Nets Big Day’Ron Sharpe Discusses Points of Improvement

Brooklyn Nets forward Day’Ron Sharpe broke down what he’s looking to improve in an interview with Swish Theory’s Charlie Cummings.

He said: “Nowadays, 1 through 5, small-ball, everybody’s shooting threes, everybody can drive on a closeout. Eventually, it’s going to be to a point where it’s going to be completely positionless. It’s going to be all about who got that ‘dawg,’ who got that mentality, who don’t wanna give up. That’s how I see it going, so I just want to be able to be versatile in all aspects.”

Sharpe will be a restricted free agent this summer. He averaged career-highs across the board this season with 7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks. This was Sharpe’s fourth season for the Nets.

Brooklyn drafted the 6-foot-9 forward with the No. 29 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Sharpe played at North Carolina in college, where he was a one-and-done. Prior to that, the Nets forward played high school basketball at Montverde Academy.

“I’m just trying to get my years in and win,” Sharpe said about his NBA future. “I’d always been a winner in my career before I got to college [at North Carolina], so I just want to have an overall skill-set [and] game. The way the league is going nowadays, it’s not just really a wing or a guard or a big.”

Sharpe is forward-thinking about the NBA’s future; however, he also has targeted areas of improvement. The 23-year-old wants to continue getting stronger in order to finish through contact more comfortably, tighten up his three-point shoot to better extend the floor and become more comfortable driving out of the mid-post. The latter is particularly important if Sharpe remains with the Nets, seeing as how head coach Jordi Fernández stresses that from his bigs.

“I hate losing,” Sharpe said. “I just want to do whatever we can to help the team. If it’s talking to the next person, then I can do that. If it’s bringing energy, I can do that. If it’s ‘go and grab every offensive rebound,’ I can do that. If it’s ‘go and drop 20,’ I can do that.”

One area that Sharpe is a lock to add value in is the glass. He has been an excellent rebounder during every stop of his career.

“Offensive rebounding — that’s always gonna be my thing, that’s my bread-and-butter,” Sharpe said. “Being the strongest is going to help me do that. I’m trying to get to a point where it don’t matter who’s on that court, I’m moving you and I’m gonna get that board.”

Sharpe’s next contract was predicted to be a three-year, $30 million deal by Sportrac in March. Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet starting on July 1.