[2022 NBA Draft/1-3] Jabari Smith Jr., F, Auburn

sounds like silas is just going to stick jabari in the corner and not use his skills effectively. Silas better be trying to use Jabari like KG or Lamarcus Aldridge. I need some turnaround elbow jumpers too; some pick and pops. Instead he will treat him like a decoy ray allen.

I know he is your guy @Reeko, but i have no faith.

 

he’ll start out slow and then blow up like Jalen Green…by March we’ll be seeing turnaround fadeaways

 

Silas won’t be a head coach again after this gig.

 

because he’ll be moved into a FO role…Silas here for life

 

Yes, Embid does have a great handle its not even up for debate.

Thompson was not a very bad ball handler and his dribble package was better than Smith's.

Kawai also had better handles you can see it in their college highlights.

The same for Rip, you are just making **** up know.

 

Anyone watching magic kings? Banchero’s defense looks pretty good. 3 steals already in first 5 minutes as well as completely locking up Murray on a few possessions. Looks very quick laterally.

 

Kawhi had a more developed dribble game it was not great but it was better than 2 dribbles and he could counter.

Klay had an average dribble package and he could also counter.

The biggest issue with Smith is going to be finishing which both Kawhi and Klay were good at if he can finish better he can get away with a power dribble like Kawhi.

I saw some dribble stuff that I had not seen at Auburn and he displayed a better touch finishing which was an improvement, he will benefit from more spacing creating more driving lanes which will unlock some more facets of his game.

I was surprised by his passing nothing great but he showed more vision than I suspected.

 

This is rookie year Klay, we really need to stop comparing the 2, he had advanced handles even better than I remembered



Smith also does not catch and shoot as quickly as Klay or off the move like Klay.



Here is Klay in college he has a much more advanced dribble he can actually use his left hand.



I think some people are underrating what Klay offers offensively and how diversified his game is.

 

Yea I never get the comparisons honestly, same with ppl saying he's like Aldridge or KD coming out of college, who both already had a pretty complete post game.
And now he also has a "Giannis frame in the making" and will grow to 7ft and bulky.

People are trying way too much to talk stuff up that just isn't there yet, it's fine to just see Jabari for what he currently is.

 

So now he's going to have Giannis' body with Klay's shooting to go with Kawhi's defense. Forget basketball GOAT. This man will be a basketball GOD.

 

What does him having to be the primary facilitator have to do with anything?

Nobody has ever said he would be the primary facilitator and nobody has called him a point forward but point forwards don't have to be the primary facilitator anyway just players that can initiate the offense for stretches at a time or exploit mismatches.

You said he would not average 3 or 4 assists a game but he had 6 in a summer league game already there is no reason he can't do the same in the NBA and none of the guys you named are what is considered a primary facilitator either they are more scoring guards and none of them are better playmakers than Banchero.

You are creating a strawman to say people are claiming he will be the primary facilitator.

 

You are putting words in my mouth. I have never said he would average 3 or 4. Why do you always have to lie to converse?
I have said he won’t average 6/7 assists or anywhere close to 9/10 like Luka and Lebron. (Guys you and a few others compare him to)

Stop lying

 

I mentioned this in the NBA Forum thread, and I'm not watching him in this game, but noticed that at the half he had 0 rebounds. Same in the previous game vs. the Rockets. It's the summer league, so maybe they're telling him to focus on certain aspects of the game, but still seems weird.

 

No, I am not lying and you know it and nobody has said he is going to be on the level of Luka and Lebron as a playmaker, 2 of the all-time great passers in the NBA.

That's the reason I said 1.0

It's very telling that your benchmark is now 2 off the all-time greats

It's not much different from 4 assists to 6 anyway and he is the best playmaker currently on that team, if he can get 6 assists in Summer league he can get 6 with better talent around him.

I have no idea what they will ask him to do but it's not a stretch to think he will not ONE of the primary facilitators on that team since they don't have a natural playmaker currently.

Cole Anthony averaged 5.7 assists I think they will be within 1 assist of each other and will not be surprised if Banchero leads in assists.

 

Jabari seems more like prime Ryan Anderson on offense than Klay Thompson or KD. Which isn’t a knock. Ryan Anderson was a 16 to 20 ppg scorer and a sniper. His issue was defense. Anderson’s offense with elite defense is an all-star.

But that’s right now. He just turned 19. He’s 6 months younger than Banchero and a year younger than Holmgren. He’s only 7 months older than LeBron was when he was drafted out of high school. He’s got a ton of time to improve.

 

Guys let's wait like a full NBA season before we put a cap on a 19 year old's ceiling.

Is that really too much to ask?

 

For real

 

We should at the very least wait until they play an NBA game.

Summerleague has a history of not meaning ****.

I mean last year Green looked like the next Kobe in summerleague then when he hit the NBA it took months for him to adjust to NBA level talent and competitiveness.

The guys Paolo, Chet, Jabari, are going up against are fringe NBA guys and a lot of the ball isn't structured and there is nothing at stake here.

I've seen nothing from Paolo, Chet, or Jabari that has changed my mind of them as prospects yet. Their question marks have yet to be answered and their strengths have been displayed, nothing left to do now but see them against their actual peers.

 

the thing is he will start out slow BECAUSE of Silas doing silly stuff. Just like Jalen.