Re: 2023 Draft Prospect discussion Part II

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Two things, Nick Smith Jr reminds me of Brandon Jennings. Also, his body language is atrocious. At the end of the game against Alabama Ricky Council brought the ball up with 7 seconds left. Nick Smith made no effort to get himself open and hovered with the defender on him at half court. So Council shot the attempt, and as he did Smith throws his hands up in the air as if to say WTF, then the shot misses and clock runs out. Smith then proceeds to throw his hands up in disgust again. I don’t want that scrub anywhere near this roster.

When you first said Jennings I thought - maybe. Nick Smith is 4 inches taller though. Smith isn't as explosive or as good an athlete but his game is more rounded where he can score at three levels with ease. Still I can see the comparison remember that young Jennings was a walking bucket and had some massive scoring games.

In terms of personality - hmmm. Smith does seem a bit like a ball hog prick. So that doesn't surprise me. It's also why I connected him with Irving, that kind of rub people the wrong way personality. Still have to give complete context here. With 10 seconds to go Smith Jr. hit a nice step back 3 to get within 2 pts of Bama. What Council did was definitely not the proper play. No way in hell that was drawn up. Most likely it was for Smith Jr. to get the ball and he did hero ball. I am glad he was mad, I would be. It shows a fire to win and take the big shot.

Legitimate question here, do you think Allen Iverson was a good basketball player?

[Mark_83]

Watching this team play without Vanvleet and have more flow on offence and less needless chucking, makes me even more confident that this roster (as currently constructed) does not need a traditional point guard. With Pascal and Barnes the focal points of the offence, this team needs a connective piece at the point. Someone who isn't going to demand touches, can play off the ball, hit shots, defend like a beast, and act as a tertiary ball-handler. That sounds a lot like Cason Wallace.

[DelAbbot]

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[BoyzNTheHood]

Two things, Nick Smith Jr reminds me of Brandon Jennings. Also, his body language is atrocious. At the end of the game against Alabama Ricky Council brought the ball up with 7 seconds left. Nick Smith made no effort to get himself open and hovered with the defender on him at half court. So Council shot the attempt, and as he did Smith throws his hands up in the air as if to say WTF, then the shot misses and clock runs out. Smith then proceeds to throw his hands up in disgust again. I don’t want that scrub anywhere near this roster.

When you first said Jennings I thought - maybe. Nick Smith is 4 inches taller though. Smith isn't as explosive or as good an athlete but his game is more rounded where he can score at three levels with ease. Still I can see the comparison remember that young Jennings was a walking bucket and had some massive scoring games.

In terms of personality - hmmm. Smith does seem a bit like a ball hog prick. So that doesn't surprise me. It's also why I connected him with Irving, that kind of rub people the wrong way personality. Still have to give complete context here. With 10 seconds to go Smith Jr. hit a nice step back 3 to get within 2 pts of Bama. What Council did was definitely not the proper play. No way in hell that was drawn up. Most likely it was for Smith Jr. to get the ball and he did hero ball. I am glad he was mad, I would be. It shows a fire to win and take the big shot.

No chance that behaviour was positive in my mind. If the play was drawn up for NSJ then he should’ve made more of an effort to get to the ball. He didn’t seem to care to run the play unless the play was for him to lazily hover at half court and then jack up a prayer.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Gradey Dick getting hot from deep, 4-7 on the day now. Nabbed 2 steals in the first half of the 2nd half.

He’s top 10

[Thaddy]

I don't think Gradey has the physicality to be a good player at the NBA level. The lack of wingspan and athleticism will affect him, we see this with a lot of college guys. You would rather hope they have the physical profile and at least one skill they can bring to the table.

I don't want to be inappropriate and bring up things that can cause friction on this board but players of African origin seem to have a lot of the characteristics we want. They have prior soccer experience a lot of the time which means great foot work. Then you have the general positive wingspan. The lack of basketball infrastructure means there causes a skills discrepancy but that can be developed.

IMO the best prospects are players of that origin and culture who were brought up or played in French or other pro leagues. That's what puts Rupert, Bilal Coulibali (sp?), and other prospects to the top of the list before Gradey but I hope another GM thinks otherwise.

