Stephon Castle may be the next Spur the Clippers look to steal after Kawhi

In the aftermath of the NBA's punishment following the Kawhi Leonard investigation, the LA Clippers could look to steal another San Antonio Spurs player away. The Clippers were stripped of five first-round picks, making it all but impossible for them to rebuild through the draft.

As a result, the Clippers will likely have to use free agency to dig themselves out of the hole that they created. That could start with them targeting restricted free agents.

In that case, the most likely target would be Stephon Castle. Despite being a member of the Spurs' young core, it's possible that he could hit restricted free agency. Particularly if Castle doesn't make the All-Star team or make All-NBA next season.

Stephon Castle could be the next Spur the Clippers try to steal

Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson just got a 5-year, $208 million deal, which will pay him up to 22% of the salary cap going forward. I'd argue Castle is better than Thompson.

Still, if Castle doesn't take a big leap next season, then San Antonio may try to retain him for more than what Thompson is getting but less than the max. The difference between what he's getting and a 25% max is currently about $44 million, giving the Spurs some wiggle room.

Hopefully Castle will take less than the max, similar to Victor Wembanyama. Of course, if San Antonio and Castle don't see eye to eye in contract negotiations, then that can open the door for the clippers.

The Spurs hold all the cards in retaining Stephon Castle

Even if Castle were to make it to restricted free agency, the best the Clippers can do is offer Castle a four-year max worth around $178 million using next season's cap number as a placeholder.

That could be roughly $50 million less than he'd get under a five-year max contract with the Spurs. Hopefully it won't get to that point because San Antonio locking both Castle and Dylan Harper up at or below the 25% max would be massive advantages.

A lot comes down to Castle and how he plays next season. If he balls out and makes the leap into stardom, then San Antonio would have no problem paying him at or near the 25% max.

However, if he isn't much better than he was last season, then they may be inclined to offer Castle closer to what Thompson got. Even if he got to restricted free agency, San Antonio would have the right to first refusal and could beat any offer the Clippers or another team makes.

Either way, Castle could be a Spur for a very long time. It just depends on what number.

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