Spurs 2024 Draft Recap

A Huskie, a Spaniard, and a native Texan

Stephon Castle was exactly what many of us thought we'd get… and feverishly hoped for… from this week's NBA Draft, so once Commissioner Adam Silver called out his name as the Spurs’ pick at #4, the dream became a reality. As I apparently tend to do now during draft nights lately, only when San Antonio gets a lottery pick, I jumped up and down a little with joy.

It's about as perfect of a fit as you can get between a college prospect and a professional team. The former UConn Huskie won a championship a couple of months ago, playing in a system that's similar to NBA teams and for a coach that shares the same intensity and attention to detail as San Antonio's head coach. Castle is not only a major piece to the title-searching puzzle, he has the potential to be a star in his own right. Oddmakers already give him the second best chance of being named Rookie-of-the-Year in 2025.

In some future writing, I'll get into more of the nuts and bolts of his game, but the gist is this: he is a 6’6” Jrue Holiday. If you know who that is and what his game means to winning, then you'd know the Spurs might possibly have come away with the best player of the draft again, making it two years in a row. By the way, if Stephon Castle already had a dependable outside shot, particularly from three-point range, he would have been a unanimous #1 pick in this year's draft. That's how complete his game is.

Juan Núñez was the 36th pick and will most likely be playing overseas next season, but has been called the best pick-and-roll player in the class and one of its most creative passers. His weakness lies on the defensive side of the floor, but it's not something that couldn't be improved for the 20 year-old. He's also not the quickest or most athletic, but as we've seen with so many stars lately… including Luka Dončić… who cares?! Can you put the ball in the basket and can you get it to where others can do the same? That's all this baby-faced 6’4” point guard needs to worry about.

Harrison Ingram is someone I thought would go a lot higher, so it's fortunate for the Silver & Black he dropped to 48th. Originally from Dallas, he played two years at Stanford before transferring to North Carolina last season. He's a strong 6’7” player, though not particularly fast, that started his college career in a point-forward role before moving over to be a more traditional 3-and-D wing. The fact that he rebounds well is important, too, but it's that passing skill that makes Ingram fit right into the current Spurs trend of collecting switchable wings who stand 6’6” or taller.

Lastly, I am absolutely relieved that San Antonio traded away their 8th pick for future picks… in the 2030s. There really wasn't anyone else worth giving another first round contract to (those can get expensive), and that especially included Rob Dillingham, whom the Spurs picked at that spot and immediately traded to Minnesota for those distant future picks. Dude is 6’1” and 164 pounds and has no interest in playing defense, so the Wolves can have him. With the rules the league installed recently, teams can't afford to load up on multiple superstars or several risky first round contracts, so that second round budget shopping and role player free agency just got a lot more important.

Before the draft I wrote that the biggest needs for San Antonio were defense, shooting, shot-creation, and length on the perimeter. They were able to check all these boxes off the past couple of nights, as well as reinvest some draft capital into the next decade, so it's an easy ‘A’ from me as a grade for their overall performance.

GSG!!!