CK Mailbag (Part I): Castle questions, draft-night trade, and ... Flagg sweepstakes?

Plus, the most important question of the summer: Who will wear No. 3?

See I knew y’all would have a lot of questions! In total there were around 15 responses before I cut them off, and several of those had multiple queries within them. So we’re going to break this thing up into two parts (potentially three if I start going too long in Part II, which is always possible).

I really appreciate you all for banding together and helping me get this newsletter back up and kicking as we begin to rev up in preparation for the season ahead, but I have one comment to make: I am shocked — SHOCKED — there wasn’t a single question about Lauri Markkanen. Not a one. Then again, subscribers are smart around these parts, and I think most of y’all are probably reading the tea leaves even though a deal is not out of the realm of possibility quite yet. Don’t get me wrong, it’s highly unlikely, but there’s still a non-zero chance. At the very least it’ll be worthy of a Five for Friday section at a later date, but we can cross that bridge when all is said and done this summer.

So without further ado, your questions and my answers…

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1) How do you envision the Spurs incorporating Stephon Castle into the lineup as much as possible without stepping on the toes Chris Paul and Devin Vassell.

2) Is it time to finally have an honest conversation about whether Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley are worth the continued developmental investment, ie. picking up their options for 2025–26? Personally, I am dubious about whether committing money to them based on what they’ve shown is worthwhile come October. — Andrew Lyons

1) Oh I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about Castle hurting anyone’s toes at this point. While he’s almost assuredly going to have an early role, it’s likely going to be off the bench at first. And even if he does play alongside Paul and Vassell, his versatility should allow him to slot in however they need him. And if the outside shot comes along — we saw him hit a few at Summer League — it’ll completely change the lineup-construction math.

2) Now Branham and Wesley probably should feel a bit pressed by Castle’s presence. Again, it’s not like he can’t play with those two, but that rotation is starting to look a little crowded. As for whether they should pick up the fourth-year options of the third-year players? It’s a little complicated. On one hand, it’s rare for teams to decline those rookie-scale options. You’ve got cheap, young players who are still developing, and if there were to be some kind of trade at some point, their contracts are pretty ideal for any type of potential salary filler. On the other, the Spurs have a bunch of picks coming into the fold. We obviously don’t know how they’re going to be used at this juncture, but they’re going to need roster spots. But on the other OTHER hand, San Antonio already has four players who will enter unrestricted free agency next summer: Paul, Tre Jones, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Charles Bassey. So they have plenty of flexibility. I’d bet they exercise the options of both Branham and Wesley, because generally speaking the smart thing to do is maintain control of assets while you still can.

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Do the Spurs view Castle as a PG or SG/wing long-term? — Matt A.

What do you project Steph Castle’s role to be from a lead PG perspective, i.e., playing without Chris Paul or Tre Jones on the court? And how do you think the Spurs will balance that role between developing him as a true PG vs letting the more established options sop up most of the minutes at the position? — Jake Amberg

I figured I’d just roll these two questions into one and stick with the Castle convo. The boring answer is, we’re just going to have to wait and see how all the different lineups function once they’re able to get in the gym together, as it’s difficult to imagine he’ll be getting some major workload at true point with Paul and Jones on the roster. But much like he did with Jeremy Sochan, I suspect Gregg Popovich is going to throw Castle into a bunch of different situations in order to measure what he’s able to handle. The Spurs’ system is one that allows a bunch of different people to handle the ball, so he’s going to get his opportunities — certainly in secondary actions, but in primary as well. I think my big question at this point is how much of the Chris Paul offense is Chris Paul going to bring with him to San Antonio? That’s going to dictate a lot. Keep in mind though: Paul misses games every year, and he ain’t getting any younger. Castle is going to get his chances to develop.

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Now that some time has passed after the draft the more trading the 8th pick to Minnesota is growing on me (for multitudes of short- and long-term reasons). I'm curious on your current take of the trade and how this sets up the Spurs short- and long-term futures. Thanks — Jonathan Rosen

Considering that was the range of the 2024 NBA Draft where the obvious talent level started to drop or become significantly more uncertain, it’s not all that surprising they opted to stretch things out and further fortify their future around Wemby. It’s not like it would’ve been damaging to just make the pick, but given the Spurs’ already crowded roster and the fact there was anything but a sure thing available at No. 8, keeping that pick spring flowing as far into the future as possible is a sound strategy. It ensures San Antonio will never get too old during the Victor years, and it’ll provide reinforcements along the way when inevitably the roster and salary crunches become major aspects of their offseasons. Not to mention, more potential trade ammo.

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Cooper Flagg’s play on the USA Select Team has only increased the excitement about him and the 2025 draft. Currently the Spurs are projected in the lottery at around No. 9 (own pick) and No. 10 (via Hawks). How good would the Spurs have to be in the first two months to NOT tank? To me, making the 8-seed via the Play-In Tournament is a worst-case scenario for the season — Mark Tremayne

Worst case, eh? I feel like that’d be closer to best case! But hey, if Wemby makes a crazy leap, his teammates continue to develop, some of these older teams in the conference start to look more and more their age, and still others start dealing with depth issues, it’s not out of the question.

As for the tanking thing, these guys have zero interest in being part of the Flagg sweepstakes. I hate to put this out there, but it would likely take a serious injury to Victor, or a rash of injuries elsewhere on the roster, for their hands to be forced. To answer your question more directly, though, they would have to absolutely STINK to go into tank mode by the end of the calendar year. And one of the reasons I say that is there is going to be a heaping handful of STINKY teams trying to Poop for Coop. A 39-year-old Paul and a past-his-prime Harrison Barnes aren’t the sexiest additions in the world, but they can still play and will bring some much-needed consistency and on-court leadership to the equation. Unless disaster strikes from health perspective, it would be a massive disappointment if tank talks start emerging two months into the season.

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Who's wearing No. 3 on opening night for the Spurs? — Steve Miranda

I have no idea. Inquiries into the situation have been fruitless, as there’s been no luck in obtaining this information. My hope is they’ll keep the suspense bubbling for the rest of the summer and hold the grand reveal for media day. It would be the perfect troll job.

If I had to guess, however, I’d wager this goes the same way these things usually do between Hall-of-Fame veterans and young players when there’s a jersey-number controversy: Paul will give Keldon Johnson some really nice things and a maybe a wad of cash in exchange for the number he’s worn his entire career. Keldon’s a team player, too, so I’m sure he’d be amenable. But once again, this is only a guess.

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