Welcome Dennis Smith Jr.

[Lord Cuban]

He played very well in the first game...

[Darren]

He played very well with some moments lacking focus. He needs work on his shots for sure. Of course, Lonzo Ball has a better game with 11, 11, 11. But this doesn't take away anything from DSJ. He plays under control and looks ready to lead a team. He's gesture and body language is not the same as he was at the press conference. If he's got Ding's competitive spirit, it will be perfect. He tries hard defensively. He can get better. If he gambles too much, he may be blamed. I won't blame him by staying conservative even though I believe he can play the passing lanes a lot better than this game. He's all the athleticism to do so.

[FroButtons]

He played very well with some moments lacking focus. He needs work on his shots for sure. Of course, Lonzo Ball has a better game with 11, 11, 11. But this doesn't take away anything from DSJ. He plays under control and looks ready to lead a team. He's gesture and body language is not the same as he was at the press conference. If he's got Ding's competitive spirit, it will be perfect. He tries hard defensively. He can get better. If he gambles too much, he may be blamed. I won't blame him by staying conservative even though I believe he can play the passing lanes a lot better than this game. He's all the athleticism to do so.

Coming from a Lakers fan, Lonzo definitely didn't have as good of a game as his triple double would suggest. Maybe I judge Lonzo harder, but I'm personally liking DSJ more right now. His tenacity is undeniable. Despite his lack of focus at times, he has a fire and passion to his game that won't bend when it counts. Just my 2 cents because I noticed the Ball statement.

[Mr B]

He played very well with some moments lacking focus. He needs work on his shots for sure. Of course, Lonzo Ball has a better game with 11, 11, 11. But this doesn't take away anything from DSJ. He plays under control and looks ready to lead a team. He's gesture and body language is not the same as he was at the press conference. If he's got Ding's competitive spirit, it will be perfect. He tries hard defensively. He can get better. If he gambles too much, he may be blamed. I won't blame him by staying conservative even though I believe he can play the passing lanes a lot better than this game. He's all the athleticism to do so.

Coming from a Lakers fan, Lonzo definitely didn't have as good of a game as his triple double would suggest. Maybe I judge Lonzo harder, but I'm personally liking DSJ more right now. His tenacity is undeniable. Despite his lack of focus at times, he has a fire and passion to his game that won't bend when it counts. Just my 2 cents because I noticed the Ball statement.

He needs to work on cutting down the turnovers and to develop a consistent jumper but other than that he's played really well. He's letting the game come to him. He hasn't looked rushed or out of control. He was mic'd for this game and you could here him being a pretty good leader out there. Taking responsibility for a bad pass and giving guys encouragement. He should have had about 3 more assists tonight than what he ended up with. 3 different guys missed wide open shots that Dirk, Barnes, and Wes would have hit. He's also playing pretty solid defense and getting steals. He's been real active on defense.

[GopherIt!]

I know Minny got Butler but DSJ is going to make me think about that trade for a long time.

[GopherIt!]

Steal, guys. I was pissed the Bulls passed on him because they think Mr. 8 PER Kris Dunn is our PG of the future.

U got payne and grant too did u reallywant a 4th point guard

Neither guy should be in the long term plans, imo. Would feel a lot more comfortable rebuilding with Smith as a high upside piece than Markennen, but we'll see.

I agree. If Minny kept the pick and drafted Markannen like all the rumors had us doing, I'd be disappointed.

[Pointguard01]

He played very well with some moments lacking focus. He needs work on his shots for sure. Of course, Lonzo Ball has a better game with 11, 11, 11. But this doesn't take away anything from DSJ. He plays under control and looks ready to lead a team. He's gesture and body language is not the same as he was at the press conference. If he's got Ding's competitive spirit, it will be perfect. He tries hard defensively. He can get better. If he gambles too much, he may be blamed. I won't blame him by staying conservative even though I believe he can play the passing lanes a lot better than this game. He's all the athleticism to do so.

Coming from a Lakers fan, Lonzo definitely didn't have as good of a game as his triple double would suggest. Maybe I judge Lonzo harder, but I'm personally liking DSJ more right now. His tenacity is undeniable. Despite his lack of focus at times, he has a fire and passion to his game that won't bend when it counts. Just my 2 cents because I noticed the Ball statement.

He needs to work on cutting down the turnovers and to develop a consistent jumper but other than that he's played really well. He's letting the game come to him. He hasn't looked rushed or out of control. He was mic'd for this game and you could here him being a pretty good leader out there. Taking responsibility for a bad pass and giving guys encouragement. He should have had about 3 more assists tonight than what he ended up with. 3 different guys missed wide open shots that Dirk, Barnes, and Wes would have hit. He's also playing pretty solid defense and getting steals. He's been real active on defense.

