Alex Sarr

[Zonkerbl]

Kyshan's 3 pointer sucked earlier in the season. All of our young players have had ups and downs. All of them have shown flashes of what we hope they can be. They've improved as a unit towards the end of the season. They will all turn in to acceptable nba players.

Even if Sarr wants to be a 4, he still needs to bulk up. And he will. He'll be fine.

[nate33]

Watch on YouTube

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Look at this move at 1:02. Top of the key. Hard dribble to the right, behind the back to the left, spin move and finish. I asked a question when we first drafted him. What kind of player does Sarr want to be. Looking at him and comparing him to a traditional 5 is silly. He plays like a 3 and D wing who's trying to improve his off the dribble game. He's a forward. People might disagree but his growth curve is likely to be closer to a Jaylen Brown than an Evan Mobley.

His handle needs tightening. His finishing needs improving. But this is the player he wants to be. And it's clearly the skills that he's working on. Compare 19 year old Sarr to 20 year old Jaylen Brown. Brown averaged 6.6/2.8/.8 on 34.1% from 3 and 1.7 3pa. Sarr makes way more sense if you look at him as a wing who's trying to improve his offensive game than as a big who's needs to bang inside. And this is probably why he pushed to come to DC. Because DC would let him explore this part of his game instead of pigeon holding him into being a traditional 5. You can't look at that play and believe he's training and practicing to play like Daniel Gafford or Evan Mobley. And this is what I suspected all along.

The Jaylen Brown comparison is preposterous. He will never be as coordinated as a 6-7 wing nor does he have the shooting touch. And yes, Brown was awful his rookie season so everyone likes to pick him as a comparison, but Jaylen was an extreme outlier for a guy who ultimately panned out to be a solid offensive player. We could just as easily compare Johnny Davis to Jaylen Brown. It's not happening.

I get the notion that Sarr wants to be a power forward and not a center. But given his skillset, we would need to set our sights lower on his ultimate potential. He just doesn't have the shooting touch to be a Dirk-like shooting at the 4, and he'll never have the handle to be a playmaker. The best case scenario would be Evan Mobley, and that's possible, but a more likely scenario is something more like Aaron Gordon. I'd be fine with that too, but now we are talking about a role player - a 3rd/4th best guy on a team, and not a guy that you ever really game plan against. The problem is, with him at PF, he isn't taking the opposition's rim protector out of the play, so he isn't really straining the opposition's defensive scheme. Basically, the goal for Sarr at PF would be for him to not be an offensive liability, but he wouldn't really be an offensive asset either.

But if he stays at center, gets stronger and becomes more physical, then he could easily be a Myles Turner/Brook Lopez tier stretch 5 but with better switchability on defense. That's a difference maker - a guy that gives your team extreme versatility at both ends of the floor by pulling the opposition's center out of the paint on offense while still being switchable on defense. And if he improves his release time on his shot, he could be a Chet Holgrem/Porzingis/KAT tier pick-and-pop threat that serves as an actual foundation to an offensive attack.

[prime1time]

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=WashingtonWizards
Look at this move at 1:02. Top of the key. Hard dribble to the right, behind the back to the left, spin move and finish. I asked a question when we first drafted him. What kind of player does Sarr want to be. Looking at him and comparing him to a traditional 5 is silly. He plays like a 3 and D wing who's trying to improve his off the dribble game. He's a forward. People might disagree but his growth curve is likely to be closer to a Jaylen Brown than an Evan Mobley.

His handle needs tightening. His finishing needs improving. But this is the player he wants to be. And it's clearly the skills that he's working on. Compare 19 year old Sarr to 20 year old Jaylen Brown. Brown averaged 6.6/2.8/.8 on 34.1% from 3 and 1.7 3pa. Sarr makes way more sense if you look at him as a wing who's trying to improve his offensive game than as a big who's needs to bang inside. And this is probably why he pushed to come to DC. Because DC would let him explore this part of his game instead of pigeon holding him into being a traditional 5. You can't look at that play and believe he's training and practicing to play like Daniel Gafford or Evan Mobley. And this is what I suspected all along.

