Shaedon Sharpe

[Blazers20]

Does Sharpe need to change his game up a bit? Seems like he doesn’t use his athletic abilities to attack the rim and either get more shots in the mid range or finish at or above the rim. Does Sharpe need to look at the 3 point shot a lot less and look for shots 20 feet and in? Could he be a 25+ point a game player with good efficiency if he cuts his 3 point attempts in half? Could he get more free throw attempts if he does attack more? I really see star potential in Sharpe but not sure how badly he wants to be a star and I’m not sure what his work ethic is like. Can Sharpe be a player that’s between an Anthony Edward’s and SGA or will he end up an average player?

[PDXKnight]

More than anything I want him to play better defense and play to his strengths offensively. I dont mind him shooting 2-3 3's a night to keep defenses honest but unless he can get his percentages up much hes a liability if he takes much more than that.

As for 25 ppg on good efficiency: I think he could have the 25 ppg but the good efficiency portion is much less certain and really that falls on him. So far his work ethic has been lacking if you look at the big picture. He has put it together in spurts but seems like hes kind of a Rollercoaster and hasnt put it together for a full season. Late last season was certainly promising but we will see if he can come into the season with that same focus and just as important be malleable and try to continually grow his game. A mega contract for Sharpe scares me im not gonna lie. I really wouldnt want to be the one deciding whether to pay him or trade him

[mighty_duck]

His 3pt fg% was very frustrating last season.

Despite having solid form, shooting well on long 2s and FT's, and getting the vast majority of his shots uncontested, and over half in catch and shoot situations, his numbers are trending down from his rookie season. There is no reason he shouldn't be shooting at league average %.

I hope he is in the gym every day shooting 100's of catch and shoot 3's. In today's NBA, It is hard for a guard to unlock other parts of their game without a solid 3pt shot.

[Butter]

Does Sharpe need to change his game up a bit? Seems like he doesn’t use his athletic abilities to attack the rim and either get more shots in the mid range or finish at or above the rim. Does Sharpe need to look at the 3 point shot a lot less and look for shots 20 feet and in? Could he be a 25+ point a game player with good efficiency if he cuts his 3 point attempts in half? Could he get more free throw attempts if he does attack more? I really see star potential in Sharpe but not sure how badly he wants to be a star and I’m not sure what his work ethic is like. Can Sharpe be a player that’s between an Anthony Edward’s and SGA or will he end up an average player?

I agree with the posters who are citing defense and perimeter shooting.

From what you are describing, does Sharp need to improve his dribbling also?

[DC_Melo]

Shaedon struggled last year with his 3 ball in addition to having some poor stretches defensively. It's something Blazer fans have discussed thoroughly this past season, so no surprise here. But all that chatter overlooks some really encouraging signs of growth displayed by Shaedon last season as well. Here's his statistical evolution during his first 3 seasons:

2022/23
Games Played/MPG: 80/22.2
Points: 9.9
PER: 11.5
TS%: .568
3PT: .360
BPM/OPM/DPM: -3.3/-1.3/-2.0
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .563/.437

2023/24
Games Played/MPG: 32/33.1
Points: 15.9
PER: 11.4
TS%: .524
3PT: .333
BPM/OPM/DPM: -2.8/-1.9/-.09
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .585/.415

2024/25
Games Played/MPG: 72/31.3
Points: 18.5
PER: 14.5
TS%: .551
3PT: .311
BPM/OPM/DPM: -1.3/0.0/-1.3
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .572/.428

So, his offensive efficiency metrics like PER, OPM, and Points per Minute have improved notably this past season, and his TS% only drop .017 from his career best despite his struggles from 3 last year. How is this possible? In large part because his scoring from 10-16 was quite good at .470 and his scoring at the rim was straight up elite at .755 (top 3% in the NBA).

Interestingly, his shot selection has stayed very consistent every season, when looking at his splits between 2pt and 3pt shots. Last year his 3 ball accounted for .428 of his attempts, which is exactly identical to his career average. What DID change however was the percentage of 3's assisted. In his rookie year, where he shot .360, 88.2% of his attempts were assisted. Last year? Only 70.7% were assisted. He is clearly a better shooter off the catch than off the dribble.

