Zhaire Smith

[EvanZ]

I don't think he is as flexible and crafty as Oladipo is and was honestly, they are different types of athletes, Zhaire is gonna be much bigger and stronger and its a hard task to project him to be as good as a creator/shooter, Oladipo is a workhorse in that sense.

Of course, Oladipo has developed a ton since Indiana! Dude only averaged 22 USG% in his Junior year. But if there's one guy in this Class I'm going to project to be that kind of impact as a wing, it's going to be Zhaire. He's young enough (unlike say Mikal) that he has room to develop a lot. And by all accounts he improved a huge amount just his Freshman season. I mean, he wasn't even on the ESPN 100 recruiting list. To go from that to a first round pick (possibly lottery) is a huge leap suggesting a very fast improvement curve.

[Moooose]

I think his floor can be higher than Danny Green as he is more athletic and has a better basketball sense both on offense and defense. Oladipo is a bit of a stretch comparison for me (for now), as I think Zaire Smith is slower but stronger. Oladipo is an athletic freak since then and Zaire's athleticism is quite on a different tier than him. And I am not really sure if anyone can make Zaire faster, we will need to see this in the combine and in the workouts.

He plays like a forward in a guard's body, and I think it will translate into the pros simply because it is already an advantage. My personal comparison for him right now is Thabo Sefolosha. With better offense, of course.

Man, you need to watch more Zhaire. He is athletic af.

I did. I never said he wasn't athletic. What I mean is his kind of athleticism is not yet the same as Oladipo's. His athleticism is more like a forward's, but not to a level of a Gerald Green. I just think he'd be stronger than most guards. And that's why I thought of Thabo Sefolosha. Josh Richardson would be an optimistic comparison, IMO.

[Moooose]

I think his floor can be higher than Danny Green as he is more athletic and has a better basketball sense both on offense and defense. Oladipo is a bit of a stretch comparison for me (for now), as I think Zaire Smith is slower but stronger. Oladipo is an athletic freak since then and Zaire's athleticism is quite on a different tier than him. And I am not really sure if anyone can make Zaire faster, we will need to see this in the combine and in the workouts.

He plays like a forward in a guard's body, and I think it will translate into the pros simply because it is already an advantage. My personal comparison for him right now is Thabo Sefolosha. With better offense, of course.

Floor means what he is right now. If Danny Green is floor, he is a top 125 player right now. I don't think so.


I am currently watching his film, it might take a week or two but I'll get back to you on Zhaire

And so I think his floor / worst case scenario is better than being another Danny Green. His ceiling, nobody knows. I don't see Zaire regressing on his athleticism, basketball IQ, and potential just to be another Danny Green. And top 125? You mean in fantasy? Cause Danny Green's been horrible for quite some time now.

[Stillwater]

The most under rated part of his game is his bb iq which is evident on the defensive end always being in the rights spots etc. The athletic numbers are tier 1 so sky is the limit as a prospect and with no fear of drafting him after 20 if he falls that far given the athleticism and bb iq practically guarantee his defensive game will transfer to the pros easily. The offense has some catching up to do , but to me as long as he is not expected to be a first option scorer or the primary ball handler (which would be stupid anyway) than he will carve a niche in this league as a longtime starter if nothing else.

[kobyz]

Does he have Jaylen Brown potential?

[EvanZ]

Does he have Jaylen Brown potential?

JB has quite a bit of size on Zhaire and was a better ball-handler at the same stage. I think Zhaire has everything else. If he takes his ball-handling to another level, I think you're looking at a player a lot like Iguodala at some point.

[8305]

INstinctive defender, superior athlete, waiting to see how his handle and shot develop. Andre iguadala?

[nolang1]

Question: do you people who love him think that he can be someone you can play as a small ball PF and secondary rim protector? When I watch him, that's basically the role I see him playing on Texas Tech, where a lot of his creation off the dribble seems to come when matched against much slower defenders.

