2024 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Hawks court chaos, Spurs speed up rebuild, Lakers surprise

4) San Antonio Spurs-Stephon Castle

At this point, the San Antonio Spurs not taking Connecticut guard Stephon Castle might be seen as a surprise, given how often he has been mocked to the Spurs. He does have a strong case to be taken fourth overall, especially with fellow top point guard Nikola Topic sliding down the draft board. Castle is one of the best on-ball defenders in the draft and should have no problem defending three positions in the NBA, considering that he measured out at 6'5 and 1/2 with a 6'10 wing span.

The Spurs could use a defensive pit bull that they can put on another team's best guard or wing and Castle may be even more effective playing alongside Victor Wembanyama with his elite rim protection. On offense, Castle views himself as a point guard and may play with the ball in his hands, though he will probably nominally be the Spurs' small forward as they look for an upgrade at their weakest position.

Castle's upside is promising but he will have to be a better shooter than he's shown and when possibly paired with power forward Jeremy Sochan, the Spurs may struggle to shoot from outside as they work on their shot. Still, taking him fourth overall seems like a smart move for San Antonio.