Stephon Castle will be participating in at least two events during NBA All-Star Weekend: the Rising Stars Tournament and the Slam Dunk Contest. San Antonio has seen plenty of their players earn the nod as a rising star, but this is the first time a Spurs player has been selected for the dunk competition in over forty years, 1988.
The excitement in the fan base can't be understated. Long gone are the days when other fan bases admonished the Silver and Black for their ho-hum style of basketball. It was seen as boring despite how much winning it produced. Seemed like a fair trade, I suppose. But now the Spurs have athletic, young, and exciting players who hope to grow into winners.
However, it will take time to get there, and until they do, we're going to have fun cheering on the reigning leader on the NBA Rookie Ladder. Reports out of camp make it sound like he's making sure we have plenty to be excited about on All-Star Saturday Night.
Let me say that Steph Castle was practicing just now at shootaround and pulled off something nasty. Whole gym just exploded and the guys ran away screaming in excitement. https://t.co/Ystm6UI5gE
— Jacob Tobey (@JacobRTobey) January 31, 2025
His athleticism is off the charts, and he's strong for his age. The UConn champion has brought an added level of excitement to this Spurs organization, making the recent reports about Sacramento's interest in the rookie concerning.
Castle is making it harder and harder to consider a trade
Spurs fans are split on this issue. Castle has shown immense potential this season, and the thought of letting him go somewhere else is a tough one. If he grows into a multi-time all-star, nobody will be surprised. But the chance to acquire one of the best guards in the league with an elite clutch ability can't be ignored.
De'Aaron Fox would be the perfect fit next to Victor Wembanyama right now. Stephon Castle has a solid rapport with Wemby, and you can see the chemistry growing. It's easy to project what they could look like in the future if Castle reaches his ceiling. There's no guarantee that he'll ever do that, though.
It's a matter of taking the known vs. the unknown. Steph also has the size and instincts to be a formidable two-way player in the league. De'Aaron Fox isn't a complete negative on defense, but it's not his strongest asset on the floor. Spurs fans have already seen Castle take on tough matchups and hold his own.
Defense is supposed to be the calling card of San Antonio, so that's going to be a significant issue. But we have to remember that anything is possible in this league. The league used to have a tagline in an old marketing campaign that said, "NBA: Where amazing happens." The ad spoke to the awesome things that happened on the court, but fascinating things happen off of it almost every year.
When LeBron first left Cleveland, it was a shock. When Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, it was startling. When the 2008 Celtics brought Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce together, the league was taken aback. The list goes on and on.
I saw all of that to say that SAS could still find a path to a deal with the Kings even without including Castle. They have a ton of assets, but they could also get another team or two involved. The chatter around the deadline is loud for more than a few teams. Don't be surprised if the Spurs get their guy from Sacramento while keeping their promising rookie in silver and black colors.