Stephon Castle's early shooting struggles are nothing Spurs should worry about

Stephon Castle was always going to carry the weight of great expectations during his rookie year. The former five-star recruit has felt the pressure of stardom on his shoulders since he was in high school near Atlanta and has lived up to the hype every step of the way.

From his arrival at UConn to being a key player in the Huskies title run and eventually leaving Storrs as a top-five pick in the NBA draft, Castle already has a resume that rivals any of his peers. But even he must have felt or at least been aware of the magnitude of the situation he was coming into with the San Antonio Spurs.

As the numerically larger and physically smaller half of the Area 51 duo, Castle was drafted by the Spurs with the hope that he could be the backcourt partner San Antonio desperately needed to solidify their young core alongside budding superstar Victor Wembanyama. And so far he's looked the part.

He's top-five in his class in both points and assists and leads all rookies in steals. He's second among all rookie guards in total rebounds. Steph has looked very much like the smooth, tough, two-way player that caught the Spurs' attention and demanded their selection.

But no amount of flashy highlights or stuffed box scores will pull attention away from the one glaring hole in Castle's game. His abysmal three-point shooting, while nothing new, has been a constant hindrance to what could otherwise be a runaway Rookie of the Year campaign. But I'm here to tell you it's fine, he's fine, it's all going to be fine.

Castle's three-point struggles are all part of the development program

The scouting report on Castle has been out for a while now and everyone has surely included something to the effect of "not a threat from behind the arc." While harsh, it's not untrue.

Castle shot 27 percent from deep in his one season at UConn and has stayed relatively flat to that, shooting just 25 percent from behind the arc so far this season. And while it might be frustrating to see Castle continue to take shot after shot and see just a quarter of them go in, it's also part of the Spurs plan.

If you only look at box scores or check stat totals, it might seem odd that Castle is in the top ten rookies in three-point attempts while still shooting as poorly as he has been. But the Spurs have seemingly made a conscious push to get Castle to hunt for his shot and accept whatever outcome that may bring. It's the right decision to make.

Castle hasn't had to be the primary scorer for a while now. Going back to his days at UConn he could rely on fellow NBA-bound players such as Tristan Newton, Cam Spencer, or Donovan Clingan to help carry the load whenever his shot wasn't falling. That's not the case anymore.

If he wants to reach the ceiling that the Spurs and their fans believe he's capable of as the 1B to Wemby's 1A, Castle needs to be the guy that others on the team look to carry them when their shot isn't falling, not the other way around. That's going to take live, in-game reps that, at his current rate, will lead to a lot of missed threes.

But the Spurs are smartly betting that the long-term value of Castle getting these reps, growing comfortable figuring out what shots he wants to take, and developing that scoring instinct is worth way more than whatever impact these missed shots might have on a game-to-game basis.

You can acknowledge that Castle's three-point shot is a work in progress and in need of some offseason attention while also admitting that his poor shooting alone isn't what's holding the Spurs back. And even if he did magically become a league-average three-point shooter overnight, that alone still wouldn't be enough to make the Spurs a legit playoff threat.

So if you're worried about Castle's jumper, I'm not going to tell you you're wrong. But, also, chill. It's going to be okay. He's still young. Be patient and see what he looks like after a full offseason of work. When he comes back next year, comfortable looking for his shot and knocking them down consistently, remember what I told you—it's all part of the plan.