Welcome Zhaire Smith

[Bum Adebayo]

Zhaire is not a JJ replacement in playing style, he will never be an elite shooter, he could become above average or adequate enough maybe yes, but no more than that. His ability to make plays and contribute on defense will be his calling card. That being said, I can't wait to get rid of Redick so I would be ok with that replacement.

[51X3RF4N]

What's everyone's thoughts on Zhaire's ceiling? Is it something like an Avery Bradley with hopefully better team defense?

At this point I would say his ceiling is unlimited. I mean he's turning 20 on Tuesday? And he's already hit more 3s in his NBA career than both Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons, as well as having done that after going through some serious poop in life.

He has ideal NBA length and athleticism off the charts. If he develops that catch and shoot from 3pt, as well as taking the dribble hand-off and works on his movement without the ball to get open looks coming off screens, the rest will come naturally. He could become a master at forcing his man to overplay on the screen, slip under it to dive to the rim for layups and dunks, which is an aspect of JJ's game that was missing.

His defense, should he continue to hustle and show effort at that end, is immediately one of the top 4 on our team, which is notoriously good defensively.

If he can just come out and hit 36-40% from 3, he's the starting SG on a championship caliber team from day 1.

And then if he continues to improve year over year, why can't he be the next Kawhi???

Nothing in his film can tell me he cannot become a top 10 player in the league over the next 5 years.

Are the chances of that high? Meh, I don't know. What I do know is he has all the tools to do so, if he is driven to improve enough.

And playing in the right environment with 4 other stars will only help his development by giving him mentors and taking the pressure off the need for immediate major improvements.

[Sixerfever216]

Very good post! For a 19 year old kid I was very impressed at how comfortable he looked on the court. He has all the tools u would want and dosent seem to be afraid. Why can't he be Iggy, with a better jumpshot. His ceiling is all about how much he works. Brett Brown coming from the Spurs he puts value into developing talent. You seen it through the Process era guys like Covington and McConnell get better. Super excited to see how his game expands year 2

[PhillyPhilly]

Totally agree with the two posts above. Zhiare's potential is huge and even in the short amount of games he had In the NBA he showed he belongs on that stage. He shot 40% from three and landed a three in all but one of his games, he showed great defensive skills and got assists and rebounds as well. He can be another Iggy or Kawhi (obviously a short version) If he really puts his head down and works hard from now on. His performance in the summer league will tell us more about his prospects for next season. IF he tears it up and then does well in the pre-season games then why not start him? We'd no doubt have the most athletic back-court in the entire league and their defense should be insane to watch too.

[PhilasFinest]

Ive liked Zhaire since the pre-draft process and am a big fan of his upside....

That being said, the Kawhi talk/comp's need to stop.
IF it was to happen, GREAT. But Kawhi Leonard is literally carrying a team to the NBA finals on his back and playing like arguably the best player in the entire NBA right now. Let's pump the brakes a bit and just hope Zhaire can become a key contributor next season before we start slapping Best player in the NBA upside on him lol.

[youngcrev]

The sky is the limit... Until we've seen him play.

I like his skill set for this team, particularly if he can make 3s at a league average percentage or above.

But I don't imagine anyone had him as Kawhi or Iguodala with a jumper before he was wearing a Sixers uniform, and he just basically missed the entire year, so I'm not sure what's changed besides that.

[rzzzzz]

Unfortunately he sort of inherits Fultz's spot of the delayed rookie phenom that many Sixers' faithful pin their hopes on stabilizing a championship worthy backcourt. Even though his serious medical setbacks don't appear to offer elusive resolution like Markelle, Smith has never demonstrated a smooth mastery of the game. At best, he is an extremely raw, but athletically gifted prospect, with a work ethic that promises development to whatever ceiling he's got. I kind of wish he could spend a chunk of time at a local street ball hang out, polishing a little style to go along with his hops.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

I think he's going to be an important player for us in the future. Very raw from what I have seen, but already a bulldog of a defender and someone that plays a competitive style to go along with being an elite athlete. As the scouting report suggests, his handles and shooting need to improve. It's up to Brett to find ways to use him effectively and it's up to him (Smith) to want to improve in the areas he needs to. I think he's a steal of a draft pick, but he's got to be brought along slowly. While I don't compare him to Leonard in any way skill wise, I feel HOW we bring him along should be comparable. Slowly give him more responsibility until he maxes out. The small steps he takes will eventually lead to him being the best player that he can be. He's no Leonard, but if he's 2016 Avery Bradley or a modern day version of John Starks, then he's going to be a fan favorite around Philly.

