Jason Smith

Louis Williams · Post #1 » by **Louis Williams** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:27 pm

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/w ... cap/1.html

4. The Sixers have some trade bait

The signing of Elton Brand has left Philadelphia with a bit of a logjam at power forward. With Brand, who has averaged 38.3 minutes in his career, expected to log heavy minutes at the position, incumbents Reggie Evans and Jason Smith will be fighting for the backup minutes.

If Sixers GM Ed Stefanski is looking to trade one (and there have been no indications that he is), Smith has value. The 6-10, 240-pound forward averaged 15.6 points and 8.0 rebounds in a superb summer league. Several scouts were impressed by Smith's improved ability to knock down the mid-range jump shot with regularity.

"He's a starter in this league," an Eastern Conference scout said. "No question."

Smith will make $1.3 million this season, and with team options at $1.4 and $2.2 million the following two years, he is one of the league's best bargains.

I've heard quite a few people on this board say without hesitation they would trade him, or that at best he would be a backup in this league. I don't see this at all. I think Smith has a ton of potential. He'll never be a banger, but his shooting touch make him almost untouchable on a team with few shooters. Throw in his athleticism and mobility, and I can't see how people could even consider this guy to be expendable.

psykosacul · Post #2 » by **psykosacul** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:40 pm

team needs make him expendable... namely 3pt. shooting, and/or a defensive stopper on the wing.

i do like him though. and there really isnt a "logjam" when you consider that we dont have a proven backup center. speights has potential but hasnt played an nba game yet. add that to the possibility of injuries occuring and i like our mix of big man depth to keep us in the hunt -

brand
dalembert
evans
smith
speights

sixerswillrule · Post #3 » by **sixerswillrule** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:49 pm

I've said this before and I'll say it again. The current group of big men that we have is just enough that we need. If we were to trade one, then this team would be in trouble. I would not give up Smith unless it's a great deal for the just the right shooter we need. For the reason I mentioned, and also because I really do think he has a lot of potential. He can shoot and he's athletic, and he has a solid build so that he can still add some muscle to become more of a post scorer and defensive presence.

76ciology · Post #4 » by **76ciology** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:54 pm

Honestly, I can see him getting traded. And I also think that we'd be fine without him. I mean, we could even be better if we can get a shooter who got "Jason Smith" level upside. At this point, we better be filling our team needs rather than worrying about talent.

Skates · Post #5 » by **Skates** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:53 pm

The logjam will occur later this year when Speights starts earning some significant time. I don't see Smith as a starter on a good team based on what he did last year, more of a good reserve player, but he was only a rookie and it will be interesting to see what kind of step forward he takes this year. Barring injury we should have one big man to move at the deadline and should have a much better idea then of which one to move if we do make a trade.

Sandalf42 · Post #6 » by **Sandalf42** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:26 pm

I don't get why everyone is so excited about him. Don't get me wrong, he's nice to have on our team, but all he'll ever be is an athletic 7-foot T-rex who can make open shots. He's not going to develop post moves, except for maybe a drop step or something like that.

I'd be all for trading him for the shooter we need if we found a suitable backup C, because essentially that's what he is now.

Louis Williams · Post #7 » by **Louis Williams** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:26 pm

How do you know what all he'll ever be? He's only been in the league a year. You don't know if he'll develop post moves or not. He hasn't yet reached his potential.

all he'll ever be is an athletic 7-foot T-rex who can make open shots.

Every team is looking for an athletic 7 footer who can make open shots. You can't have enough of them.

IggyTheBEaST · Post #8 » by **IggyTheBEaST** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:38 pm

I do not want to trade Jason Smith. If he can develope 3 pt range he will be a major weapon in this league. I liked his hustle last year and this year he said he wasnt satisfied with his level of energy. That means he plans on bringing even more to the table. He has tweaked his shot to make for a higher release point and is said to be working on stretching his range. This kid will only get better and I dont want him not on the sixers whhen he does

Sandalf42 · Post #9 » by **Sandalf42** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:11 pm

How do you know what all he'll ever be? He's only been in the league a year. You don't know if he'll develop post moves or not. He hasn't yet reached his potential.

You're right. He hasn't reached his potential. But he is NOT going to ever be a post threat. He's just not built for it. I'm sorry to say he's going to just be a 7-foot stiff who makes open jump shots and plays good D. And theres nothing wrong with that.

