2024 Draft Prospect: Alex Sarr

[JMAC3]

https://www.tankathon.com/players/alexandre-sarr

#1 PF/Center in Draft
7-1 214 lbs
19.15 yrs old draft night

Perceived Draft Range 1-3

[Goodecharlotte]

Do you think he could be our Wemby? Obviously not quite as good yet.

[yosemiteben]

Do you think he could be our Wemby?

[JMAC3]

I am not sure how high his ceiling is, but he actually feels like his draft floor is the lowest in terms of where he could fall to in this draft. Feels like the only safe bet to me that is guaranteed to be a top 3 pick right now. So that might be the reason he is often times the #1 mocked pick in drafts.

Everyone else feels like they could fall to 4-6 range pretty easily.

[Hornet Mania]

I like his measurables, but his lack of rebounding worries me.

Best-case something like JJJ, worst case Channing Frye. Not sure I like that floor for a top 3 pick, but that's probably how all the prospects in this class are going to look like once I check out their tape.

[GoBobs]

Is he a center or a wing?

I feel like we have been burned recently with these in between guys who turned out to not be either: Kai Jones, JT Thor

[GoBobs]

If he averaged the same stats he does down under, but on our team next year, would you consider that as a success for a top 3 pick?

10 pts, 4.5 reb, 1.3 blk in 17 mpg, just under 4 made shots per game on 7 attempts

[MasterIchiro]

He really looks like a project. Our timeline is not what we think it is.

Keep Miles and we enter the playoff picture with everyone healthy. Lose Miles and we extend the rebuild, and if that's the planning heading into free agency, you take a swing in the draft.

[amcoolio]

Sarr is 7'1" with a 7'5" wingspan and moves very well for his size, especially on defense and can guard out to the perimeter. He's very smooth with his movements unlike Kai Jones, and from all accounts works hard and has good hands. There's a shot he gets to a Bam Adebayo level if he really works on his shot. I think he's the #1 pick. Just based on his size, fluidity, professional experience, defense and Wemby recently bias.

[amcoolio]

Raised in Toulouse, a French city more renowned for rugby than basketball, Sarr often found himself playing against older competition, thanks to his father and brother. This early experience forced him to focus on the nuances of the game. “I used to play with older guys, so I wasn’t the tallest,” Sarr said. “I wasn’t faster than guys. I wasn’t jumping higher. So I had to lock in on little things or else I just couldn’t play.”

Sarr didn’t dream of playing professionally until he was 12, when he went to a tournament in Spain and started getting recruited by Real Madrid. “I was just playing the game, really just having fun,” Sarr said. “But that’s when I realized, ‘Oh, that’s where Luka Doncic went. Maybe I’m one of them too. I can be like that.’”

As our conversation drew to a close, I asked Sarr what he loves about basketball. “The endless things you can improve on. I think it never stops,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point in my career where you do everything great. There’s always something that you can work on.”

[MugzZo]

If he averaged the same stats he does down under, but on our team next year, would you consider that as a success for a top 3 pick?

10 pts, 4.5 reb, 1.3 blk in 17 mpg, just under 4 made shots per game on 7 attempts

Yes

Sent from my SM-F936U using RealGM mobile app

[Bassman]

Is he a center or a wing?

I feel like we have been burned recently with these in between guys who turned out to not be either: Kai Jones, JT Thor

Agree, and despite his promise I’m not convinced Sarr will be competent to deliver starter minutes at either position. He has some bust potential at such a high pick. A big that is a low volume rebounder and skinny? Ehh…sort of strikes me a bit cold. Just like Castle; not keen on picking someone this high who is not an NBA level shooter IMO. Tired of beating that dead horse on draft night.

Want a big? Clingan. Want a good shooter at guard? Knecht is the only one with size and good athleticism who can definitely shoot (Sheppard is too small). Want a wing who is a great athlete that you hope develops his shot well enough but no guarantees? Ron Holland might be your guy but he’s never been above 62% from the FT line and 28% from 3. Cody Williams? Numbers aren’t bad but limited sample size on threes and he just does not pass my eye test (relies too much on getting to the basket but he’s not very quick). How about Buzelis, or Risarcher? Talented with potential, but not great shooters and could as easily be career role players off the bench (like most of these in lottery discussion).

Sometimes, looking at this group, I’d seriously consider trading back for Knecht. I can hear you; yeah, he’s OLD for a pick, yeah he’s WHITE, and yeah he’s untested as a defensive STOPPER, but how badly do we need a cut throat competitor who is DEADLY from 3? Don’t tell me we’ve got Melo and Miller and Miles for that. Today’s game is SPEED, SPACING AND THREES! Knecht adds to that in spades. He’s a gritty competitor who goes after rebounds, is a good passer, handles the ball well and finishes strong at the rim. Ideally we would trade BACK to get him, and I’d want an extra 1st round pick to do that, but unless we’re dealing a #1 selection back I don’t see that as an option in this draft.

