people claim Castle has been a disaster, yet Spurs fans love him and seem convinced he’ll become a star Castle in his last 10 games leading up to the ASB: 18 points, 4 boards, and 3.5 apg on 47/40/78 splits including 20 against the Bucks, 20 against the Clippers, 20 against the Celtics, 21 against the Grizzlies, and 33 against the Hornets then he goes and wins Rising Star MVP while Reed Sheppard scored zero, and has a solid showing in his 1st ever Dunk Contest he is getting better as the season has progressed and has shown a ton of flashes while Reed has shown absolutely nothing he won ROTM in January Ime wouldn’t be yanking Castle, he actually does stuff on the court and is capable of having a good game ask any Spurs fan if they’d replace Castle with Reed, they’d just laugh in your face
If you're drafting 3rd, always pick BPA. I get that we needed shooting and Castle's skillset was redundant to the players we have, but if Castle was on this team, he'd be at worst the 3rd best prospect (behind only Sengun and Amen). As it stands now, Reed Sheppard is by far our worst prospect. Castle's versatility is tailor made for today's NBA. Sheppard's one-dimensional skillset (and he really doesn't even have that one dimension) is so outdated and belongs in the 90s
Castle’s best trait is his attitude, he thinks he’s better than Wemby on the court. His actual output has been bad although he’s on a hot streak right now. You can’t say with confidence how he would look under Ime. With Reed it’s one mistake and you’re out. Would Castle even have had the opportunity to go on his hot streak? Dude has negative D numbers, almost 2 turnovers in 25 minutes and shoots 40/30 splits despite his current hot streak. That sounds like some Ime benching to me.
99% of rookies will have negative D numbers Castle’s turnover rate is just 13.3%, and that’s with him being aggressive and trying to make things happen…Reed who just parks in the corner and does nothing has a turnover rate of 12% 1 mistake and you’re out wasn’t the case with Reed to start out…it’s the case now because he sucks so bad and plays like such a timid weakling Castle is the type to create his own opportunities and give a coach no choice but to eventually find him minutes…he has the swagger and confidence that a top pick is supposed to carry themselves with…Reed Sheppard has the demeanor of a 2nd round pick
It really really sucks that he is such a horrible shooter considering that's the main thing he was supposed to be good at. We took a risk on a guy where the idea was "he's an elite shooter, so if he can get good in a bunch of other areas, he can be a really great player." And somehow he seems to still be really bad at all the other stuff...but also bad at shooting? I know a lot of people are blaming his size but his size has nothing to do with him missing wide open catch and shoot 3s. It's not just that he's struggling to get his shot off over NBA size/athleticism, he can't even make the wide open ones.
From my experience, not making open ones is a confidence issue and not a skill issue. His mechanics are perfect, it's clear he's going to make those. I think he'll be fine. He's just raw and not been elbowed in the face enough times to ditch the nice guy act. Amen was a little like that last season. He'll get over it I think.
In no way has he been a disaster, he's been a solid rookie and definitely been better than Reed--but even now, I still don't see the fit here. Amen does everything he does better, except shooting, which they both suck at and Castle only sucks at slightly less. He's redundant to what we're doing IMO. We need shooters. If I could re-do the draft I think I'd go Bub Carrington or maybe Jaylen Wells. But neither of those guys were even in the picture for us, they were picked much later (especially Wells). For what it's worth I still don't see Castle as a superstar or anything. He might become a fringey all-star like Jrue Holiday if the Spurs are lucky.
Castle hasn't been a disaster for a rookie, but if you just look at him as a player this season he's been utterly horrific. He just plays for a bad team that's prioritizing his development, so he's given infinite chances.
People here hate Jalen so much he has become underrated. He’s a plus defender this year, can generate his own O and draws the best perimeter defender. Comparing Castle to him is a bikram yoga stretch.
They hate that both Udoka and Silas gave Jalen more chances than he had earned by that time. Even if he is a plus defender, does not mean he secured himself that starter spot.
When you invisibly propagate a myth as an assumption, of course it corrupts all the data and analysis. In this case the myth is: players who become very good shooters always shoot well in their rookie season otherwise you should revise the idea that they're a good shooter. Stop getting too much in your own head just because you watched ASG and you're prone to grass-greener thinking. Ime sat this boy down in front of us and told us about how amazing he is, his mindset, his physical toughness, surprising athleticism, his family, his upbringing, his skills and his NBA-ready shooting. He implied to us this kid is not weak minded like other boys. Ime vouched for this kid heavily. It's not going the way he hoped, but he deserves more time. A shooter won't catch a rhythm in garbage minutes, that's standard. He won't be making any excuses for Reed, whether he wants to or not. This rookie season sample is meaningless and no matter how his career goes, it will have nothing to do with his rookie 3PT%. Whether he tanks or rises, you would never have been able to tell from a season consisting mostly of garbage minutes coming off the bench cold with random teammates.
We can sit here all day and debate who would’ve fit better, who would be getting playing time here, etc. The draft is what it is sometimes. This was a weak draft. Every one of Reed’s stats was better than Castle’s in college (other than maybe rebounding). The shooting wasn’t even close… Reed 54/52/83 Castle 47/27/76 I’ve brought up my concerns about the anomalous shooting stats for Reed, but it’s still early in his NBA career. But, given what this team lacks, I understand why they went for a guy who looked like a generational shooter in college. For players taking at least 25 3s, he was the top ranked shooter in the country. He was also 8th in steals, so I get the appeal to the franchise with a shooter who can get after it defensively. Though, it now appears as though much of Reed’s defense is from his quick hands and instincts, as he gets beat a lot, but can reach and poke the ball free. I get the pick, but so far it hasn’t panned out. It happens. Teams do their best to scout out these dudes, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out who will adjust to the NBA best (outside of the clear studs). Think about how many teams passed on Sengun. Dude should’ve been a top 3 pick, and went what.. 16th? Could be worse, at least it wasn’t Sam Bowie! Too soon?
Always was a bad pick. Castle game was much better and fit Ime’s game plan. Castle’s form and work ethic would’ve allowed him to grasp a consistent 3 point shot. His shot form reminds me a lot of cam whitmore as he can create his own and for others. He would definitely become better at shooting than amen much quicker. FVV/Castle Green/Amen Brooks/Cam Bari/Tari Sengun/Adams with the long term team being ___/Castle Green/___ Amen/Cam Tari/Bari Sengun/____
