I don't think that's any kind of real guideline. The circumstances can be one player is standing in the way of another player, taking all the air out of the room. That happens all the time. Ant is 'better' than Sharpe right now but Portland isn't contending. Monta Ellis was better than Curry when he was traded; Zach Randolph was better than LMA when he was traded. Those were necessary deals to create roster balance and open paths for younger players to bloom. if Ant is the starting SG logging 34-35 minutes a game, he's in the way of Sharpe. If Ant is the starting PG he's in the way of Scoot. You can argue that Scoot and Sharpe have not shown enough to be given the keys yet, but there's a pretty low standard for issuing keys on a 21 win team. I don't find it persuasive to argue there are enough minutes for all three. One of Scoot/Sharpe will sit when we all know that the player most suited to come off the bench as a 6th man is Ant; and that's not going to happen
We just disagree on this. I hated the ZBo trade at the time and still do today. Championship level players like Sheed find a big role regardless of who else is on the court or starting in front of them. Sheed was coming off the bench the first year we made the WCF, probably was our best player even, those quality of players don't need what little talent is on a 21 win team removed in order to develop. If Sharpe can't beat out mediocre vets like Brogdon/Grant/Ant then he just isn't a great starter. Players need to go get that role themselves, they don't need the teams talent removed and a role gifted to them. Since we haven't seen more than 2 of these guys healthy at a time, and often have had two injured, I think your massively overblowing how much they are in each other's way. Honestly I'm not sure if any of the 3 are a long term starter. Let's wait until one of them proves it before we worry about all 3 of them being limited in bench roles.
Yeah I also remember how well Jermaine O'Neal developed here with his ass on the bench because he couldn't beat guys out and then... Oh wait a minute, Jermaine couldn't develop here because of a lack of playing time and became an all star once a team cleared the runway for him. The biggest problem isn't a guy like Malcolm, I think Malcolm would be good on this team but I think he probably carries more value on a team trying to win now. The biggest problems are Jerami and Ant because they iso and don't present opportunities for guys to develop no matter how much potential the guys have. Chauncey said several times this season that he was mad that Shaedon wasn't taking more shots but he then let Ant and Jerami clear the fucking floor and not operate within what Chauncey said the offense was supposed to be. We saw at the end of his rookie season that Shaedon is very capable of putting up just as big of numbers as Ant, with more efficiency when given the space to do so. We also saw this season that Ant and Jerami take Deandre completely out of the game. It doesn't have to be the case but Chauncey treats Ant and Jerami differently than anyone else. I want to see those guys moved. I could see the argument for our young talent to have to earn their minutes if we were a contender but Ant and Jerami lead us to a shit ton of losses too.
Seeing all the forward draft prospects with similar or smaller measurables than Sharpe makes me wonder if he might play extensive SF minutes in his career. What do you all think? Now I don't think we want him at SF for extensive minutes of a game the whole time with a short guard duo of Scoot/Ant. But I think he'd be fine with an average sized SG that's a good defender. That may allow us to look for more SG prospects in the draft as well as in trades. Josh Hart is the same height or smaller and always plays SF for the Knicks, and started Tuesday at PF against Siakam in a playoff win.
Just a preference, but moving forward, i want physically imposing and atheltic/strong dudes at every position. I want a size and athleticism advantage 1-5. Putting Shae at SF fulltime would not give us as big an advantage as him at SG fulltime.
trying to compare Sharpe to Hart as SF's is like trying to compare Grant to Rodman as PF's. Hart and Rodman are unique players; unique enough that using them as templates for other players almost always fails. Hart and Rodman had/have motors that ran at 110% of full speed. And for me, right now, the biggest concern about Sharpe is his motor here's the thing: if Ant wasn't on the Blazers there would be no chatter about trying to jamb Sharpe into the SF role. That is all about accommodating Ant as the starter. If the Blazers draft Knecht or Holland or Cody Williams, those guys would fit, mostly, into the SF position better than Sharpe; and could swing to SG occasionally themselves
I worry about Sharpe's motor as much as anything. I hope he has a breakout season because he's super talented but in the back of my mind I wonder.....the next Alan Crabbe? Scared me a bit when he interviewed and his favorite music is reggae and given he couldn't drink yet I wonder if he's hitting thee bong a bit too much, He's the oppositee of "high strung" like Josh Hart
I am going to say this on Sharpe -- he has talent just not sure he is "wants" it -- I think he has some Ayton in him wants to be the man without showing he is the man.
This place is loony. I read through the comments here questioning Sharpe’s motor or “it” factor without seeing any recognition of the fact that he missed 50 games due to injury (and probably had his performance impacted in another 5-10 he did play). Might be that it’s a little premature to be making those kinds of conclusions.
I would also add that Cronin shrouded him with other guards. One of the reasons I want to trade the glut of guards (Ant/Brogdon), is to give both Shae and Scoot the runway to be type 1 or 2 options.
I remember our highschool team in 90s. They "were hitting the bong" a lot. Before games as well. I don't remember them losing, they were fkin amazing
Using the "eye-test" I would say it's safe to conclude Sharpe hasn't (yet) displayed Ant Edwards' type "kill anyone in my way" personality. It is simply not clear the kind of player he is, or will become, because of the lack of playing time.
I think there''s a huge distinction between a conclusion and a slight worry about the kid. I think his talent is off the chart.
It's been a while since he hasn't sat out for health reasons... Not playing at Kentucky to get his body right seems to have been a warning.
Sure, Shaedon definitely needs to show more drive than we’ve seen from him to date, but then again, we haven’t seen enough of him to date. Just saying that he gets an incomplete rather than a judgement as not being capable of being on the same tier as Edwards. There’s also the experience factor. While Edwards showed promise his first couple of years, he didn’t become the force he now is until his fourth season.
