Is Reed Sheppard too undersized/unathletic to succeed in the NBA?

[brackdan70]

He can probably stick in the league as I think he has some skills. So yes can succeed. He won’t be a solid starter or anything long term though.

even with his shooting ability, the defense is such a massive hole that he becomes unplayable. Like the only scenario a winning team plays Reed Sheppard is because they have a transcendent defensive player that can cover, (he won't be starting ofc, nor the lead bench player) or he's like the 13th guy off the bench squeezing in minutes in the regular season just to cover out of depth

I agree that’s certainly a possible scenario. I can see a range of possibilities for him between not getting a second contract and becoming a journeyman rotation guy.

[Sane]

He's just way behind on pure development when it comes to strength and ball handling. The parents really didn't take his size into account in his development (obvious he would need to be a stronger NBA PG size/skill). Rockets will get their asset a little later. Kid's still 21 years old.

I reckon he'll be exactly what was projected but just a couple of years later. He won't have the strength to be a great starter till next season. But he can still be a great rotation player right now.

[DaPessimist]

Playing with the rest of the Rockets lineup he looks like a kid out there. I think his lack of size and athleticism definitely puts a hard cap on his potential. Even if he becomes an elite shooter, I think his ceiling is a 15mpg offensive spark off the bench.

[HMFFL]

A players mindset should be researched as much as a scout looks at a players skillset.

[Anderson Hunt]

He's not a PG. He's a SG. If you play him at SG with a tall, oversized PG, he's good enough to be a tertiary scorer on a championship team.

His biggest issue will be constantly having to be paired with two tall primary ballhandlers (a tall starting PG and a tall backup PG).

If Amen Thompson can eventually develop into a starting-caliber PG, Sheppard will be just fine.

[JRoy]

He’s a tiny sg who doesn’t defend and can’t play pg.

Bust.

[Chuck Everett]

He's not a PG. He's a SG. If you play him at SG with a tall, oversized PG, he's good enough to be a tertiary scorer on a championship team.

His biggest issue will be constantly having to be paired with two tall primary ballhandlers (a tall starting PG and a tall backup PG).

If Amen Thompson can eventually develop into a starting-caliber PG, Sheppard will be just fine.

On a championship team huh? What has he shown thus far in the NBA to say he can be that on the pro level? Not even Tyler Herro or Cam Thomas have shown that and they are way better than he is.

[Old_Blue]

He’s a tiny sg who doesn’t defend and can’t play pg.

Bust.

An even worse version of Trae Young. The League keeps trying to find the next Steph Curry. If there is a next Steph out there somewhere, he's currently in elementary school, getting middling grades because he's spending four hours a day working on his handle and shooting 500 three point shots, perfecting his craft.

[Revived]

He’s the same size as Curry. He’s not that undersized for a PG, he’s just a bad defender.

He needs to shoot like Curry to justify being on the floor. Also needs to have enough PG skills to get by. It’s not easy.

Curry is also undersized, Curry is the definition of undersized. Curry's most famous trait is being undersized and changing the game for Christ's sake

If you think that’s Curry’s most famous trait then you need to delete your entire memory of basketball thus far and re-watch from the start brother.

[Revived]

He's not a PG. He's a SG. If you play him at SG with a tall, oversized PG, he's good enough to be a tertiary scorer on a championship team.

His biggest issue will be constantly having to be paired with two tall primary ballhandlers (a tall starting PG and a tall backup PG).

If Amen Thompson can eventually develop into a starting-caliber PG, Sheppard will be just fine.

So basically you’re saying he needs a prime Jrue Holliday next to him.

[Revived]

Rest of the NBA should be extremely thankful that the Rockets didn’t draft Stephon Castle.

Castle paired with the rest of uber-athletic Rockets team would’ve been just insane.

[SkyBill40]

I don't think his being drafted by HOU was the right fit. That's more the point than much else. But being a Kentucky fan, I somewhat felt he might have trouble in the league and team fit was important. He's not getting much run, either. But that's how it is in the league. You have to prove your worth and show the team and players you belong not because you were drafted but because you can succeed at this level.