In a nutshell, offensively at least, Sharpe should be fine if his 3 ball can hover around 35% or better. Adding Yang and Jrue could help him get there as hopefully he can get more of his looks off of passes. Deni and Scoot developing as playermakers could help here as well.

Didn't dive too deep into the defensive side, but just wanted to provide some offensive stats/context for the thread.

[JRoy]

He needs to be more selective with his threes and raise his % big time.

With more talent on the team he should be able to manage it.

He should also get his eyes checked.

[dckingsfan]

Shaedon struggled last year with his 3 ball in addition to having some poor stretches defensively. It's something Blazer fans have discussed thoroughly this past season, so no surprise here. But all that chatter overlooks some really encouraging signs of growth displayed by Shaedon last season as well. Here's his statistical evolution during his first 3 seasons:

2022/23
Games Played/MPG: 80/22.2
Points: 9.9
PER: 11.5
TS%: .568
3PT: .360
BPM/OPM/DPM: -3.3/-1.3/-2.0
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .563/.437

2023/24
Games Played/MPG: 32/33.1
Points: 15.9
PER: 11.4
TS%: .524
3PT: .333
BPM/OPM/DPM: -2.8/-1.9/-.09
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .585/.415

2024/25
Games Played/MPG: 72/31.3
Points: 18.5
PER: 14.5
TS%: .551
3PT: .311
BPM/OPM/DPM: -1.3/0.0/-1.3
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .572/.428

So, his offensive efficiency metrics like PER, OPM, and Points per Minute have improved notably this past season, and his TS% only drop .017 from his career best despite his struggles from 3 last year. How is this possible? In large part because his scoring from 10-16 was quite good at .470 and his scoring at the rim was straight up elite at .755 (top 3% in the NBA).

Interestingly, his shot selection has stayed very consistent every season, when looking at his splits between 2pt and 3pt shots. Last year his 3 ball accounted for .428 of his attempts, which is exactly identical to his career average. What DID change however was the percentage of 3's assisted. In his rookie year, where he shot .360, 88.2% of his attempts were assisted. Last year? Only 70.7% were assisted. He is clearly a better shooter off the catch than off the dribble.

In a nutshell, offensively at least, Sharpe should be fine if his 3 ball can hover around 35% or better. Adding Yang and Jrue could help him get there as hopefully he can get more of his looks off of passes. Deni and Scoot developing as playermakers could help here as well.

Didn't dive too deep into the defensive side, but just wanted to provide some offensive stats/context for the thread.

Each year the percentage of his shots at the rim has gone down, not up. He is an elite athlete and finishes well at the rim - he needs to get to the rim more often. Some of that is not having the handles he needs to get there. Some of it is not having the passing that gets the ball to him on back door cuts.

Yes, the percentage of his shots from 3 has been about the same but each year is conversion rate has gone down. It could very well be that opposing teams see this trend - very few secrets in the association.

So, I would like to see him drive the ball relentlessly. Get to the rim or kick it out.

His defense has improved year over year. That is nice but... again he needs to be more focused and needs to provide constant on-ball pressure. I am hoping his footwork and positioning continues to improve and he gets positive reinforcement from team defensive success and being around good defensive players like Camara and Jrue.

Could this be the year he breaks out? If he does, yay! If he doesn't just let him walk...

[PDXKnight]

I do wonder if ant being gone gives Sharpe room to develop his own style. Seems like ant kinda set the tone with a poor man's version of Dame and we got poor results. Perhaps there wont be as much of a contest to take 3's and instead we will try to get better shots, or try to take it in for the 2 more often on the break. The main point being everybody playing to their strengths rather than trying to imitate Dame or Step. Sure if you can shoot then let it rip but also be big enough to know when you aren't that good of a shooter as well. Obviously put in the work to get there but its also quite possible & perhaps even likely that he is closer to derozan as a best case rather than Devin Booker

[DC_Melo]

