I think he is a STAR player, his handles has improved, and his defensive is as advertised. He need to work on getting tougher going or under the basket and his shooting as well. The guy is 6’11, athletic, tough and can shoot. He is just a rookie, I remember people were whining about Jalen, now he is averaging over 20 points a game.
He just doesn’t look special to me. There’s no special feel or presence when he’s on the floor. You either have it or you don’t. He looks like a role player trying to fit in and it’s not KPJ’s or anyone else’s fault for not getting him the ball or because he’s only 19 years old. I know many will disagree but I don’t see it. We saw it with guys like KG, Mcgrady, Giannis etc. Inconsistent as rookies but you knew they’d be special sooner rather than later. There’s lots of posters here that overrate/hype his defense as well. That shiit look mid to above avg to me. He’s no second coming of AK-47. Quit making it sound like he is. It’s okay if he’s not a franchise player/superstar but don’t try to sell me like he is going to be one since he’s only 19. That just sounds like blatant homer wishful thinking. Who knows maybe he’ll be like a Jaylen Brown and break out 4 years from now and justify that #3 pick but that type of improvement seems almost impossible to me based on what I’ve seen so far. Prob cause that type of improvement is an exception not the rule. At this rate I’m projecting an Otto Porter Jr. type of career for our Jabroni. Could be a lot better but also could be a lot worse.
Defensive Christian Wood to me and Christian was not drafted..... Would be ironic to give up a guy and get the guy that is his defense version back.
I agree with his ceiling being more of a great role-player. I don’t think he really has the tools to become a superstar unless he develops greatly in the next few years. That’s not the worst thing in the world though, I think if we do end up getting someone who can be our James Harden again (sorry, I had to ) he’d be invaluable. I do like the grit he’s shown so far, though. He’s the one guy in our team who doesn’t really back down from anyone, and maybe that attitude will rub off on some of our other kiddos
That's actually an elite player, if all Jabari is is an all defensive caliber player who shoots 38,% plus from deep that's great - keep him for a decade to complement whoever the real franchise player is (who doesn't appear to be on the roster currently)
He's 6-11 with a quick trigger, doesn't dip the ball and a high release point on good accuracy. He's a rookie and is still getting used to NBA reps which is why his efficiency is low at the moment. Durant isn't a physical freak either. Neither is Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. Neither was Chris Bosh. Nor was Dirk. Just because he isn't Dr. J or Carter doesn't mean he doesn't have extremely unique physical traits that could make him a star. I mean....do you really not think his body could end up like Giannis? Because it could. Easily. Jabari is a weird prospect to gauge because we think of "star" as heliocentric types. In reality he could pan out as a better taller Klay. Which isn't really 3 and D. Right now Jalen drives and Jabari shots are our most dangerous weapons. But our coach and our system has decided that KPj is what we need. He'll be fine. At worst he's 3 and D. At best he's a better LaMarcus Aldridge with more range and better D. It's waaaaaay too early to write him off as anything.
What worries me is guys like Paul George and Durant had FAR better ball skills when they were Jabari's age. A lot more lateral quickness and a lot better ball handling ability. Jabari is kinda stiff. His movements seem more robotic. He doesn't have that fluid bend that makes players really specially. Green has it. Sengun has the fluidity part down also. In some sense that's kinda like Kawhi as Kawhi didn't have that fluidity and bend to his game and was and is still kinda stiff. But the dude is a tree trunk with immense strength and elite work ethic. If Jabari can get much stronger, he can follow Kawhi's route possibly. That's best case scenario.
Jabari is significantly less athletic and fluid in his movement than any of those stars you just mentioned. Gotta be blind not to see that. He will never develop into those level of players because of that.
