Stephon Castle's biggest wart is not a worry for the Spurs

A pivotal offseason will soon begin for San Antonio. There's been a lot made about the Spurs needing to strike gold in the 2025 NBA draft and in free agency, but their biggest opportunity to improve is Rookie of the Year frontrunner Stephon Castle.

Generally speaking, young players improve the most over the summer, and that could be huge for both Castle and the Spurs. At the top of his to-do list this summer is adding a reliable jump shot to his game.

On Zach Lowe's recent podcast with Kirk Goldsberry, they discussed Castle and his shooting, with both expressing optimism that he can develop into a star. That is obviously great news for Spurs fans, who already have big hopes riding on Castle and how he'll fit playing next to Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox.

Can Castle develop into a good three-point shooter for the Spurs?

Castle's biggest swing skill is his 3-point shooting, and while he is shooting just 32.5% from deep, he has shown flashes of being a good shooter. In the 13 games that preceded the All-Star break, he drained 40% of his threes on 3.8 3-point attempts per game.

That was a relatively small sample size, but big enough to suggest that he can be an efficient, high-volume shooter in the NBA. That would be a huge development for several reasons.

One would be that the Spurs would be able to play Fox, Castle, Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Wembanyama together. That will give them just enough shooting to make that lineup work on offense and put their five best players on the court at the same time. It would also be their best lineup defensively, allowing them to excel on both ends of the floor.

The other reason is that Castle's individual ceiling would skyrocket with him already being terrific at attacking the paint with his athleticism, allowing him to finish at the rim. Adding a reliable jumper would allow him to play off-ball and open up driving lanes with defenders having to stick closer to him.

If he can mix in some mid-range jump-shots when operating in the pick-and-roll, then he could really shine as an offensive player and give the Spurs a third star. Overall, Castle's current struggles shooting appear to be something that he can overcome. If he does, then the Spurs won't have to look far to find their third star to pair with Fox and Wembanyama.