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[dballislife]

he might have the shortest arms in the nba...seriously how can you draft such small players that high in a draft...and small guys like lowry and vanvleet succeeded because they played like a dog on defense and this kid has zero dog in him

[Special_Puppy]

he might have the shortest arms in the nba...seriously how can you draft such small players that high in a draft...and small guys like lowry and vanvleet succeeded because they played like a dog on defense and this kid has zero dog in him

Everyone else was more flawed. Guy who lead all freshmen in BPM with a solid 2 PT% and a great Assist to Turnover Ratio, steal rate, FT%, 3PT% wasn't a bad bet.

[Old_Blue]

he might have the shortest arms in the nba...seriously how can you draft such small players that high in a draft...and small guys like lowry and vanvleet succeeded because they played like a dog on defense and this kid has zero dog in him

Mac McClung has shorter arms. Dude's got a legion of online fans though who claim that he's not in the NBA because he's being discriminated against. No, my friend, God did you dirty when he gave you those arms.

[JRoy]

he might have the shortest arms in the nba...seriously how can you draft such small players that high in a draft...and small guys like lowry and vanvleet succeeded because they played like a dog on defense and this kid has zero dog in him

Everyone else was more flawed. Guy who lead all freshmen in BPM with a solid 2 PT% and a great Assist to Turnover Ratio, steal rate, FT%, 3PT% wasn't a bad bet.

On a stacked college team that hid his weaknesses.

[Chi town]

He’s need to add strength and be able to create 3s for himself off the bounce. Until then he will be meh.

[whitehops]

he definitely has an uphill battle to be a long-term starter. defensively getting stronger and working on lateral mobility should be his biggest priority, offensively really any kind of ball handling would help. even with his calling card being his shooting i think he could work on his shot profile and add movement shooting, shooting off the dribble and extending his range (even though that's not bad at all right now).

it's still super early in his development but i think it's much more likely he finds a niche role than becoming a full-blown starter.

[Godymas]

He’s the same size as Curry. He’s not that undersized for a PG, he’s just a bad defender.

He needs to shoot like Curry to justify being on the floor. Also needs to have enough PG skills to get by. It’s not easy.

Curry is also undersized, Curry is the definition of undersized. Curry's most famous trait is being undersized and changing the game for Christ's sake

If you think that’s Curry’s most famous trait then you need to delete your entire memory of basketball thus far and re-watch from the start brother.

That is literally what Curry is known for, it’s part of his story. Literally being too small, too skinny to succeed and he managed to overcome it by becoming the greatest shooter ever.

If you started watching in 2020 then I understand why you’re not aware of the most common thing mentioned about Curry when he was becoming who he is.

[Godymas]

he might have the shortest arms in the nba...seriously how can you draft such small players that high in a draft...and small guys like lowry and vanvleet succeeded because they played like a dog on defense and this kid has zero dog in him

Everyone else was more flawed. Guy who lead all freshmen in BPM with a solid 2 PT% and a great Assist to Turnover Ratio, steal rate, FT%, 3PT% wasn't a bad bet.

College and the NBA are completely different games. Especially considering how bad freshman overall. Sure all the lottery picks are freshman in college, but that's literally 20-30 out of the thousands of freshman in college basketball. Most of the teams that go on deep runs in MM are relying on redshirted seniors who are physically bigger and more well rounded to do the heavy lifting. It's why it's so rare for one and dones to go on insane runs in the tournament unless you have a transcendent guy like a AD or Carmelo Anthony. Like even the most stacked Duke team in 2019 with Zion, Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, Tre Jones, etc. lost in the Elite 8.

So when a guy is leading all freshmen in a few nice stats, it's not NEARLY as impressive as you make it sound. If he's an NBA prospect he's already one of like 20 or so Freshman, the rest of the competition is future tech sales bros and athletic training staff.