[Kevin Willis]

Two things, Nick Smith Jr reminds me of Brandon Jennings. Also, his body language is atrocious. At the end of the game against Alabama Ricky Council brought the ball up with 7 seconds left. Nick Smith made no effort to get himself open and hovered with the defender on him at half court. So Council shot the attempt, and as he did Smith throws his hands up in the air as if to say WTF, then the shot misses and clock runs out. Smith then proceeds to throw his hands up in disgust again. I don’t want that scrub anywhere near this roster.

When you first said Jennings I thought - maybe. Nick Smith is 4 inches taller though. Smith isn't as explosive or as good an athlete but his game is more rounded where he can score at three levels with ease. Still I can see the comparison remember that young Jennings was a walking bucket and had some massive scoring games.

In terms of personality - hmmm. Smith does seem a bit like a ball hog prick. So that doesn't surprise me. It's also why I connected him with Irving, that kind of rub people the wrong way personality. Still have to give complete context here. With 10 seconds to go Smith Jr. hit a nice step back 3 to get within 2 pts of Bama. What Council did was definitely not the proper play. No way in hell that was drawn up. Most likely it was for Smith Jr. to get the ball and he did hero ball. I am glad he was mad, I would be. It shows a fire to win and take the big shot.

Legitimate question here, do you think Allen Iverson was a good basketball player?

That's a really good question and I think I know what you're getting at. I don't know, I would have to think about it.

[ItsDanger]

I don't think Gradey has the physicality to be a good player at the NBA level. The lack of wingspan and athleticism will affect him, we see this with a lot of college guys. You would rather hope they have the physical profile and at least one skill they can bring to the table.

I don't want to be inappropriate and bring up things that can cause friction on this board but players of African origin seem to have a lot of the characteristics we want. They have prior soccer experience a lot of the time which means great foot work. Then you have the general positive wingspan. The lack of basketball infrastructure means there causes a skills discrepancy but that can be developed.

IMO the best prospects are players of that origin and culture who were brought up or played in French or other pro leagues. That's what puts Rupert, Bilal Coulibali (sp?), and other prospects to the top of the list before Gradey but I hope another GM thinks otherwise.

Gradey has one skill at minimum: shooting. And he has a high release that translates easily to NBA. Good luck developing that from a 22 yr old.

[ItsDanger]

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[Kevin Willis]

Two things, Nick Smith Jr reminds me of Brandon Jennings. Also, his body language is atrocious. At the end of the game against Alabama Ricky Council brought the ball up with 7 seconds left. Nick Smith made no effort to get himself open and hovered with the defender on him at half court. So Council shot the attempt, and as he did Smith throws his hands up in the air as if to say WTF, then the shot misses and clock runs out. Smith then proceeds to throw his hands up in disgust again. I don’t want that scrub anywhere near this roster.

When you first said Jennings I thought - maybe. Nick Smith is 4 inches taller though. Smith isn't as explosive or as good an athlete but his game is more rounded where he can score at three levels with ease. Still I can see the comparison remember that young Jennings was a walking bucket and had some massive scoring games.

In terms of personality - hmmm. Smith does seem a bit like a ball hog prick. So that doesn't surprise me. It's also why I connected him with Irving, that kind of rub people the wrong way personality. Still have to give complete context here. With 10 seconds to go Smith Jr. hit a nice step back 3 to get within 2 pts of Bama. What Council did was definitely not the proper play. No way in hell that was drawn up. Most likely it was for Smith Jr. to get the ball and he did hero ball. I am glad he was mad, I would be. It shows a fire to win and take the big shot.

No chance that behaviour was positive in my mind. If the play was drawn up for NSJ then he should’ve made more of an effort to get to the ball. He didn’t seem to care to run the play unless the play was for him to lazily hover at half court and then jack up a prayer.

Nah Griffen (I think) gave him a couple elbows before he hit half court. The bump slowed him down but Council rushed, he had time to run a play but ran into the corner where there was no release. Then Smith looked over like what are you doing? He shouldn't have showed that emotion I agree but I could see a young Kobe do that. I could see Morant doing that. I could even see a young Lowry doing that. Also we can't forget Nick Smith Jr. had a great game matching Brandon Miller who also played well. The one that should be getting the hate is Black who disappears for every big game.

[BoyzNTheHood]

When you first said Jennings I thought - maybe. Nick Smith is 4 inches taller though. Smith isn't as explosive or as good an athlete but his game is more rounded where he can score at three levels with ease. Still I can see the comparison remember that young Jennings was a walking bucket and had some massive scoring games.