Every team is looking for an athletic 7 footer who can make open shots. You can't have enough of them.

Well, you can have enough of them to a certain extent, but I get your point. And I like him on this team. But I'm just saying, in terms of offensive skill he's not going to develop much else other than a jump shot and a pump-and-drive move.

I do not want to trade Jason Smith. If he can develope 3 pt range he will be a major weapon in this league. I liked his hustle last year and this year he said he wasnt satisfied with his level of energy. That means he plans on bringing even more to the table. He has tweaked his shot to make for a higher release point and is said to be working on stretching his range. This kid will only get better and I dont want him not on the sixers whhen he does

Maybe not a "major weapon" but a useful one. The part I'm most excited about is him getting a higher release point. Last year his jump shot was blocked quite a few times, and this will make it easier for him.

panacea · Post #10 » by **panacea** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:27 pm

This year is the litmus test for me. If he can't produce this season, fine. But I think trading him now is a bit too early.

ChuckS · Post #11 » by **ChuckS** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:30 pm

[quote] "He has tweaked his shot to make for a higher release point and is said to be working on stretching his range. This kid will only get better and I dont want him not on the sixers whhen he does."

I really never expected to see a lot of Smith's perimeter shots blocked even before. But I agree whole heartedly. The summer league games showed his release point has been increased dramatically (as good as I have seen), and his stroke still looks excellent.

I liked what he showed as a rookie, and am even more encouraged now. This team, particularly, needs that kind of shooting ability.

I have to fight myself occasionally to make sure I do not "throw the baby out with the bath water". I love defense and his still concerns me. Last year I thought it was just a strength problem, and it might be, but he didn't looked much improved (defensively) in Vegas. I have learned to live with such mistakes if they are offset by that kind of scoring, though. He seems like such a quick study that I believe (hope) that he will not be as easily frozen with head fakes, and I am sure someone will have him body up more inside, and learn to cheat to his opponents good side so it will be less easy to spin around him. It is not that it will stop a good scorer in close, but I'll feel better if he at least makes the shot a little more difficult.

In any event, I expect all aspects of his game will improve with experience. I, too, believe he is a keeper.

PowerElite · Post #12 » by **PowerElite** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:47 pm

Smith should be traded for anything that's good. His potential isn't high enough to hold onto him. NBA players feast offensively when Smith is manning the paint. So if we are offered a shooter with potential for him, then I personally would waive the "never trade a big for a small." Smith really isn't big at all when you look at the short arms he has as mentioned before.

The Sixer Fixer · Post #13 » by **The Sixer Fixer** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:27 pm

I'm not saying I want to trade Smith, but if he has value around the league, he may be the guy who has to go in order to add something else to this team. Smith has a nice jump shot, yes, but so does Brand...and Speights appears to have a decent mid-range shot too, so holding onto him just for that reason doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I'm not worried about the depth at PF/C by moving him. We have 3 legit NBA bigs in Brand/Sam/Evans. We have a proming big in Speights. If we just add a vet for the min we will be fine at the 4 and 5.

The biggest issue I have with Smith is his defensive ability. The kid was man handled in the Summer League by most guys. I was very concerned by what I saw out of him on that side of the court. Guys could score on him at will and when he did actually challenge a player, he fouled them. Fouling at the rate he did will get you on the bench in a hurry in an actual NBA game.

Again, I like him, but we don't have many tradeable assets so if he is one, he may need to go. If he could net us a nice young shooter or PG option like Belinelli, Morris Almond, Crittenton, Lowry, etc. I might pull the trigger. Not saying I would do a 1 for 1 with all those guys, just saying I think they matchup pretty evenly from the perspective that they have a stength (shooting, PG ability, etc.) that we could use.

Sandalf42 · Post #14 » by **Sandalf42** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:34 pm

The problem we have when we trade him is that we have no one else capable of playing C. Elton Brand might be able to play a few spot minutes there, but he's much better suited for PF. Reggie Evans could never play C, and Mareese Speights is still a rookie. But if we had a plan for obtaining a backup C, then it might be a good idea to get the shooter we need with Smith.

