San Antonio Spurs legendary coach Gregg Popovich opened up about several of his players – three of them new and one who could be in for an important role – during an ESPN interview for a Spurs Summer League game over the weekend. In talking about Chris Paul, last year's second round draft pick Sidy Cissoko and Stephon Castle while mentioning Harrison Barnes, Pop may have touched on every new player who could play a major role this coming season.
Gregg Popovich gushes about Sidy Cissoko and Stephon Castle
Lost in last year's Spurs draft was their selection of Sidy Cissoko. Like Wemanyama, the 6-foot-6 wing player hails from France. Unlike Wemby, he didn't arrive with fanfare and then spent most of the season between San Antonio and their G-League affiliate Austin Spurs. What he's shown is enough for Popovich.
“He's the dream in the back of my head,” the winningest coach of all-time raved about Cissoko.
“When I look at his body, I look at his strength, his length, his quickness, his explosiveness, he has a natural inclination to be a great passer, things that we can't really teach. He's really a great passer. He's got to work on his shot, obviously. The explosiveness, the foot speed he has to play D with that body at the three position. I think he's going to the a special player.”
The high praise for his youngster didn't stop there. Asked about his fourth overall pick this summer, Pop said of Stephon Castle in what proved the former UConn star's last Summer League game before the Spurs shut him down out of injury precaution.
“I love his seriousness for such a young kid, I love his pace. You'll see his expression never changes. He doesn't go too fast, he doesn't go too slow. He reads the situations. The more minutes he gets, the better he's going to be. He seeks contact. He's an excellent defender and he makes wonderful decisions,” Popovich continued.
“He's going to be a quick study I think and get to play on the court pretty quickly.”
Popovich praises the ‘old guys' too
The Hall of Fame coach made sure to spread some love to his new veterans as well.
“I think he's going to teach everybody a whole lot better than I did. How to get the ball to Victor Wembanyama, not just how to do it but when and where, that kind of thing,” Popovich answered when asked about the effect Chris Paul will have on lobbing the ball to Wemby.
“Having he and Harrison [Barnes] come into the fold at this stage of their careers is really wonderful for the youth that we have,” Pop continued, alluding to the Spurs other big off-season acquisition.
“I can say things 54 times, over and over again, but when a player that you respect says the same stuff that we're saying, to a player sometimes that's a lot more valuable. Having them around is going to be super.”
The 39-year-old Paul and 32-year-old Barnes will add tons of experience to a roster that will stay young with Castle, who's 19, and the 20-year-old Cissoko.
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