[916fan]

Question: do you people who love him think that he can be someone you can play as a small ball PF and secondary rim protector? When I watch him, that's basically the role I see him playing on Texas Tech, where a lot of his creation off the dribble seems to come when matched against much slower defenders.

not a chance. He's 6'5 190lbs. Small ball PF is a big stretch

[nolang1]

Question: do you people who love him think that he can be someone you can play as a small ball PF and secondary rim protector? When I watch him, that's basically the role I see him playing on Texas Tech, where a lot of his creation off the dribble seems to come when matched against much slower defenders.

not a chance. He's 6'5 190lbs. Small ball PF is a big stretch

Yeah he doesn't seem big enough to switch onto PFs like Marcus Smart does, nor does he seem quick enough to stay on the quickest of point guards; he strikes me as more of a very good defensive player for his age on a great defensive team rather than someone who's a scheme-changer, which is basically the high bar that it takes for a guard to be as impactful on defense in the NBA as a solid big man.

If Smith's not playing up a position or two, that also mitigates one of his biggest offensive strengths as an offensive rebounder since having 3-4 players crashing the offensive glass is a losing strategy in the NBA. Someone like Marcus Smart isn't a huge positive player on offense, and considering Smart as a prospect was way ahead in terms of passing and ball-handling, it would take Smith being a much better shooter to get to that level on offense.

Edit: he's officially in the draft. Signed with an agent. Good for him - he's definitely a top 20 pick and if his shooting and ball skills aren't gonna get markedly better it's better to have that happen in the pros than in college. I'd just hold off on drafting him in the top 10 unless he's made a huge improvement in his shooting stroke come workout season.

[EvanZ]

Question: do you people who love him think that he can be someone you can play as a small ball PF and secondary rim protector? When I watch him, that's basically the role I see him playing on Texas Tech, where a lot of his creation off the dribble seems to come when matched against much slower defenders.

not a chance. He's 6'5 190lbs. Small ball PF is a big stretch

Yeah he doesn't seem big enough to switch onto PFs like Marcus Smart does,

I mean you said "play as a small ball PF", not "occasionally switch onto 4s". Those are two very different questions. He's definitely strong and long enough to do that if needed. Again, he's one of the youngest guys in the class and is already stronger than a guy like Mikal. If Zhaire isn't strong enough, no way in hell is Mikal strong enough.

[nolang1]

not a chance. He's 6'5 190lbs. Small ball PF is a big stretch

Yeah he doesn't seem big enough to switch onto PFs like Marcus Smart does,

I mean you said "play as a small ball PF", not "occasionally switch onto 4s". Those are two very different questions. He's definitely strong and long enough to do that if needed. Again, he's one of the youngest guys in the class and is already stronger than a guy like Mikal. If Zhaire isn't strong enough, no way in hell is Mikal strong enough.

Bridges shoots way better and has a significant height/wingspan advantage to mitigate however much he may be giving up in terms of strength. I'd also consider Bridges laterally quicker, or at least quick enough for his length to offset whatever difference there may be.

I thought Josh Jackson's offense was overrated last year because he spent most of his time in college being guarded by opposing 4s and feel the same way about Smith's. If those players are going to spend less time as a small ball 4 in the NBA, their offense won't be as effective. So far, Jackson's efficiency has not been pretty at all.

[Chuck Everett]

He's in the draft. Signing with Roc Nation Sports.

[GimmeDat]

Think he got a promise? Would be a pretty early stage to get one but a bit of a random time for him to commit to the draft as well.

[nolang1]

Think he got a promise? Would be a pretty early stage to get one but a bit of a random time for him to commit to the draft as well.

I mean, he could clearly get a promise in the first round. At that point, I doubt the college life in Lubbock, TX, is enough to keep a player like that around.

[EvanZ]

Think he got a promise? Would be a pretty early stage to get one but a bit of a random time for him to commit to the draft as well.

He doesn't need a promise. He's going to be a lottery pick pretty easily.

[Stillwater]

Zhaire might have got a promise from a lottery team, but He won't fall past low 20's if he doesn't. A lot will depend on who returns to college etc which could elevate his value pretty quickly. I think he will prove to be worth a lottery pick long term even if he is taken later so going mid-late lottery wouldn't come as a shock depending on the field.

[clyde21]

He's not dropping out of the top 20 picks whether he got a promise or not. I think he and his agent know that.

[BadWolf]

Anyone else bothered by the thread title?

[Legend_T]

Do you think he can be a good fit for the nuggets? He might be able to play some 3 I think