Gregg Popovich’s promising prospects for Spurs’ young players in light of Chris Paul’s arrival

Legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talked about several of his players during an ESPN interview for a Spurs Summer League game over the weekend – three of them are new and one could play a major role. When he talked about Chris Paul, last year’s second-round draft pick Sidy Cissoko and Stephon Castle, and mentioned Harrison Barnes, Pop was likely touching on every new player who could play a major role in the upcoming season.

Gregg Popovich raves about Sidy Cissoko and Stephon Castle

The Spurs missed out on Sidy Cissoko in last year’s draft. Like Wemanyama, the 1.98 meter tall winger is from France. Unlike Wemby, he didn’t arrive with much pomp and then spent most of the season between San Antonio and their G-League partner Austin Spurs. What he has shown is enough for Popovich.

“He is the dream in the back of my mind,” the most successful coach of all time enthused about Cissoko.

“When I look at his body, I see his power, his length, his quickness, his explosiveness. He has a natural inclination to be a great passer, things we can’t really teach him. He really is a great passer. He obviously needs to work on his shot. The explosiveness, the foot speed he needs to play at the D three position with that body. I think he’s going to be a special player.”

The praise for his young player didn’t end there. When asked about his fourth pick this summer, Pop talked about Stephon Castle, the former UConn star’s final Summer League game before the Spurs cut him from the roster due to injury.

“I love his seriousness for such a young kid, I love his pace. You’ll see his expression never changes. He’s not too fast, he’s not too slow. He reads the situations. The more minutes he gets, the better he gets. He looks for contact. He’s an excellent defender and makes wonderful decisions,” Popovich continued.

“I think he will learn quickly and play pretty quickly on the pitch.”

Popovich also praises the “old boys”

The Hall of Fame coach made sure to give his new veterans some love too.

“I think he’s going to teach everybody a lot more than I did. How to get the ball to Victor Wembanyama, not just how, but when and where, things like that,” Popovich replied when asked what influence Chris Paul will have on throwing the ball to Wemby.

“Having him and Harrison (Barnes) join us at this stage of their careers is really wonderful for our youth,” Pop continued, referring to the Spurs’ other big offseason addition.

“I can say things 54 times, over and over again, but when a player you respect says the same thing as us, sometimes that’s a lot more valuable to a player. Having them around is going to be great.”

Paul, 39, and Barnes, 32, will add plenty of experience to a squad that will remain young with 19-year-old Castle and 20-year-old Cissoko.