Southwest Notes: Castle, Ejiofor, Grizzlies’ Draft, Pelicans

Stephon Castle used some strategy to maneuver his way to the Spurs in the 2024 draft, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. San Antonio held the No. 4 pick, and Castle was intrigued by the chance to team his perimeter defensive skills with an elite rim protector like Victor Wembanyama,

“I was just looking on the defensive side of things (in San Antonio), where being able to pair with Victor was definitely a plus in my eyes,” Castle said. “I just thought it would have been a perfect fit, and I feel like it was.”

To reach the Spurs, Castle had to get past the Rockets, who held the third pick. Castle was aware of coach Ime Udoka‘s interest in him, but preferred not to join a team with a veteran point guard already in place. Houston had Fred VanVleet, so Castle opted against holding a private workout with the Rockets. The strategy worked, as Houston selected Reed Sheppard, and Castle went on to win Rookie of the Year honors and become a fixture on a young team that’s already in the NBA Finals.

“I think being (in San Antonio) was always number one on my list,” Castle added. “Internally, I always felt like I was the best player in that draft. (But) I didn’t know what could happen. My agent always told me, like, anything can happen in a draft. Like, you could not work out for a team, not have talked to a team, and they can still take you. So, I mean, I wasn’t really planning on playing in Houston. I didn’t really know how any of that worked. I was kind of hoping I could slide my way to San Antonio. It kind of worked out for me.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

• St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor will have a pre-draft workout with the Spurs on Thursday, according to Adam Zagoria (Twitter link). San Antonio holds the 20th pick, which falls within Ejiofor’s projected draft range.
• Cameron Boozer appears headed to the Grizzlies with the third pick, and the team may try to find Ja Morant‘s eventual replacement at No. 16, Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal states in a subscriber-only story. Cole examines the fit for Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, Alabama’s Labaron Philon, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz and Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie.
• The Pelicans are hiring David Cosgrave as vice president of health and performance and Joe Sharpe as head athletic trainer, states Rod Walker of NOLA. “David Cosgrave and Joe Sharpe bring a level of professionalism and experience that immediately strengthens our organization and supports our commitment to build a fully integrated, best-in-class medical and performance team,” executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement.
• Scoop Jardine announced that he’ll be joining the Pelicans as a “global director scout” (Instagram link). The former Syracuse standout spent time playing in the G League and in Canada before moving into coaching at the high school level.