Shaedon struggled last year with his 3 ball in addition to having some poor stretches defensively. It's something Blazer fans have discussed thoroughly this past season, so no surprise here. But all that chatter overlooks some really encouraging signs of growth displayed by Shaedon last season as well. Here's his statistical evolution during his first 3 seasons:

2022/23
Games Played/MPG: 80/22.2
Points: 9.9
PER: 11.5
TS%: .568
3PT: .360
BPM/OPM/DPM: -3.3/-1.3/-2.0
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .563/.437

2023/24
Games Played/MPG: 32/33.1
Points: 15.9
PER: 11.4
TS%: .524
3PT: .333
BPM/OPM/DPM: -2.8/-1.9/-.09
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .585/.415

2024/25
Games Played/MPG: 72/31.3
Points: 18.5
PER: 14.5
TS%: .551
3PT: .311
BPM/OPM/DPM: -1.3/0.0/-1.3
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .572/.428

So, his offensive efficiency metrics like PER, OPM, and Points per Minute have improved notably this past season, and his TS% only drop .017 from his career best despite his struggles from 3 last year. How is this possible? In large part because his scoring from 10-16 was quite good at .470 and his scoring at the rim was straight up elite at .755 (top 3% in the NBA).

Interestingly, his shot selection has stayed very consistent every season, when looking at his splits between 2pt and 3pt shots. Last year his 3 ball accounted for .428 of his attempts, which is exactly identical to his career average. What DID change however was the percentage of 3's assisted. In his rookie year, where he shot .360, 88.2% of his attempts were assisted. Last year? Only 70.7% were assisted. He is clearly a better shooter off the catch than off the dribble.

In a nutshell, offensively at least, Sharpe should be fine if his 3 ball can hover around 35% or better. Adding Yang and Jrue could help him get there as hopefully he can get more of his looks off of passes. Deni and Scoot developing as playermakers could help here as well.

Didn't dive too deep into the defensive side, but just wanted to provide some offensive stats/context for the thread.

Each year the percentage of his shots at the rim has gone down, not up. He is an elite athlete and finishes well at the rim - he needs to get to the rim more often. Some of that is not having the handles he needs to get there. Some of it is not having the passing that gets the ball to him on back door cuts.

Yes, the percentage of his shots from 3 has been about the same but each year is conversion rate has gone down. It could very well be that opposing teams see this trend - very few secrets in the association.

So, I would like to see him drive the ball relentlessly. Get to the rim or kick it out.

His defense has improved year over year. That is nice but... again he needs to be more focused and needs to provide constant on-ball pressure. I am hoping his footwork and positioning continues to improve and he gets positive reinforcement from team defensive success and being around good defensive players like Camara and Jrue.

Could this be the year he breaks out? If he does, yay! If he doesn't just let him walk...

This is true, his percentage of shots at the rim (0-3 ft) has decreased a bit... from 28.5% of attempts as a rookie, to 23.5% his second year to 22.6% last year. Not sure a less than 1% decrease from year 2 to 3 is statistically relevant, but what is relevant is his efficiency from that range shooting up to .755 last season, which far exceeds his percentage any year prior (although .705 as a rookie is still solid). It is also noteworthy that the roughly 6 percent decrease from the range since his rookie season was added to his attempts from 10-16, which rose nearly identical in the inverse, and where he also shot very well compared to his peers. So another way to interpret these numbers is that while his outside shooting has suffered, he is making better shot choices inside the arc and his efficiency from midrange and at the basket have subsequently improved.

Now, it might seem easy to say since he shoots well so close to the rim he should drive every time, but here's the thing... for being a guard his size, he already DOES drive a lot. Again, for his career he is shooting roughly 25% of his shots at the rim, and last year still attempted 22.5%. For context, the human tank known as Lebron James has averaged 35% of his career attempts from 0-3 feet, and only 24% from that range last season. Sharpe may be as athletically gifted as anyone, and probly could benefit from taking a few more shots at the rim, but his 6'5, 200 pound frame simply doesn't have the size/durability to take it to the hole at a Lebron James level rate.

