Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Soul Bro

2022-2023 Rookie Watch

Recommended Posts

Shaedon Sharpe has probably been one of the worst defensive players in the entire NBA this year FYI (something you might not see on a highlight clip). 

But anyway the rookie I'm most impressed with lately is Jalen Duren, big and strong, blocking shots and rebounding, dunks everything and flashing as a passer. Kind of crazy he wasn't a top 10 pick. 

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Shaedon Sharpe has probably been one of the worst defensive players in the entire NBA this year FYI (something you might not see on a highlight clip). 

But anyway the rookie I'm most impressed with lately is Jalen Duren, big and strong, blocking shots and rebounding, dunks everything and flashing as a passer. Kind of crazy he wasn't a top 10 pick. 

Jalen Duren was the draft pick i wanted to trade up and get

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've posted a lot of Paolo stuff in here but shout out to Caleb Houstan. I think he's a real NBA player and he's looking like a good pick. Shooting 38% from three this season. If it becomes mathematically impossible for us to make the play-in in the last couple games of the season I'd love to start him for a few games and see how he looks in a larger role. 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
23 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Shaedon Sharpe has probably been one of the worst defensive players in the entire NBA this year FYI (something you might not see on a highlight clip). 

But anyway the rookie I'm most impressed with lately is Jalen Duren, big and strong, blocking shots and rebounding, dunks everything and flashing as a passer. Kind of crazy he wasn't a top 10 pick. 

And Charlotte gave him away. All because the draft was before Miles Bridges meltdown and for some reason they thought they couldn't afford two mid lotto draft picks. Such a terribly run team.

Edit. On the radio i heard people complaining that Shaedon wasn't in the dunk contest. He is on the radar of national press. kid looks good but is in a terrible situation as far as stardom. Maybe this will be better for his development but he won't get many looks until Dame or Simons either get traded or miss several months with a big injury. My bet is by his 3rd year they sill have tried to trade Anfernee. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, hootie249 said:

And Charlotte gave him away. All because the draft was before Miles Bridges meltdown and for some reason they thought they couldn't afford two mid lotto draft picks. Such a terribly run team.

Edit. On the radio i heard people complaining that Shaedon wasn't in the dunk contest. He is on the radar of national press. kid looks good but is in a terrible situation as far as stardom. Maybe this will be better for his development but he won't get many looks until Dame or Simons either get traded or miss several months with a big injury. My bet is by his 3rd year they sill have tried to trade Anfernee. 

Charlotte are almost certainly the worst run franchise in the whole NBA at the moment. 

My opinion on Shaedon is way different.

(He was supposed to be in the dunk contest, originally agreed but then opted not to do it to work on his game.)

I think it's really benefitting him to play with Simons and Dame at the moment. It enables him to stick to things he's actually good at, catch and shoot jumpers and catching lobs/cutting for dunks. People lament Paolo Banchero's shooting percentages but if all he had to do was shoot open catch and shoot jumpers set up for him by an All Star guard I guarantee he'd be at close to 35%. And if Sharpe was taking a bunch of off the dribble 3s and shooting 28% from 3 he'd probably have less hype right now. 

The idea that Sharpe is some future Kobe has no precedent in reality at the moment. He's shown very little to prove he's a viable NBA creator. Could that change? Absolutely. And to be honest I can't imagine a better scenario for development than practicing with Dame every day and watching how he reads the game and carries himself etc. He's only 19 so there's certainly lots of development left. If he's good enough to be an NBA creator at some point he'll get the opportunity sooner or later either via trade or by coach's trust. Until then he's just an off ball player who has flashy dunks. And that's fine. That's all Portland needs him to be.  They could also do with him not being a terrible defender though. 

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good points. Banchero is struggling sometimes, but it's early and will learn. Same for Franz and the other youngsters. But playing alongside a star like Lillard make all the difference of the world. Our group is making a different learning process at the moment.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a long way to go to see who the top player in this draft is …Sharpe came out of nowhere to become ranked number 1 …went almost 2 years without playing competitively after playing those HS AllStar games …youngest player in the league …hardly any experience or data.

He needs to work on his handles …but good gosh you can’t teach athleticism and he can shoot …he puts it all together and look out …next to Lillard he’s got the next least likely to trade value …clearly they love him.

And I still follow and support Shaedon …and I still follow and support Banchero …no rule that says I can’t do both.

Almost this entire board wanted Smith …when it became a forgone conclusion we weren’t drafting Sharpe I posted he (Banchero) was the guy to get …but was ignored and that’s ok.

Wonder how Mr Holmgren will do when he starts gracing the courts again ???

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 2/16/2023 at 10:20 AM, CTMagicUK said:

Charlotte are almost certainly the worst run franchise in the whole NBA at the moment. 

My opinion on Shaedon is way different.

(He was supposed to be in the dunk contest, originally agreed but then opted not to do it to work on his game.)

I think it's really benefitting him to play with Simons and Dame at the moment. It enables him to stick to things he's actually good at, catch and shoot jumpers and catching lobs/cutting for dunks. People lament Paolo Banchero's shooting percentages but if all he had to do was shoot open catch and shoot jumpers set up for him by an All Star guard I guarantee he'd be at close to 35%. And if Sharpe was taking a bunch of off the dribble 3s and shooting 28% from 3 he'd probably have less hype right now. 

The idea that Sharpe is some future Kobe has no precedent in reality at the moment. He's shown very little to prove he's a viable NBA creator. Could that change? Absolutely. And to be honest I can't imagine a better scenario for development than practicing with Dame every day and watching how he reads the game and carries himself etc. He's only 19 so there's certainly lots of development left. If he's good enough to be an NBA creator at some point he'll get the opportunity sooner or later either via trade or by coach's trust. Until then he's just an off ball player who has flashy dunks. And that's fine. That's all Portland needs him to be.  They could also do with him not being a terrible defender though. 

I still stand by my prediction he is Zach Lavine.  Orlando needed a go to guy and you can’t do much better than Paulo at 20 years old.  He should continue to improve like most young players.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×