RealGM

I absolutely don't know anything about Smailagic except the Warriors really like him enough to use a 2nd round pick higher than he was projected.

What is his projection? Who are his comparisons? Do you believe he should take up a roster spot?

Big time here. But clearly a longer timeframe than I thought. I thought he would be a starter by the end of this season in the injured year squad. But looks like it's another year or two before he grows into the body etc...The challenge looks like he'll be a bit slow footed....

I see him getting spot minutes next year then major minutes the following year off the bench.

If he can get his 3pt jumper solid and fill out his body some, i can see a Belli type stretch big. He’s got a ways to go though. I wouldnt bet any of my own money on it happening though. He looked pretty far away this season.

If you ask me for my 2020 Warriors highlight package, this is where it starts and stops.



I smile, laugh, cry and burst out in joy when watching this vid. The missed attempt was so ridiculous, he even started smirking. Then he yammed a proper jam on them later, go you good Smiley!!!!

The guys loved it.

He's clearly the next Joe Ingles.

I wish he can become the next ingles. I gotta trust our front office, so I’m still a believer

He's really fun, because you dont know what he'll ro next. However Kerr hates that. He wants you to know where to be and what to do at all times.

This season was the perfect option to get him run, and get him on point and under control. We literally didnt need to try and win games. But Kerr couldn't handle it. He just couldn't bring himself to watch the kid play with the wreckless abandon without the knowledge of the offense and defense.

If Kerr had been more willing to just live with the consequences, Smiley would be much further along and potentially ready to be a piece.

Now he's in that middle ground. He's so young that you can wait a bit, but I just feel like we wasted a perfect time to bring him up to speed.

Kerr was doing other things besides working on Smailagic's long-term potential, even in a lost year. They had a lot of things to figure out about who might be on the team going forward, so how players fit into the Ws playing style was important.

They could have done both. We ran frigging Bender out there

donkeylips wrote:I wish he can become the next ingles. I gotta trust our front office, so I’m still a believer

If you mean in terms of playstyle, they just aren't similar at all.

It was more valuable for him to get experience in Santa Cruz than to be lost on an NBA floor.

xdrta+ wrote:It was more valuable for him to get experience in Santa Cruz than to be lost on an NBA floor.

Plus when we were SUPER short on guys at the beginning of the year, he was injured.

I believe he's a young Brian Cardinal I guess

xdrta+ wrote:It was more valuable for him to get experience in Santa Cruz than to be lost on an NBA floor.

I watched him in SC year before last ... I think he needed maximum exposure to the big team.

I'm looking forward to next year, it's a real shame they are losing all this practice time.

I wonder what the NBAPA and the NBA would do if a player moved in with his coach at the beginning of the shelter in place so they could practice every day.

azwfan wrote:

xdrta+ wrote:It was more valuable for him to get experience in Santa Cruz than to be lost on an NBA floor.

Plus when we were SUPER short on guys at the beginning of the year, he was injured.

Yeah, any criticism of Kerr in this regard is misplaced. After the season became about auditioning for next season, it was more important that we audition guys of an age and experience level that suggested they're ready to contribute immediately.

Those are the guys that aren't under contract for next season and the FO needs to know if they should be retained.

Guys that are under contract for years don't need a serious look so urgently.

thinkingwarriors wrote:

azwfan wrote:

xdrta+ wrote:It was more valuable for him to get experience in Santa Cruz than to be lost on an NBA floor.

Plus when we were SUPER short on guys at the beginning of the year, he was injured.

Yeah, any criticism of Kerr in this regard is misplaced. After the season became about auditioning for next season, it was more important that we audition guys of an age and experience level that suggested they're ready to contribute immediately.

Those are the guys that aren't under contract for next season and the FO needs to know if they should be retained.

Guys that are under contract for years don't need a serious look so urgently.

That argument also presumes there is no (or limited) developmental benefit of PT in NBA games.

I'm not ready to give up on him, if that is what you mean. I doubt we really have any idea what he will or won't become quite yet; he's a baby, and hasn't played much. They had a long time to watch him in Santa Cruz, so if they're more excited than not, that is something of a reason for optimism.

Chris Porter's Hair wrote:I'm not ready to give up on him, if that is what you mean. I doubt we really have any idea what he will or won't become quite yet; he's a baby, and hasn't played much. They had a long time to watch him in Santa Cruz, so if they're more excited than not, that is something of a reason for optimism.

I agree, I just hope he gets the chance to play and learn, that's not easy for an end of the bench kid on a championship or bust team. I see a lot more G-League action for him. And we've had so many promising rookies that flamed out: Randolph, Diogu, Biedrins, B. Wright, McCaw, Bell...not to even mention all our busted lottery picks...I'm not expecting anything from Smailagic.

babyjax13 wrote:

donkeylips wrote:I wish he can become the next ingles. I gotta trust our front office, so I’m still a believer

If you mean in terms of playstyle, they just aren't similar at all.

dam that's a wild sig

yes, low floor but a high ceiling, really good skill set for a modern day combo big offensively without being a total negative defensively which is a huge +, wish Kerr gave him more minutes so we'd have a larger sample size but w/e