Wemby and Stephon Castle of the Spurs receive injury notices after the win against the Kings

Already missing the second overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft, San Antonio Spurs announced that it would be without superstar Victor Vembanyama before trying to snap a two-game losing streak against the Sacramento Kings. A few hours later, they shelved their reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, Stephen Castle.

Spurs aren’t offering details on either, though their decision regarding Wembey appears to be precautionary, while Castle’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious either.

“I think it was just something that he felt. I don’t think there was a special play,” head coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama.

The Spurs head into the Kings contest after two tough games vs. Golden State Warriors – both losses.

“Obviously, we’ve seen recently in this league, the calf tightness thing is not something you want to take lightly,” Johnson added. “So I just need to get some more information and I don’t want to push it out there.”

The 7-foot-5 center’s absence marked his first of the season. Asked if the afternoon tip-off after a later-than-usual start two days earlier played a role in the decision to keep their best player out, Johnson didn’t hesitate.

“Probably not. Calf tightness, there’s certain things you don’t want it to be a gate or anything like that. So you just have to be clear about what’s going on. That’s why there’s an added precaution here.”

Mitch Johnson shares the latest on Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper

Right as halftime against the Kings drew to a close, the Spurs announced that Castle would not return due to a right hip issue. The former national champion at UConn remained on the bench instead of heading to the locker room for the rest of the afternoon.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I believe it’s his hip, but I don’t know anything,” Johnson said later.

“They just told me he wasn’t coming back into the game. There was no drastic fall or major incident, I don’t believe it. Maybe there was play, but I’m not sure.”

Castle played 16 minutes, scored four points and dished out five assists in a 123-110 victory. The second half marked the first action he missed this season.

Dylan Harper, whom the Spurs took right after the Dallas Mavericks drafted Cooper Flagg in June, he has not seen the court since the Nov. 2 setback to the Phoenix Suns. Harper left that contest in the first half of the night as the Spurs lost their first game of the year.

“He’s progressing. He’s getting better. He’s out of the cleat,” Johnson said, “And so again, you’ve just got to build that thing up. For every day you’re in the cleat or off the field, you’ve probably got to hit him the other way. He’s getting better and it’ll be good to get him back on the field and he’s ramping up pretty quickly here.”

Although Harper will not play in the Spurs’ next game, which comes two days after the win in Sacramento, the jury is still out on Castle and Wembanjame.

“I don’t have any more information since we spoke before the game,” Spurs’ first-time coach said of Wembey during the presser afterwards.

“But, again, I know he’s biting the bullet. He wanted to play 82 games,” Johnson explained. “Calf tightness, we’ll see what that means when we dive into it, but we won’t, we won’t take any chances.”