By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-06-26 23:55:52
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，纽约州纽约市布鲁克林区，在巴克莱中心举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛中，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)在被圣安东尼奥马刺队以第四顺位选中后做出反应。（Sarah Stier/Getty Images 摄）
周三凌晨，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)在他位于曼哈顿的酒店房间醒来，穿上衣服，准备迎接新的一天。
当天晚上晚些时候，在布鲁克林巴克莱中心举行的 NBA 选秀大会上，这位来自康涅狄格大学的后卫选择了一套闪亮的银黑相间的服装。
事实证明，这并不是他最后一次穿上这两种颜色。马刺队用 4 号签选中了这位来自康涅狄格大学的强硬后卫，证明了他的服装选择是偶然的预言。
“我想这一切真的很顺利，”卡斯尔说。“我想我有点儿心想事成了。”
卡斯尔可能会成为文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)身边顺位最高的队友，并成为马刺队后场的一员，马刺队希望有更多积极的迹象出现。
即使只是一名早熟的大一新生，19 岁的卡斯尔也是康涅狄格大学去年NCAA锦标赛征程中的关键一环。
这位身高 6 英尺 6 英寸的后卫在常规赛中场均得到 11.1 分、4.7 个篮板和 2.9 次助攻，然后在灯光更亮的时候提升了自己的比赛水平。
在凤凰城举行的 NCAA 四强赛的两场比赛中，卡斯尔场均得到 18 分，投篮命中率为 50%，还有 5 个篮板和 1 次抢断。
“他很强硬。他很聪明，他是一个以团队为重的球员，”马刺队总经理布莱恩·赖特(Brian Wright)说。“他工作努力，他来自一个每天都被严格训练的项目。他们努力工作，刻苦训练，他们有竞争力，他们能执行战术。这对我们来说意义重大。”
马刺希望在卡斯尔身上找到文班亚马身边“未来控球后卫”角色的下一位申请者。
那是最好的情况。
在周三首轮比赛的第二顺位——原本属于多伦多的第八顺位——赖特和马刺队进行了一场赌博，这场赌博肯定会让至少一半的球迷感到困惑。
马刺用这个签位选中了肯塔基大学的后卫罗伯·迪林厄姆(Rob Dillingham)，并在一笔预先安排好的交易中，将他的权利交易到了明尼苏达森林狼队，换取了森林狼队 2031 年不受保护的首轮选秀权和 2030 年的首轮选秀权互换权。
无论这两个选秀权中的哪一个最终会成为哪位球员，他们目前都在读初中。
除了迪林厄姆之外，当马刺队第二次计时时，其他有前途的新秀，如 NBA 发展联盟点燃队的马塔斯·布泽利斯(Matas Buzelis)、田纳西大学的达尔顿·克内希特(Dalton Knecht)、普罗维登斯学院的德文·卡特(Devin Carter)和科罗拉多大学的科迪·威廉姆斯(Cody Williams)都可以被选中。
马刺队避开了所有这些选择，进行了一项可能很实际但肯定不性感的举动。这就好比在阳光明媚的周六吃蔬菜或做税务申报一样。
由于本赛季不必支付第二轮的首轮签，马刺队额外腾出了 700 万美元的工资帽空间。工资帽空间没有发表评论。
在这个具体问题上，赖特也没有发表评论。
在周三首轮比赛结束后不久，赖特表示，由于交易尚未得到联盟的正式批准，因此他被禁止谈论这笔交易。这笔交易在赖特新闻发布会结束后约 10 分钟正式达成。
“我不能透露具体细节，”赖特说。“在更好的时机，我们会谈论这个问题。”
当马刺队在第八顺位计时时，ESPN 在马刺队位于西北部总部作战室的摄像机显示，赖特正在疯狂地打电话。
在教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)、球队首席执行官 R.C. 布福德(R.C. Buford)、其他工作人员以及——出于某种原因穿着短裤和 T 恤的蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)——的注视下，赖特结束了通话，并将手机扔到面前的桌子上。
这笔交易似乎已经完成了。
这笔交易如何融入马刺队围绕文班亚马建队的总体计划还有待观察。这似乎表明未来还会有更多举措，要么在今年夏天晚些时候，要么在未来。
人们希望，马刺队可以利用他们的工资帽空间和未来的首轮选秀权组合，吸引更有经验的球员来加强球队阵容，这支球队在上赛季结束时是 NBA 最年轻的球队。
从现在到 2031 年，马刺队拥有 11 个首轮选秀权和 4 个首轮选秀权互换权。
当被问及这些选秀权的价值时，赖特最接近于解释周三交易掉第八顺位选秀权背后的理由。
“通常来说，这是一个非常好的策略，”赖特在谈到囤积未来选秀权以重建球队时说。“我们知道我们在这里有一条很棒的跑道。我们有一些很棒的年轻球员，我们希望以正确的方式围绕他们建队。”
在周四的第二轮比赛中，马刺队在与印第安纳步行者队交易了一个顺位后，在第 36 顺位选中了西班牙控球后卫胡安·努涅斯(Juan Nunez)，并在第 48 顺位选中了北卡罗来纳大学前锋哈里森·英格拉姆(Harrison Ingram)。
显然，卡斯尔是这届新秀中的瑰宝。
球探们认为，卡斯尔可能是今年选秀大会上最好的持球防守者，不难想象他和文班亚马在未来几个赛季里会在对手的挡拆战术中 wreaking havoc。
围绕卡斯尔比赛的主要问题是他不稳定的三分球。卡斯尔在大学较短的距离上只有 26.7% 的命中率，从表面上看，这个数字并不能帮助马刺队改善他们作为 NBA 三分球最差球队之一的现状。