In terms of personality - hmmm. Smith does seem a bit like a ball hog prick. So that doesn't surprise me. It's also why I connected him with Irving, that kind of rub people the wrong way personality. Still have to give complete context here. With 10 seconds to go Smith Jr. hit a nice step back 3 to get within 2 pts of Bama. What Council did was definitely not the proper play. No way in hell that was drawn up. Most likely it was for Smith Jr. to get the ball and he did hero ball. I am glad he was mad, I would be. It shows a fire to win and take the big shot.

No chance that behaviour was positive in my mind. If the play was drawn up for NSJ then he should’ve made more of an effort to get to the ball. He didn’t seem to care to run the play unless the play was for him to lazily hover at half court and then jack up a prayer.

Nah Griffen (I think) gave him a couple elbows before he hit half court. The bump slowed him down but Council rushed, he had time to run a play but ran into the corner where there was no release. Then Smith looked over like what are you doing? He shouldn't have showed that emotion I agree but I could see a young Kobe do that. I could see Morant doing that. I could even see a young Lowry doing that. Also we can't forget Nick Smith Jr. had a great game matching Brandon Miller who also played well. The one that should be getting the hate is Black who disappears for every big game.

Don’t misinterpret my criticism for hate. I’m just saying I don’t like what I see from NSJ. I am a big fan of Anthony Black, but I agree that this game was not it. He needs to show more.

[WuTang_CMB]

Edey or Yao Ming

[Brinbe]

I am a JHS believer. Big guards are the way to go.

Big game in a big spot. Sign me up.

[WuTang_CMB]

I am a JHS believer. Big guards are the way to go.

Big game in a big spot. Sign me up.

Dominating

[ATLTimekeeper]

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I don't care that he's been doing that all year. He's a 'do not draft' prospect for me.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Edey or Yao Ming

Yao was a beast, but it’s tough to argue for him in todays NBA. A dominant post up big man with soft touch should be dominant no matter the era. Misunderstanding of analytics has changed parts of the game for the worse. Analytics literally push paint points and 3’s, but a lot of teams focus only on the 3’s. However, an easy bucket near the rim should never be overlooked.

[Thaddy]

I don't think Gradey has the physicality to be a good player at the NBA level. The lack of wingspan and athleticism will affect him, we see this with a lot of college guys. You would rather hope they have the physical profile and at least one skill they can bring to the table.

I don't want to be inappropriate and bring up things that can cause friction on this board but players of African origin seem to have a lot of the characteristics we want. They have prior soccer experience a lot of the time which means great foot work. Then you have the general positive wingspan. The lack of basketball infrastructure means there causes a skills discrepancy but that can be developed.

IMO the best prospects are players of that origin and culture who were brought up or played in French or other pro leagues. That's what puts Rupert, Bilal Coulibali (sp?), and other prospects to the top of the list before Gradey but I hope another GM thinks otherwise.

Gradey has one skill at minimum: shooting. And he has a high release that translates easily to NBA. Good luck developing that from a 22 yr old.

Check Norman Powell, Siakam, Fred, OG, and even Koloko. Gradey's been playing since he was a kid, how much better will skill development really make him. If we saw him on the opposing team we would attack him until he's off the floor. That is a real problem you cannot ignore

[WuTang_CMB]

Edey or Yao Ming

Yao was a beast, but it’s tough to argue for him in todays NBA. A dominant post up big man with soft touch should be dominant no matter the era. Misunderstanding of analytics has changed parts of the game for the worse. Analytics literally push paint points and 3’s, but a lot of teams focus only on the 3’s. However, an easy bucket near the rim should never be overlooked.

Ha i meant cuz they look the same out there

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

JHS undeniably having a great game. He shot well against Purdue when they upset them a few weeks ago too. Gonna have to see how he finishes the year and what he does in the tournament. Seems like the kind of guard GSW would bring in.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

JHS is either on or off dude is streaky as hell

He had tons of stinkers shooting this year including 2-8, 1-9, 1-8, 2-11, 5-15, 1-6, 2-11, 1-14, 2-9 and 5-17 efforts.

Not ready to get on his bandwagon but I wanna see how he develops, might be worth going back for his sophomore season.