Las Vegas – Donovan Clingan, his teammate at the University of Connecticut, knew what was coming for the Spurs: He and Stephen Castle had just won a national championship together.
“He's a special player,” Clingan said. “He can assist at a high level. He can pass at a high level. And obviously he can score. He's got a great career ahead of him.”
All of that, plus some solid defense, was on display in Castle's first summer league game in Las Vegas. While summer league performances can be hit or miss, Castle has shown signs of becoming the two-way star every team is after — a Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, Mikal Bridges or Jrue Holiday.
He is the type of player the Spurs need next after Victor Wembanyama if they are to win a championship ring in the coming years.
He did a lot of things as a point guard on Saturday night. His strength is defense, and he played well on that part of the court (as does anyone who looks good on defense in the chaos of Summer League games). More importantly, he showed off his offensive prowess, scoring 16 points, hitting two 3-pointers, hitting a floater over Clingan's head in the lane (which Clingan blocked on the ensuing drive), and showing impressive court vision to find the open man while driving.
“So in that sense, I'm very confident in myself and I think my team and coaching staff feel the same way,” Castle said. “It just means I can go out here and play my game. It's a luxury for me.”
The Spurs want that versatility.
“I think he just wants to be a good basketball player. I'm not sure if he wants to be a point guard necessarily,” Spurs Summer League coach Kenny Trevino said. “He's really good with the ball in his hands, but he's also good enough to play without the ball.”
“We have spoken about including him in our big club plans and having him play alongside Victor. [Wembanyama]”Playing with Chris Paul, he's not going to have the ball in his hands a lot, so he's got to be able to impact the game in a variety of ways.”
Castle showed glimpses of his potential to be a true cornerstone of the Spurs in the future on his first night in Las Vegas. If he can live up to that potential over the next few years — and there's a lot of work to do to get there — this could be a bargain draft pick for a team that's already a threat in the West.