The Sixer Fixer · Post #15 » by **The Sixer Fixer** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:49 pm

Sandalf42 wrote:The problem we have when we trade him is that we have no one else capable of playing C. Elton Brand might be able to play a few spot minutes there, but he's much better suited for PF. Reggie Evans could never play C, and Mareese Speights is still a rookie. But if we had a plan for obtaining a backup C, then it might be a good idea to get the shooter we need with Smith.

See I think you are wrong about Evans and Brand. In an uptempo style Evans and Brand will play minutes at C. Actually Eavns played quite a bit of minutes last year at C. I would bet he actually played more backup C last year than Smith did. Historically, Brand has played a lot of minutes at C over his career.

All you need to do is bring in one vet who can play 8-10 minutes max at C and we are fine. There's guys out there than you can get to fill the Calvin Booth role. Names that come to mind are Jamal Magloire, Lorenzen Wright, Ratliff, Jake Voskuhl, Scott Pollard, Michael Doleac, Skinner, etc.

I really don't think Smith is any more capabale of playing C effectively when compared to Speights. I know he's a rookie and all, but I'm being honest when I say that Speights looked a lot more composed on the court than Smith did in the summer league. If I didn't know any better and I had to guess who the rookie was I would have said it was Smith.

PowerElite · Post #16 » by **PowerElite** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:58 pm

Speights is already better than Jason Smith so he is fine as the backup C and Evans as the backup PF. Jason Smith last season played a great deal as a backup big so a much more talented Speights wouldn't figure not to be able to accomplish the same thing.

In a straight up trade who are some logical players at PG and SG that could figure to replace Jason Smith? PG Marcus Williams? PG Kyle Lowry? SG?

PhilasFinest · Post #17 » by **PhilasFinest** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:41 pm

like Jason Smith and am not for us moving him...but we need a 2 guard that can shoot
id trade him to Miami (who originally drafted him) for Daequan Cook.

Both are young playesr with "potential"...they just play different positions

Post #18 » by **tk76** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:56 pm

If the team holds on to all of their bigs this year, I could see them eventually trading away Sam.

Given time, I can see Speights as starting at center next to Brand. Both are big and long enough to cover centers, and both should have good low and high post games. That would leave Smith and Evans as complementary bench players. You would have you finesse shooter and your banger- put in whoever best fits the need in a given game.

I can see Sam and maybe Miller next year in exchange for a PG with a better jumper (Hinrich?) and an athletic bench shooter (think Posey like, maybe even RJ or Redd) Assuming Speights is ready next year to play center, it should make for a better balanced, deeper lineup.

So lose Sam and Miller
Gain Better shooters at PG and high level back-up SG/SF

PG: shooter PG(Hinrich?), LW
SG: Iguodala, shooter swing, Lou
SF: Young, Shooter swing
PF: Brand, Smith/Evans
C: Speights, Smith

It depends on the 2 players you add, but it likely would be a more balanced team- and I think you could get two high-level players for Miller and Sam.

Its a shame Speights is not ready now, or we could move Sam for Gordon + another player (Noccioni?)

Nofx8881 · Post #19 » by **Nofx8881** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:36 pm

I think Jason Smith is a nice player and I certainly don't think he's a throw in for any deal or a guy the Sixers can just trade for nothing and not worry about, but what **** scout in their right mind said, "He's a starter in this league. No question."? It must have been one of the Sixers scouts. Smith COULD be a starter in this league, but putting up 16/8 in summer league doesn't mean you can automatically start. If that were the case, Speights would already be in the All-Star game for next season. Smith still has work to do before any team should think about starting him during the regular season.

Swoll Cracker · Post #20 » by **Swoll Cracker** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:47 am

One of Sixers great assets last year was their chemistry. The addition of an elite player like Elton Brand changes things. Combine that with potential position shifts by Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young and an emerging Lou WIlliams and you have a brand new dynamic on the court. Sam Dalembert and Andre Miller are givens. Smith, Speights, and Evans are givens coming off the bench. Willie Green's role is unclear.

It makes no sense to move a player like Smith at this time. He comes cheap for what he can deliver on the court. Until the team has a chance to practice and play games together, allowing the staff to evaluate the best starting line-up and rotation of players, any move is premature.

Unless the Sixers can unload a large portion of $'s (Willie Green and Reggie Evans) for a very good perimeter scorer.