Dennis Smith Jr

[Upperclass]

Just wish Dennis Smith played down hill more. He's not a rangy / long strider going to the basket but certainly has the quickness but he seems content wasting dribbles going nowhere rather than recognizing and attacking when he has a speed/athleticism advantage.

That could obviously change in the NBA and probably will, but it's something that irks me about him.

I attribute that more to him wanting to protect his draft stock and get the hell out of NC St. For the most part, he seems calculated about who he does and doesnt show up against

[916fan]

NC State is a bigger dumpster fire than Washington.

People need to cut DSJ some slack. DSJ is not in contention for #1, but no reason why he can't go #3-6 easily.

Do not worry. He ain't falling to the Knicks. With all the problems He will go top 5--6 easily. Philly or Orlando are picking him 100%.

As much as I want him to go to the Kings, yeah, there's no way he's falling out of the top 5. I think the draft order will be something like Celtics, Suns, Lakers, 76ers, and Magic. Celts will take a PG no matter what. I think the remaining 4 teams might be looking at a PG.
- Suns have a roster waiting to rebuild, but they're still trying to push for the playoffs for whatever reason. Booker is 20, Chriss is 19, Bender is 19, Ulis is 21, and Jones Jr is 20. Len and Warren are also only 23...while Bledsoe is 27. I think they're going to draft a PG and trade Bledsoe. It makes no sense to do anything else at this point.
- Lakers could go with a wing player, but they seem satisfied with Ingram. Having another ball handler next to Russell could be important. I still think Russell can play PG, but he just doesn't have the quickness for that position right now.
- 76ers definitely need a PG.
- Orlando needs a PG. I don't think the Elf Payton experiment will end up working. He's in his 3rd year, and he still can't shoot. Payton might also the reason why they traded away Harris and Oladipo...neither player fit around Payton and they ended up trading both.. with DSJ, you can put any players around him.

[agentofatlas]

Out of all the PGs in this draft, I like his skill set the best. Attitude wise may be off putting a little but he's young and if he lands in a good organization, he'll definitely become an all-star.

[sipclip]

NC State is a bigger dumpster fire than Washington.

People need to cut DSJ some slack. DSJ is not in contention for #1, but no reason why he can't go #3-6 easily.

Do not worry. He ain't falling to the Knicks. With all the problems He will go top 5--6 easily. Philly or Orlando are picking him 100%.

As much as I want him to go to the Kings, yeah, there's no way he's falling out of the top 5. I think the draft order will be something like Celtics, Suns, Lakers, 76ers, and Magic. Celts will take a PG no matter what. I think the remaining 4 teams might be looking at a PG.
- Suns have a roster waiting to rebuild, but they're still trying to push for the playoffs for whatever reason. Booker is 20, Chriss is 19, Bender is 19, Ulis is 21, and Jones Jr is 20. Len and Warren are also only 23...while Bledsoe is 27. I think they're going to draft a PG and trade Bledsoe. It makes no sense to do anything else at this point.
- Lakers could go with a wing player, but they seem satisfied with Ingram. Having another ball handler next to Russell could be important. I still think Russell can play PG, but he just doesn't have the quickness for that position right now.
- 76ers definitely need a PG.
- Orlando needs a PG. I don't think the Elf Payton experiment will end up working. He's in his 3rd year, and he still can't shoot. Payton might also the reason why they traded away Harris and Oladipo...neither player fit around Payton and they ended up trading both.. with DSJ, you can put any players around him.

I'm not sure why you would say that about the suns. They are clearly not pushing for the playoffs with Chandler and Knight both being healthy scratches since the all star break. They are going out of their way to get all of the youngsters playing time.

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[SparksFly87]

Dennis Smith is just as talented as Fultz but shorter . Both are scoring point guards who are grear fits with the 76ers paired with Ben Simmons.

