Welcome Zhaire Smith

LordCovington33 · Post #301 » by **LordCovington33** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:26 am

Zhaire looks like a decent prospect, but still dirty that we had and then lost Mikal. Hopefully, he can get a reliable jumpshot.

septahex · Post #302 » by **septahex** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:46 am

LordCovington33 wrote:Zhaire looks like a decent prospect, but still dirty that we had and then lost Mikal. Hopefully, he can get a reliable jumpshot.

Relax bro, we still have your Covington... ...for now.

Kolkmania · Post #303 » by **Kolkmania** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:04 am

Kobblehead wrote:
Bum Adebayo wrote:He cannot be a SF except in certain matchups, he has to be able to shoot or have a decent handle if he wants to be something. He doesn't have neither the frame nor the length to guard good SF, so he needs to be PG/SG. I expect him to improve dramatically in ball handling and shooting.

This almost never happens. It's an extremely rare occurrence. This is why I have a problem with attributing upside to non-ball handlers.

I actually think it's one of the few things that happen quite frequently. Plenty of examples of raw athletic guards who developed a great handle over the years (DeMar Derozan, Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, etc.). The passing and decision making is something that's far harder to develop imo.

LloydFree · Post #304 » by **LloydFree** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:27 am

The more I look at Zhaire Smith, the more I like this pick. I think he can be a good fit, playing alongside Ben Simmons. I remember those games JJ Redick missed, in the middle of the season. The 76ers looked different, but they didn't look bad, with TLC out there in his spot. TLC didn't look bad when he was on the court with Simmons. I could envision Zhaire Smith doing a lot more with those minutes, than TLC.

JojoSlimbiid · Post #305 » by **JojoSlimbiid** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:54 pm

Kolkmania wrote:
Kobblehead wrote:
Bum Adebayo wrote:He cannot be a SF except in certain matchups, he has to be able to shoot or have a decent handle if he wants to be something. He doesn't have neither the frame nor the length to guard good SF, so he needs to be PG/SG. I expect him to improve dramatically in ball handling and shooting.

This almost never happens. It's an extremely rare occurrence. This is why I have a problem with attributing upside to non-ball handlers.

I actually think it's one of the few things that happen quite frequently. Plenty of examples of raw athletic guards who developed a great handle over the years (DeMar Derozan, Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, etc.). The passing and decision making is something that's far harder to develop imo.

I disagree heavily. Your posting exceptions to the rule. More often than not they don't improve to any meaningful degree.

Having said that I withhold judgement in Zhaire's case because it possibly looks like a situation where his creation talents might have been stifled by role and his willingness to fill that role. We'll know pretty quickly about the nature of his ball handling, even in a SL situation it's one of the few things that you can judge to some degree.

Kobblehead · Post #306 » by **Kobblehead** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 1:47 pm

Kolkmania wrote:I actually think it's one of the few things that happen quite frequently. Plenty of examples of raw athletic guards who developed a great handle over the years (DeMar Derozan, Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, etc.). The passing and decision making is something that's far harder to develop imo.

I ain't buying it. All those guys you listed already had ball handling ability and were creating their own shots in college. There's a difference between fine-tuning and refining an existing tool and magically forming something that wasn't there.

Kobblehead · Post #307 » by **Kobblehead** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 1:56 pm

I think my expectations of Zhaire are realistic.

I think he'll harass scorers at the PG and SG positions. I think he'll run in transition. I think he'll be a halfcourt rim cutter and crash the offensive glass from trail positions and get putbacks. He'll be working really hard on his set shooting so he can eventually become a catch and shoot guy.

But thinking he's going to develop the handle and shotcreating ability to slide into our creation core is just unrealistic. Like I said, Lonnie Walker was the pick to make if that's what we wanted.

mhunt · Post #308 » by **mhunt** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 2:20 pm

this doesn't have anything to do with anything...but zhaire's face & facial expressions when he speaks remind me of john starks.

Kolkmania · Post #309 » by **Kolkmania** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 2:42 pm

JojoSlimbiid wrote:
Kolkmania wrote:
Kobblehead wrote:This almost never happens. It's an extremely rare occurrence. This is why I have a problem with attributing upside to non-ball handlers.

I actually think it's one of the few things that happen quite frequently. Plenty of examples of raw athletic guards who developed a great handle over the years (DeMar Derozan, Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, etc.). The passing and decision making is something that's far harder to develop imo.

I disagree heavily. Your posting exceptions to the rule. More often than not they don't improve to any meaningful degree.

Having said that I withhold judgement in Zhaire's case because it possibly looks like a situation where his creation talents might have been stifled by role and his willingness to fill that role. We'll know pretty quickly about the nature of his ball handling, even in a SL situation it's one of the few things that you can judge to some degree.

