It is a great question! I have no idea - perhaps he just can't dribble genetically. Perhaps he spent all his time shooting and doing defensive drills? I'm not worried about it until the end of the season. If there hasn't been some kind of improvement he might be what he is. Not gonna write off the possibility though
We have multiple ways to get that 1b guy and I don't think this draft moves the needle so much that we will be out of the lottery and we have the Nets imploding which ups the odds of drafting higher. I don't have a good feeling for Smith's mindset but I would not be surprised if Smith has issues being the 3rd guy on offense and not having much offense run for him.
KPJ, Jabari and Sengun will not become 1b to Jalen's 1a, only one who had that potential was Paolo, either way we need to suck next year and hope to be top 2 because scoot and victor Wembanyama both can and will be 1b to Jalen.
I don't think Jabari is that guy at all. I think he'd be a team player who'd happily take whatever role. It's also worth noting he had terrible point guards at Auburn. Next draft is the easiest way to that 1b guy and I think thankfully there are a few less teams tanking next year with Sacramento and Portland seemingly trying to compete, and the Wizards seem to want to keep trying with Beal, which would make our main competition OKC, Detroit, Orlando, and Indiana. I see our team being better next year, no more Wood/Theis lineups is an instant upgrade, but we should still have a solid lottery spot and just have to hope to get lucky I just said they all have potential, I don't think any will hit it and thusly we shouldn't plan for them to. I think Chet absolutely had that potential too but doesn't matter now
Yeah... I'm just grasping for straws "a little" - again, the fit with this team is so insanely good, the fact that they can run out a lineup that is legit A level defense (eventually) while above average offensively is insane after the last 10+ years. So if he never gets that type of handle, he'll still improve in a variety of areas to just do what he does, better. But I'm still dreaming/hoping he can be that 1b. I'd put the odds at like 2.5%.... so not high, cause as yo note, you don't just go from spot up shooter to dribble drive guy in the nba. Summer league will be very interesting to see if he can even show a little more of it, in the short 3 months since the end of the college season, that's he's improved a little. All that said, I'd also recognize there are probably different ways for him to become that 1b. He doesn't have to be the dribble drive guy. Embiid is a stupid comp, but Embiid isn't a dribble drive guy. Hakeem is a stupid comp, but Hakeem never took the ball from the wing in. HOWEVER... Jabari is so uniquely good at shooting 3s, and that's such a mismatch... that he almost HAS to develop SOME level of dribble drive game because he's going to be out there and it would just behoove him to be able to fake the shot drive in, attack defenders and kick or hard drive for a layup. BTW, here is PG summer league highlights. Yes, dribble needs work, but clearly more of a dribble driver potential than Jabari at the moment. (93) Paul George's 2010 NBA Summer League Full Highlights - YouTube Here is Kawhi's tourney highlights. Actually... there is some reason for optimism here. Again, Kawhi definitely had more of a wing-like game. Well... he was/is a wing. But the dribbling styles are pretty similar. Kawhi's dribble had a tendency to get away from him a bit - not necessarily that he lost it but rather he just didn't dribble tight enough to his body - and very mechanical with his dribbling. I think Jabari should study Kawhi from a handle perspective for sure. I can kind of envision how it would work with Jabari long term. It's never going to be flashy. But with the work ethic, he can get it tighter to the point where he has a Kawhi esque mechanical but capable dribble that allows him to get 2-3 dribbles into the lane, run the occasional break, etc. (93) Kawhi Leonard highlights: NCAA tournament top plays - YouTube
Alright that behind the back full court fast break dunk Jabari did at 2:10 shows he has the potential..
Thanks @zeeshan2 for the article. This is the exact feel i get But i also agree with this. And as some other people on twitter have noted... he's a WAY better fit, allows the team lineup optionality over the next 3 years (eg. next year they wont have to try and figure out AGAIN how a potential another lotto pick might fit), it addresses defense culturally - and its suprisingly easy for culture to get away from you... your top guys set your culture and if both of those guys tried but were just average defensively you just can't escape that - now even better cause one of them is exceptional defensively i think it will push Jalen to also continue to get there defensively, and he's a great locker room fit - having everyone be Seattle friends sounds fun, but that's not how life/jobs/organizational success works... variability is always better imo.
