Blazers Give Sharpe a Promise?

Probably ED was hoping for the New Orleans lottery pick.

 

With all due respect (and I mean that genuinely) -- what you saw, when watching a high school kid on youtube doesn't amount to anything with regards to this discussion. We're not the ones making the decision, professional scouts and General Managers are. Many folks in the industry have said he has the highest ceiling in the draft, so that's not some completely foreign idea. Literally ALL I'm trying to say is that -- IF YOU'RE TAKING A "SWING FOR THE FENCES" MENTALITY -- the delta between Sharpe's draft value and his talent, which is caused, at least in part, by him not playing this year, makes him an extremely intriguing, if not obvious candidate.

The answer around why he didn't play doesn't seem well known, so yes, that's worth digging into -- but again, that's out of our control. Much like major injury red flags, if that's something that's going to disqualify a prospect; a) we wouldn't know about it beforehand, and b) would render the discussion moot anyway.

 

I agree with glazeduck. And to add, I am not comparing Sharpe to Kobe Bryant the Hall of Famer, but I will compare him to Kobe Bryant the rookie straight out of high school that the Lakers threw into the mix and threw up many airballs as a rookie. But the Lakers knew he had "it," whatever that is. He showed incredible confidence in himself jacking up airballs then having the occasional great play. I would hope the Blazers brass has this confidence in Sharpe if he is the guy. And I hope he has the confidence in himself to go "Kobe" the rookie, that was pretty awful. Then we can pass judgement.

 

If we end up with Sharpe, I'll be excited. There are some other scenarios out there that I like more but Sharpe would be really interesting to see what he can do now and then watch develop.

 

My comparison of Sharpe's best case impact wise is like: MPJ. It's gonna be at least two season before he's a legitimate threat.

 

I'd be thrilled with that. If Sharpe turns out to be good enough to get a max extension off his rookie deal, then that is a risk worth taking.

 

That's his best case IMO. There are a lot more universes in the multi-verse where it's not......that.

 

Sure, I'm comfortable with the high bust potential.

 

Ditto, especially given what we've seen from Chauncey so far...

 

couls you imagine if we traded that pick for grant? People would be freaking out

 

Depends on where it ended up. If it was top 10, yeah..... not so much.

If we had gotten the Lakers pick from them, I would have been pissed if we traded the 8th pick.

 

I think it is a bit more than just confidence. What Jerry West saw in Kobe was the laser focus and dedication to be the best. That is hard to duplicate.

Even if all these young 18, 19 years old players don't have that exact same drive as Kobe, (Few do) it still needs to be at a high level. Not saying Sharpe has that or doesn't have that.....just that a lot of them have confidence, just not the work ethic to get better. That is the skill set IMO that determines who will be best in 3 years. Because they are all good, but they all need to get better.

 

One might say that too much confidence kills that drive. Ego about being the best means not having to work on your game for some.
Thinking you are the best and wanting to be the best are two different things and one can kill the drive of the other.

 

I can't imagine Kobe sitting out a year for undisclosed reasons. He was way too competitive for that. Sharpe has to prove he has a competitive drive, let alone an extraordinary one, before he can even be included in that discussion.

 

eh... kobe's competitive drive is more mythical than anything.

if he truly wanted a challenge, he wouldn't have forced his way to LA from Charlotte or threatened NJ that he was gonna sit out or play in Italy.

Sharpe didn't sit out a year. He sat out the last 15 games or so. He only arrived at UK in January, while his teammates were there since last May.

The question about this comp is if Sharpe has Kobe's maniacal drive to work hard and improve.

 

He's a soft spoken kid. He's kind of an introvert. He's a self proclaimed home body. I think Portland is the perfect place for him.

 

I love how Chauncey empowered Ant/Nas. Nas in particular spoke to how much more confident he knew about what he needed to do to get PT. Think he's the perfect coach for Sharpe.

 

Yep. Kind of reminds me of Ant a bit, in terms of demeanor; silent, shy, hard worker behind the scenes.

 

Yup. I think a big city would be horrible for him. Or even a coach like Stotts would be just awful.

 

Stotts would be awful for any rookie.