Should Wizards be Concerned with Alex Sarr

[Pattycakes]

Dude has been incredible. Sarr George and Johnson all look like the real deal.

Per 36 he is averaging 24.5/10.8/5.0 along with 3 blocks on a TS% of .62. He's also shooting 45% from 3.

Inb4 wiz hand them off for random future firsts

[knicksfan974]

Love Sarr, such a great prospect. Wizards have some good pieces.

[doogie_hauser]

KAT made Sarr realize after Monday’s beat down that he's still a boy among men.

Sarr will be a far better player than KAT ever will be.
Look at the vets/supporting cast that KAT has with him compared to Sarr also.

Strange comment.

[God Squad]

Dude has been incredible. Sarr George and Johnson all look like the real deal.

Per 36 he is averaging 24.5/10.8/5.0 along with 3 blocks on a TS% of .62. He's also shooting 45% from 3.

I've mostly boxscore watched, but Tre has been pretty awful to start. Am I off base here? George and Sarr are the ones who are shining on the Wizards IMO. I've been disappointed in Bub and Tre TBH.

[doogie_hauser]

Dude has been incredible. Sarr George and Johnson all look like the real deal.

Per 36 he is averaging 24.5/10.8/5.0 along with 3 blocks on a TS% of .62. He's also shooting 45% from 3.

Inb4 wiz hand them off for random future firsts

They won't under their GM (who previously worked at OKC i believe)

This new regime is building a solid foundation for the future, have plenty of cap space and future picks to trade/deal with as well.

They probably will tank the rest of the season (because if they win too many games, their first round pick goes to the Knicks I believe) but they are doing the ideal rank properly (especially in a strong draft class) losing games whilst giving their young players and studs plenty of game time and experience (not wasting it on washed bums like Smart, Kuzma or Poole)

The Wiz have millions in cap space and plenty of assets to potentially trade for a big name too, if they choose to go down that path

From a building/futures perspective, Washington has one of the most enviable foundations in the league.

I would much rather be in their position than the likes of The Clippers or Suns tbh.

[AFM]

Dude has been incredible. Sarr George and Johnson all look like the real deal.

Per 36 he is averaging 24.5/10.8/5.0 along with 3 blocks on a TS% of .62. He's also shooting 45% from 3.

I've mostly boxscore watched, but Tre has been pretty awful to start. Am I off base here? George and Sarr are the ones who are shining on the Wizards IMO. I've been disappointed in Bub and Tre TBH.

Bub has been awful. No one knows why. Maybe still dealing with his father's passing. Tre's jumper looks legit. But they aren't running plays for him and most lineups they aren't playing a point guard either. He looks comfortable with his shot though.

McCollum has been terrible and looks completely washed. I mean he's shooting 33% from the field. Once he's gone and Tre starts I imagine his numbers will look a lot better.

[nate33]

Sarr should be a legit contender for Most Improved Player despite The Wiz current woes.

For some reason, he still doesn't get the respect/recognition he deserves.

As soon as The Wiz start winning games more than they lose (which hopefully will happen within 2 years) I think Sarr will be talked up as one of the best premier big men in the game

I know as a Celtics fan I would take him number 1 from his draft class.

He is a lot more gifted offensively in his 2nd second than what he was projected to be, I am sure DC fans who watch him a lot more closely than me acknowledge he had other aspects of his game that needs work on, but i would like to think they would he happy with his progress/development

His improvement on his finishing touch around the rim has been truly remarkable. I absolutely did not see this coming, at least not this quickly. And the beauty of it is he still has a lot more improvement ahead of him simply by virtue of getting stronger so that he doesn't bounce off of guys so much or get stripped of the ball as much.

He is currently 12th in the league in PER by the way. A very underrated aspect of his game is that he is legitimately a very good passer. He is averaging 5 assists per 36 minutes right now.

[nate33]

Dude has been incredible. Sarr George and Johnson all look like the real deal.

Per 36 he is averaging 24.5/10.8/5.0 along with 3 blocks on a TS% of .62. He's also shooting 45% from 3.

I've mostly boxscore watched, but Tre has been pretty awful to start. Am I off base here? George and Sarr are the ones who are shining on the Wizards IMO. I've been disappointed in Bub and Tre TBH.