Didn't he only have 1 turnover in the first game?

[Mr B]

Coming from a Lakers fan, Lonzo definitely didn't have as good of a game as his triple double would suggest. Maybe I judge Lonzo harder, but I'm personally liking DSJ more right now. His tenacity is undeniable. Despite his lack of focus at times, he has a fire and passion to his game that won't bend when it counts. Just my 2 cents because I noticed the Ball statement.

He needs to work on cutting down the turnovers and to develop a consistent jumper but other than that he's played really well. He's letting the game come to him. He hasn't looked rushed or out of control. He was mic'd for this game and you could here him being a pretty good leader out there. Taking responsibility for a bad pass and giving guys encouragement. He should have had about 3 more assists tonight than what he ended up with. 3 different guys missed wide open shots that Dirk, Barnes, and Wes would have hit. He's also playing pretty solid defense and getting steals. He's been real active on defense.

Didn't he only have 1 turnover in the first game?

Yea but he had 5 today.

[Pointguard01]

He needs to work on cutting down the turnovers and to develop a consistent jumper but other than that he's played really well. He's letting the game come to him. He hasn't looked rushed or out of control. He was mic'd for this game and you could here him being a pretty good leader out there. Taking responsibility for a bad pass and giving guys encouragement. He should have had about 3 more assists tonight than what he ended up with. 3 different guys missed wide open shots that Dirk, Barnes, and Wes would have hit. He's also playing pretty solid defense and getting steals. He's been real active on defense.

Didn't he only have 1 turnover in the first game?

Yea but he had 5 today.

Right. I didn't watch the the whole first game, but watched all of game 2. His turnovers were not bad. They are correctable and not something I'm worried about. These will be the rookie mistakes that we will have to live with, but assuming game 1 had similar decision making to game 2, I don't think this is something to stress on (anymore than any rookie PG). His decision making is quite good from what I've seen.

[Mr B]

Didn't he only have 1 turnover in the first game?

Yea but he had 5 today.

Right. I didn't watch the the whole first game, but watched all of game 2. His turnovers were not bad. They are correctable and not something I'm worried about. These will be the rookie mistakes that we will have to live with, but assuming game 1 had similar decision making to game 2, I don't think this is something to stress on (anymore than any rookie PG). His decision making is quite good from what I've seen.

I agree. These are just the rookie mistakes he will need to work on in his first year.

[Darren]

Didn't he only have 1 turnover in the first game?

Yea but he had 5 today.

Right. I didn't watch the the whole first game, but watched all of game 2. His turnovers were not bad. They are correctable and not something I'm worried about. These will be the rookie mistakes that we will have to live with, but assuming game 1 had similar decision making to game 2, I don't think this is something to stress on (anymore than any rookie PG). His decision making is quite good from what I've seen.

Yes, he tends to step out of bounds at base line. And he tends to stop right pass the half court to allow trap defense at the corner of the court. Those turnovers are fixable. Other turnovers are mostly solved once he's familiar with his teammates.

[Mr B]

Yea but he had 5 today.

Right. I didn't watch the the whole first game, but watched all of game 2. His turnovers were not bad. They are correctable and not something I'm worried about. These will be the rookie mistakes that we will have to live with, but assuming game 1 had similar decision making to game 2, I don't think this is something to stress on (anymore than any rookie PG). His decision making is quite good from what I've seen.

Yes, he tends to step out of bounds at base line. And he tends to stop right pass the half court to allow trap defense at the corner of the court. Those turnovers are fixable. Other turnovers are mostly solved once he's familiar with his teammates.

Yea a lot of the turnovers will be cleaned up once he's able to practice and play with the same guys for an extended period of time.

[jpengland]

That. First. Step.

He's inconsistent, out of control and wayward. But if he puts it together he will be unstoppable. Honestly one of the quickest first steps I can remember. He should be getting into the lane for fun.

[LofJ]

You guys have Baron Davis 2.0 on your hands. I was so disappointed when the Bulls/Wolves trade came through because I knew there was no way the Hornets could trade up for him at that point.

It's been a long time since you guys have been in a position to draft an elite talent in the lottery though so I'm happy for you. Several teams that picked in the top 10 are going to hate themselves in a few years for passing on him.

[Captain_Obvious]

You guys have Baron Davis 2.0 on your hands. I was so disappointed when the Bulls/Wolves trade came through because I knew there was no way the Hornets could trade up for him at that point.

It's been a long time since you guys have been in a position to draft an elite talent in the lottery though so I'm happy for you guys. Several teams that picked in the top 10 are going to hate themselves in a few years for passing on him.