The Jaylen Brown comparison is preposterous. He will never be as coordinated as a 6-7 wing nor does he have the shooting touch. And yes, Brown was awful his rookie season so everyone likes to pick him as a comparison, but Jaylen was an extreme outlier for a guy who ultimately panned out to be a solid offensive player. We could just as easily compare Johnny Davis to Jaylen Brown. It's not happening.

I get the notion that Sarr wants to be a power forward and not a center. But given his skillset, we would need to set our sights lower on his ultimate potential. He just doesn't have the shooting touch to be a Dirk-like shooting at the 4, and he'll never have the handle to be a playmaker. The best case scenario would be Evan Mobley, and that's possible, but a more likely scenario is something more like Aaron Gordon. I'd be fine with that too, but now we are talking about a role player - a 3rd/4th best guy on a team, and not a guy that you ever really game plan against. The problem is, with him at PF, he isn't taking the opposition's rim protector out of the play, so he isn't really straining the opposition's defensive scheme. Basically, the goal for Sarr at PF would be for him to not be an offensive liability, but he wouldn't really be an offensive asset either.

But if he stays at center, gets stronger and becomes more physical, then he could easily be a Myles Turner/Brook Lopez tier stretch 5 but with better switchability on defense. That's a difference maker - a guy that gives your team extreme versatility at both ends of the floor by pulling the opposition's center out of the paint on offense while still being switchable on defense. And if he improves his release time on his shot, he could be a Chet Holgrem/Porzingis/KAT tier pick-and-pop threat that serves as an actual foundation to an offensive attack.

When you watch Sarr do you get the feeling you're watching a guy who wants to be a big? Or do you get the feeling that you're watching a guy who wants to be a wing? When's the last time KAT took the ball at the top of the key, went behind his back to a spin move and then finished with his left? KAT doesn't play like that. He's closer to Giannis and KD. And those are both wings. I stand by my Jaylen Brown comparison because it fits his game. He's not as skilled as KD was at this age. And he's also not as skilled Chet or KAT. SO those comparisons don't make sense.

For all of these comparisons you're throwing out, they all end up in the same place. You are forcing your own notion of how basketball should be played onto Sarr. Instead of the other way around. He doesn't play like Myles Turner and he doesn't play like Brook Lopez. How many times has Lopez or Turner done a behind the back dribble in a game? Now you can argue that he won't be able to achieve his goal. But that's not what I'm discussing. What I'm discussing is what player does Sarr want to be. Not what player does a team need him to be. That conversation is way less interesting and I couldn't care less.

Do we think that Myles Turner or Brook Lopez is really practicing their handles relentlessly? Do we think they practice putting the ball on the floor at the 3-point line and attacking? The answer is no. If you don't like Jaylen Brown comp fine. Then a skinnier Giannis. A less fluid KD worse shooting KD. The reality is that he wants to have the ball at the 3 point line and attack the defense. Whether it be by shooting the ball or putting the ball on the floor. I think that the Turner and Lopez comparisions are preposterous.

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[dobrojim]

one thing I've noticed that is already happening... Sarr's switchability on D.
I remember a year ago a vid getting posted of pre-NBA Sarr defending a G in space.
It was pretty eye-opening seeing a 7 fter moving his feet that well.
That's been happening at the NBA level now.

He'll turn 20 soon which would suggest he ain't done growing muscle.
It's only 2 games. He's not a finished product (yet). But he was a pretty safe
and pick @ 2 for us in terms of upside regardless of how well Castle has done.
He's now shown he can score besides hitting open 3s. Let's see where he is in
another 1-2 years.

[nate33]

If you don't like Jaylen Brown comp fine. Then a skinnier Giannis. A less fluid KD worse shooting KD. The reality is that he wants to have the ball at the 3 point line and attack the defense. Whether it be by shooting the ball or putting the ball on the floor. I think that the Turner and Lopez comparisions are preposterous.

A skinnier Giannis without his incredible hands and physicality is Thon Maker. A less fluid, worse shooting KD is Kyle Kuzma. These are not good models for Sarr to strive for.

[prime1time]

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck maybe it's duck. When Myles Turner was 19 he attempted .2 3 pointers a game. The first 8 years of Brook Lopez's career he attempted 31 3's total. Porzignis is a more interesting comparison but he not putting the ball on the floor. And attacking the rim. He settles for jumpers. So the wing comparison is more apt.

