I’m putting together a re-draft post that provides summaries of all of the lotto picks + a few others, and I’m asking the various team-specific subreddits for help. I’ve included a write-up of Shaedon Sharpe below to use as an example. I’d appreciate any inputs you have on the summary/floor/ceiling for Mathurin. He’s obviously having a great rookie year, and I’m interested in how this sub views his game/potential. At the very least, it’s likely his 3P% improves, which will positively impact his efficiency even as his usage increases.
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**SHAEDON SHARPE**
**Age (on 5/1)**: 19y 11m
**Per 36 totals**: 14.2pts, 4.5reb, 1.4ast, 0.8stl, 0.5blk | 48% FG% | 36% 3P% | 67% FT% | 57% TS%
**Summary**: Already an efficient [three-level](https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1638757332636270597?s=20) scorer despite being 19 and never having played at the college level. Has legitimately [anomalous](https://www.nationofblue.com/shaedon-sharpe-posts-highest-vertical-leap-in-nba-history/) athleticism; [smoothly explosive](https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1638723371050627072?s=20) in a way that few others are. While that leads to a [bunch](https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1638979007369842688?s=20) of highlight-reel dunks, he hasn’t figured out how to leverage that athleticism to draw fouls yet (only averaging 1.6 FTA per 36 min). Whether or not he can be a primary on-ball playmaker is an open question given low assist totals, but he has shown statistically meaningful improvement in that area throughout the season (from 0.9 assists per 36 in his first 50 games —> 2.5 per 36 over the past 20). Has the physical prerequisites to be an above-average guard/wing defender and shows [good instincts](https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1624473082395258880?s=20), but also looks his age at times.
**Floor**: High-volume scorer who doesn’t create for others and is only average defensively
**Ceiling**: top-20 player who averages an efficient 25/5/5 while playing plus-defense.
**Comp(s)**: Bradley Beal, Paul George
**Re-draft range**: 2-7
by thejazzmarauder
6 Comments
Sort of like MJ and Kobe combined.
Someone we’re all very excited about.
Pros:
Athletic, explosive, good frame, seems like a VERY hard worker, has about 50,000 chips on his shoulder.
Cons:
Lack of handle, occasional tunnel vision, inconsistent shooting, defensive lapses. All expected of a rookie.
I think he will at least reach fringe all star levels. But like Rick said, they’re trying to grow him into a championship quality two way player.
Great scorer for a rookie at the 3pt line and the rim. not afraid to get physical and get to the line. His improvement in defense will dictate his potential. He has shown nice improvement in that area though and is motivated to improve his weak spots.
If he can become a great defender he might eventually be a Butler or Brown type of two way player. His floor idk, sounds like what you wrote for Sharpe.
I think it’s too early for a redraft and I’m biased in his favor so I’ll leave that out.
He cuts to the basket super well for a rookie. Just has a nose for the ball and putting it in the hoop. Gets to the foul line better than any rookie i’ve seen in a long time. He started off the first half of the season incredibly hot from behind the arc and has cooled off and had some bad shooting stretches which i think is more of a symptom of him getting his NBA legs under him – it’s a big jump from the college grind to the NBA grind. He looked fairly gassed for a bit but seems to have found energy as of late. Gotta respect his drive to the basket, as sloppy as his handle looks he is an insane scorer around the basket for a young player. Makes athletic contact layups that have no business of going in far too often. Sometimes reminds me of young Wade, sometimes like 2019-2020 TJ Warren. His major “IT” factor is his tenacity and hustle – he’s clearly driven to be the best he can be and his and Rick Carlisle’s relationship seems special. I him to be a 20/5/5 guy someday (and perhaps someday soon) BUT he needs to work on his defense and playmaking to get there. His IQ is very solid, just needs to work on flowing in the offensive system and making those extra passes instead of hunting for his shots. On defense he needs to keep his man in front of him and attack passing lanes more – i think he’s gonna struggle against more physical opponents so he needs to be peskier in off ball defense. He could bulk up and certainly is stronger than he looks but I don’t want to tire him out on defense and have him keep that ferocity on offense. His ceiling is really hard to give any limitations – I think he can be top-20 NBA player. Just never seen such a focused and motivated player with talent to back it up. He’s going to be a real force. Haliburton and Turner are excellent complimentary pieces too which is only going to help him develop his best abilities while helping cover up his weaknesses.
For a comp, I see him as a less explosive, less athletic (but better at drawing fouls) version of rookie Ant Edwards. Whatever you think/thought of Ant’s game/ceiling will probably be similar, but slightly less, for Mathurin imo. (I view both highly.)
Besides the aesthetics of their games, the stats for rookie Ant and Mathurin are kind of crazily similar.
Passing/vision and defense are the two pieces he needs to put together, but he has the tools for both. I expect more efficiency will come when he becomes a full time starter.
Athletic, talented, explosive, good shooter with beautiful form and draws fouls at a high-level especially for a rookie. He competes hard on defense but still struggles in his overall awareness on the court and playmaking. He’s still very raw and I don’t really know what his ceiling is.
If he works on his defense and becomes a good defender and also works on his ballhandling and overall playmaking on the offensive end, I would say top 20 player in the league? But, that’s hard to decipher could be higher, could also be lower. It’s hard to get to that level and once you do reach that level of a player it’s moreso about accolades and what you accomplish in the league. Either way, I’m stoked to have him and it did not take long for him to become my favorite player on the team. Another thing that I love about him that kind of goes underrated in this league now is that he loves to play and it shows, he hates missing games and it shows as he turned his ankle horribly to the point where I thought he would miss the rest of the season. Nope, worked his ass off and only missed like a week and a half I think? Mind you, some people thought he had broken it or at least had a high sprain.