No. You are not off base. Sarr and Kyshawn have been carrying the Wizards. Almost everyone else has been bad. Tre has been okay. He has shown some flashes, and might be a better defender than expected. I wouldn't call him disappointing just yet, but he's not a breakout star or anything either.

Carrington has been beyond awful. Whitmore doesn't understand team concepts. CJ is washed. Middleton is hurt. And Bilal played pretty well in his first 2 games back from injury before getting hurt again.

[nate33]

This new regime is building a solid foundation for the future, have plenty of cap space and future picks to trade/deal with as well.

They probably will tank the rest of the season (because if they win too many games, their first round pick goes to the Knicks I believe) but they are doing the ideal rank properly (especially in a strong draft class) losing games whilst giving their young players and studs plenty of game time and experience (not wasting it on washed bums like Smart, Kuzma or Poole)

Notably, the Wizards also have swap rights with Phoenix, who look like a team that will finish somewhere in the 6th to 10th (from last) range. So it is absolutely critical that the Wizards tank their way into a bottom 8 pick (and not give it to NY) because then they will effectively have Phoenix's lotto balls as well.

[tsherkin]

He is currently 12th in the league in PER by the way. A very underrated aspect of his game is that he is legitimately a very good passer. He is averaging 5 assists per 36 minutes right now.

Just to add to that...

Sarr's basic box score line is 19.0 / 8.4 / 3.9 in 27.9 mpg. He's shooting 54% FG, 45.5% from 3 on 2.8 3PA/g, and 56% inside the arc. This is all a sizeable improvement from last year, even if the 3pt shooting is going to normalize sooner rather than later. He's also shooting 80% from the line, so we'll see how well that bears out.

Last year, he was a 48.2% TS player. So far this season, 61.3%, and it appears to be more than just a shooting streak (though I wouldn't depend on him as a 60% TS guy by season's end, of course). Slight improvement in ORB%, notable difference in defensive rebounding, considerable difference in his AST%. Finishing better at the rim, killing it from 3-16, and he's at better than a dunk per game (he was getting less than one per game last year). And while I maintain some skepticism over his 3pt shooting, he's doing it mostly above the break, which leaves some hope that even if he won't shoot nearly 46%, he could be shooting 35%+ on the season. He's driving a little more, he's finishing well out of the PnR, seems to be doing better on his odd post-ups, doing well when he cuts without the ball...

I haven't seen a Wizards game this year, for clarity, so I'm just looking at numbers, but they all look a lot better than last season, at least early on. He's even blocking more shots and fouling less. It's 8 games, and all that entails, but it's certainly better to see than not. Their competition hasn't been very good mostly... but he got 23 minutes of Embiid against Philly, had a nice game against the Thunder and played well against the Knicks, too.

Definitely someone to keep an eye on, for sure.

[nate33]

He is currently 12th in the league in PER by the way. A very underrated aspect of his game is that he is legitimately a very good passer. He is averaging 5 assists per 36 minutes right now.

Just to add to that...

Sarr's basic box score line is 19.0 / 8.4 / 3.9 in 27.9 mpg. He's shooting 54% FG, 45.5% from 3 on 2.8 3PA/g, and 56% inside the arc. This is all a sizeable improvement from last year, even if the 3pt shooting is going to normalize sooner rather than later. He's also shooting 80% from the line, so we'll see how well that bears out.

Last year, he was a 48.2% TS player. So far this season, 61.3%, and it appears to be more than just a shooting streak (though I wouldn't depend on him as a 60% TS guy by season's end, of course). Slight improvement in ORB%, notable difference in defensive rebounding, considerable difference in his AST%. Finishing better at the rim, killing it from 3-16, and he's at better than a dunk per game (he was getting less than one per game last year). And while I maintain some skepticism over his 3pt shooting, he's doing it mostly above the break, which leaves some hope that even if he won't shoot nearly 46%, he could be shooting 35%+ on the season. He's driving a little more, he's finishing well out of the PnR, seems to be doing better on his odd post-ups, doing well when he cuts without the ball...

I haven't seen a Wizards game this year, for clarity, so I'm just looking at numbers, but they all look a lot better than last season, at least early on. He's even blocking more shots and fouling less. It's 8 games, and all that entails, but it's certainly better to see than not. Their competition hasn't been very good mostly... but he got 23 minutes of Embiid against Philly, had a nice game against the Thunder and played well against the Knicks, too.

