Exclusive RipCityTwo 2022 Big Board: Pick #5

[Predator]

Right now we have to be looking at floors way more than we're looking at ceilings. A risky pick like Shaedon (that's just the way I see him and I've watched video) is just not a pick that we can make... like the fine print said, I wouldn't be looking to keep any of these guys but out of all of the players left that we'd be forced to keep Keegan is the guy I'd take. Keegan still has upside, he fills a position of need and his floor is so far and above where I see Shaedon's. It's not even a hard call for me given our team's circumstances.

It will be hard to avoid all of that potential Shaedon has starting with the next pick. I'm not alone, just about every mock out there has Keegan going in this spot ahead of Shaedon, that doesn't make it right, it just means that my opinion isn't crazy. You wanting to swing for the fences can be defended but I don't know if it makes sense on this roster. If there's a GM that's as excited about Shaedon as you I hope he's willing to put his money where his mouth is and give us proven NBA talent at a position of need that is close to equal to what you say Shaedon is.

I did say that the 5th pick realistically should only be between 2 people in this scenario - Murray and Sharpe.

Where I disagree with you is the fact that you said “if there is a massive difference”. There is a massive talent difference between Keegan and Shaedon. That’s why people are ready to draft him so high with literally no experience. Though you did make it clear you’re more interested in a players “floor” rather than ceiling. I think that’s a mistake, particularly this high in the draft. If you have a chance to get a superstar talent, you take it.

Particularly when you can most likely get Sochan, Eason or even Jerami Grant assuming the later pick conveys.

Now if the later pick doesn’t convey, yeah, Murray might be the better option (which is why I said Murray and Sharpe are realistically the only two options here) but if Sharpe turns into the next Kobe Bryant how pissed would we all be?

 

[Predator]

You keep saying that. Evidence? If he is it's because he's an unknown quantity. Remember, actual drafts NEVER go like the mock drafts because actual stupid humans with concerns that we don't know about (like job security) are involved, and people like that are also fucking TERRIFIED of unknown quantities. Sharpe probably also has various things counting against him, like the fact that every Canadian taken high in the draft has been a massive disappointment.

Someone else asked this I answered it. Feel free to read “The Athletic” article, the NBA “best available” scouting reports as well as the “Ringer” YouTube channel and ESPN YouTube draft segment.

 

[blazerkor]

I did say that the 5th pick realistically should only be between 2 people in this scenario - Murray and Sharpe.

Where I disagree with you is the fact that you said “if there is a massive difference”. There is a massive talent difference between Keegan and Shaedon. That’s why people are ready to draft him so high with literally no experience. Though you did make it clear you’re more interested in a players “floor” rather than ceiling. I think that’s a mistake, particularly this high in the draft. If you have a chance to get a superstar talent, you take it.

Particularly when you can most likely get Sochan, Eason or even Jerami Grant assuming the later pick conveys.

Now if the later pick doesn’t convey, yeah, Murray might be the better option (which is why I said Murray and Sharpe are realistically the only two options here) but if Sharpe turns into the next Kobe Bryant how pissed would we all be?

We already passed on Giannis and so did 14 other teams. It was only a mistake in hindsight. If we have a guy like Eason graded out high enough to take a risk with our pick then I guess Sharpe would be worth the wager but we're not in the position where we want to wager if we're trying to, as our interim GM said, build an immediate contender around Dame. Murray is more ready and a better positional fit for this team than Sharpe and that's why he's higher on my big board. Should Murray not be there at our pick and it's between a bunch of guards and wings it will be hard for me to choose between Shaedon Sharpe, Davis, Mathurin and Griffin but a fit like Murray with the experience and what he's shown this year it wasn't a hard choice for me, it was obviously Murray for me but hey maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Every draft there is the first pick where it deviates substantially from just about every mock because some team has reached. I'm guessing this year it'll be a team picking Duren, and I hope it happens before our first pick. But he could just as easily fall - after all Wiseman (and to a lesser extent Achiuwa) haven't done him any favors.

