Where Shaedon Sharpe, TyTy Washington stand in new NBA mock drafts

Shaedon Sharpe is officially testing the NBA Draft waters and John Calipari says he’ll advise him to stay in if he receives a top-six guarantee. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz released a new NBA Mock Draft this morning and Sharpe is No. 6, going to the Portland Trail Blazers. Schmitz watched Sharpe practice at Kentucky this past season and believes he’s an elite creator with all-star potential:

With the Trail Blazers clearing the books and going younger and more development-focused at the moment, 18-year-old Sharpe makes a lot of sense here. The former No. 1 player in his high school class, Sharpe is a smooth shot creator who shoots it easy from 3, is effortless getting to his spots off the bounce, can play above the rim explosively, and at least has the tools and size (6-foot-6, 7-0 wingspan) to eventually evolve into a serviceable defender as he gains experience. After watching him live at Kentucky practice this season, Sharpe is also an underrated passer with the offensive talent you see from NBA All-Stars. Sharpe may not be ready to help turn the Blazers into a playoff contender as a rookie, but given the recent success of physically gifted, shot-creating guards like Anthony Edwards, he’s a valuable talent at this part of the draft, as there simply aren’t many other players who can create offense like he can.

Givony watched Sharpe work out yesterday and echoed Schmitz’s comments, opining that in a one-on-one setting, Sharpe looked like a No. 1 pick.

Watched Shaedon Sharpe in a competitive one on one workout today. Combination of size, length, frame, fluidity, scoring instincts and defensive versatility are incredibly impressive. Looks like the No. 1 pick in the draft in this setting. Talent. pic.twitter.com/cezR0sPHOk

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 24, 2022

Elsewhere in the mock draft, TyTy Washington is projected to go No. 17 to Houston. TyTy was right at the end of the lottery in ESPN’s last update, but Givony believes he could be a good fit in the Rockets’ backcourt.

Opinions around the NBA are mixed regarding the long-term future of Kevin Porter Jr. in Houston after what’s been a roller-coaster ride of a short NBA career thus far. Adding another steady-handed guard in the backcourt in Washington who can play with or without the ball, excels in pick-and-roll and is a strong perimeter shooter makes some sense here, especially since he has the size and length to play in many different lineup configurations. — Givony

Sharpe, Washington in Top 10 of CBS’ new mock draft

On Thursday following Sharpe’s announcement, CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone released a new mock draft that has both Sharpe and Washington in the top ten. Boone projects Sharpe to go No. 4 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he’d join fellow Canadian and Dwayne Washington-mentee Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Sharpe is the mystery man primed to upend this year’s draft. The former No. 1 overall recruit reclassified to the 2021 class, enrolled at the midyear point at Kentucky and played exactly zero minutes. But he’s primed to be a potential top five pick — maybe higher — because of his elite scoring instincts, creation and size at the guard position. I have OKC taking the gamble on him at No. 4 in hopes of grooming him to be a long-term piece of its core next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey.

Boone has Washington at No. 7 going to the Sacramento Kings, noting that his upside outweighs his disappointing end to the season.

There’s a number of factors here working against Washington’s NBA prospects that include playing more off the ball at Kentucky and a nagging injury that hurt his production down the stretch run of the season. However, in the grand scheme, he has a strong case as a top-10 talent in this class, hence the high placement here in my projections. Has a ton of untapped potential operating as a lead guard which we only saw in spurts at UK, and his time spent playing off the ball as a scorer should only help his prospects of becoming a solid combo guard in the league.

The NBA Draft is June 23, so two more months of mock drafts to go!