[reanimator]

No, Fultz has better physical tools allowing more roster/lineup flexibility and is beyond Smith when it comes to footwork, offensive creativity and that pull-up.

[No-Man]

No, Fultz has better physical tools allowing more roster/lineup flexibility and is beyond Smith when it comes to footwork, offensive creativity and that pull-up.

Not sure about the pull-up, agreed otherwise, Smith could've had more potential down hill but he just doesnt push it as hard as he should.
Smith mechanics on his jumper are really good and compact, and he has an elite skill, zipping down and turning the corner around people, probably even better at that than Fultz because of his leverage in balance due to been smaller and more compact, also elite explosiveness for his height of course.
I don't know, Smith isnt a winning archetype historically BUT, many teams need offensive dynamos even if they likely wont win you a chip on their own, and that's fine honestly.

[kennydorglas]

[cksdayoff]

No, Fultz has better physical tools allowing more roster/lineup flexibility and is beyond Smith when it comes to footwork, offensive creativity and that pull-up.

Not sure about the pull-up, agreed otherwise, Smith could've had more potential down hill but he just doesnt push it as hard as he should.
Smith mechanics on his jumper are really good and compact, and he has an elite skill, zipping down and turning the corner around people, probably even better at that than Fultz because of his leverage in balance due to been smaller and more compact, also elite explosiveness for his height of course.
I don't know, Smith isnt a winning archetype historically BUT, many teams need offensive dynamos even if they likely wont win you a chip on their own, and that's fine honestly.

When I checked out his numbers back in early Feb, DSJ had been shooting terribly off the dribble

[E-Balla]

No, Fultz has better physical tools allowing more roster/lineup flexibility and is beyond Smith when it comes to footwork, offensive creativity and that pull-up.

Better physical tools? You mean size? Because if you don't Dennis Smith is amazingly fast and explodes like few other I've ever seen. Fultz ain't really fast or strong but he can jump. Like a weaker Harden athletically.

[reanimator]

No, Fultz has better physical tools allowing more roster/lineup flexibility and is beyond Smith when it comes to footwork, offensive creativity and that pull-up.

Better physical tools? You mean size? Because if you don't Dennis Smith is amazingly fast and explodes like few other I've ever seen. Fultz ain't really fast or strong but he can jump. Like a weaker Harden athletically.

Physical tools meaning height, length, hand size, frame, etc. And Fultz is a better athlete than Harden sans strength.

[GlenRiceARoni]

Why in the world is everyone so high on this guy on this site?

Maybe it's just because I went to State and had the unfortunate luck of having to watch him play but this guy seems like the most obvious bust of the lottery.

He has zero size, sucks on defense, pouts and sulks, and isn't that good of a shooter. Not an amazing playmaker.

Guys are just going to go under the screen and he's not big enough to finish in traffic all the time.

His numbers are much better than he suggest. State was horrible this year.

I cant see him ever being a starter for a playoff team. Just too small he'd have to have more skill to offset that. Looks like a backup pg or very low end starter at best to me


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Excited about the Playoffs now that Durant has given other teams a fighting chance

[Brauer]

Thoughts on Smith vs Fox?

[reanimator]

I'm one of DSJ biggest critics in this section and even I think he has become underrated.

[No-Man]

I'm one of DSJ biggest critics in this section and even I think he has become underrated.

Yeah I'd agree, at the very least he is a top7 guy in my mind, I think if you are sold on the shooting ability you gotta take him top5

[Marcus]

I'm one of DSJ biggest critics in this section and even I think he has become underrated.

He's not in the tourney to debunk any of these criticisms and in some minds around here scouting is very much "what have you done for me lately". He wasn't as consistent as I expected him to be. Definitely tanked some games and did show some red flags throughout the year in terms of body language, toughness, and defensive laziness.

But we are still talking about a kid who's game, skillset, and strengths are tailor made for the NBA style of play and we're seeing more and more cases where that is a legit thing for a kid to look underwhelming in college despite having tools out the wazoo and spacing reminds you of how much you liked them in the first place.

