Ranking 8 prospects the Houston Rockets could draft by upside

3 of 8

6. Stephon Castle, G/F, Connecticut

For Castle, much of his upside is tied to his jump shot.

There's a path to stardom here. It just happens to be fraught with obstacles. In today's NBA, a lead guard with a broken jump shot is likely to struggle to join the ranks of the league's elite.

The Rockets know this. They're hoping to guide Amen Thompson down that path. Unfortunately, Castle is not Thompson. He doesn't have his athletic gifts, and he doesn't have his floor vision either. If Castle can't shoot, he'll likely be a defensive specialist at the NBA level.

Stephon Castle's defense against drives is suffocating. Doesn't have to go full speed to lock guys up; has high-end lockdown ability against both wings and guards thanks to a strong frame with good instincts pic.twitter.com/mkeTePNBtQ
— Rich (@MavsDraft) May 15, 2024

That's not to say Castle can't become a star. If his jumper rounds into form, he has the ball-handling and shiftiness to be a lead ball-handler. There's upside here, but it's less likely to come to fruition than we'd like.

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