Should Wizards be Concerned with Alex Sarr

[PlatinumState]

Horrible first game. I'll wait 10 games before passing judgement, however I see him averaging between 5-10 ppg this season which is low because his team is gonna tank all season. Its def not good that all he wants to do is shoot threes

[Jamaaliver]

The Good

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[Jamaaliver]

...there were some solid moments, too.

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[Jamaaliver]

Horrible first game. I'll wait 10 games before passing judgement, however I see him averaging between 5-10 ppg this season which is low because his team is gonna tank all season. Its def not good that all he wants to do is shoot threes

I question the decision to start him next to undisciplined vets like Jordan Poole or inexperienced guys like Coulibaly and Carrington.

Sarr should definitely get PT early on, but you at least want some level of competence on the court and in the locker room so all those young players don't develop terrible habits and get absorbed into a losing culture.

We've watched it with the young guys in Detroit and Houston for years now. It is not an ideal way to develop young players.

[tcheco]

Horrible first game. I'll wait 10 games before passing judgement, however I see him averaging between 5-10 ppg this season which is low because his team is gonna tank all season. Its def not good that all he wants to do is shoot threes

I question the decision to start him next to undisciplined vets like Jordan Poole or inexperienced guys like Coulibaly and Carrington.

Sarr should definitely get PT early on, but you at least want some level of competence on the court and in the locker room so all those young players don't develop terrible habits and get absorbed into a losing culture.

We've watched it with the young guys in Detroit and Houston for years now. It is not an ideal way to develop young players.

Aside from Brogdon(injured) and Jonas, not much left in there for the Wizards to put on the floor with him unfortunately. I do agree that for rookies to develop they need some reference on the floor to help avoid these bad habits

[UcanUwill]

Horrible first game. I'll wait 10 games before passing judgement, however I see him averaging between 5-10 ppg this season which is low because his team is gonna tank all season. Its def not good that all he wants to do is shoot threes

I question the decision to start him next to undisciplined vets like Jordan Poole or inexperienced guys like Coulibaly and Carrington.

Sarr should definitely get PT early on, but you at least want some level of competence on the court and in the locker room so all those young players don't develop terrible habits and get absorbed into a losing culture.

We've watched it with the young guys in Detroit and Houston for years now. It is not an ideal way to develop young players.

Aside from Brogdon(injured) and Jonas, not much left in there for the Wizards to put on the floor with him unfortunately. I do agree that for rookies to develop they need some reference on the floor to help avoid these bad habits

A bit surprised that they already starting him at center, I thought they would start him with Jonas also. But thats encouraging, I hate when clear centers, 7'1 guys, are afraid to play center. Anyhow, should definitely average over 5-10 points, simply because he will get minutes, plain scoring doesn't require immense talent in the NBA. But his efficiency and percentages I expect to be very bad, especially for a center.

[Jamaaliver]

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[nate33]

A bit surprised that they already starting him at center, I thought they would start him with Jonas also. But thats encouraging, I hate when clear centers, 7'1 guys, are afraid to play center. Anyhow, should definitely average over 5-10 points, simply because he will get minutes, plain scoring doesn't require immense talent in the NBA. But his efficiency and percentages I expect to be very bad, especially for a center.

Every time they play Sarr alongside JV it's a total disaster. The team is -58 per 100 possessions with them together. Sarr just doesn't have the ability to play PF on offense. He can't shoot reliably enough, and he can't make any plays off the bounce. Teams just use his defender to jam up other actions.

It's looking like Keefe has figured that out and is mostly playing Sarr at center now. Sarr is pretty solid defensively at center, except he understandably gets bullied by stronger guys on the glass, and he misses a few rotations as young players often do.

The guy is a project. I'm not expecting a whole lot of winning play in the short term, but the long term potential is there.

[PlatinumState]

So far from what I've seen I'd put Sarr ahead in terms of potential over Clingan and Edey who both look slow and play like 90's centers.
He should stop taking so many threes though. I could see him becoming very good in like 3-4 years and he's only 19

[zero rings]

"He's a project" is just a nice way of saying he can't play.

