through three. That would give San Antonio a size advantage on both ends of the floor.

Even still, Castle will have to be a decent 3-point shooter for him to live up to his full potential, as would Sochan. At least one of them has to develop into a reliable outside threat to make the Castle, Vassell, Sochan, and Wembanyama lineup work. If both can, then San Antonio has arguably the best young core in the NBA. If only one can, i.e., Castle, then Sochan may be moved to the bench, or vice versa if Sochan can and Castle can't. Also, let's not discuss if both fail to become shooters.

Ultimately, Castle's ceiling is that of a big point guard who can create in the pick-and-roll as a passer and an effective finisher inside the arc. He should also be able to defend multiple positions and potentially hit open threes. That could be a valuable player, and the Spurs were smart to gamble that he might turn into that player.

Ceiling: Spurs-era Dejounte Murray