Alex Sarr

[leswizards]

I think my displeasure with the wizards front office is the result of them drafting Alex Sarr.

The only hope I see for salvaging this pick is if his 3p% improves, and he dedicates himself to basically becoming the 2nd coming of Daniel Gafford, except with better defense and with 3 point shooting ability. That would be a damn good player. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to go to Atlanta, because that is not the player he wants to be.

[DCZards]

I think my displeasure with the wizards front office is the result of them drafting Alex Sarr.

The only hope I see for salvaging this pick is if his 3p% improves, and he dedicates himself to basically becoming the 2nd coming of Daniel Gafford, except with better defense and with 3 point shooting ability. That would be a damn good player. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to go to Atlanta, because that is not the player he wants to be.

2nd coming of Gafford? I have much higher expectations than that. Sarr is already a much better shooter, ball handler, and passer than Gaff.

Think Mobley, not Gafford.

[dobrojim]

Or Holmgren

also a #2 overall pick

[leswizards]

I think my displeasure with the wizards front office is the result of them drafting Alex Sarr.

The only hope I see for salvaging this pick is if his 3p% improves, and he dedicates himself to basically becoming the 2nd coming of Daniel Gafford, except with better defense and with 3 point shooting ability. That would be a damn good player. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to go to Atlanta, because that is not the player he wants to be.

2nd coming of Gafford? I have much higher expectations than that. Sarr is already a much better shooter, ball handler, and passer than Gaff.

Think Mobley, not Gafford.

I’m sorry, but you are wrong. For his career, Gafford shoots 80.4% from under 3 feet, 54.4% from 3 to 10 feet, and 47.7 for 10 to 16 feet. Sarr shoots 69.5%/36%/32.4% respectively. The huge difference is Gafford shoots 65.5% of his shots from under 3 feet while Sarr only shoots 17% of his shots from under 3 feet.

[DCZards]

I think my displeasure with the wizards front office is the result of them drafting Alex Sarr.

The only hope I see for salvaging this pick is if his 3p% improves, and he dedicates himself to basically becoming the 2nd coming of Daniel Gafford, except with better defense and with 3 point shooting ability. That would be a damn good player. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to go to Atlanta, because that is not the player he wants to be.

2nd coming of Gafford? I have much higher expectations than that. Sarr is already a much better shooter, ball handler, and passer than Gaff.

Think Mobley, not Gafford.

I’m sorry, but you are wrong. For his career, Gafford shoots 80.4% from under 3 feet, 54.4% from 3 to 10 feet, and 47.7 for 10 to 16 feet. Sarr shoots 69.5%/36%/32.4% respectively. The huge difference is Gafford shoots 65.5% of his shots from under 3 feet while Sarr only shoots 17% of his shots from under 3 feet.

As you note, Gafford rarely shoots the ball from beyond 5 feet. I don't have a problem with Gaff but I have much higher expectations for Sarr and his potential as a modern NBA C/PF who, unlike Gaff, can actually shoot beyond 10 feet.

[nate33]

Yeah, Sarr is nothing like Gafford. He doesn't have the hands, the athleticism, or the fearlessness. On the other hand, he is a much better ball handler, shooter and passer than Gafford.

Chet, Mobley and JJJ are the upside hopes for what Sarr will be. My guess is he won't quite reach that level and will end up more like a Miles Turner type of player. That's not awful, but it's not really a building block either.

[payitforward]

In any case, it's no doubt best to hold off judgment on Sarr.
OTOH, there's no reason to do that in the case of Daniel Gafford, who is a terrific NBA player in the middle of his career.

[daoneandonly]

Yeah, Sarr is nothing like Gafford. He doesn't have the hands, the athleticism, or the fearlessness. On the other hand, he is a much better ball handler, shooter and passer than Gafford.

Chet, Mobley and JJJ are the upside hopes for what Sarr will be. My guess is he won't quite reach that level and will end up more like a Miles Turner type of player. That's not awful, but it's not really a building block either.

How about trading for Anthony Davis to get his mentor? Pretty please, anyone but Poole

[dobrojim]

(re AD)

Assuming DAL has any interest, which I doubt but could be
wrong about, his salary is probably really high. And even
if we're overall in good salary territory, there's no point
in endangering the tank and our 2026 FRP. When healthy he would need to be played reducing available
developmental minutes to our future players.

