Russell Westbrook's blueprint can guide Stephon Castle's development

Russell Westbrook recently announced his retirement, leaving a generation of 2010s NBA fans sad, yet appreciative of his career. He was a once-in-a-lifetime player, but there's a young star who could replicate his impact. Stephon Castle can follow in his footsteps as the league's next dominant all-around guard while perfecting some of the elements Westbrook struggled with.

You can make the case that Russell is one of the five greatest point guards ever. He's the all-time positional leader in scoring and rebounding. He also holds the record for the most career triple-doubles, and he's the only player to average a triple-double for an entire season more than once.

But, like every legend, he had flaws in his game. This shouldn't make us appreciate him any less, but he's given the next generation of NBA stars a blueprint for perfecting the all-around point guard archetype. Stephon Castle has what it takes to impact the game like Westbrook while taking it a step further.

Castle and Westbrook have a similar all around approach

During his prime, Russell Westbrook was the ultimate do-it-all point guard. He was highly competitive on the boards, pushing past bigger bodies to snatch the ball off the cylinder and push it upcourt. His passing was also elite. He did a great job finding his teammates at the rim or spraying the ball out to shooters on the perimeter.

He was also as good a scorer as you'll find at his position. He was athletic with a lightning-quick first step, zooming past defenders to finish inside. His signature mid-range pull-up jumper also helped him win a pair of scoring titles.

We're already seeing a bit of the same with Stephon. He's been an amazing downhill driver at the start of his career, using his gravity to create scoring opportunities for himself or teammates. Like Westbrook, he's also displayed a reliable mid-range attack.

Castle also plays with the same aggressive approach as Westbrook. He's extremely competitive and is never rattled by the moment. Sometimes that style of play has led to some bad decision-making for Russ, but Stephon's already learning how to balance it out with good poise and pace.

Castle can perfect Westbrook's most glaring weakness

Even though Westbrook remains the all-time leader in scoring at his position, he still struggled to shoot from distance. He made 30% of his long-range shots during his career. Those shortcomings were illuminated in the playoffs, where he converted on just 29%

Those shooting limitations affected his offensive impact in the postseason. Sure, he put plenty of points on the board. But those shooting weaknesses were a reason why he struggled to get teams over the hump, especially during his post-Kevin Durant era.

This is another area where Castle can take things a step further than Westbrook. He's already made some great strides as a three-point shooter. During the post-All-Star break stretch of his second season, he made 41.7% of his long-range looks. He did mellow out a bit in the playoffs, but he still came out to 35% from distance, which is a solid number.

At just 21, he's already shown flashes of becoming a reliable three-point threat. That's a massive step up from where he was as a draft prospect.

Stephon already shares some noticeable traits with Westbrook, be it his all-around impact or fearless mentality. But if he can study what held Russell back at times, he can become the perfect extension of one of the greatest guards to ever step on the court.

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