Castle is flashing is all around game. Playmaking, defense, getting to the rim, finishing through contact, living at the line, and yes he has made some threes. Meanwhile Reed is a one trick pony, all he can do is shoot and he can't even do that well in the playoffs. He's bad at everything else.
He's an elite defensive playmaker / disruptor, and is at worst the second best playmaker / decision maker on this roster. Also, shooting happens to be the single most important skill in the sport, so that's worth considering.
This still supports the fact that Stone has made a lot of mistakes and should be let go. The fact they have that many guys that would be the best guard option on our team is wild, given how we reset around the same time. This isn't even about getting Wemby as #1, its also about how they built a team around him so quickly, while Stone told us in 2021 to not judge him until 2030.
See you can say it’s not about wemby, but if he missed the season and they went 40-42 or whatever, would you give a rats ass about castle or any of those guys? Harper is certainly special no doubt, but the rest?
If you replaced Sengun w Wemby the Rockets would have lost in the first or second round. No guards and no one else that can shoot but most importantly our coach wouldnt even know what to do. Teams would figure out some scheme to make Wemby useless and Ime would not adjust a thing. He likely would have ruined Wemby's career and hed be on his way to being a bust. This is why he was happy he didn't get drafted by the Rockets. You add up alll off the things Stone has made mistakes on and we are not a Wemby away from the finals. We do not have a coach, we do not have young players that can show up in playoffs an score the ball, we do not have an all star level player in his prime that can actually contribute to winning. The odds of the Lakers advancing against the Rockets without Luka or AR to start the series was very very low, this team has proven who they really are and our coaching staff is pretty bad, this is on Stone.
The only way to make wemby useless on defense is to take him out of the game. If you swap wemby and sengun the rockets would be light years ahead of the spurs. The idea of wemby being a bust in literally ANY situation is beyond laughable. He would be incredible on the kings, the pelicans, the wizards, literally any team that exists.
what? you act like Wemby is nothing but a stiff on defense and doesn't have a 3 pt shot and guard skills
They lost the first 2 games because he can’t shoot and is not worth defending. you guys really set a low bar to excuse slurping lmao again I don’t recall fans around the league clamming at Trevor Ariza or other defensive wings the same way everytime they fart or cough.
I am a harsh Stone critic. And I don't know which of these two guys will ultimately be the better player. But to blame Stone for picking Sheppard over Castle is a bit hypocritical. The overwhelming majority of CFers supported the choice. Just go back and look at the poll. I'd say 95% of people here would make the same pick as Stone did.
LOL at the Reed lovers here. Reed would have missed 1 of those free throws at the end and try to do the stupid thing where he nonchalant gives everyone fives like he always does when he messes up.
I probably voted and liked Reed because that was the consensus here....BUT I don't watch college basketball and no idea who these players are coming into the NBA. If you're job is to watch, scout players and you do this everyday because IT IS YOUR JOB then I really don't understand how you can come to a conclusion that this little guy who came off the bench in college is a better player than Castle. I mean it's only been 2 years, so these 2 are basically still the same players they were when they were scouted.
It’s his full time highly paid job with a budget for staff to help him make those decisions. I’ve seen Rockets fans read the draft and analyze players better than our front office. This guy @Madmanleaks on twitter, firmly and confidently called both Jalen Williams and Stephon Castle at the top of his board for the Rockets at pick 3 and explained why. 30 teams have the same goal and same resources as us, you need great decisions. Doing what 95% of fans think or selecting who Tankathon has listed the highest isn’t going to cut it.
except we don't get paid to be in the FO of a big market pro basketball team where the results actually matter
Castle is mentally tougher than Reed. Castle still keeps taking jumpers even though he is not a good shooter, he is not afraid of the moment. Do Spurs coaching staff need to tell him to shoot more? No, because he believes in himself. Reed needs other players and coaching to encourage him, basically treat him like a kid in order to grow his confidence. Castle is already confident. He has never looked scared of the moment, all the way to the Finals. Meanwhile Reed looked like a deer in the headlights in the 1st round.