[dckingsfan]

I think a lot of what Sarr will become is how he is utilized and with whom he plays.

I buy the shot, I think he demonstrated that at the end of the season when he got comfortable and the FT% went up significantly. I think that his shooting in the 16 foot 3point line at near to .400 is an indicator of where the 3 point shot is going. I think that we all want him to get to the hoop more and initiate contact and get to the line more - and maybe he will (I just don't think it will ever be where it needs to be on that front). I do think he is smart and is going to get better and better on back door cuts.

On the defensive end of the court, I think he is much better as a weak side defender (all you all have pointed this out repeatedly). If he doesn't try to bulk up to much, I think he can work on his quickness. I don't see him wanting to get down and dirty in the paint on a consistent basis (that could just be my bias).

To me that screams PF (others can argue and say, no - he needs to play C) and having him play opposite a big that can rebound and do the dirty work inside will unlock his best attributes (again, this is just an opinion). I think he will play his best both offensively and defensively at the 4.

I think if we leave him on an island as the C, it is going to stay ugly. I guess that is okay if you want to be in the lottery in '26. But beyond that - it isn't so happy.

But as others have said - he is very young, let's see what happens in the next couple of seasons. And maybe pairing him with a defensive rebounding PF is the way to go as others have suggested.

[AFM]

Watch on YouTube

[dobrojim]

Watch on YouTube

Good video ^ in terms of keeping expectations realistic but including a dose of optimism at the same time

[prime1time]

With Sarr while projection still seems nebulous it's actually not that hard when you take a step back. Sarr's career will be defined by how much he improves. So we will have to wait and see. But what we do know is his skillset. And the skillset is what we can plug into the our future projections to think about how the Wizards will look.

Sarr's skillset resembles a taller skinnier version of Draymond Green without all the antics and lacking physicality. But the the comparison is very apt. Sarr is a good passer and willing 3-point shooter although the shot is a work in progress. Now if his offense improves he'll score more than Draymond does but that won't actually change how the team is constructed. In big moments Sarr will play the 5. And I expect that some future games will hinge on his ability to knockdown an open 3.

Even more that the raw numbers, Sarr's skillset is just tantalizing. Stretch 5, good passer, can switch 1-5 and can protect the rim. Even if he doesn't become a scorer, it really doesn't matter. His presence combined with Johnson's 3-point shooting and scoring will form the bedrock of this team. Both players have skillsets where - regardless how much they improve or don't improve - will perfectly compliment a star. Look at Orlando. There's a reason they traded for Desmond Bane. And there's a reason why the Celtics have 2 bigs that can shoot, the Pacers have Myles Turner and the Thunder have Chet. Everyone on the Wizards will benefit from the skillset of those 2 players.

[prime1time]

With Sarr while projection still seems nebulous it's actually not that hard when you take a step back. Sarr's career will be defined by how much he improves. So we will have to wait and see. But what we do know is his skillset. And the skillset is what we can plug into the our future projections to think about how the Wizards will look.

Sarr's skillset resembles a taller skinnier version of Draymond Green without all the antics and lacking physicality. But the the comparison is very apt. Sarr is a good passer and willing 3-point shooter although the shot is a work in progress. Now if his offense improves he'll score more than Draymond does but that won't actually change how the team is constructed. In big moments Sarr will play the 5. And I expect that some future games will hinge on his ability to knockdown an open 3.

Even more that the raw numbers, Sarr's skillset is just tantalizing. Stretch 5, good passer, can switch 1-5 and can protect the rim. Even if he doesn't become a scorer, it really doesn't matter. His presence combined with Johnson's 3-point shooting and scoring will form the bedrock of this team. Both players have skillsets where - regardless how much they improve or don't improve - will perfectly compliment a star. Look at Orlando. There's a reason they traded for Desmond Bane. And there's a reason why the Celtics have 2 bigs that can shoot, the Pacers have Myles Turner and the Thunder have Chet. Everyone on the Wizards will benefit from the skillset of those 2 players.

The best that can be said about Sarr is that he's improving. I watched his games in Australia and compared to his games now it's night and day. But I will also say this, if he continues to develop his forward skills, he's probably still 2 years away from being 2 years away. And the Wizards will likely have to sign him to an extension without knowing for sure what he will be. And the same goes for Coulibaly. The Wizards drafted some extremely raw players. They will need more than just 4 years to fully realize their potential.