在观看了卡斯尔在佐治亚州科文顿市牛顿高中时的比赛录像，分析了他在那里和在康涅狄格大学时的投篮机制，并注意到他不太差的罚球命中率 (75.5%) 后，赖特确信这位新秀的投篮会随着时间的推移而提高。
“你必须把整个背景考虑进去，”赖特说。“我们相信他会继续在那里进步。再说一次，这要从他作为一个孩子是谁以及他有多努力开始。”
卡斯尔显然也不傻。在听到自己的名字在周三被选中后不久，这位最新的马刺队球员就与球队中最重要的一个人进行了 FaceTime 通话。
“我是维克多，”文班亚马在电话的另一端说。
卡斯尔笑着说: “我知道你是谁，兄弟。”
“我为我们所做的一切感到非常、非常高兴，”文班亚马在马刺队 Instagram 账户上发布的一段视频中告诉卡斯尔。“我不知道你感觉如何，但我超级兴奋能开始工作了。”
毫无疑问，卡斯尔也有同样的感觉。他周三的服装就说明了一切。
除了那套偶然的银黑色服装外，卡斯尔还戴了一条镶钻项链，这条项链的形状是，嗯，一座城堡。
“因为我的姓，”他指出。
在周三被选中后，卡斯尔承诺会缩短庆祝时间。本周末他将在圣安东尼奥，准备再次穿上银黑色球衣——这次是真的。
“我迫不及待地想上场，展现我的全面性，尤其是在我们队已经拥有这种天赋的情况下，”卡斯尔说。“我觉得我们的未来一片光明。我只是迫不及待地想上场。”
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛结束后，马刺队总经理布莱恩·赖特在胜利资本表演中心接受媒体采访。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上，人们在篮球树上投篮。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，马刺队球迷聚集在胜利资本表演中心外，参加 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛的观看派对。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上，马刺队吉祥物郊狼与球迷们一起庆祝。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，马刺队球迷聚集在胜利资本表演中心外，参加 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛的观看派对。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上，马刺队球迷展示了一面文班亚马的横幅。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，马刺队吉祥物郊狼抵达胜利资本表演中心外，参加 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛的观看派对。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上，球迷们庆祝马刺队以第 4 顺位选中康涅狄格大学后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上，球迷们庆祝马刺队以第 4 顺位选中康涅狄格大学后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，马刺队球迷聚集在胜利资本表演中心外，参加 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛的观看派对。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上的球迷。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，在胜利资本表演中心外举行的 2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛观看派对上，7 岁的杰斯·埃利斯(Jace Ellis)庆祝马刺队以第 8 顺位选中肯塔基大学后卫罗伯·迪林厄姆。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛结束后，马刺队总经理布莱恩·赖特在胜利资本表演中心接受媒体采访。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛结束后，马刺队总经理布莱恩·赖特在胜利资本表演中心接受媒体采访。
2024 年 6 月 26 日，星期三，2024 年 NBA 选秀大会首轮比赛结束后，马刺队总经理布莱恩·赖特在胜利资本表演中心接受媒体采访。
点击查看原文：In Castle, Spurs hope to have uncovered 'point guard of the future'
In Castle, Spurs hope to have uncovered ‘point guard of the future’
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 26: Stephon Castle reacts after being drafted fourth overall by the San Antonio Spurs during the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 26, 2024 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Early Wednesday morning, Stephon Castle woke up in his Manhattan hotel room and dressed for the day ahead.
