Finally a starter for the first time, Day’Ron Sharpe is going to face more first-stringers and log more minutes than ever.
The Nets center knows he’s going to have to pace himself. But pacing doesn’t mean passive. Sharpe only knows one way to play: all out.
“I feel like I played against starters last year as well,” Sharpe said. “Sometimes, when I would come in the game, they would put the more physical guy in the game to deal with me. So just do my thing, just keep playing hard.
“And even if it’s double the minutes, learn how to pace myself during the game, learning what opportunities to take [to avoid] getting in foul trouble, saving myself for later on in the game. But I’m just going to play hard until the wheels fall off. That’s all I can do.”
How much can those wheels take?
Sharpe, 24, logged a career high in minutes last season, though it was just 1,160. He could be asked to nearly double that with longtime starter Nic Claxton in Chicago after a four-team trade this summer.
As a high-energy bully on the boards — playing harder and more aggressive than most foes — it begs the question of whether Sharpe will be able to maintain that advantage despite scaling up his minutes.
“I just think that’s me, bro,” Sharpe said. “I don’t really look at it how many minutes I’m playing. I look at it more so just stints. So I probably get more stints of me getting in the game. Last year, it was two stints coming off the bench where I play 10 minutes at a time. So I really don’t look at it like that. I’m just trying to win. So when the whistle starts, when the game starts and it’s time to play, I’m playing. When the game’s over, game over.”
Over his career, Sharpe has averaged 18.7 rebounds per 100 possessions, including a staggering 8.3 on the offensive end. The latter figure would rank second best in league history, per Basketball Reference.
How much, though, will Sharpe’s edge drop off when having to log more extended playing time? The same holds true to an extent for newcomer Moritz Wagner, presumably brought in to be Sharpe’s primary backup.
“It’s a challenge because the minutes are going to go up,” Jordi Fernández admitted. “But I want them to fight for a starting spot. So right now, whether it’s Day’Ron or Mo, they’ve never been at starting minutes. I see it more like a group that works well together. They challenge but embrace each other. It could be different guys finishing games, different guys starting games.
“Also, to me, their health and their bodies are very important and I have to be cautious with how much I do to them. So their intentions, their intensity, everything, it’s been amazing. … It’s good for me to see how they compete now, what different things we try. But I don’t think minutes are going to be an issue.”
Seeing how the center platoon works could be why the Nets signed Sharpe to a $10 million team option for next season and Wagner a $9.7 million mutual option.
With almost 4,000 center minutes available, Wagner also will see his playing time spike. A torn left ACL in late December 2024 limited him to just 564 minutes two years ago and 427 last season.
Wagner’s career high is 1,415. With no other true centers on the Nets — they have only forwards Julius Randle, Chaney Johnson, Danny Wolf and Grant Nelson — Wagner also will be asked to exceed that career-best total.
Sharpe has struggled with foul trouble, but he correctly notes that often is due to moving screens more than defense. He’s confident his cardio will hold up but has worked on mobility and flexibility.
“I’m going to get used to recovery. I’ve been pushing on that more, stretching, trying to be more flexible,” Sharpe said. “So I’ve been doing that a lot and I realized doing mobility helps me a lot when it comes to recovery. So just keep doing those things, and I should be OK.”