[Papi_swav]

he'll be good when he's about 25 years old but still not a #2 draft player type good. This draft class looks weak anyway

[PlatinumState]

he'll be good when he's about 25 years old but still not a #2 draft player type good. This draft class looks weak anyway

I feel they took the player with the most upside. Who else was available? Knecht who's 23 already, Buzelis, Salaun, Holland, Castle or Sheppard? Out of all those I only see Sheppard having a better career than Sarr. And they got their PG in Bub Carrington later at 14.
Sarr seems to be a block machine, had 4 against the Hawks yesterday, thats something. If he turns into a consistent 10/10 guy that plays good d thats more than enough

[Godymas]

nah dude is absolutely elite defensively. If the worst case scenario for Alex Sarr is Rudy Gobert but can guard the perimeter, then I have no issue with that at all.

He has the drive to be good offensively, he wants to shoot, so his shot will come with practice. If in 3 years he still has no offensive bag, then it's not a concern, just a let down, because he's damn good defensively.

[Long2_noD]

This guy is just another iteration of Mo Bamba. Will get a highlight defensive play here and there, but in the grand scheme he's too unskilled to play as a forward and too weak to play C.

[UcanUwill]

he'll be good when he's about 25 years old but still not a #2 draft player type good. This draft class looks weak anyway

I feel they took the player with the most upside. Who else was available? Knecht who's 23 already, Buzelis, Salaun, Holland, Castle or Sheppard? Out of all those I only see Sheppard having a better career than Sarr. And they got their PG in Bub Carrington later at 14.
Sarr seems to be a block machine, had 4 against the Hawks yesterday, thats something. If he turns into a consistent 10/10 guy that plays good d thats more than enough

This draft is really bad for teams looking for superstars, tho I thought few guys have some serious potential. Sheppard, Salaun and Buzelis ceilings I like a ton.
I think Salaun and Buzelis can easily end up being nothing at all, but potential is there I think, I do not think its any worse than Sarrs at least. Problem, none of these guys are sure things, at all. Its a draft where the development team will have to earn their money, as it will be more important than what was probably even drafted in the first place...

[The-Power]

nah dude is absolutely elite defensively. If the worst case scenario for Alex Sarr is Rudy Gobert but can guard the perimeter, then I have no issue with that at all.

Yeah, but you know it's not, right? His worst case scenario isn't ‘one of the best defenders of his generation but even better’.

[nate33]

This guy is just another iteration of Mo Bamba. Will get a highlight defensive play here and there, but in the grand scheme he's too unskilled to play as a forward and too weak to play C.

I'd say this is a fair description of him right now at age 19.

Sarr has a really good frame though, with broad shoulders. I think he'll get considerably stronger than Mo Bamba in time. Also, Sarr has exceptional hip mobility and can move much better on the perimeter than Mo Bamba. He can provide Mo Bamba's shot blocking while also being a switchable defender who can guard wings.

[UcanUwill]

nah dude is absolutely elite defensively. If the worst case scenario for Alex Sarr is Rudy Gobert but can guard the perimeter, then I have no issue with that at all.

Yeah, but you know it's not, right? His worst case scenario isn't ‘one of the best defenders of his generation but even better’.

If this draft had a prospect, whose worst case scenario is Gobert, that guy would have went first without any questions.

[nate33]

"He's a project" is just a nice way of saying he can't play.

This is true.

Sarr can't play right now. He's a total liability on offense. If he was on a team that was trying to win, he probably would be out of the rotation, or, at best, a backup center playing 12-15 minutes a night. But that's not really unusual. Most 19-year-old bigs can't play effective basketball as rookies - certainly not in the first month of the season.

[Godymas]

nah dude is absolutely elite defensively. If the worst case scenario for Alex Sarr is Rudy Gobert but can guard the perimeter, then I have no issue with that at all.

Yeah, but you know it's not, right? His worst case scenario isn't ‘one of the best defenders of his generation but even better’.

If this draft had a prospect, whose worst case scenario is Gobert, that guy would have went first without any questions.

He was supposed to be first, no questions, but refused to workout for Atlanta.