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bwgood77 wrote:

WeekapaugGroove wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:
You mention Smith looking like a 5 defensively, and we know he's a better shot blocker..so do you not think Ayton can guard 4s? He has shown he can switch and guard the perimeter...it seems like on defense, Ayton could take 4s and Smith 5s and on offense it could be the other way around, but at the same time, Ayton can play at the top of the key on offense and has good vision and is developing that 3 and Jalen could play down low too.

Seems like they both have the skills to play together even though Ayton makes more sense as a 5 on offense and Jalen as 5 on defense (Ayton can play 4 or 5 on defense).

Maybe. I don't like Ayton spending too much time at the PF defensively and it just depends who the other teams 4 is.

Im not too worried about it now because I think we're a year or two away from Smith even being ready for more than spot minutes anyway.

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You think Jalen's more raw than Ayton was coming in? Seems to be a lot more aggressive finishing it, already developed a 3 ball which is huge in today's game, and is a better rim protector.

I expect him to get at least 15 minutes a game by the midpoint of the season unless we sign another PF/C who is better than an end of the roster type. Jones seems to draft guys he thinks are ready to play now.

Spot minutes might be the wrong term, I could see him in a 10-15 minutes a night role. But I do think he's physically raw and the season starts pretty quickly so I think it will be challenging for all rookies early on. Heck even Cam who was far more ready wasn't playing much early last season. I'd expect the same with Smith.

Fit with Ayton only really comes into play if Smith proves to be a guy who needs 30+ minutes a night. Hell I hope that's sooner than I think because that would mean he's good. And part of what could make smith good would be fixing his body and technique to guard on the perimeter. When/if that happens then they'll have to figure something out.

I hate making judgements on guys before actually seeing them play. Like I wouldn't have thought Cam could log heavy minutes at the 4 if I was asked that right after the draft.

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phx#7 wrote:

Ghost of Kleine wrote:

Saberestar wrote:2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Ty-Shon Alexander

Height w/o shoes 6,2"
201 lbs
Wingspan 6,8"
Standing Reach 8,4"
Body Fat 12.30%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

Even if there is a concern about his height being inflated with shoes(2in is definitely on the high side for height difference in shoes vs w/o) it really only matters if his wingspan is short. If he were 6'4 in shoes with a 6'1 wingspan, yeah it would probably limit his ability to defend bigger guards, but with a 6'8 wingspan he'll easily be able to play as a 6'4 combo guard.

In that video above, he looked like a great defender.

carey wrote:

NTB wrote:

carey wrote:

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Welcome! I’m really feeling this pick. This is me last month. I think you’ll love him if you give him a chance.

Congrats with the guess. After Oubre is gone now, what do you think about wing depth?

I fully expect us to target a 3/4 with the MLE. I just have no idea who because I expect contracts to be a bit weird during the pandemic. I think Jerami Grant will cost too much but maybe a guy like Mo Harkless bites? Jae Crowder?

All good choices man! Though for my part, If I couldn't get Jerami Grant ( Likely to get between 16-18 million from Denver) Jae Crowder ( Likely to be resigned by Miami on a big 1 yr deal). However, Maybe Justin Holiday (1), Andre Roberson ( 2), or Moe Harkless ( 3), Then on the cheap, For around the Bi annual I would consider:

1- Rondae Hollis Jefferson.
( Maybe around 2 million)? He's still a really solid versatile defender with some playmaking skills. Even though he doesn't yet have a serviceable/ consistent jumpshot. But he could still come pretty cheap, Is strong, athletic, has good court awareness.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2897092-the-best-bargain-bin-2020-nba-free-agents-for-next season.amp.html

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson,
Toronto Raptors

How much would you guess the NBA's most versatile defender would cost? Something astronomic since switch-heavy schemes are increasingly utilized to combat the Association's move toward do-it-all players at every position?

Well, what if I told you the league's most versatile stopper—by the numbers at least—is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who settled for a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Toronto Raptors last summer? As The Athletic's Eric Koreen relayed, using research from Krishna Narsu, Hollis-Jefferson has guarded each position for at least 17.7 percent of his minutes. He's also spent 29 percent of his floor time defending an opponent's first or second option.

Given the quantity and quality of assignments, one might assume they wreck his defensive metrics. Not at all. In fact, ESPN's defensive real plus-minus puts him 30th overall. He shaves 3.3 percentage points off his opponents' normal field-goal rates and drops them by 4.9 on two-point shots.

