I saw several videos of Jabari doing this last summer during drills on a practice court and it doesn't amount to a hill of beans. His stroke is pure, he just cannot translate it to live action, enough of the time. The problem is between his ears and working in the summer with Aaron Miller won't help that. His honesty about having motor issues is commendable, but yikes!
6'10" with a 7'1" wingspan? Check. Although his wingspan is nothing special and ranks just 40th among PFs, and his height is offset by the fact that he has poor vertical explosiveness. Excellent rebounder at his position? Check. Top 10 among PFs. Shooter? He definitely shoots the ball, he just doesn't make it often enough. At least not from three, which is most important. Very good defender? Disagree. He's a good defender. Elite lateral quickness for his height? Check. That's the part that makes him a good defender. Which is why I worry about him ever putting on significant weight. I envision a career average a hair over 36%, with a season or two near the 38% mark.
We normally motivation when we talk about a player's motor. It's indeed strange to say, "I'm working on my motivation." How do you work on your motivation? Talk to a shrink? By "motor" he could simply mean energy level or stamina.
We all know he wasn't talking about stamina. I think having to come off the bench really shook up Jabari.
My wild guess is that in exit interviews Ime told him he doesnt play with a high enough motor. If he played with high energy all the time I think he'd be much more effective. I like that he's being honest though. Being honest with yourself is the only way you can change.
Jabari cant create offense for himself, has no bag in the post, and not good in pick-n-roll action...no way we're paying him $30M per year! Throw him in the deal to get KD!!!
You have errors here: 1) You used crafted NBA to rank his wingspan and this is a BS source. You have Alex Sarr listed twice and he's a C. In first place you have JJJ, who is a C that can play PF. You have Poku in there who's not in the NBA. Jabari can guard SF's just as well as he can PF's - this was a really midguided analysis you made. Jabari has an excellent wingspan for a switchable PF and more importantly he has an elite wingspan for guys who can guard SF's and PF's. 2) Not reasonable to call him just a good defender unless you're saying "very good defender" is the highest tier. We replaced Jabari Smith with Amen Thompson in the starting lineup and the starting lineup's defense tanked. Dillon Brooks started guarding the PF's. Jabari is clearly better than that, which is very good. 3) It's been shown many times here Jabari is an elite PF rebounder (top 5). Perhaps you're looking at totals or simple averages? On the subjective side: 1) As discussed, if you're projecting he's a 36% guy we're worlds apart in terms of agreement. I don't see that at all personally. I think he's a career 38% guy with a at least a couple of 40% seasons. 2) I think you're holding onto an old projection of him being a capable SF, but it's been since the day we drafted him and through 2 coaches now it's clear he's not a SF. It's clear to me he's a PF/C type who can guard SF's. I don't worry about him losing some quickness, I'd love him to get better at guarding small ball C's at the expense of not being able to guard a few more SF's. He doesn't have the handle for the SF position.
Fwiw I think in this context "motor" was meant as strength and endurance. Not his will to play and compete. Among Jabari's issues, motor hasn't ever really been one of them. Also his dribble has improved. Quite a lot. He drives to the rim way more than he used to but its still quite a work in progress. But that is the only thing holding him back right now. He knows that as well, which is good.
The appeal of Jabari is more about his prototype and potential than what he actually is. When I watch Jabari, half the time I forget he's even on the court. My issue with Jabari is that he seems content being what he is and just being a guy. Jalen on the other hand is the complete opposite. It's almost like Jalen wants to be the guy but he's just not good enough to be. I prefer that type of mindset than one who's happy being part of a core, especially when they were drafted 3rd.
The only thing holding back havarti smith junior from being a superstar is that he keeps sliding down the team's pecking order in terms of importance
That “appeal” seems appropriate to me for a 22 year old player since most NBA players don’t start peaking until they are 25-26. Same with Jalen, same with Sengun. We are a young team with tons of potential and that’s great. The idea of holding onto these young players has more merit than many give it.
The NBA Finals is headlined by two promising young players who's original teams traded them for win now pieces (who proceeded to absolutely not win now).
I could see where KD and JS lineup when Amen and Sengun sit would also be pretty dangerous from beyond the ARC.
I’m probably in the minority but Jabari is a non starter in a Durant deal for me. His defensive abilities will be hard to replace. Durant is a much better player but the margin isn’t enough to matter considering the age and injury history. Jabari will also likely be the better, and almost certainly cheaper, player in two years.
that sounds great until these young players stagnate and you lose out on every star player available because you chose to keep them. mind you, once you start using these picks to draft players, you lose half the appeal for teams who may be interested in dealing with you. I think guys here are kinda being blinded by OKC and thinking we can be like them. when most teams that won a ring took that next step by trading for veterans and proven players. It's unrealistic to keep every single young player and simultaneously pay them 20-40M a year when you're a first round exit team at the very moment.
I didn’t say we don’t do any trades, just said that hanging on to your young guns has merit. Trade FVV, Dillon, picks, Landale, Tari, Holiday is still on the table. You can do both. Hang on to your best young guys and trade for well fitting vets (shooters)
No team is going to trade for those players as the main target. those are all add ons to make the money work. Amen is the only one truly untouchable, Sengun to a certain extent as well. We're not getting KD and others without losing one of our young players. Hell, we won't even get a Trey Murphy without losing one or two of our young players. Shooters that presumably play defense aren't on the market without giving up a premium.
Agreed. I'd love to have Durant if he were a free agent you could just sign, but giving up Jabari for him will look like a massive mistake in a year or two.