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It's fascinating hearing someone say that Sarr's not as coordinated as Jaylen Brown. Are we talking about Jaylen Brown in his prime or Jaylen Brown as a rookie when people thought Brown was a bust? Sarr is a wing. He wants to play like a wing. He practices like a wing. He approaches the game like a wing. Don't shoot the messenger.

[nate33]

one thing I've noticed that is already happening... Sarr's switchability on D.
I remember a year ago a vid getting posted of pre-NBA Sarr defending a G in space.
It was pretty eye-opening seeing a 7 fter moving his feet that well.
That's been happening at the NBA level now.

He'll turn 20 soon which would suggest he ain't done growing muscle.
It's only 2 games. He's not a finished product (yet). But he was a pretty safe
and pick @ 2 for us in terms of upside regardless of how well Castle has done.
He's now shown he can score besides hitting open 3s. Let's see where he is in
another 1-2 years.

He has shown some flashes, but I agree he doesn't exactly look like Jonathan Isaac out there. I think he'll get better at defending in space with more experience and training. I did note that he shut down Jamaal Murray a few times in the Denver game, forcing Murray to just give up and pass the ball away.

[dobrojim]

It seems to me that the evolution in what players are physically capable of keeps
speeding up and the more narrow roles of each position are broadening. That may
end up pushing us all the more to position-less BB.

[Frichuela]

Interesting discussion on Sarr's future.

Whatever Sarr's personal preferences, it is pretty clear that (so far) our FO sees him as a center. As far as I can tell, we have not seen any minutes of him at PF.

An interesting question is should we drop to #5 or (God forbid) #6 in the draft, would this FO target a center line Malauch or Queen? Going back to my original point, it seem unlikely.

[nate33]

It seems to me that the evolution in what players are physically capable of keeps
speeding up and the more narrow roles of each position are broadening. That may
end up pushing us all the more to position-less BB.

Agreed. It's less about roles and more about general overall skill. The 1 is the most offensive skilled player, and the 5 is the least. Defensively, the 1 is the smallest player and the 5 is the tallest/strongest.

Your basic rotation player has the same number on offense and defense. Someone like, say, Deandre Hunter is a 3 on offense and a 3 on defense. He is a 5th starter type of guy.

You become a difference maker when you can develop the offensive skill to man a higher-skill role on offense relative to your defensive size. That's usually how guys become above average players and ultimately stars. Harden can play 2 or 3 on defense but has the skill of a 1 on offense. Durant can play 4 on defense but has the skill of a 2 on offense. JJJ can play 5 on defense and 4 on offense.

Right now, Sarr is a 4 on defense and a 5 on offense, which means he's not really an effective NBA player. It's a pretty good bet that he will get stronger and fill out so that he is a legit 5 defensively, which will make him a useful center. I have no objection to him trying to refine his offensive skills so that maybe he pans out as a 4 on offense and a 5 on defense. That would make him a difference maker. I'm not all that confident he will get there, but it's possible.

If Sarr eventually becomes a 4 on offense and a 5 on defense, it will then be a situational decision on where to play him. That decision will depend on his teammates, the opposition, and the game conditions. Sometimes, we will be better off with him as a big 4, and at other times we will be better off with him as a high-skilled 5.

[AFM]

Basically Nate hates Sarr and would trade him for Jarrell Eddie

[Frichuela]

Basically Nate hates Sarr and would trade him for Jarrell Eddie

[Despy]

Dudes 19 (or maybe 20) waiting for his frame to fill out. His desire to be a pure back to the basket center is conflicting with his will to live. Good for him for being productive in the meantime

[smoothSeph]

If you don't like Jaylen Brown comp fine. Then a skinnier Giannis. A less fluid KD worse shooting KD. The reality is that he wants to have the ball at the 3 point line and attack the defense. Whether it be by shooting the ball or putting the ball on the floor. I think that the Turner and Lopez comparisions are preposterous.

A skinnier Giannis without his incredible hands and physicality is Thon Maker. A less fluid, worse shooting KD is Kyle Kuzma. These are not good models for Sarr to strive for.