By the way, ideally we find a 1B to Jalen's 1A. But, if your defense is good enough, you can still win with just a 1A and a 2A Which granted, we have to find that 2A too, but that's even easier to find. I mean New Orleans got a CJ McCollum for a protected first and two seconds. That's not the exact player I want but just an example for the trade value to get someone sort of in that category. Specially if we have cap space and can take it from someone trying to clear cap
I see it somewhat differently yeah he had terrible guards but he was the only guy who had plays run for him and he had the green light to shoot whenever he wanted. Like I said I don't have a good idea about his mindset but something makes me think he will always want to be "the guy" and he is not going to have things run for him to maximize his offense. Let's be real he is going to be asked to spot up the majority of the time and will not be touching the ball a lot with KPJ and Green controlling the ball a lot.
yes... but im not 100% sold on that yet... cause the sample size is very small.. and college just has lack of spacing... and he had some solid finishes even with some bad ones. Mostly its just a very small sample size. AND,... he's WAY WAY WAY athletic defensively. Like he's more athletic defensively by far, seemingly. What that means to me, combined with his handle, is that his entire game takes a gear down athletically on offense cause if he goes faster he loses the ball or isn't comfortable. Meaning, to me, that CAN improve, if he can improve that feel and trust in his dribble.
You can get better at handle. Jalen showed as much this year. His shot making ability deserves a Durant comparison due to his length and high release. You can't really block it and he will feast on smaller players once his strength builds up. Remember, he is 19 years old. Just turned it.
If Jabari can't even dribble and had bad ball handling skills he should never be the focus but maybe we can do something similar to what Portland did with Dame and LaMarcus?
Jabari hasn’t been asked to be a creator and he won’t need to be early on in his NBA career. His dribble game has not been a priority because he requires basically zero space to get off a clean jump shot. If he wants to take his game to franchise level, he’ll need to expand but even at a more mature version of his current self, it’s a beautiful fit. I’d bet on him being even better. Paolo has a more obvious path to being the center of an offense but that wasn't necessarily the best option for this team. He literally wasn’t an option anyways.
At the risk of being too much of an analysis nerd... These are the plays that are VERY interesting to me and i want to see more: 10 seconds in 1:23 in 1:37 in 1:41-1:46 in 2:00 minutes in (LOVE this one) 2:07-2:18 ish just off ball stuff Why do i like the above plays? They're all the offensive plays that are more than just dribble pull ups or half/1 dribble into a long contested 2 pullups. Rather he uses that ability to get someone off-balance and make a drive. Or he's off ball cutting - i think this is huge potential upside to his game... he has yet to have legit guards create for him in a space offensive system. Also because it shows its possible with him. It's not his bread and butter, but its stuff he can do. He absolutely HAS to develop a fake and drive game to start working towards that upside.
This is my 1st time seeing Kawhi in college and it's surprising his game has not changed much he had a much better dribble package than Smith but that could also be that he stayed in college and worked on those skills. Even in college, his dribble game was much more 2-3 dribbles straight line he had some counters as well.
I really see a ton of similarity with Jerami Grant. They both create shots the same way and shoot a lot of midrange in traffic. Both have similar weaknesses. I know it’s not a flashy comp but if he can be a better piston’s Jerami Grant on offense I think he can be a relatively efficient 20ppg scorer who can generate his own offense to a degree. If Grant could do it, there is a path for Jabari to play that role better and grow into a 25ppg scorer or 20ppg more efficiently. I don’t know if that is a superstar but a great player to put next to Green and Sengun. Our defense concerns are somewhat solved at least. I just don’t see Kawhi at all. The fact he came in as a great slasher and a bad shooter is literally the opposite of smith.
Been on the fire Silas train but….I do want to see how he can develop JG and Smith.. He has worked with other greats as well
I think what’s missing from people’s evaluation of Jabari is a bit of extra insight. He just turned 19 in May making him by far one of the youngest players in this draft. His Auburn coach said he came to Auburn weighing 198 lbs and really knowing nothing about weight room training. Given his age and room for physical growth, I would not put a clear limit on his ability just yet. Unlike Chet, he legitimately has the frame to add muscle and bulk. I could see him getting up to 240ish and actually being faster and quicker at that weight. One thing I think will be great for him is that John Lucas appears to be relentless in pushing for the young players to continue developing in all facets and this kid seems to have a great work ethic.