As a 25-year-old five-year veteran, he probably hasn't played his best basketball yet, which should exclude all possibilities of a bargain. But he's a 6'6" player who doesn't have an outside shot (career 21.4 percent) or pack much offensive punch (career 9.4 points per game), so his appeal is limited.

2- James Ennis 3rd.
Ennis actually has good size at 6'7, And is an athletic and rangy defender. He also played alongside of Paul and Tucker in Houston. And is a solid shooter at over 36% from three for his career. I believe that we can get him for around 2 million also?

Andrew Porter (@And_Porter) Tweeted:
James Ennis is a career 36.2% 3P shooter on 2.2 attempts per game. He's nothing special defensively, but at 6-7, he's an athletic body off of the bench.

He has a $1.845M player option for 2019-20 and the #Sixers got him for essentially nothing (2021 2nd round swap). ?s=20



3- Glenn Robinson 3rd.
GR3
https://hashtagbasketball.com/indiana-pacers/content/glenn-robinson-iii-making-defensive-impact

Robinson is one of the better players in the league at defending spot-ups -- he is allowing only 84.6 points per 100 possession. That is better than some of the best defenders in the league, such as Danny Green, Andre Roberson, and Draymond Green just to name a few. In catch-and-shoot situations, Robinson's opponents are only shooting 29.4 percent and are scoring only 88.2 points per 100 possessions. Using his length and athleticism, Robinson is able to do enough to disrupt and affect the opponent’s shot. For evidence of the “Robinson Affect,” look no further than the Pacers' 3pt defense when Robinson is on and off the floor. With him on the floor, the Pacers hold opponents to 32.6 percent from deep, compared to 34.8 percent when he’s off.

4- Shaquille Harrison
https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/season-review-shaq-harrison-shows-his-value-elite-defensive-production

Simply put, Harrison was a defensive star. He led the NBA in both steals per 36 minutes (2.1) and loose balls recovered per 36 minutes (2.1). His 3.7 deflections per 36 minutes were 4th best in the NBA and only Bruce Brown and Derrick White had a better block rate than Harrison among qualifying guards. He didn’t play nearly enough minutes to warrant consideration, but Harrison’s skill level was All-NBA Defensive Team good this season.

5- Demarre Carroll.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/rocketswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/16/as-rockets-mull-rotation-demarre-carroll-focused-on-defense/amp/

The 6-foot-6 forward is best known for his rugged, hard-nosed defense and reliable 3-point shooting. From the 2013-14 season through 2018-19, Carroll shot 36.4% on 3-pointers on relatively high volume at 4.5 attempts per game (in 29.1 minutes).

He is Marcus Smart size.

RedIndian wrote:Definitely an NBA player in this kid:

Watch on YouTube

Wow. He is a defensive dog. He looks a little like Carter on D. Offensive players hate these kinds of dog-defenders.

jcsunsfan wrote:

RedIndian wrote:Definitely an NBA player in this kid:

Watch on YouTube

Wow. He is a defensive dog. He looks a little like Carter on D. Offensive players hate these kinds of dog-defenders.

Carter is who I thought of as well but with more defensive flexibility because of this length. I love Carter but his ability to only really defend 1 position will really limit his value if he doesn't improve his playmaking on offense(wouldn't put it past him based on how quickly he became a 3pt threat).

Really excited about this guy's shooting.

Seems to make a lot out of the pick and pop. Don't underestimate how difficult that shot it.

Having to set a pick and get knocked off balance then turn and back peddle to the three point line, make the catch on balance and shoot from range is not easy.

Jalen Smith seems to do that fluidly and consistently enough.

bwgood77 wrote:

WeekapaugGroove wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:
You mention Smith looking like a 5 defensively, and we know he's a better shot blocker..so do you not think Ayton can guard 4s? He has shown he can switch and guard the perimeter...it seems like on defense, Ayton could take 4s and Smith 5s and on offense it could be the other way around, but at the same time, Ayton can play at the top of the key on offense and has good vision and is developing that 3 and Jalen could play down low too.

Seems like they both have the skills to play together even though Ayton makes more sense as a 5 on offense and Jalen as 5 on defense (Ayton can play 4 or 5 on defense).

Maybe. I don't like Ayton spending too much time at the PF defensively and it just depends who the other teams 4 is.