 

[Hoopguru]

All good points because we don't know how much each will improve. And they always need to. I guess I based it on his size ( 6'8" PF) and my guess is he will never dominate as stars do. But he is solid at pretty much everything. Including a nice 3pt stroke for a stretch 4.

I wasn’t aiming at you or your take.
I have used ceiling & floor many times as a way to guesstimate potential. My son asked me once when i was using those terms if it was 7’ ceiling or 10’ ceiling.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Looks like this is coming out similar to the Paolo/Chet debate. Low ceiling/high floor player getting slightly more votes than the riskier guy with higher upside.

 

[blazerkor]

Looks like this is coming out similar to the Paolo/Chet debate. Low ceiling/high floor player getting slightly more votes than the riskier guy with higher upside.

Call it so we can move on to the next one.

 

[BonesJones]

Sharpe projects as the best perimeter defender left on the board outside of Eason and Sochan and has more offensive upside than anyone left. He's supposedly 6'6 with a 7'0 wingspan. I think Chauncey would work wonders with him. Meanwhile, Keegans a safe pick but has limited upside. The only way the Blazers win a chip with Dame is to take some high risk/high reward chances and have them pan out. Pretty easy calculation for me.

 

[BonesJones]

Looks like this is coming out similar to the Paolo/Chet debate. Low ceiling/high floor player getting slightly more votes than the riskier guy with higher upside.

Don't understand why people are voting along these lines, because it's not the way we get a ring with Dame in my opinion. Gotta raise this teams ceiling as much as possible, even if it's risky.

 

[BonesJones]

You keep saying that. Evidence? If he is it's because he's an unknown quantity. Remember, actual drafts NEVER go like the mock drafts because actual stupid humans with concerns that we don't know about (like job security) are involved, and people like that are also fucking TERRIFIED of unknown quantities. Sharpe probably also has various things counting against him, like the fact that every Canadian taken high in the draft has been a massive disappointment.

Canadian nationality has nothing to do with anything. SGA panned out. Sharpe played HS ball in the US. Don't see why being Canadian should be held against him whatsoever. We gotta stop slighting prospects for their nationality.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Canadian nationality has nothing to do with anything. SGA panned out. Sharpe played HS ball in the US. Don't see why being Canadian should be held against him whatsoever. We gotta stop slighting prospects for their nationality.

If it’s a factor, why should we?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Call it so we can move on to the next one.

Can't now... it's presently a dead heat. Next vote wins?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Can't now... it's presently a dead heat. Next vote wins?

I took my vote back just to make it a dead heat again.

 

[HoopsFanAZ]

Sharpe. With the absence of game video at UK, the limited worth of HS tape … still, this kid’s been scouted. It’s an unusual situation with risks. SG or SF … he’s young.

My only question is how driven he is for excellence at the NBA level. Greatness is a lofty idea. How serious will he take his craft? If it’s somewhere near to fellow Canadian Steve Nash, then he’s a gift at 5.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Sharpe. With the absence of game video at UK, the limited worth of HS tape … still, this kid’s been scouted. It’s an unusual situation with risks. SG or SF … he’s young.

My only question is how driven he is for excellence at the NBA level. Greatness is a lofty idea. How serious will he take his craft? If it’s somewhere near to fellow Canadian Steve Nash, then he’s a gift at 5.

I do hope he rises up the draft board. The higher he rises the better odds someone else will drop to us. Ideally, a couple of players who are now slotted between say.....7-20 will have great workouts.

 

[HoopsFanAZ]

I would be surprised if Sharpe goes 1-4. There have been enough workout wonders whose measureables and tape against lesser competition win out over better evidence. GMs having such a high pick and blowing it doesn’t really get forgiven. That’s why I went with 5 — high pick but a place for risk if a guy can project as an all star. Keegan Murray as a ‘safe’ pick who has value versus Holmgren’s unique strengths with a glaring weakness … is why I can see Holmgren at #6 but not lower.