For his moment on the NBA draft stage later that night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Connecticut guard chose a glittery silver-on-black ensemble.
It turned out not to be the last time he would slip on those colors. The Spurs used the No. 4 pick to select the hard-nosed UConn guard, proving his wardrobe choice serendipitously prophetic.
“I guess it all really worked out,” Castle said. “I guess I kind of manifested it to happen for me.”
With Castle perhaps set to become a fixture in their backcourt as Victor Wembanyama’s highest-drafted running mate, the Spurs are hoping for more positive manifestations to come.
Even as a precocious freshman, the 19-year-old Castle was a pivotal cog in UConn’s run to last’s year’s NCAA championship.
The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the regular season, then upped his game when the lights got brighter.
In a pair of games at the Final Four in Phoenix, Castle averaged 18 points on 50% shooting, with five rebounds and a steal.
“He’s tough. He’s smart, and he’s a team-first guy,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “He’s a hard worker, and he comes from a program where they’re getting coached hard every single day. They work hard, they practice hard, they’re competitive and they execute. And that meant a lot to us.”
In Castle, the Spurs hope to have uncovered the next applicant for the “point guard of the future” role alongside Wembanyama.
That would be the best-case scenario.
With their second pick in Wednesday’s first round — the No. 8 overall selection that once belonged to Toronto — Wright and the Spurs took a gamble guaranteed to flummox at least half the fan base.
The Spurs selected Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham with the pick, and in a pre-arranged deal, shipped his rights to Minnesota for an unprotected first-round pick in 2031 and a pick swap in 2030.
Whichever players either of those picks become, they are currently in middle school.
In addition to Dillingham, other promising prospects such as G League Ignite’s Matas Buzelis, Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, Providence’s Devin Carter and Colorado’s Cody Williams were available when the Spurs were on the clock a second time.
The Spurs eschewed them all for a move that might have been practical, but certainly wasn’t sexy. It was the draft-day equivalent of eating your vegetables or spending a sunny Saturday doing your taxes.
By not having to pay a second first-rounder this season, the Spurs opened an additional $7 million in cap space. Cap space was not available to comment.
On this specific point, neither was Wright.
In the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s first round, Wright said he was prohibited from talking about the trade due to the fact it had not yet been formally ratified by the league. The deal became official about 10 minutes after Wright’s news conference.
“I can’t speak to specifics,” Wright said. “At a better point in time, we’ll talk about that.”
As the Spurs were on the clock at No. 8, ESPN cameras in the Spurs’ war room at their northwest side headquarters showed Wright frantically on the phone.
With coach Gregg Popovich, team CEO R.C. Buford, other staffers and — for some reason a shorts-and-T-shirt clad Tim Duncan — looking on, Wright finished his call and tossed his cell on the table in front of him.
The deal, it appeared, was done.
How the trade fits into the Spurs’ overall plan to build around Wembanyama remains to be seen. It would appear to point toward more moves to come, either later this summer or beyond.