I think a lot of people forget he just turned 22 years old and only started playing basketball at age 13... this is literally his 10th year playing organized ball at any level, there are rookies in this draft older than him, and he already has a skillset that is elite by NBA standards. His efficiency at the rim and in the mid range have gone up, his turnover ratio has decreased while his assist ratio and usage rates have grown... literally the kid is improving in a lot of areas many aren't seeing or willing to acknowledge because of his 3 point struggles. We can agree or disagree on what he needs to get to the next level, but to simply let someone like that walk for nothing if they don't make enough of a jump this year seems like a waste of a positively valued asset.

[dckingsfan]

Shaedon struggled last year with his 3 ball in addition to having some poor stretches defensively. It's something Blazer fans have discussed thoroughly this past season, so no surprise here. But all that chatter overlooks some really encouraging signs of growth displayed by Shaedon last season as well. Here's his statistical evolution during his first 3 seasons:

2022/23
Games Played/MPG: 80/22.2
Points: 9.9
PER: 11.5
TS%: .568
3PT: .360
BPM/OPM/DPM: -3.3/-1.3/-2.0
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .563/.437

2023/24
Games Played/MPG: 32/33.1
Points: 15.9
PER: 11.4
TS%: .524
3PT: .333
BPM/OPM/DPM: -2.8/-1.9/-.09
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .585/.415

2024/25
Games Played/MPG: 72/31.3
Points: 18.5
PER: 14.5
TS%: .551
3PT: .311
BPM/OPM/DPM: -1.3/0.0/-1.3
Shot Selection 2's vs 3's: .572/.428

So, his offensive efficiency metrics like PER, OPM, and Points per Minute have improved notably this past season, and his TS% only drop .017 from his career best despite his struggles from 3 last year. How is this possible? In large part because his scoring from 10-16 was quite good at .470 and his scoring at the rim was straight up elite at .755 (top 3% in the NBA).

Interestingly, his shot selection has stayed very consistent every season, when looking at his splits between 2pt and 3pt shots. Last year his 3 ball accounted for .428 of his attempts, which is exactly identical to his career average. What DID change however was the percentage of 3's assisted. In his rookie year, where he shot .360, 88.2% of his attempts were assisted. Last year? Only 70.7% were assisted. He is clearly a better shooter off the catch than off the dribble.

In a nutshell, offensively at least, Sharpe should be fine if his 3 ball can hover around 35% or better. Adding Yang and Jrue could help him get there as hopefully he can get more of his looks off of passes. Deni and Scoot developing as playermakers could help here as well.

Didn't dive too deep into the defensive side, but just wanted to provide some offensive stats/context for the thread.

Each year the percentage of his shots at the rim has gone down, not up. He is an elite athlete and finishes well at the rim - he needs to get to the rim more often. Some of that is not having the handles he needs to get there. Some of it is not having the passing that gets the ball to him on back door cuts.

Yes, the percentage of his shots from 3 has been about the same but each year is conversion rate has gone down. It could very well be that opposing teams see this trend - very few secrets in the association.

So, I would like to see him drive the ball relentlessly. Get to the rim or kick it out.

His defense has improved year over year. That is nice but... again he needs to be more focused and needs to provide constant on-ball pressure. I am hoping his footwork and positioning continues to improve and he gets positive reinforcement from team defensive success and being around good defensive players like Camara and Jrue.

Could this be the year he breaks out? If he does, yay! If he doesn't just let him walk...

This is true, his percentage of shots at the rim (0-3 ft) has decreased a bit... from 28.5% of attempts as a rookie, to 23.5% his second year to 22.6% last year. Not sure a less than 1% decrease from year 2 to 3 is statistically relevant, but what is relevant is his efficiency from that range shooting up to .755 last season, which far exceeds his percentage any year prior (although .705 as a rookie is still solid). It is also noteworthy that the roughly 6 percent decrease from the range since his rookie season was added to his attempts from 10-16, which rose nearly identical in the inverse, and where he also shot very well compared to his peers. So another way to interpret these numbers is that while his outside shooting has suffered, he is making better shot choices inside the arc and his efficiency from midrange and at the basket have subsequently improved.