Do not envy our new GM and future coaching staff trying to find the right guy.

[JustBuzzin]

Being honest I don't want any bigs in this draft with a top 5 pick.

[Diop]

his 3 point shooting at the start of the season looked good for Sarr, but it really died off.
he's way more talented than Thor and a lot more level headed than Jones.

Saying that, I wouldn't call him a can't miss pick, but in this draft who is?

[luciano-davidwesley]

Is he a center or a wing?

I feel like we have been burned recently with these in between guys who turned out to not be either: Kai Jones, JT Thor

Agree, and despite his promise I’m not convinced Sarr will be competent to deliver starter minutes at either position. He has some bust potential at such a high pick. A big that is a low volume rebounder and skinny? Ehh…sort of strikes me a bit cold. Just like Castle; not keen on picking someone this high who is not an NBA level shooter IMO. Tired of beating that dead horse on draft night.

Want a big? Clingan. Want a good shooter at guard? Knecht is the only one with size and good athleticism who can definitely shoot (Sheppard is too small). Want a wing who is a great athlete that you hope develops his shot well enough but no guarantees? Ron Holland might be your guy but he’s never been above 62% from the FT line and 28% from 3. Cody Williams? Numbers aren’t bad but limited sample size on threes and he just does not pass my eye test (relies too much on getting to the basket but he’s not very quick). How about Buzelis, or Risarcher? Talented with potential, but not great shooters and could as easily be career role players off the bench (like most of these in lottery discussion).

Sometimes, looking at this group, I’d seriously consider trading back for Knecht. I can hear you; yeah, he’s OLD for a pick, yeah he’s WHITE, and yeah he’s untested as a defensive STOPPER, but how badly do we need a cut throat competitor who is DEADLY from 3? Don’t tell me we’ve got Melo and Miller and Miles for that. Today’s game is SPEED, SPACING AND THREES! Knecht adds to that in spades. He’s a gritty competitor who goes after rebounds, is a good passer, handles the ball well and finishes strong at the rim. Ideally we would trade BACK to get him, and I’d want an extra 1st round pick to do that, but unless we’re dealing a #1 selection back I don’t see that as an option in this draft.

Do not envy our new GM and future coaching staff trying to find the right guy.

If we draft 5th year senior Knecht I think I'll either cry or go postal. Anyone but him lol. Sheppard as a freshman is already better than him in just about every facet of the game other than being a few inches shorter.

[JMAC3]

I feel pretty confident in him being Evan Mobley type of guy, not saying he will be that good but a guy that probably can spend some time at PF due to his lateral movement but also can play center (probably best position in future).

Sarr is a better shooter than Mobley, but I don't think he is as strong as defender, rebounder but the comp is pretty solid.

[lmcguir15]

The big thing that makes Sarr's future so opaque is the lack of playing time. He didn't accumulate stats similar to his draft mates. Interestingly, when you extrapolate via per 36 numbers, he's not that far from Wemby's numbers.

Pre-draft Per 36 (Per Tankathon)

Wembanyama
23.3 pts
11.5 reb
2.7 ast
3.3 blocks
0.9 stl

Sarr
19.2 pts
9.0 reb
2.1 ast
3.1 blk
0.9 stl

Let me be clear, I'm not saying Sarr will be Wemby; I think Wembanyama is a generational player. However, if Sarr is 80-90% of Wemby, aren't you over the moon about that? These numbers are a lot closer than I initially presumed.

The JJJ comps are reasonable in my view. Jackson is a below average three point shooter for his career (34.5%) but contributes with physicality on the glass and as a shot blocking presence on the inside. Sarr can absolutely live at the 4 and moonlight as a 5 to provide injury insurance should we have another center go down. It doesn't bother me at all that Sarr can't shoot 3's (29.8%).

You're likely going to need the #1 pick to snag Sarr, but an 18 year old with an elite skillset on defense shouldn't be balked at.

[Diop]

I really don’t rate Perths coach either, he was a good shooting guard when he played and his coaching reflects his playing style with little thought to defence and big man offence. It was pretty much all perimeter scoring.

A better coach would get more out of him

[Bassman]

Great points by all, and to clarify regarding Knecht, it would be a trade down strategy. As for Sarr….if we were to win the #1 pick in this draft, I would likely pick Sarr. To this point, no other top level prospects have the level of POTENTIAL that Sarr delivers. He does have some bust risk, but not like Kai or similar projects. Sarr could grow into a very strong player with his size, quickness and good stroke. He would fit perfectly here as a 4 so long as he could eventually hit a reasonable 3 pt %.

Any comparisons to Wemby are a bit skewed, but especially if projecting Sarr as a center. I don’t think he will ever be able to add the weight and muscle needed there, but as a long athletic 4 with added muscle….that would be the ticket.

[Goodecharlotte]

I'd take Sarr and Poku at the 4 for the future. With hopefully Williams and Richards or someone else in free agency like Jalen Smith now that would be a front line to rival most teams in the NBA.