{"id":112797,"date":"2025-06-20T19:47:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T19:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/112797\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T19:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T19:47:13","slug":"ignore-the-rumors-this-player-needs-to-stay-in-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/112797\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignore the Rumors, This Player Needs to Stay in San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Antonio Spurs are in the mix of the Kevin Durant<\/a> sweepstakes, and the rumors are thundering. As everyone tries to decipher what the Spurs would be giving up in a package for Kevin Durant, one horribly bad decision has popped up over and over. That is trading away reigning Rookie of the Year<\/a> Stephon Castle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Phoenix Suns themselves have pushed this egregious idea. According to Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer via X<\/a>, \u201cThe Phoenix Suns reportedly asked the Spurs for the No. 2 pick and\/or Stephon Castle in trade talks centered around Kevin Durant.\u201d Suns General Manager Brian Gregory is out of his mind thinking that the Spurs would sacrifice Castle for Durant.<\/p>\n

Ignore the Rumors, This Player Needs to Stay in San Antonio
\nCastle is More Valuable than Durant<\/p>\n

Yes, the idea of Durant on this Spurs roster is fun, but if it costs Castle, it\u2019s not going to happen. Not to mention, Durant is 37 years old and likely only has a few more years of elite play. There is no guarantee that he will return after his contract expires in the following offseason, either.<\/p>\n

Durant wants to come to San Antonio, but the Spurs should only be interested if the cost is lowered<\/a>; otherwise, we have to stop dreaming. The NBA media has built up a worsening culture of mocking up fantasy trades and believing that they are good ideas. Reality needs to be at the forefront.<\/p>\n

The Spurs are building an incredibly deep, young roster and should not sacrifice that in a desperate attempt at a ring. Not to mention, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be back in full strength next season. It\u2019s hard to imagine the Spurs taking down that giant with Durant. The Spurs need to empower their young core before making any win-now move.<\/p>\n

The Rookie of the Year has Somehow Become Underrated<\/p>\n

I never thought it would be possible for a player to become so underrated right after winning Rookie of the Year, but in the case of Castle, it has. Many point towards his draft class as the reason he won. I can\u2019t deny he had an easier route than most, but that doesn\u2019t mean he wasn\u2019t fully deserving of the award.<\/p>\n

In a rookie year where he came off the bench, Castle worked his way up the ladder and continued to improve all year. At just 20 years old, Castle quickly became one of the Spurs\u2019 top options. By the end of his rookie campaign, Castle was averaging nearly 20 points per game and destroying the competition. Very efficient in the process, Castle displayed outstanding leadership, poise, and comfort playing in the NBA.<\/p>\n

With a fully healthy cast around him next season, Castle fits in perfectly well. He can run in transition with De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a>, move well off the ball, and defend opposing guards at a high level. When head coach Mitch Johnson calls his name for a bucket, he will be ready to do what he does best, beating defenders in isolation.<\/p>\n

Castle has everything you want in a young player and will only improve. It is blasphemy that anyone believes it would be wise to trade this kid away for an aging star. Let\u2019s hope it doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 David Gonzales-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Antonio Spurs are in the mix of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, and the rumors are thundering.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,938,7680,6,969,474,4075,4074,534,930],"class_list":{"0":"post-112797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-kevin-durant","10":"tag-kevin-durant-trade","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-san-antonio","13":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","14":"tag-sanantonio","15":"tag-sanantoniospurs","16":"tag-spurs","17":"tag-stephon-castle"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114717422019658360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}