Now, it might seem easy to say since he shoots well so close to the rim he should drive every time, but here's the thing... for being a guard his size, he already DOES drive a lot. Again, for his career he is shooting roughly 25% of his shots at the rim, and last year still attempted 22.5%. For context, the human tank known as Lebron James has averaged 35% of his career attempts from 0-3 feet, and only 24% from that range last season. Sharpe may be as athletically gifted as anyone, and probly could benefit from taking a few more shots at the rim, but his 6'5, 200 pound frame simply doesn't have the size/durability to take it to the hole at a Lebron James level rate.

I think a lot of people forget he just turned 22 years old and only started playing basketball at age 13... this is literally his 10th year playing organized ball at any level, there are rookies in this draft older than him, and he already has a skillset that is elite by NBA standards. His efficiency at the rim and in the mid range have gone up, his turnover ratio has decreased while his assist ratio and usage rates have grown... literally the kid is improving in a lot of areas many aren't seeing or willing to acknowledge because of his 3 point struggles. We can agree or disagree on what he needs to get to the next level, but to simply let someone like that walk for nothing if they don't make enough of a jump this year seems like a waste of a positively valued asset.

Well, obviously I am hoping for a breakout. But if he stays statistically about the same and given this CBA and what he will ask (or what I am assuming his agent will ask) - it is okay to let him walk. This CBA values letting mid-level players walk and not giving them large contracts. Full Stop. But there is the context, maybe he is willing to go a a team friendly declining contract? If so, let us roll the collective dice.

But back to the numbers. The reason he needs to drive the ball relentlessly is that he isn't efficient when taking a bunch of 3 point shots. When he gets the ball to the hoop - he is efficient. Lebron James shot .376 vs. Sharpe's .311. So yeah, I am good with James taking some 3s. Sharpe, meh.

And on the defensive end, Sharpe has improved. But, he is still a net negative defender. He still needs to improve to be a net neutral defender.

Do I hope he breaks out? YEP! Do I think he can take that much of a jump

[Butter]

Each year the percentage of his shots at the rim has gone down, not up. He is an elite athlete and finishes well at the rim - he needs to get to the rim more often. Some of that is not having the handles he needs to get there. Some of it is not having the passing that gets the ball to him on back door cuts.

Yes, the percentage of his shots from 3 has been about the same but each year is conversion rate has gone down. It could very well be that opposing teams see this trend - very few secrets in the association.

So, I would like to see him drive the ball relentlessly. Get to the rim or kick it out.

His defense has improved year over year. That is nice but... again he needs to be more focused and needs to provide constant on-ball pressure. I am hoping his footwork and positioning continues to improve and he gets positive reinforcement from team defensive success and being around good defensive players like Camara and Jrue.

Could this be the year he breaks out? If he does, yay! If he doesn't just let him walk...

Man, imagine Chinese Jokic hitting Sharp on backdoor cuts or alley oops...

[DusterBuster]

Man, imagine Chinese Jokic hitting Sharp on backdoor cuts or alley oops...

At this rate with the roster being essentially done, I think Sharpe is likely on the bench to start the season if everyone is healthy and the Blazers have a really fun bench squad behind the "vets". The second unit looks like it will end up being...

Scoot
Sharpe
Thybulle
Williams
Yang

I know counting on RobWill to be healthy is iffy at best, but if they are, that's a fun unit that should have a good mix of OK defense, fast breaks and cuts. Outside shooting is clearly a questionmark with that crew, Thybulle is likely the best corner 3pt shooter there. Maybe Sharpe gets his 3pt shot back? But Yang working the high post with Scoot and Sharpe as your cutters and Williams in the low-post has the potential to just be some fun basketball.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Sharpe needs to stop forcing up so many 3-point shots. If he made more of them, I wouldn't mind. From the eye test, he has a decent mid range game. I want to see more of that. I'd like to see him drive to the hoop more and either pull for a short jumper or go in. He needs to finish better at the rim and not feel like he needs to break the rim on every dunk. He DOINKS too many of them. And lastly, but more importantly, I want him to play better defense. Maybe he won't be a defensive stud, but he was better as a rookie. He went after it, but now he just gives up and doesn't seem to try.

