The Spurs opted for future assets over immediate value with the eighth pick in Wednesday’s draft, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. With UConn guard Stephon Castle already headed to San Antonio at No. 4 and no one else on the board that he really wanted, general manager Brian Wright worked out a deal to send the pick to Minnesota in exchange for an unprotected first-rounder in 2031 and a pick swap in 2030.
Although he admits the pick will eventually be used on some “11-year-old right now,” Wright doesn’t plan to be the one making that selection, as the hope is it will be become a valuable trade chip as the team rebuilds. The immediate benefits from the deal are that the Spurs create an additional $7MM in cap room, giving them roughly $26MM to work with, and they add to a collection of draft assets that now includes 11 first-rounders over the next seven years.
“Those decisions are always difficult because you do all the work on the draft, and there’s definitely players that you like,” Wright said. “But you have to weigh the calculus on what’s best for the future. And we felt like the package that we got was one that made sense to move off of the eighth pick for.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- Wright said it’s “TBD” if Spanish point guard Juan Nunez, who was selected with the 36th pick, will be brought to the NBA next season, McDonald adds. Wright called Nunez, who will play for Spain in this year’s Olympics, “probably the best pick-and-roll player in the draft as a passer and creator.” The Spurs expect Harrison Ingram, who was selected at No. 48, to join Castle on their Summer League team and compete for a two-way contract at training camp.
- Victor Wembanyama is “very happy” with the decision to take Castle at No. 4, per Tom Orsborn of The Express-News. He welcomed his new teammate via FaceTime after the pick was announced. “(Castle) is one of the most NBA-ready players in this draft and a very good person too,” Wembanyama said during a press conference at the French Basketball Federation.
- Zach Collins is making progress after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder that he suffered in the final game of the season, Orsborn adds.“He’s doing great,” Wright said. “He’s working hard every day. Obviously, it was unfortunate, but you guys know Zach. He’s a hard worker and he’s been there before. He’s super competitive, so he attacks his rehab like he attacks the game, so he’s doing really well.”
- Orsborn notes that the Spurs have several financial decisions left to make this summer. Devonte’ Graham has a $2.85MM guarantee on his $12.65MM salary for next season, and the team must waive him by Monday to avoid paying the full amount. Salaries of $3MM for Julian Champagnie and $2.5MM for Charles Bassey both become fully guaranteed if they’re still on the roster August 1.
Spurs are on the rise. If Castle come through, this could be something special. Go Spurs Go!.
IMO, Castle was the best prospect in the draft. I’ve seen him a bunch and he seemed to get better each time. Granted I’ve seen far less of the French guys, and the context (international game) isn’t as familiar to me.
I think Risacher is a better player currently (Sarr still has work to do, but his ceiling is high), but that’s no shade to Castle. They have pretty different skillsets. Castle is a pretty unique player, and it’s hard for me to come up with a comp, but honestly he reminds me a lot of Scottie Barnes. Maybe Scottie Pippen is a comp for his ceiling, if he can get his jumper working at a high level. Castle’s mix of defensive instincts and ability to find the open man are incredible. It’s rare to find both skills at such a high level in a guy that young. His jumper has hope too; the motion itself is pretty smooth. It seems more like a confidence and experience issue to me. Young as he is, it’s kind of impressive that that is his only knock.
Risacher reminds me of Franz Wagner currently, but I think he has a clear shot to be better. I spent a lot of time watching him play in France, and his ability to just scoop even terrible passes, tuck them into his shooting pocket, and then let fly even with a defender in his face is unmatched by anyone else in this draft. Not even Knecht is that smooth under pressure. He’s also a superbly switchable defender, even if he’s not much of a self-creator. And he’s aware of his weaknesses as well. He wasn’t nearly as offensively aggressive or defensively sound in the ’22-’23 season, neither in LNB nor in the EuroCup. Shows he still has room to grow skills-wise, even if his physical stats are maxed out (which I don’t think is quite the case either).
Agree with Wembanyama 100%. Castle is ready. And could be best 2way player in this draft. Has excellent positional size. I’m a big proponent of that. I think he starts right away.
He won’t start right away. Spurs will bring him along slowly. That is the Spurs way. If he pans out, he may be starting by January.