SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan was not present at Victory Capital Performance Center on Saturday morning when the Spurs introduced draftees Stephon Castle (No. 4 overall) and Harrison Ingram (No. 48) to the media and a few hundred guests, but his presence was felt.
In one of those charming idiosyncrasies life sometimes presents, Duncan and Castle’s father, Stacey, had been teammates at Wake Forest for one season in 1993-94. Surely that heightened the elder Castle’s pride as he watched from a front-row seat as Spurs general manager Brian Wright presented Castle’s son with a No. 55 Spurs jersey.
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Stacey Castle was a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard for the Demon Deacons when Duncan arrived for his freshman season. Castle was a deep reserve who averaged only 2.4 points in 21 games during that 1993-94 season. Duncan, starting 31 of 32 games, nearly averaged a double-double, 9.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, a strong showing but only a hint of the greatness that would follow.
Reading the handwriting on the wall, Stacey Castle would transfer to the University of Central Florida, where he concluded his college career in 1995-96 as the Knights’ starting point guard. That season he averaged a solid 11.4 points and 5.0 assists.
During Stephon Castle’s media session on Saturday, one interrogator, oozing irony, asked if he had heard tales about his father “clearly outplaying” Duncan in practices during the one season they spent as teammates in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“I heard stories about him playing (against) Tim Duncan,” Castle said, grinning broadly. “I didn’t hear any about him outplaying him. I heard a few (tales) and, of course, some good ones, but the outplaying part didn’t get to me.”
There was laughter all around, another example of what an opportune pick Castle appears to be. Of all the off-the-court traits Spurs coach Gregg Popovich values among his players, a sense of humor is at or near the top of the list.
Castle’s ancillary Wake Forest connection took another turn on Monday when news broke that onetime Demon Deacons star Chris Paul, waived by the Warriors, had agreed to a one-year free agent contract with the Spurs, reportedly for $11 million.
Also a No. 4 overall draft pick, in his case by the New Orleans Hornets, in 2005, Paul has been a favorite of Popovich’s since entering the NBA and becoming one of the league’s best-ever point guards. In his 19 seasons with the Hornets, LA Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors, he played 80 games against the Spurs in the regular season and playoffs.
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After Paul helped the Warriors, minus Stephen Curry, beat the Spurs at Frost Bank Center on March 11, here’s what Popovich said about him: “He’s one of the all-time greatest competitors in the league. He’s a great leader, a great competitor. It’s always fun to see him.”
What wasn’t fun for Popovich and the rest of Spurs Nation: the 9-foot floater Paul released with a couple of seconds remaining in Game 7 of a first-round playoff series between the Spurs and Clippers in 2015. His shot just cleared Duncan’s outstretched right hand by a fraction of an inch, settling into the net with one second remaining in the win-or-go-home game. It gave the Clippers a 111-109 victory that ended the Spurs’ defense of their 2014 NBA title.
Duncan, 39, played one more season and then retired.
Everything and anything Paul can impart to Castle, who insists he eventually wants to be the Spurs’ starting point guard, should be considered atonement for the heartbreak he imposed on Spurs Nation in that 2015 series.
Paul turned 39 in May. His first season with the Spurs will be the 20th of an NBA career certain to land him in the Hall of Fame. Last season he averaged 26.4 minutes per game with the Warriors but missed 24 games with a variety of injuries. His value as a mentor to both Castle and returning point guard Tre Jones will be every bit as impactful as anything he can do on the court.
One of the best lob passers ever, expect Paul to help all of his new teammates hone that skill, which is especially vital for a team led by 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama.
Castle, who tossed plenty of lobs to UConn center Donovan Clingan in his one season with the Huskies, understands he will have to put even more air under the ball on lobs to his new center, who is two inches taller than Clingan.
“He’s a real big target,” Castle said Saturday. “I mean, it was fun throwing lobs to ‘DC,’ so I can only imagine what it will be like now.”
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This year’s “Meet the Draftees” event was far more understated than the introduction Wembanyama and fellow French draftee Sidy Cissoko received a little more than 365 days earlier. Then, a packed house at Frost Bank Center was on hand for a first view of the player all of South Texas believes eventually will return the franchise to an annual pursuit of additional Larry O’Brien trophies.
Just as Wembanyama and Cissoko had done after their introduction to the community last year, Castle and Ingram concluded their news conference with a shooting show. Castle made several consecutive 3-pointers, waved to the fans in attendance and walked to his mother, Quannette Castle, standing on the sidelines. He leaned down and gave her a warm embrace that lasted nearly a minute. Stacey got his turn with a handshake and hearty hug.
The Spurs preach family as one of the prime tenets of a culture that has been a model for every other NBA franchise during the entire Popovich era. The close-knit nature of the Castle family adds to Stephon’s status as a “Spursy” pick.
“It’s definitely been a dream come true,” Castle said of being drafted by the Spurs, “and I’ve been blessed to experience it with family with me. They’ve had a lot of sacrifice, just (my) being in college. They weren’t always with me, so to go through this with them behind me, it’s been fun.”
Wembanyama wasn’t present on Saturday, but he did reach out to Castle post-draft.
“We were just talking about coming down to San Antonio and how we just can’t wait to get to work,” Castle said. “I just can’t wait to get out there and show my versatility, especially with the kind of talent that we already have on that team.
“I feel like our future is pretty bright.”
(Photo of Stephon Castle: Michael Gonzales / NBAE via Getty Images)