Smith can generate his own shot. He just doesn’t really do it off the dribble that well but you can certainly give him the ball. Let him turn around and take an efficient jumper. I have said this multiple times over the last year or two we have to engineer shots for him, but if we do that he will score near 20 a game. he is also very young. I’m not going to be shocked to see him develop into an All-Star and I would hate to trade him.
When Jabari was put in action to get a switch on Steph Curry on him, he couldn't do crap in the post...this has been consistent for 3 years where he's 6'10" and play soft in the post. Always want to pop out and shoot 3s make him in one dimensional...I say trade him before we're force to pay him or lose him for crumbs in free agency.
I call crap on this...his shooting touch looks nice, but he's inconsistent in pick and pop/roll action...give him the ball in the post against a smaller man and he prefers to shoot a fadeaway vs aggressively taking it to the basket to force free throws or layup...by the way, when he drives he prefers to layup vs dunk the ball which irks me...been saying this since his first summer league "he's a poor man LaMarcus Aldridge"
theres zero chance Jabari can average 20 on an NBA team can't dribble can't drive doesn't finish strong doesn't get to the line hands around the perimeter Jabari at his best will be a great role player. I can see him being an Al Horford type.
I’m not against trading Jabari for the right player but I don’t believe 1.5 years of Durant is that player.
I like the deal for both in theory but boy could the Magic have kept those 2 swaps..... I don't want to see Mosley fired over this if it doesn't work.
It's better to be the team that drafts Jabari and Tari, not the team that pays them $100M. Ship them out for KD.
We'll keep an eye out for you. "And here are your Western Conference reserves..........at guard, Sam.......Fisher!"
Under the current health regime, once everybody dies of preventable diseases in the next 4 years who knows - there's a chance.
My issue, these types of deals (also Bridges deal) prove that scouting and development are near dead. I mean the Magic are admitting they couldn't find a Bane with one of those 4 picks when in fact Bane was drafted with the 30th pick in the 1st round. Most of these FOs pay a ransom for a player they should be able to find and develop but can't. Bridges, Bane, and those types, are really good role players that's it. Every decently functioning FO should be able to draft and develop those player/role types with ease. 1A or 2A type players not so much but we're not talking about those players.
That's why I've always had issue with drafting BPA. Its how you end up with teams like the Spurs, Rockets and Magic that have a bunch of talent that cant put the ball in the basket. Even funnier are the Spurs who traded for a guy that cant shoot who is redundant with a guy they drafted that also can't shoot to pair them with their prima donna who also cant shoot while trying to trade another draftee that cant shoot for some shooting so they can draft another high usage player that is redundant with two guys already on their roster who again.....cant shoot.
The problem isn't drafting BPA. It's identifying who the real BPA is and the trade off between high ceiling and high floor. Many high ceiling low floor players took a long time to reach their potential. Many never did. Drafting for position has had even worse blunders than drafting BPA.
My point is shitty FOs and Scouting Depts will screw up regardless if it's BPA or Position. If you look recently at Alpi and Amen, two WINS in the draft, you can see a stark contrast between the players. Amen is 1% of the 1% athlete with insane competitiveness and drive. Alpi is highly skilled with winning success at a young age in a professional setting. Jalen and Jabari, not sure if they have either so they could be destined for good to great role player at best. Perhaps the key is finding that one distinguishing tool that is elite amongst the elite more than anything else. It's also why I have high hopes for Reed if his shooting is that elite tool.
A lot of busts or unfulfilled potentials are due to poor mental makeups. Work ethics, attitude, character, mental toughness, and intelligence are very underrated and often overlooked. Too much emphasis is on physical abilities. The conventional wisdom is that you can't teach physical attributes. But the fact is, you often can't teach mental makeups either.
