According to recent rumors, San Antonio searched for a floor general to complement Wembanyama.
The San Antonio Spurs require a reliable point guard for the long run. That’s what everyone and their uncle seem to believe, at least. You could certainly get a hard time convincing non-basketball fans that San Antonio needs a player who can dish entry passes or lobs to Victor Wembanyama.
We shared the same information with Brian Wright, the general manager of the Spurs, and the rest of the front staff. That’s why they used their first selection to choose the gigantic playmaker Stephon Castle and signed veteran point guard Chris Paul in free agency. According to a recent Jake Fischer piece on Yahoo Sports, their early thoughts were far more expansive.
According to Fischer, the Spurs had made inquiries about Indiana Pacers rookie Andrew Nembhard and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland prior to selecting Castle and signing Paul. The Pacers just extended Nembhard, their third-best player from the previous season, after the Cavaliers rejected all offers for their all-star point guard. According to Fischer, the Spurs called other NBA clubs that had “veteran guards who have yet to enter their primes.”
According to these reports, the Spurs intend to permanently pair Wembanyama with a dynamic lead guard. Smaller guards Nembhard and Garland can spread the floor and play with or without the ball. Paul was chosen by San Antonio as a temporary solution since he can fill the role until a long-term replacement is found. In his three Summer League games, Castle showed off his patient pick-and-roll play and good floor vision, suggesting he might wind up as their starting point guard in the future. He will need time to grow because he still has a lot of work to do in terms of spreading the floor with his jump jumper and getting an offensive edge off the dribble. Equally intriguing is the information from the Spurs Insider Podcast that San Antonio ranked Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard higher on its selection board than Castle. Sheppard played a more traditional combo guard role with the Wildcats where he shot the three at an above 50% clip while functioning as one of their major playmakers. Younger guards Nembhard, Garland, and Sheppard can all shoot, run the pick-and-roll, and play strong defense, in case you were wondering what San Antonio is looking for in a guard to go with Wembanyama. It also raises the question of why Trae Young, the guard for the Atlanta Hawks, wasn’t pursued more seriously this summer. After obtaining the top choice in the draft, Atlanta appeared to be planning to dismantle the squad and rebuild when they dealt Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Hawks’ unprotected selections in 2025 and 2027 belong to San Antonio, and they might use them to try to land the all-star guard. The Spurs’ disinterest in that situation either demonstrates how highly they regard those picks or speaks to their concerns about Young’s poor defense and 4.4 turnovers per game.
The Spurs roster’s future is heavily reliant on the point guard position. Tre Jones, Paul, and Castle in rotation will be an improvement over the previous campaign. However, none of them have yet shown themselves to be the best choice in the long run. This season, it will be crucial to follow Castle’s development. The Spurs may still be keeping an eye on the trade market or free agency if he appears more of an off-ball player than he did while playing for UCONN. Who wouldn’t want to lob Wemby, after all?