There is hope the Spurs could use their combination of cap space and future first-round picks to entice a more veteran level of reinforcements to a team that ended last season as the youngest in the NBA.
Between now and 2031, the Spurs own 11 first-round picks and four first-round pick swap opportunities.
Asked about the value of that cache, Wright came closest to explaining the rationale behind trading the No. 8 pick Wednesday.
“Typically it’s a pretty good strategy,” Wright said of stockpiling future picks to rebuild a team. “We know we’ve got a great runway here. We’ve got some great young talent and we look to build around them in the right way.”
In Thursday’s second round, the Spurs selected Spanish point guard Juan Nunez at No. 36 – after trading down a spot with Indiana – and North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram at 48th.
Clearly, Castle is the gem of the class.
With Castle viewed by scouts as perhaps the best on-ball defender in this year’s draft pool, it doesn’t take much to envision him and Wembanyama wreaking havoc on opponents’ pick-and-roll plays for seasons to come.
The main question surrounding Castle’s game is an errant 3-point shot. Castle made only 26.7% of his tries from the shorter college distance, a figure that on the surface would not help the Spurs improve their status as one of the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting teams.
After looking at tape of Castle from his high school days at Newton High in Covington, Ga., analyzing his shot mechanics there and at UConn and taking note of his not-too-shabby free-throw percentage (75.5%), Wright is convinced the new rookie’s shot will come in time.
“You have to take the whole context into the equation,” Wright said. “We believe he’ll continue to improve there. And again, it starts with who he is as a kid and how hard he works.”
Castle is also apparently no fool. Not long after hearing his name called Wednesday, the newest Spur was on a FaceTime call with the most important person in the organization.
“It’s Victor,” Wembanyama said on the other end of the call.
Castle laughed: “I know who you are, bro.”
“I’m so, so happy with what we did,” Wembanyama told Castle, in a moment posted to the Spurs’ Instagram account. “I don’t know how hard you feel, but I’m super excited to start working.”
Castle no doubt feels the same way. His outfit Wednesday screamed as much.
In addition to the serendipitous silver and black get-up, Castle wore a diamond-encrusted necklace fashioned in the shape of, well, a castle.
“For my last name,” he pointed out.
Following his selection Wednesday, Castle promised to keep the celebration short. He will be in San Antonio this weekend, ready to slip on some silver-and-back again — and for real this time.
“I can’t wait to get out there and show my versatility, especially with the kind of talent we already have on that team,” Castle said. “I feel like our future is pretty bright. I just can’t wait to get out there."
Spurs general manager Brian Wright fields questions from the media at the Victory Capital Performance Center following the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
People shoot basketballs at the hoop tree during the watch party outside the Victory Capital Performance Center for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs fans gather at the watch party outside the Victory Capital Performance Center for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
The Spurs Coyote celebrates with fans at the watch partyf or the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft outside the Victory Capital Performance Center on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs fans gather at the watch party outside the Victory Capital Performance Center for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs fans show off a Wembanyama banner at the watch party outside the Victory Capital Performance Center for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
The Spurs Coyote arrives at the watch party outside the Victory Capital Performance Center for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Fans celebrate after the Spurs selection of UConn guard Stephon Castle with the #4 pcik at the watch party outside the Victory Capital Performance Center for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Fans celebrate the Spurs selection of UConn guard Stephon Castle with the #4 pick in the draft at the watch party for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft outside the Victory Capital Performance Center on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs fans gather for the watch party for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft outside the Victory Capital Performance Center on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Fans at the watch party for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft outside the Victory Capital Performance Center on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Jace Ellis, 7, celebrates the Spurs selection of Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham at #8 pick at the watch party for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft outside the Victory Capital Performance Center on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs general manager Brian Wright fields questions from the media at the Victory Capital Performance Center following the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs general manager Brian Wright fields questions from the media at the Victory Capital Performance Center following the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Spurs general manager Brian Wright fields questions from the media at the Victory Capital Performance Center following the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News