Im not too worried about it now because I think we're a year or two away from Smith even being ready for more than spot minutes anyway.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

You think Jalen's more raw than Ayton was coming in? Seems to be a lot more aggressive finishing it, already developed a 3 ball which is huge in today's game, and is a better rim protector.

I expect him to get at least 15 minutes a game by the midpoint of the season unless we sign another PF/C who is better than an end of the roster type. Jones seems to draft guys he thinks are ready to play now.

Jalen Smith is more ready than when Jaren Jackson Jr came in as a rookie and he played heaps of minutes and contributed.

Jalen Smith has a nice looking shooting stroke... Great foot setup during catch and shoot... Has a relatively low foul rate considering his blocks per game and aggressiveness...

Only struggles I can see early would be the learning curve for the system... And all players are affected since CP3 is going to be factored into the new system.

Wow.. this guy looks solid.. lots of value late in this draft + UDFA

jcsunsfan wrote:

RedIndian wrote:Definitely an NBA player in this kid:

Watch on YouTube

Wow. He is a defensive dog. He looks a little like Carter on D. Offensive players hate these kinds of dog-defenders.

Yeah, i thought so too, and he has a much longer wingspan so should be even more effective. I didn't watch his offense but if he can handle and has court vision, passing and shooting, he might be more effective than Carter in time.

I always like to get to know the players we draft so heres a video where he answers some basic questions:



His favorite show is Neds Declassified heck yeah!

Im now 100% behind the pick.

This was a nice surprise, I'm not sure how he went undrafted.

Ty-Shon wasn't nearly as good of a defender as Jevon at college level, but certainly capable. Can shoot, plays very rationally and feels the tempo of the game. You could say he's above average in bball smarts. Not lightning fast but has decent burst. I really think he has a place in the NBA.

Having more time to think about the Smith draft, I'm not sure what we're thinking in grabbing apparently a backup center for Ayton. Smith doesn't look quick enough to guard outside as a full time 4. He might have simply been on our board as BPA and we didn't have any way to trade back or we knew someone else was targeting him. Maybe the development team believes they can work on his lateral quickness.

But we already appear to have a laterally challenged 4/5 in Saric who can also hit some shots and is still just 26 coming off a bubble where he literally played better than Ayton.

I get Smith's shooting works with Ayton, but other than that, in his current form, the pick feels odd. I also don't agree with playing him and Ayton together for long stretches. Yes, Ayton can defend 4s and other wings, but being able to at least somewhat reliably switch onto guards is also important. When you are 7 feet you just get burned by guards because of your size regardless of your quickness (yes this happens to even Davis) so it's not a sustainable game plan. In other words, yes he can switch onto Giannis, but do you want him guarding wings and then switching onto a guy like Ja Morant? Probably not.

This is not to say that Smith is a bad player or anything- I really like his game in a vacuum as he looks like he could easily be an NBA starting level center.

How many reviews last year said that Cam was going to have a hard time moving laterally on defense in the NBA? How many reviews said that DB was going to only be a shooter? How many reviews said that Josh Jackson was going to be a star? How many reviews said that Ty Jerome was an NBA level PG?

The current tape on Smith is almost a year old already. I wouldn't make too many snap judgements about his weaknesses.

Ty'shon is a friggin steal. I came to this board just to let you guys know what a GEM he is. I truly was hoping our HORNETS would sign him. I predict that not only will he make your squad but he is insurance for Booker. You will LOVE Ty'shon Alexander. This kid has alstar potential. He imo is better than Anthony Edwards.

Congrats.

darealjuice wrote:This was a nice surprise, I'm not sure how he went undrafted.

I wanted HORNETS to draft him at 56. I predict if given a chance he will be better than Edwards. I saw a few of his games and this guy is the TRUTH. No weaknesses

After watching a couple of interviews and some reviews I can tell you that Jalen will be super coachable.
He has that "Yes Sir!" mentality and he will do whatever he is asked to do to improve his game, his body or his basketball's awareness.
I have read that his father is a Navy officer so that's probably the reason why he is that way.

His mentality reminds me of Antonio McDyess out of college... Humble, religious, hard worker and passionate about basketball.
As a player Antonio was a more fluid athlete and probably had more raw talent at 20 than Jalen, but you never know how much a player can improve with a crazy hard work mentality, and it looks like Jalen Smith has it.

Months and months of discussions about every player in the draft, only for Jones to let down 75% of the posters with an ok-ish, but uninspiring selection.