Definitely someone to keep an eye on, for sure.

Your analysis is spot on for someone who hasn't watched.

I agree completely that his 3-point shooting likely isn't this good, but it looks like it is at least competent. I think 35% shooting from behind the arc is very sustainable give the subtle improvements in his release. And that will be good enough to keep teams honest. With some expected regression to mean, I expect his TS% to dip back down to league average-ish - around .580 or so. But I'm still very happy about that for a guy with a .482 TS% last year.

[tsherkin]

Your analysis is spot on for someone who hasn't watched.

I agree completely that his 3-point shooting likely isn't this good, but it looks like it is at least competent. I think 35% shooting from behind the arc is very sustainable give the subtle improvements in his release.

Yeah, I mean, the shot looks good everywhere, and even a 10% backslide would still leave him as a big who is a competent threat from range, which is more than a trivial trait. We run Mamu primarily because he can hit 3s and rebound up here in Toronto, so it makes a difference.

And that will be good enough to keep teams honest. With some expected regression to mean, I expect his TS% to dip back down to league average-ish - around .580 or so. But I'm still very happy about that for a guy with a .472 TS% last year.

Yeah, I mean, that's a sizeable step forward. He suddenly becomes a quality contributor in mid volume, which is a huge deal. As you say, the season will carry on and we'll see what happens, but it's a nice little story in the early-going.

[God Squad]

Dude has been incredible. Sarr George and Johnson all look like the real deal.

Per 36 he is averaging 24.5/10.8/5.0 along with 3 blocks on a TS% of .62. He's also shooting 45% from 3.

I've mostly boxscore watched, but Tre has been pretty awful to start. Am I off base here? George and Sarr are the ones who are shining on the Wizards IMO. I've been disappointed in Bub and Tre TBH.

No. You are not off base. Sarr and Kyshawn have been carrying the Wizards. Almost everyone else has been bad. Tre has been okay. He has shown some flashes, and might be a better defender than expected. I wouldn't call him disappointing just yet, but he's not a breakout star or anything either.

Carrington has been beyond awful. Whitmore doesn't understand team concepts. CJ is washed. Middleton is hurt. And Bilal played pretty well in his first 2 games back from injury before getting hurt again.

Yeah I thought so. Tre hasn't stood out to me, and I was, and still am, a big fan. I mostly watch/boxscore for Kyshawn George. I wanted to see if his team Canada experience carried over, and it very much has. He's the player I've been most impressed by, and it's good to see Sarr silence critics, myself included.

[bisme37]

He was really good last night. Looked much improved from the last time I watched him.

[NY2k1]

KAT made Sarr realize after Monday’s beat down that he's still a boy among men.

Sarr will be a far better player than KAT ever will be.
Look at the vets/supporting cast that KAT has with him compared to Sarr also.

Strange comment.

Lol, far too early to say that and you're underrating KAT big time.

[The4thHorseman]

KAT made Sarr realize after Monday’s beat down that he's still a boy among men.

Sarr will be a far better player than KAT ever will be.
Look at the vets/supporting cast that KAT has with him compared to Sarr also.

Strange comment.

Yes, strange indeed.

[Slimjimzv]

It's about as good as the Wizard's could have done in that draft. There are a few players they'd probably take above him, but not many.

[nate33]

KAT made Sarr realize after Monday’s beat down that he's still a boy among men.

Sarr will be a far better player than KAT ever will be.
Look at the vets/supporting cast that KAT has with him compared to Sarr also.

Strange comment.

Lol, far too early to say that and you're underrating KAT big time.

Yeah, Sarr has a LOOONG way to go before it's reasonable to compare him to KAT.

That said, there's a fair argument that Sarr projects as a more valuable prototype than KAT assuming an ideal developmental path (and that's a big assumption). Ideally, Sarr could develop into an Anthony Davis/Bam Adebayo/Evan Mobley tier defensive anchor while simultaneously being a generally positive offensive player (though perhaps not elite), whereas KAT is an elite offensive player but a real question mark on D.

I think most would acknowledge that defense is more important at the center position than offense. You can find offensive options at other positions, but it's real hard to compensate for bad defense at the center position since the center is involved in most defensive plays.

But we will have to wait and see how Sarr develops defensively. He looks pretty good so far except his lack of strength. We don't know for sure if he will add the necessary strength though.