I guess theoretically, Sheppard's ceiling is Steph Curry if his shooting is on that level. Nobody predicted Curry to be the kind of franchise player he turned into when he came out of college. Not saying Sheppard is Curry 2.0, but that kind of shooter is quite rare.
That's why I added the "scout perceived" caveat to the post. I didn't want to play the game of "this player could be Jordan!!" that player "could be Larry Bird!!" The scouts aren't projecting Sheppard to be Steph. I'm expecting him to be very good though. Some of the better scouts actually did ok evaluating Stephs game they just thought he couldn't do what he was doing at Davidson in the NBA. He was a high volume scorer, the best in college basketball, with the focus of the entire defense, and scored at high efficiency. Reed Sheppard has not been that. And, honestly, comping him as some poor man's Steph is selling short one of his best attributes - defensive intensity.
If we do not end up with a top 4 pick, I would be willing to try to move up to get him. He honestly looks like the perfect player for this team.
If you think your 21 year-old is "your best player but not a franchise player," you also think he is a trade piece. With Sengun, there is no middle ground for playing style. He is a unicorn, just like Sabonis and Joker...If you think he is not a franchise player (yet), you dont build your team in that style of play. @Clutch openly dont think we can win championships with that style and also Sengun is not/will not be as capable a player as Sabonis or Joker. You, by saying he is the bast player but not a franchise player, are implying the same assumption, using different words...just because you leave some wiggle room for yourself, in case Sengun becomes a top 10 player in the league, doesn't mean you think differently from Clutch.
I understand you don't want to say he's the next Steph. I don't either. I'm just saying that Curry is the most obvious comp for Sheppard because of the shooting and the similar size. Sheppard is shooting better than Curry's college percentage with through the roof efficiency. The thing is, Curry had much more college data on higher volume shooting. Sheppard's data is limited. This is what prototype discussion is about. You bring up a guy who is a proven star and say, this type of players (i.e. a small guy who is not particularly athletic or fast) can be great if they reach a certain level.
The top 6 to 8 or so in this draft is very unsettled right now, we don't really know which of those guys is going where. It may depend on how the lottery shakes out--this draft lacks any guys with obvious superstar potential, so organizations may draft for need a bit more than in your typical class.
I came to realize that shooting on the highest levels is very hard to predict. He has to string together several 40+% percentage shooting seasons......tall order. Curry reinvented himself as a Playoffs shooter and shooting clutch shots...... That Curry Ionescu Event was one of the most entertaining Events in 4-5 Years.......
I like Sheppard. We can solve 2 needs if we can keep our pick, Top 4 protected, and get the Nets pick in the Top 5. Sarr and Sheppard
Word by word, as if it came from me, I just had to do something for my family so could not write this piece....thanks.
I don't quite get the infatuation with Sarr. We have Sengun and Adams. Just lock them both up, and we have the 3rd strongest center position in the league (soon to be strongest). Can always add a Bol Bol type to mix it up, Bismack Biyombo or whatever, as 3rd stringer.
There are very few successful teams that don't share a lot of similar attributes. That they may ultimately play somewhat different is noteworthy and should be factored in, but at its core doesn't change the obvious. The obvious being... YOU FU&*ING HAVE TO HAVE SHOOTERS TO WIN IN THE NBA. Warriors, Nuggets, Bucks, Heat (recent Finals trips but losses), Cavs, Raptors (were 6th in the league in 3pt shooting year they won), Heat wins (their 2 rings they were 10th and 2nd in 3 pt% those years)... Keep Sengun, move Sengun... who the f cares? The rest of the roster is trash bro. And so inept at shooting its a god-damn joke. And its not a surprise. They had 2 of the least efficient shooters in the nba last year in their starting line and added 2 of the least efficient scorers league-wide to those 2 and surround Alpi with that. It's a f'ing joke.
not that I entirely disagree, but Sarr represents a way different defensive and athletic profile. Sengun/Adams Smith/Sarr looks great to me.
You don't see someone shooting over 50% from 3 on more than 4 attempts a game very often. So the fascination of this dude maybe having the ability to challenge Curry as the best shooter ever is understandable. He's a freshman on a powerhouse team. He's not even a starter, let alone being the first option. That's the difference between him and Curry's college career. Still a lot of unknown.
