I'd be ecstatic if he could. I haven't seen anything close to being Ant Edwards yet though. I've been saying for years Ant is going to be a stud. Saying Sharpe will be better means Sharpe would have to be better than top 10 in the league, which is where I think Ant is at now. (Probably closer to 10).
That is pure wishful thinking. Edwards has the X-factor, the kind of thing that separates Jimmy Butler from every other #30 pick. That's rarer than hen's teeth. Shaedon has natural gifts galore but he hasn't got that unstoppable drive and ridiculous off-the-charts self-belief.
FWIW on a per game basis in my fantasy league's stats, Ant was the 20th best player in the league this past season. He was sandwiched between Haliburton & Kyrie. Of course I'd be thrilled if SS levels off there or above in a couple years, but this season didn't give me confidence that he would. Following a rookie year where clearly he had things to clean up/work on, nothing was more obvious in it's need for addressing then his handle. I've no idea if he put in the work or didn't, but it was still the same glaring weakness in a shortened year 2. He's been blessed with amazing physical gifts, but it also takes obsession with the game to even approach greatness. I hope he was watching Ant dominating the Suns. I hope he sees his 2nd year as unacceptable. STOMP
Sharpe is the most valuable player on the team, but that's more an indication of the shit talent up and down this roster than an indication Sharpe is likely to become a star or anything. Blazers have always had a more valuable player than Sharpe going back decades. Some might argue the 95-97 period between the Drexler trade and 2nd year Sheed was the last such period..... So about 30 years.
Anthony Edwards is way overrated. Top 10?? He was 47th in the NBA in PER this season. Behind Luke Kornet.
Ant is 22. PER is one tool to use, but it is not end all be all. If it were, then mark williams is a top 20 player in the league.
Yes, it’s one tool but you can’t be Top 10 in the whole NBA if you’re 47th in PER. Embiid, Jokic, Shai, Luka, Giannis, Brunson, Halliburton, Tatum, Sabonis, and AD are all much better than Ant. His age doesn’t change this.
Mark Williams also shoots better than Ant and had a better RPM this season. There are some other tools
My thought is for Sharpe to reach his full potential Portland needs to stop having Simons, Brogdon and Grant closing out games and let the young guys have their shot. Only one way to learn, and that is to do it. Personally I would much rather see Shaedon putting up twenty shots and having opportinities at the end of games. Instead, he is forced to defer.
I disagree on Brunson, Haliburton, Sabonis and AD. It's not definitive that they are better. The others I'll give to you.
When did I say Mark Williams would be better? I said he was underrated and could be Top 20 in a couple years. But the point is Edwards is overrated. A 19 PER isn’t impressive no matter how you slice it. He certainly isn’t Top 10. Minnesota is a well coached team with vets like Conley and Gobert and Edwards is getting way too much credit because he dunks.
This fits the eye test for me. Edwards has big time highlight games, but he's pretty mediocre whenever I watch. That indicates that the truth lies somewhere in between, which fits with his average production being closer to top-50 than to top-10.
Yup. Also Sharpe doesn’t seem to have that extreme hunger to be the number 1 player in the nba. He seems like a come in to work and clock out guy who can’t wait to get home. Good kid tho
Thus Simons needs to be traded or come off the bench. A trade for a front liner would be my preference.
I don't agree with this, remove those guys and we have scrubs playing then Sharpe leads a team getting blown out. That's worse experience. Blazers need talent, that will help Sharpe and other young guys.
I didn't type anything about removing anyone. Maybe at the end of games leave Ant/Brogdon on the bench while Sharpe/Scoot figure it out. Put Grant in the corner to hoist a three if the shot clock is winding down and Sharpe/Scoot can't get their shot. This is basically what Ant does to Scoot, make him into a three point shooter at the end of the shot clock.
