The stage is set for Wednesday night’s NBA Draft.
On Tuesday, members of the press got to meet with the top prospects in this year’s draft class.
The Spurs have 2 top-10 picks, the consensus guess with the #4 pick is they’ll take Stephon Castle. A 6’5″ freshman from UConn, he was in town for a recent workout with the Spurs. He won a national title in his only season with the Huskies and has expressed an interest in playing point guard in the NBA and who better to deal it to than Victor Wembanyama.
“I mean he’s a great player,” said Castle. “He attracts a lot of attention so I feel like the other four guys on the court with him, the spacing it creates for them makes it a lot easier on the court. So like I said he’s a great player. The workout it went well I was happy with it so we’ll see how it goes.”
And if point guard is the priority, then don’t be surprised if the Spurs seriously consider Devin Carter. The 22-year-old was the Big East Player of the Year at Providence. His athleticism and speed were off the charts at the NBA Combine. And he’s got a Spurs pedigree. His dad, Anthony Carter, played briefly with the Spurs back in 2003. Devin said his dad taught him basketball, but also about life.
“I mean everywhere you go now everybody is looking at you, everybody has eyes on you,” said Carter. “Honestly, just staying locked in, staying humble, treat everybody how you want to be treated. He just taught me how to be a man and how to respect other people more than anything.”
There are three French prospects to keep an eye on. Most think that both Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher will be taken when the Spurs have their turn at #4. And Tidjane Salaun is a young teenager who’s stock has been really going up the charts on the mock drafts.
“Victor is a great player and I think people like to share the court with him,” said Risacher. “Obviously he makes everybody look better, everybody around him looks better but that’s what a great player does, you know?”
Risacher should be the number one pick overall that goes to Atlanta, but you never know. In fact the only thing for certain Wednesday night is there will be uncertainty. People are predicting a lot of trades, moving up, moving down…more drama than maybe we’ve seen in the last 20 years in the NBA Draft.