Alex Sarr Discusses Optimized Fit within Stacked Wizards Offense

But as AJ Dybantsa and Kyshawn George continue ascending amidst Anthony Davis' and Trae Young's attempts at stacking their own numbers within a developmental context, it'll only get tougher for other primary pieces to avoid getting shoehorned into a strictly-complimentary role. It's a quandary that Alex Sarr now finds himself faced with- does the skilled prospect have the room to scale up to the level he's previously flashed?

Sarr's Complicated Road to November

Despite the seven-footer's clunky theoretical fit alongside another interior big in Davis, there was never any real doubt that Sarr would return to the season-opening starting lineup. He'd done good in bouncing back from a wildly-streaky rookie debut, shifting his shooting focus closer to the basket in the interest of settling for fewer fading midrange heaves and creaky 3-pointers.

Part of that on-ball creativity played a key role in Sarr's initial hype, with his two-way upside ultimately winning the Wizards and their second pick out of the 2024 NBA Draft over. He exited last season as the squad's premier pre-Dybantsa prospect, someone with the versatile defense and rim-centric play-finishing package to unlock Young's next offensive scheme.

Now, though, he's finding himself stuffed in the corner much more often than he was as a sophomore, leaning on his outside jumper as a means of playing off of the more dominant Davis. "Definitely still trying to do both," he told On SI in regards to balancing the arc-lingering and the post-touches. "My jumper allows our offense to be spread out, so just me picking the moments where I'm cutting or spacing to the corners, just trying to be efficient at those."

That off-ball scoring and playmaking has never been more necessary given how little the offense is revolving around Sarr compared to years past.

He's now one of three pick-and-roll options at center alongside Davis and Deandre Ayton, and Sarr's the least-sturdy among that big man phylum at that. Sarr hasn't exactly been lacing the ball on his few kicked-out scoring chances, either, posting a 22.2% clip from deep on a usage rate that falls below all four other starters and reserve spark plug scorer Tre Johnson.

If nothing else, his comfortability emerging from a spot-up stance has reminded the masses of Sarr's preternatural playmaking touch. "We got guys who can make decisions at all positions," he said. "Whether it’s me in the short roll, Trae, Kyshawn, AJ handling the ball, getting past their guy, we got a lot of different looks out there. That’s when the chemistry comes in of all of us being on the same page. You can see people getting more and more comfortable as the games have gone on."

Coach Keefe's Co-Sign

The obvious counter to Sarr's perimeter-oriented tendencies would be for him to take full-physical advantage of his reps as the lone big, a circumstance of which he's enjoyed 36 minutes of over seven appearances. He's never been without the spoon-feeding Young over that limited sample, and while he's held down the defense to the tune of a productive 105.1 defensive rating, Sarr's still far from some back-to-the-basket thrasher.

He's been quietly-effective statistically within the arc, finishing on 21 of his 30 2-point tries with a variety of tip-ins and fast break finishes, yet he's still far from asserting himself enough to command a collapsing defense.

That's where head coach Brian Keefe is keen to remind fans that Sarr hasn't enjoyed the same long ramp-up process as most of his teammates. "I think he's been adjusted to [the offense] well. Obviously, he's still getting his legs underneath him, like he didn't get the chance to train like the rest of the team this summer."

"The offensive stuff is growing, and that's with our whole team. We're still trying to figure out the identity of how we're gonna play with our team. I thought that would take some time...What you can feel with Alex, his playmaking ability, you can see the combination he's already built with AD, playing the high-low game, playing big-to-big, or when he's in the short pocket, Alex can always find shooters and kick it out. I've been happy with his progress.”

Even with the occasional impact-less duds dotting his early-fall returns, Keefe does have a point regarding Sarr's fit within the team's growing needs. As Davis grows ever-more dominant as a scorer out of isolation, his center has found a way to notch 10+ points four times over his last five outings, as well as eight rebounds in both of this week's games to help shore up the gang rebounding concerns.

He's still not the offensive board horse that the team's been searching for since Justin Champagnie fractured his foot, nor is he the volume outside sniper to command respect from already-stretched defenses. This team still has pressing needs to assess at 4-4, and though Sarr can't solve everything, he has plenty to bolster in adding another unique skillset to compliment the still-forming corps.