As huge of a DSJ guy as I am I am concerned with fit. I think as the lone or unquestioned primary ball handler he will thrive. Give him a big or some shooters and he will pay dividends. but if in a situation where he shares those kinds of responsibilities, I'm not super sold on his off ball effectiveness landing anywhere near his on ball like I am with some of the other top guys.

[bwgood77]

Here is a detailed write up on Dennis Smith Jr if you are interested in adding your thoughts. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1541428

[reanimator]

As huge of a DSJ guy as I am I am concerned with fit. I think as the lone or unquestioned primary ball handler he will thrive. Give him a big or some shooters and he will pay dividends. but if in a situation where he shares those kinds of responsibilities, I'm not super sold on his off ball effectiveness landing anywhere near his on ball like I am with some of the other top guys.

Thats why I dont have him right there with Fultz/Ball/JJ but this isn't true if we are talking Tatum or Fox. He is going to be better on-ball than either of them and both have the same issues off-ball.

[Kolkmania]

As huge of a DSJ guy as I am I am concerned with fit. I think as the lone or unquestioned primary ball handler he will thrive. Give him a big or some shooters and he will pay dividends. but if in a situation where he shares those kinds of responsibilities, I'm not super sold on his off ball effectiveness landing anywhere near his on ball like I am with some of the other top guys.

Thats why I dont have him right there with Fultz/Ball/JJ but this isn't true if we are talking Tatum or Fox. He is going to be better on-ball than either of them and both have the same issues off-ball.

On-ball he's probably better than Ball, Tatum and Jackson (not sure about Fox). An overlooked part is his percentage unassisted jumpers. More than half of his 3 point makes and only 1(!) of his 32 mid range jumpers were unassisted. That's huge especially since he's converted them at a respectable rate (35+% from three for the season).

However, he disappointed me this season. I knew he played in a bad environment this season, poor roster and even worse coach, but he's shown zero leadership throughout the season. As a PG that's a huge flag to me, especially since he'll demand a lot of usage with his playingstyle.
Secondly, I'm still quite underwhelmed with his ability to turn the corner and shift gears in the halfcourt. Perhaps he's not even 100% healed from his ACL injury, but I haven't seen enough high school footage of DSJ to accurately compare.

[Marcus]

Thats why I dont have him right there with Fultz/Ball/JJ but this isn't true if we are talking Tatum or Fox. He is going to be better on-ball than either of them and both have the same issues off-ball.

On-ball he's probably better than Ball, Tatum and Jackson (not sure about Fox). An overlooked part is his percentage unassisted jumpers. More than half of his 3 point makes and only 1(!) of his 32 mid range jumpers were unassisted. That's huge especially since he's converted them at a respectable rate (35+% from three for the season).

However, he disappointed me this season. I knew he played in a bad environment this season, poor roster and even worse coach, but he's shown zero leadership throughout the season. As a PG that's a huge flag to me, especially since he'll demand a lot of usage with his playingstyle.
Secondly, I'm still quite underwhelmed with his ability to turn the corner and shift gears in the halfcourt. Perhaps he's not even 100% healed from his ACL injury, but I haven't seen enough high school footage of DSJ to accurately compare.

He can turn the corner better but I don't think that was a ACL thing. I think that was a keeping it all in check thing. He didn't give the full DSJ arsenal this year which I hated to see. Only thing he couldn't fully showcase so he didn't fully showcase was his bounce. There's another level to his explosion. The rest he just keep hinged for some reason. Felt like he did enough to protect his stock and secure his future. That's what it feels like his goal was this year. He gave you enough undeniable performances to not be completely over looked by his counterparts. IMO the only one it didn't work with was Ball. But I think he shocked quite a few people with his transition. Don't think DSJ had enough coming into the year regardless to stop the Fultz train and I haven't had anybody over JJ all year.