Honestly, I think this was a very deep draft. I also like players picked behind us, e.g. Mitchell, Collins, etc. Also Frank. Hopefully Smith is special. Picking top 12 in this draft is just as impactful as picking top 3-5 in other drafts...

[Raleigh_Legend]

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[Raleigh_Legend]

Hey Guys!

Just registered for the board. New Mavs fan here! Wanted to chime in because ive seen alot of innuendo and misinformation on DSJ.

Im from North Carolina, life long NC State fan and season ticket holder. I watched all 35 games DSJ played in college, 20 or so in person.

Ill answer some rumors and questions ive seen posed;

1) Did he frequently take games off? Answer No: He took 2 games "off" id say. One regular season game where he seemed disinterested and then his last game in the ACC tournament. I think he was just playing half speed and playing not to get hurt honestly. He brought it every other night. The numbers speak for themselves. He had several triple double and flirted with doing so a few more times.

2) Is he bad at defense? Yet TBD. Our entire team was bad at defense. The coaching staff didnt stress D as much as it should, hence why they got the boot. DSJ showed flashes of being a good to great defender. His steal #'s were actually very good. He can jump up at a moments notice and just pluck the ball out of the air. Very quick hands and anticipation. I think he will be just fine in that dept. Silly knock on him if thats why he "dropped" to 9.

Future outlook from someone who has watched ACC basketball for 40 years and seen every player in the conference in person..

DSJ is one of the top 5 talented guys to come through the ACC IMHO since 1995. He's more talented than Harrison Barnes, Jabari Parker, Loul Deng, Jayson Tatum, Tyus Jones, Marvin Williams, TJ Warren, Brandon Ingram, Hansbrough, Joe Smith, Singler, Derrick Favors, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Raymond Felton, Michael Carter Williams, Brogden, JJ Hickson etc. He just is.

Stephon Marbury, Kenny Anderson, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter, Rodney Rogers are the guys that were on his level from a pure talent standpoint.

Ive talked with several people close to the program. Guys that routinely watch practice at NC State and watch summer work outs. NC State has a practice facility called the "Dail Center" during the summer which draws the top hoopers from our State, college , high school and Pro guys (NBA, over seas). John Wall has player in the Dail 30-40 times in these settings since hes from Raleigh. This observer told me before the season that this kid DSJ was better than John Wall. At the same age.

Point being- you got yourself a good one. Be patient. If he stays healthy he will be a 5 year All Star... maybe starting in 3-4 years once he learns the ropes. I would expect a stat sheet stuffer-- 14 pts. 5 asst. 4 rbs. type #'s to start out. He rebounds really well for a guard. Eventually he will be in that flirting with triple double territory again by year 3 or 4. He's a special talent, well spoken kid. Dont let the "gate" fool you. Some people think he's lazy at times because he walks slowly with an "old man" gate. Then he explodes. Its just how he walks. Watching him walk you wouldnt expect what comes next. I understand his dad will be with him in Dallas which will really help. DSJ isnt a party guy, he dated a member of the womens team. Never heard of him getting in any trouble. I hope he keeps his head on straight and doesnt let money and fame knock him off his game. He can be a good one for you guys, and for the league. YOu have a new Mavs fan... heck you probably added a few hundred thousand Mavs fans here in North Carolina.

Sidenote: This will go down as one of the best draft classes in the history of basketball. Lots of studs.

Good luck this season!

RL

[Mujahydeen]

That. First. Step.

He's inconsistent, out of control and wayward. But if he puts it together he will be unstoppable. Honestly one of the quickest first steps I can remember. He should be getting into the lane for fun.

Huh? Did you even watch the games?

What's been the most impressive about him (not counting the athleticism, because that wasn't news) is his vision, crisp decision making and operating under control, even though he has been double teamed and trapped consistently. He's operating like a veteran floor general.

[jpengland]

That. First. Step.

He's inconsistent, out of control and wayward. But if he puts it together he will be unstoppable. Honestly one of the quickest first steps I can remember. He should be getting into the lane for fun.

Huh? Did you even watch the games?

What's been the most impressive about him (not counting the athleticism, because that wasn't news) is his vision, crisp decision making and operating under control, even though he has been double teamed and trapped consistently. He's operating like a veteran floor general.

Fred Van Vleet also looks like a floor general in summer league.

I'm basing that wayward opinion on his college career. The very nature of inconsistency is that sometimes he will look in control. I don't believe that's changed overnight.

That said, I was worried he wouldn't look as explosive when he's on a court with pros, but if anything he looks even quicker.

I'm super excited about him, but he's a looooong way from a sure thing, yet. His ceiling is ridiculously high, but he's got to figure out how to maximise it.

[MikeTheKid]

He looks like a prime Rockets Steve Francis with a healthy D Rose first step and I went to MD and I can definitely the resemblence