[Wizenheimer]

Man, imagine Chinese Jokic hitting Sharp on backdoor cuts or alley oops...

At this rate with the roster being essentially done, I think Sharpe is likely on the bench to start the season if everyone is healthy and the Blazers have a really fun bench squad behind the "vets". The second unit looks like it will end up being...

Scoot
Sharpe
Thybulle
Williams
Yang

I know counting on RobWill to be healthy is iffy at best, but if they are, that's a fun unit that should have a good mix of OK defense, fast breaks and cuts. Outside shooting is clearly a questionmark with that crew, Thybulle is likely the best corner 3pt shooter there. Maybe Sharpe gets his 3pt shot back? But Yang working the high post with Scoot and Sharpe as your cutters and Williams in the low-post has the potential to just be some fun basketball.

If Sharpe is a backup in his 4th season, and Scoot a backup in his 3rd season, then the Cronin/Schmitz brain trust failed miserably in the 2022 and 2023 drafts

[Blazers20]

Can they mold Sharpe into the SGA role? Keep the ball in his hands more and allow him to create for himself and others? Maybe allow Sharpe and Deni to have this type of role but they would actually have to breakdown defenses and look for their shots.

[Blazers20]

Sharpe has elite athletic ability which should allow him to create his own shots.

[DusterBuster]

Man, imagine Chinese Jokic hitting Sharp on backdoor cuts or alley oops...

At this rate with the roster being essentially done, I think Sharpe is likely on the bench to start the season if everyone is healthy and the Blazers have a really fun bench squad behind the "vets". The second unit looks like it will end up being...

Scoot
Sharpe
Thybulle
Williams
Yang

I know counting on RobWill to be healthy is iffy at best, but if they are, that's a fun unit that should have a good mix of OK defense, fast breaks and cuts. Outside shooting is clearly a questionmark with that crew, Thybulle is likely the best corner 3pt shooter there. Maybe Sharpe gets his 3pt shot back? But Yang working the high post with Scoot and Sharpe as your cutters and Williams in the low-post has the potential to just be some fun basketball.

If Sharpe is a backup in his 4th season, and Scoot a backup in his 3rd season, then the Cronin/Schmitz brain trust failed miserably in the 2022 and 2023 drafts

Pretty hard to see it any other way with how the roster is shaking out.

The failure for me isn’t the drafts exactly, it’s the roster construction since then. They’ve failed to give these guys the keys in any expedient manner and let them learn through mistakes like most rebuilding teams

[Tim Lehrbach]

I am as low on Scoot and Shaedon as anybody around here, but I can't view them as bad draft picks. They were perceived as super high-ceiling prospects and slotted ahead of where the Blazers picked until very late in the pre-draft process. Yet, they were not without risk. Other draftees may turn out better, but I think each was the right call on draft night.

[dckingsfan]

I am as low on Scoot and Shaedon as anybody around here, but I can't view them as bad draft picks. They were perceived as super high-ceiling prospects and slotted ahead of where the Blazers picked until very late in the pre-draft process. Yet, they were not without risk. Other draftees may turn out better, but I think each was the right call on draft night.

I agree with this. But... one of the difference between really good FOs and average FOs is how well they draft based upon their scouting.

To me this says they aren't horrible but they aren't all that either.

Of course one other way is through trades. And Deni and Camara aren't bad - so there is that.

Free Agent signings and cap management is the third leg. They haven't been all that there either.

[Dame Lizard]

I am as low on Scoot and Shaedon as anybody around here, but I can't view them as bad draft picks. They were perceived as super high-ceiling prospects and slotted ahead of where the Blazers picked until very late in the pre-draft process. Yet, they were not without risk. Other draftees may turn out better, but I think each was the right call on draft night.

I agree Tim. While Scoot didn't live up to expectations in Year 1, he showed solid improvement last year and appears to have work ethic, so I still have faith.

Fox took a few years to really settle in as a PG, same with Jrue.

Scoot was regarded as the 2nd best pick behind Wemby in that draft (mind you Brandon Miller having the gun shooting controversy played a part in that).