Instant Reaction: Spurs Draft Stephon Castle, Trade 8th Pick (Rob Dillingham)
The Spurs drafted Stephon Castle with the 4th pick and have agreed to the trade the 8th pick (Rob Dillingham) to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Could the new cap space be a move for this weekend?
SPURS DRAFT HEADQUARTERS - Through the first four picks of the 2024 NBA Draft, everything was going according to plan. The Atlanta Hawks drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the 1st pick, Washington drafted Alexandre Sarr with the 2nd pick, and Reed Sheppard was selected 3rd by the Houston Rockets.
Up next was the San Antonio Spurs at 4.
Stephon Castle was almost a consensus pick at 4 for the Spurs on the mocks, and after five minutes on the clock, the Spurs did just that - drafted Castle.
Castle is a 6’6” guard from UConn who is known for his versatility and defense. He can handle the ball and run the offense at times, but he played more of the 2 at UConn. He’s very poised at 19 years old and doesn’t speed up or lose his composure often.
While Castle should get minutes early because Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich likes to have players who are ready to play defensively, the one skill he’ll have to work on will be his outside shooting - especially with all the attention Victor Wembanyama draws on a nightly basis.
Castle also has experience getting to the ball to a big man, after he showed post-entry passing and dive passing ability to big man Donovan Clingan at UConn.
You can read my full scouting report on Castle below in which I go into much more detail on his game, and who some of his NBA comps are:
One early question I’m wondering about is where Castle will play in the lineup. Here are two potential lineups based on the players the Spurs have on their team right now.
Castle at the point: Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama - Until we know how the Spurs will address their small forward position - they could go with a lineup with Castle running the point. The Spurs would be able to have Castle guarding whoever the premiere offensive player is at the 1, 2, or 3, but offensively, he’ll have to learn to run the offense while also working on his shot, with teams backing off he and Sochan when Wemby has the ball.
Castle at the 2: Tre Jones, Castle, Vassell, Sochan, Wemby - Here the Spurs could have both Castle and Vassell get minutes at the 2 and 3, and the concern there would be when the Spurs play bigger small forwards like LeBron James, Paul George, or Kawhi Leonard-type players. The Spurs would still be faced with spacing issues with teams backing off Jones, Castle, and Sochan.
Again, these are just early lineup questions I have and perhaps they will become more clear in the coming days, when free agency begins Sunday.
Spurs Trade 8th Pick (Rob Dillingham)
According to multiple outlets, the Spurs drafted Rob Dillingham with the 8th pick and then agreed to trade him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for an unprotected 2031 first round pick and a protected 2030 first round pick.
That trade hasn’t been made official yet (as of 8:52 PM CT), but we’ll get more details once the move is official.
What are the Spurs doing with that new cap space?
After the Spurs traded the 8th pick and didn’t acquire a first round pick in THIS draft, they now have the potential to open up to $26.4 million in cap space Sunday, as I outlined this scenario last night.
The Spurs now have a few options in how they can use that cap space:
A) Trade for a player or players within that $26 million range.
B) Send free agent offers up to $26 million annually to a free agent.
C) Split that money into two free agent offers ($13 million, $13 million or $14 million, $12 million).