That’s if every player fit into a box of certain players before them. As cliche as it sounds, we have to let Sarr be Sarr. If he ends up being similar to a Mobley/Chet you put a Allen/Hartenstein next to him. If he ends up being similar to Turner/Lopez you put a versatile forward next to him.

The importance is providing him with the right coaching and confidence to continue to round out his game. At that point idc if he’s a 7 ft point guard as long as he’s effective.

[nate33]

That’s if every player fit into a box of certain players before them. As cliche as it sounds, we have to let Sarr be Sarr. If he ends up being similar to a Mobley/Chet you put a Allen/Hartenstein next to him. If he ends up being similar to Turner/Lopez you put a versatile forward next to him.

I agree with this. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't guide him in his development based on his realistic potential. Other than Durant, there are virtually no examples of successful 7-foot wing players who shy away from contact. And Sarr is no Durant.

I'm not saying we need to groom Sarr to be a back-to-the basket bruiser like Valanciunas. It's fine for him to develop an outside shot and become effective as a short roll passer, but he needs to work on his glaring weakness of his lack of physicality. His only path to success in this league is to at least to be physical enough to make teams pay for guarding him with wing-sized players. Or else, any success he develops as a wing-scorer on offense can be easily negated by simply guarding him with a wing.

We can't just let Sarr be Sarr if all Sarr wants to do is shoot from the perimeter and dribble. Allowing a 7-footer to fall in love with being a guard/wing is what gets you guys like Andre Blatche and Kyle Kuzma. Yeah, it's impressive when a 7-footer can handle and hit stepbacks, but it's not efficient. Instead of having your big men larp as guards, get real guards to do the guard work and your bigs to do the things that guards are physically unable to do because they're too small.

I actually don't buy this argument that Sarr only wants to be a small forward. I think he recognizes that center and part-time power forward is where he will ultimately end up, so he has no problems playing center at the moment. He is being developed just fine. I don't know if he will get to where he needs to be, but I think he will try. I'm just objecting to the posters on this board who think it's clever to try and make him a small forward. It isn't.

[AFM]

Not 7’ but there are plenty of 6’10 guys who played outside. I mentioned Rashard Lewis earlier.

[DCZards]

one thing I've noticed that is already happening... Sarr's switchability on D.
I remember a year ago a vid getting posted of pre-NBA Sarr defending a G in space.
It was pretty eye-opening seeing a 7 fter moving his feet that well.
That's been happening at the NBA level now.

He'll turn 20 soon which would suggest he ain't done growing muscle.
It's only 2 games. He's not a finished product (yet). But he was a pretty safe
and pick @ 2 for us in terms of upside regardless of how well Castle has done.
He's now shown he can score besides hitting open 3s. Let's see where he is in
another 1-2 years.

Sarr’s switch ability on D was the primary reason I wanted him with the second pick. His size, length, foot speed, and athleticism are unique…and major pluses. (I just noted that he has a longer wingspan than Giannis. That’s crazy.)

I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen thus far from Sarr offensively given that he’s a raw, skinny 19 yr old. (His ball handling and passing are very advanced for a player his size and age.) It’s rare to see a 7 footer go end-to-end with the fluidity and ease that Sarr does.

There are some things that Sarr will likely never be, such as a physical rebounder. But his rebounding and ability to score in the paint will improve once he puts on more muscle, which he will.

I have a major concern about Sarr’s hands. Not sure how much that can improve.

[DCZards]

Dudes 19 (or maybe 20) waiting for his frame to fill out. His desire to be a pure back to the basket center is conflicting with his will to live. Good for him for being productive in the meantime

[dobrojim]

FWIW, Sarr has a BD coming up soon on which he will turn 20.

[Frichuela]

Actually, Sarr compares quite well to Myles Turner when he was a rookie. Pretty much the same rebounds and blocks per 36 minutes. The main difference is Alex is a much better passer and 3 pt shooter while Turner shot 50% from 2 (vs. 44% Sarr).

https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=perchoice&player_id1=sarral01&p1yrfrom=2025&p1yrto=2025&player_id2=turnemy01&p2yrfrom=2016&p2yrto=2016