The Brooklyn Nets will find themselves at a crossroads with many players this season as they look to rebuild. There are still veterans who could be traded either this summer or before the trade deadline, but perhaps more importantly for the long-term view, there are young players who may or may not have a future with these teams.
One of the most intriguing players in that second bucket is big man Day’Ron Sharpe, who is entering the last year of his contract before hitting restricted free agency. He was subject to trade rumors earlier in the offseason.
Could Day’Ron Sharpe play a big role for the Nets this upcoming season?
Sharpe, a product of the University of North Carolina, was the Nets second first-round pick in the 2021 draft after selecting Cam Thomas just two picks earlier. Since entering the league, Sharpe has played the role of reserve center, becoming Nic Claxton’s primary backup last season.
Despite being the backup big man, Sharpe averaged just 15.1 minutes per game over 61 appearances, averaging 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. Interestingly, as the season progressed he saw his minutes reduced once the Nets were eliminated from playoff contention going from a high of 17 minutes per game in December to just 13.3 minutes per game in March and 14.4 minutes per game across just 4 games in April.
One would have thought that he would have gotten more run as a young player with the playoffs out of reach, but the opposite held, raising speculation that he might not be a long-term fit on the roster.
Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily did an in-depth film review of Day’Ron Sharpe’s skills, which was very complimentary. While Kaplan may have some rose-colored glasses on, he raises some important points. First, Sharpe is an elite rebounder, especially on the offensive end. His 16.3% offensive rebound rate was good for third in the NBA.
Secondly, Kaplan notes Sharpe’s improved touch around the rim which is no accident. In watching his film, you can see he’s stronger fighting through contact and gathers the ball before exploding straight up to get off his shot, versus how he would fade away and try and avoid contact in previous years.
For players who are destined to be role players in the NBA, the important thing for their staying power is to display at least one elite skill. Sharpe has this as his rebounding on both ends is great and his improving touch around the rim gives him a bit more upside. Simply put, he’s an NBA-caliber rotational big man.
What is Sharpe’s fit with the Nets going forward?
Here’s where things get tricky. While Sharpe is certainly a league-caliber player, whether or not he fits on the Nets roster and the style of basketball they want to play is a huge question. The Nets invested a lot of money in starter Nic Claxton, and the rest of the frontcourt is crowded with how the roster is currently constructed.
The biggest obstacle for Sharpe’s playing time is second-year power forward/center Noah Clowney. Clowney has the floor-stretching ability to play the four alongside Claxton as well as the size and length to log minutes at center. The Nets are all-in on developing Clowney as a key cog for the future, so he’ll get his run. The question is where.
This is where the forward logjam becomes an issue. In addition to quality veterans Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith the Nets also have Jalen Wilson, Trendon Watford, Ziaire Williams, and Bojan Bogdanovic competing for minutes at both the small and power forward positions.
Do they shift more of Clowney’s minutes to center to accommodate some of those other players, at Sharpe’s expense? And how does new head coach Jordi Fernandez view the “small-ball five” strategy? Some of those players like Finney-Smith and Watford can fill that role should the Nets desire to play that way, cutting further into Sharpe’s opportunity.
Defensively, Sharpe is also a bit of a clumsy fit. The other bigs, Claxton and Clowney, are athletic, switchable defenders who can defend smaller players out on the perimeter while also serving as rim protectors. Sharpe is not a switchable defender, nor is he an excellent rim protector. However, he is the only big on the roster with the requisite bulk to match up with talented low post scorers like Joel Embiid who give skinnier players fits.
Day’Ron Sharpe’s fit on the Nets could be challenging to discover
The way Sharpe fits going forward depends greatly on two factors. First, how they plan to deploy Noah Clowney, whose development is a top priority. Second, how they value the differences in his game compared to the other bigs on the roster. There’s real reason to say he has value as the primary backup center, but the other side of that coin is to say that he doesn’t have the skills to play in the system they want to run if defensive switchability is of paramount importance.
Lastly, many of these playing time obstacles can be cleared up if additional trades are made and the forward logjam is eased. Should the Nets move on from Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith before the start of the season, Clowney and Watford will get most of their run at the 4 opening up the backup center role for Sharpe.
In a development season, it makes sense not to be rigid in system designations and instead experiment while giving all talented young players opportunities to see how they grow. A player like Sharpe who already has an elite NBA skill and is only going into his age 23 season is the type of player who deserves every opportunity to carve out a role.