Reed is doing exactly what we should want. Hitting his 3s and slowly improving on ball handling, defense, etc. He’s basically a rookie. If he would have been drafted by the Wizards, and started and featured, he would have been ROY, and much further along in development. I think he’s great off the bench and getting enough minutes. Okogie is fine to start while Reed gets his feet wet.
I don’t if you are familiar with the concept of defense but no one scouting Castle’s upside were thinking he would be an all star from his offense alone - he was scouted as a high level defender with some scoring skills who one would hope would turn into a reliable shooter. Castle can learn to improve his shooting - Reed can’t learn height and likely is not going to pick up physicality as a skill very easily given how he avoids contact today. I’m not saying Reed doesn’t have upside - but his size was always going to put him at a disadvantage unless his shooting and hands were truly elite and so far both are good, but not necessarily exceptional by NBA standards.
Well, Curry wasn't good enough to get drafted at the same age... so it's not really apples to apples.
I think the landing place is also important, Castle landing in San Antonio with a great traditional bball program is great for him. Shooting comes and goes but he will become a fundamentally sound player within the Spurs program. The funny thing is that the Spurs have the luxury to dispatch Fox off the bench.....that is rarefied.... Not that they are doing it but that option is phenomenal.
Castle can learn to shoot, just like Reed can learn to improve his footwork. The scouting on Reed was he was a good 2 way player. He shows signs of it. Will Castle develop as a shooter? Most don't. There's a reason they drafted a guard with their top pick.
What's interesting is last year when Castle and Victor played together the spurs were a below average defense... maybe have to make sacrifices in the other roles defensively to make up for offensive limitations.
Victor is also not the same player, he went thru a blood clot situation that was career threatening....gave him life perspective. Now he is dominating inside the paint more instead of just trying to hoist up shots on the perimeter. Works out with Hakeem the Dream. Likely less arrogant too which does not bode well for the entire league!
Not saying he can become FVV on the defensive end because he's not FVV but what a great mentor for a smaller player to have to help build up the knowledge of how he needs to play defensively to last in this league and help his team win.
They drafted a guard because they know you go BPA in the draft and Harper was clear BPA at 2. Rockets passed on Castle like how Blazers passed on Jordan. I know Castle isnt as good as Jordan but Reed is trending to be a career backup and isnt even as good as Sam Bowie.
If Reed had played four years of college ball like FVV, he would probably be a solid floor general. I understand why guys come out early, but sometimes it’s really too early. And for some reason people now expect these very young players to be good NBA players as soon as the enter the league.
I agree. But also that just proves we goofed on the top 3 pick. You dont pick a 4 yr player with the top 3 pick. Guys like TSJ are late lotto at best.
By who? Top draft picks don't know how to win anything till their 2nd or 3rd seasons. They land on bad teams which drags down their advanced numbers. They're almost always mistake-prone. If you're looking for players that are not negative, you'd typically look for older guys with more experience rather than the teenagers in the draft. Those players have lower ceilings though. The ideal player to get with a high draft pick is someone uber talented and very raw who you can build from scratch rather than hope the G League or college or Europe does a good job. If you're lucky, once every 5 years those guys will be net positives in year 1. To expect that to be your guy is not reasonable. Some projects are worth a high pick. If we improve his ball handling and strength, this guy could be worth $30m a year by the time his rookie contract is up. Passable defense, responsible playmaking and elite 3pt shot = very good player. It's not far and we have a great development staff if nothing else. Also the boxscore +/- is not a reliable tool for determining who's doing their job and who's not. Udoka has said this a few times, your assessments are going to be all over the place if you use it that way.
