Official Speculation Thread (Pt.LXI Countdown To Preseason)

[KillMonger]

When it comes to smart we will see, i for one do see what the hype is about. From top to Bottom he's the type of player anyone would want on your team

[InFlames]

What if Marcus Smart just isn't good? He shot 40% last year and was a turnover machine (1.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio). Point guards who can't shoot do not lead good offenses in the NBA. I really hope that the hype on this guy dies down some this year.

I don't see what the hype is about either.

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Anyone who is an Oladipo fan would be a Marcus Smart fan too. Smart has the same intangibles as Victor. He is big, athletic, plays elite defense, has good court vision and passing ability, has good handles and can get to the rim at will/lives on the free throw line. He needs to get better at shooting.

I would love to get Smart unless we can get Wiggins/Randle/Parker obviously.

[KillMonger]

What if Marcus Smart just isn't good? He shot 40% last year and was a turnover machine (1.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio). Point guards who can't shoot do not lead good offenses in the NBA. I really hope that the hype on this guy dies down some this year.

I don't see what the hype is about either.

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Anyone who is an Oladipo fan would be a Marcus Smart fan too. Smart has the same intangibles as Victor. He is big, athletic, plays elite defense, has good court vision and passing ability, has good handles and can get to the rim at will/lives on the free throw line. He needs to get better at shooting.

I would love to get Smart unless we can get Wiggins/Randle/Parker obviously.

aaaaaaand 1
I agree completely with this, i don't think we'll be as bad as we were last season and i for one think we'll be in the 5-10 draft range and in this draft i think Smart will be in that range. Randle/Wiggins/Parker to me will all be top 5

[Smooth_E]

i don't think we'll be as bad as we were last season

We're currently 1-4 in the preseason with a rookie leading us in scoring off the bench. I'm not trying to be a jack*ss, but what could possibly make you think we won't be as bad as last season? The injuries? Trades this season? Honest question.

Personally, I see us in the 1-5 range. Only better than Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Phoenix.

[KillMonger]

i don't think we'll be as bad as we were last season

We're currently 1-4 in the preseason with a rookie leading us in scoring off the bench. I'm not trying to be a jack*ss, but what could possibly make you think we won't be as bad as last season? The injuries? Trades this season? Honest question.

Personally, I see us in the 1-5 range. Only better than Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Phoenix.

Because the only stock you take out of preseason is how much improvement players have made from last year to this one, THAT'S it. Teams are trying things out in preseason, not playing their best players the whole game or not at all. Can't put too much stock in pre-season if it's going to correlate over to the regular imo, i stand by the fact that we won't be as bad as last year BUT i'm not sure what's going to happen after the trade deadline.

[rcklsscognition]

Our line in Vegas is 24 wins and I think that puts us at 4th worse with only 1 other team in the 20s better than us. Odds are very high we are bottom 5.


Everyone in the world is saying we are going to be bottom 5. Its natural for fans to think highly of their own players and progress but it does happen that often that fast. The best players on our team can't play 48 minutes a game and can't stay healthy all year.

Its going to be a fun season but we will not be good.

[NickAnderson]

We're definitely going to have a top 5 pick.

[KillMonger]

I said we won't be AS bad but make no mistake we'll still be bad. I just think our players improved enough to get us a few more wins imo.

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[flying_mollusk]

Great situation would be if we are competitive all year, have a small point differential, but still only win 24 games. Would mean we arent that far off.

[KingRobb02]

What if Marcus Smart just isn't good? He shot 40% last year and was a turnover machine (1.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio). Point guards who can't shoot do not lead good offenses in the NBA. I really hope that the hype on this guy dies down some this year.

I don't see what the hype is about either.

Sent from my LG-LS970 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Anyone who is an Oladipo fan would be a Marcus Smart fan too. Smart has the same intangibles as Victor. He is big, athletic, plays elite defense, has good court vision and passing ability, has good handles and can get to the rim at will/lives on the free throw line. He needs to get better at shooting.

I would love to get Smart unless we can get Wiggins/Randle/Parker obviously.

What scares me about Smart is that people are basically saying the same things about him as they said about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Nothing about him on the court, just stuff about leadership and a high motor. Read this scouting report and tell me if you can tell if it is Smart or MKG.

Positives
Strong, physical
Good finisher at the basket
Excellent motor
Good rebounder for position
Natural leader
Super competitive
High character player

Negatives
A bit of a tweener
Undersized for his position
Not particularly long
Needs to get more consistency on his perimeter shot

[Optimus_Steel]

Smart is a much better overall player than MKG. What is MKG good at?

[InFlames]

I don't see what the hype is about either.

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Anyone who is an Oladipo fan would be a Marcus Smart fan too. Smart has the same intangibles as Victor. He is big, athletic, plays elite defense, has good court vision and passing ability, has good handles and can get to the rim at will/lives on the free throw line. He needs to get better at shooting.

I would love to get Smart unless we can get Wiggins/Randle/Parker obviously.

What scares me about Smart is that people are basically saying the same things about him as they said about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Nothing about him on the court, just stuff about leadership and a high motor. Read this scouting report and tell me if you can tell if it is Smart or MKG.

Positives
Strong, physical
Good finisher at the basket
Excellent motor
Good rebounder for position
Natural leader
Super competitive
High character player

Negatives
A bit of a tweener
Undersized for his position
Not particularly long
Needs to get more consistency on his perimeter shot

I don't even see how the 2 are comparable. Smart is a PG, MKG is a SF. MKG is not a playmaker, Smart is. Their games are completely different.