First off, claiming Durant and (pre-injury) Leonard aren’t physical freaks is outright wrong. But even pretending you are correct, the difference between Jabari and nearly everyone else you mention is explosiveness - with the exception of Dirk, every one of those players could ram home a strong dunk over a defender. Right now, Jabari is about as explosive as Chuck Hayes and unless he takes some magic pills, that isn’t going to change. And if you compare him to most below average jumpers in the league, he has none of the compensatory skills (solid handle, shot creation, crafty footwork, deadeye shot) that will allow him to thrive. Meanwhile, you’re calling a barely 30% 3pt shooter “our most dangerous weapon.” That’s a pretty shitty weapon to bring to an NBA game and certainly not one that’s going to win many games. The old timers here may remember that back in 1999, there was a ton of hype around Maryland’s Terrence Morris as a potential Scottie Pippen type player. However, rather than coming out in 1999 (when he was projected to be a lottery pick), Morris stayed 2 more years. During those last 2 years, he ended up plateauing as a player and ended up being a Rockets 2nd round pick who barely ever saw the court in his 2 seasons with the team. I think it’s ver possible that Jabari plateaued as a player fairly early and we’ve seen the best he’s ever going to offer. He just doesn’t have enough basketball skills or athleticism to grow the way other high potential players can. I suspect his ceiling is more like Joe Smith - a capable role player who won’t ever move the needle.
You say that only because you've seen what those players eventually became. Jabari has the tools and the body. You're being purposefully obtuse to try and prove why he can only pan out to be a 3 and D guy. What exactly did Dirk or Kawhi have over him athletically lol? All this losing is rotting people's brains. If you're ready to say Jabari will only ever be a 3 and D guy halfway into his rookie season....that's just moronic.
Like I said, I'm not a scout but he doesn't appear to have a quick release, he seems to take a long time to get his feet set, soemthing these scout types like Vecenie later admitted to missing: I think it went a bit underrated throughout the pre-draft process that it takes Smith a fairly large amount of time to load into his jump shot. And when you move from college to the NBA, those windows close even more quickly, and the increase in length leads to even harder, more contested shots. This is why being able to shoot directly off the hop is so important in the NBA. You need to be able to load into your shot quickly. Doing it off of a one-two step allows defenders to get back into the play. Two clips below showcase that, one from Auburn and one from Houston. He’s so open in the second shot, and it takes him so long to get his left foot set that it allows Toronto time to recover and contest. I think it seems to even go beyond that, though. It just looks like Smith is pressing to get out of what has to be the most prolonged slump of his young career. He doesn’t look shook — he’s still willing to fire up 3s and take shots when they’re open — but it also seems like he’s getting frustrated when you watch Rockets games. it's a solvable problem, but again, he doesn't seem like the kind of basketball natural that guys like Durant - who had all the skills (driving, shooting passing) at age 19 and it was apparent from just watching them even if their efficiency was lower.
Exactly right lol! That's my nightmare scenario w/r/t Green and Smith - they would have been Terrence Morrissed had they stayed another year.
Both clips around the 56s mark show Durant's shooting motion in college vs Jabari's. Durant has a dip in it that Jabari doesn't have and that's what was so salivating for NBA scouts during the draft process. It eliminates some of the time for defenders, who already have trouble contesting his shot, to get to him and make it difficult. This coupled with his high release point is just exceedingly rare in an NBA prospect. Looking back at the film and watching Durant back in college, he did seem to have more McGrady in his game than Jabari did. Jabari was stiffer in college and looks stiffer in the NBA. Which is fine, there's advantages to that too. Again I reiterate....he's a rookie not even halfway through this season and he's 19 years old. 19. You cannot make sweeping predictions on how a player is going to pan out this early. I have higher hopes for Jabari and Chet as prospects than I do Paolo. At least when it comes to playing winning basketball (playoffs). But I could be wrong and Paolo could turn into a 2 way menace (probably not). Jabari absolutely has the tools and motor to become a Top 20 player in the league. Would I bet on it? Probably not at this point. He's more raw than I thought he'd be but what I've seen out of him this year gives me hope. And that's all I could really ask for right now. My stance is strictly that it's too early to be writing Jabari off as anything more than 3 and D. Doing so is foolish. Right now I'm more concerned about Jalen than I am Jabari. I'm extremely concerned about Sengun. I have no concerns that Jabari will end up maximizing whatever skillset, frame and abilities he has. I worry that Jalen won't do the same. Jalen if he maximizes his potential is Top 75 player all time best player in the league type stuff. But he's just so aloof and child like. Doesn't have the demeanor I wish he had. Sengun on defense is....man it's not good.