Well the list is far longer than those three, if Avery Bradley had the ball in his hands any longer than two seconds he would dribble it off his knees. Now he's capable of some very minor P&R decisions and adept of shooting off the dribble. Let me reverse the question, how many guards who came in the league at 19 years old, never noticeably improved their dribbling?

Let me make clear that I'm not saying that the chances are near 100%, but of all the development areas I would be most comfortable betting on ball handling.

Also, I think most of us are underestimating at which level he starts, It wasn't simply his role to have the ball in his hands as a 4. I've seen him drive plenty of times which betray some underexposed ball handling imo.

rzzzzz · Post #310 » by **rzzzzz** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 4:13 pm

considering the amount of improvement (allegedly) in his shot between the NCAAs and his draft workouts, i can't wait for summer league. while not a finished project, hopefully, that should give us some indication if he's as fast a learner as Brett says.

Ericb5 · Post #311 » by **Ericb5** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 4:43 pm

Kobblehead wrote:I think my expectations of Zhaire are realistic.

I think he'll harass scorers at the PG and SG positions. I think he'll run in transition. I think he'll be a halfcourt rim cutter and crash the offensive glass from trail positions and get putbacks. He'll be working really hard on his set shooting so he can eventually become a catch and shoot guy.

But thinking he's going to develop the handle and shotcreating ability to slide into our creation core is just unrealistic. Like I said, Lonnie Walker was the pick to make if that's what we wanted.

If he can defend the 2, he could play the 3 on offense in stretches. Having Simmons be able to defend the 3 is another advantage of having a big athletic point guard.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kolkmania · Post #312 » by **Kolkmania** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 5:03 pm

Never saw this pre-draft workout video by DraftExpress by the way. The fluidity of his pull up jumpers is really impressive, looks far more natural than his catch and shoot motion in which he dips really low. Not a massive fan of the extreme thumb flick of his guiding hand, but plenty of fantastic shooter use it.

Watch on YouTube

Mik317 · Post #313 » by **Mik317** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 5:32 pm

how about we wait and see how he plays in this new role before we say what to expect? Fact is that he didn't get much of a chance to show if he can handle or shoot due to his college role.

You'd think after writing off Tatum as an iso only guy people would stop jumping to conclusions on guys. Remember this time last year no one thought Mitchell had the creation tools he ended up having. Not saying Smith is that of course but I imagine he's not going to be playing PF on our summer league team....we are going to see the so called improvement Brett said he showed. Lets wait and see before writing him off or on.

Mikael · Post #314 » by **Mikael** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 5:43 pm

Kind of fired up about this kid now

Post #315 » by **Sixerscan** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 6:02 pm

Yeah i expect Popovich to get great things out of him!

Post #316 » by **sixers hoops** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 6:03 pm

Kolkmania wrote:Never saw this pre-draft workout video by DraftExpress by the way. The fluidity of his pull up jumpers is really impressive, looks far more natural than his catch and shoot motion in which he dips really low. Not a massive fan of the extreme thumb flick of his guiding hand, but plenty of fantastic shooter use it.

Watch on YouTube

His shot needs a little tightening, but it looks like pretty good form to me.

Revived · Post #317 » by **Revived** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:40 am

septahex wrote:
LordCovington33 wrote:Zhaire looks like a decent prospect, but still dirty that we had and then lost Mikal. Hopefully, he can get a reliable jumpshot.
Relax bro, we still have your Covington... ...for now.

He's gonna be the longterm replacement for Covington.

Revived · Post #318 » by **Revived** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:43 am

76ciology wrote:
Bum Adebayo wrote:I expect Smith to be better than Fultz in his prime.

Can u explain?

I'm also trying to hype myself with Smith but no avail. And I don't see how Smith can be better than Fultz in his prime. By prime, you didnt mean when he was in virtual reality right? Fultz shooting 35-40% from 3 is a surefire star PG in the league.

Maybe he's referring to him defensively.

Revived · Post #319 » by **Revived** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:45 am

LloydFree wrote:
Bum Adebayo wrote:I expect Smith to be better than Fultz in his prime.

Zhaire's a better athlete and a better shooter, so...

And defender...

Revived · Post #320 » by **Revived** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:46 am

rzzzzz wrote:considering the amount of improvement (allegedly) in his shot between the NCAAs and his draft workouts, i can't wait for summer league. while not a finished project, hopefully, that should give us some indication if he's as fast a learner as Brett says.

If he gets traded to the Spurs, imagine what Chip Engelland (aka shot doctor) will do with him!