[OrlandO]

Smart is a much better overall player than MKG. What is MKG good at?

rebounding and finishing at the rim... he's very raw, so there's not much there yet.

[Orlwillbeback]

I actually don't like Smart, and if given the choice I'd take Exum before him.

[RickB-Orlando]

Derrick Favors has agreed to a four-year, $49 million contract extension with the Utah Jazz.
The deal includes bonus incentives that could push the value for Favors well over $50 million.

A lot of money for potential...

This is actually a much better deal than the Demarcus Cousins extension. Favors has already shown he can be a 15 and 11 guy if given starter's minutes. $12 Million per year is what you pay for that unfortunately. He's still super athletic and an above average defender. If he becomes 20% better over the next 4 years, that contract looks like a steal.

Devils' advocate here - when has he shown that exactly? As a starter last year he averaged 10.1 ppg and 10 rpg.

Look at Tobias Harris in contrast. As a starter the guy averaged 17 and 8, and people still argue that he's a flash in the pan.

I just don't see how anyone can argue that Favors has "earned" this sort of contract. It's purely based on the hope he turns into a solid starter, which he hasn't done yet.

[Smooth_E]

i don't think we'll be as bad as we were last season

We're currently 1-4 in the preseason with a rookie leading us in scoring off the bench. I'm not trying to be a jack*ss, but what could possibly make you think we won't be as bad as last season? The injuries? Trades this season? Honest question.

Personally, I see us in the 1-5 range. Only better than Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Phoenix.

Because the only stock you take out of preseason is how much improvement players have made from last year to this one, THAT'S it. Teams are trying things out in preseason, not playing their best players the whole game or not at all. Can't put too much stock in pre-season if it's going to correlate over to the regular imo, i stand by the fact that we won't be as bad as last year BUT i'm not sure what's going to happen after the trade deadline.

Fair enough, I see your logic. I'll still say we're top 5 though. Just my opinion.

[Def Swami]

I don't see what the hype is about either.

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Anyone who is an Oladipo fan would be a Marcus Smart fan too. Smart has the same intangibles as Victor. He is big, athletic, plays elite defense, has good court vision and passing ability, has good handles and can get to the rim at will/lives on the free throw line. He needs to get better at shooting.

I would love to get Smart unless we can get Wiggins/Randle/Parker obviously.

What scares me about Smart is that people are basically saying the same things about him as they said about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Nothing about him on the court, just stuff about leadership and a high motor. Read this scouting report and tell me if you can tell if it is Smart or MKG.

Positives
Strong, physical
Good finisher at the basket
Excellent motor
Good rebounder for position
Natural leader
Super competitive
High character player

Negatives
A bit of a tweener
Undersized for his position
Not particularly long
Needs to get more consistency on his perimeter shot

That's almost identical to the scouting report for Oladipo coming out of college.

[KingRobb02]

That's almost identical to the scouting report for Oladipo coming out of college.

One major difference is that Oladipo had a TS% of 67.1 last year compared to the horrible 40% that Smart shot. Also, Victor is bigger, more athletic, and wasn't as bad with the turnovers. On the defensive front, most scouts rated VO as a more versitile defender since he can guard 3s. Take that for what it's worth. My problem with Smart is that if someone told me I could get Avery Bradley with a top 5 pick, I'm probably not that excited about it

[Def Swami]

That's almost identical to the scouting report for Oladipo coming out of college.

One major difference is that Oladipo had a TS% of 67.1 last year compared to the horrible 40% that Smart shot. Also, Victor is bigger, more athletic, and wasn't as bad with the turnovers. On the defensive front, most scouts rated VO as a more versitile defender since he can guard 3s. Take that for what it's worth. My problem with Smart is that if someone told me I could get Avery Bradley with a top 5 pick, I'm probably not that excited about it

I'm of the belief that the hype around Smart is based on the potential and what he could be. Recall that he was freshman last year, who was being compared to guys a year or two older than him and with more experience under their belts (Burke, Oladipo, McLemore). The intangibles and defense are certainly there for him. And he showed flashes of being a pretty good floor general for OKST. He got to the line a lot for a freshman too. I anticipate him to have a really good sophomore season. He displays really good court vision at times and decent shooting mechanics. I'm hoping he comes out and shows that he can shoot the ball this year. And I actually think he's pretty athletic. I don't think he showed everything he is capable of on that front last season, so I'm looking for a bit more of that too this season.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuyD3JOwnug[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNKGBm8LyAs[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2pjU8EBrmg[/youtube]
However, I do feel like Smart is eerily similar to Oladipo. They're both defensive-minded combo guards with questionable shooting (are we still questioning Oladipo's shot?). I'm not sure how well they'd complement each other. I have to see more of Smart.

[InFlames]

That's almost identical to the scouting report for Oladipo coming out of college.

One major difference is that Oladipo had a TS% of 67.1 last year compared to the horrible 40% that Smart shot. Also, Victor is bigger, more athletic, and wasn't as bad with the turnovers. On the defensive front, most scouts rated VO as a more versitile defender since he can guard 3s. Take that for what it's worth. My problem with Smart is that if someone told me I could get Avery Bradley with a top 5 pick, I'm probably not that excited about it

Bradley is 6'2 180
Smart is 6'4 220

Their stats aren't even similar with Smart being significantly better in almost every single way. A better comparison would be Deron Williams. DWill is a much better shooter obviously but Smart's potential is through the roof. His great freshman year as well as his huge upside are why Smart is considered a top 4 prospect right now. And I don't know why people think Smart isn't athletic, he definitely is.