[Kolkmania]

Pssst, Zhaire reversed his shot to pre-allergy form. Thank goodness.

Read on Twitter

[USWAY]

Pssst, Zhaire reversed his shot to pre-allergy form. Thank goodness.

Read on Twitter

Thank god. I didn't want to be a fear monger but that sh*t looked ugly last year. He hit it at a decent clip but I was confused how it had switched all of a sudden

[stormi]

Am I the only one that doesn't see much of a difference

[phillybird]

Can we talk about how when Zhaire lands after a dunk, he 90% of the time lands on one leg? Consistently putting all the stress on one leg after getting so high in the air is part of the reason why D Rose became so injury prone.

[kawhifmvp2019]

Zhaire is not a JJ replacement in playing style, he will never be an elite shooter, he could become above average or adequate enough maybe yes, but no more than that. His ability to make plays and contribute on defense will be his calling card. That being said, I can't wait to get rid of Redick so I would be ok with that replacement.

THE NEXT KAWHI OF GRAUD VERSION

[kawhifmvp2019]

I think he's going to be an important player for us in the future. Very raw from what I have seen, but already a bulldog of a defender and someone that plays a competitive style to go along with being an elite athlete. As the scouting report suggests, his handles and shooting need to improve. It's up to Brett to find ways to use him effectively and it's up to him (Smith) to want to improve in the areas he needs to. I think he's a steal of a draft pick, but he's got to be brought along slowly. While I don't compare him to Leonard in any way skill wise, I feel HOW we bring him along should be comparable. Slowly give him more responsibility until he maxes out. The small steps he takes will eventually lead to him being the best player that he can be. He's no Leonard, but if he's 2016 Avery Bradley or a modern day version of John Starks, then he's going to be a fan favorite around Philly.

you underrated him

[kawhifmvp2019]

Ive liked Zhaire since the pre-draft process and am a big fan of his upside....

That being said, the Kawhi talk/comp's need to stop.
IF it was to happen, GREAT. But Kawhi Leonard is literally carrying a team to the NBA finals on his back and playing like arguably the best player in the entire NBA right now. Let's pump the brakes a bit and just hope Zhaire can become a key contributor next season before we start slapping Best player in the NBA upside on him lol.

remember kawhi was an role player in his 1st couple season

[PhilasFinest]

Ive liked Zhaire since the pre-draft process and am a big fan of his upside....

That being said, the Kawhi talk/comp's need to stop.
IF it was to happen, GREAT. But Kawhi Leonard is literally carrying a team to the NBA finals on his back and playing like arguably the best player in the entire NBA right now. Let's pump the brakes a bit and just hope Zhaire can become a key contributor next season before we start slapping Best player in the NBA upside on him lol.

remember kawhi was an role player in his 1st couple season

Yea, your right....but Zhaire isnt even a role player YET.

Like I said, You can go back and see that I was a BIG Zhaire fan during the pre-draft process (My comps weren't Kawhi, more Avery Bradley w/ LaVine hops). I am simply not a fan of comparing a guy to arguably the best player in the NBA when he has done so little so far.

I hope he does turn into Kawhi

[kawhifmvp2019]

Ive liked Zhaire since the pre-draft process and am a big fan of his upside....

That being said, the Kawhi talk/comp's need to stop.
IF it was to happen, GREAT. But Kawhi Leonard is literally carrying a team to the NBA finals on his back and playing like arguably the best player in the entire NBA right now. Let's pump the brakes a bit and just hope Zhaire can become a key contributor next season before we start slapping Best player in the NBA upside on him lol.

remember kawhi was an role player in his 1st couple season

Yea, your right....but Zhaire isnt even a role player YET.

Like I said, You can go back and see that I was a BIG Zhaire fan during the pre-draft process (My comps weren't Kawhi, more Avery Bradley w/ LaVine hops). I am simply not a fan of comparing a guy to arguably the best player in the NBA when he has done so little so far.

I hope he does turn into Kawhi

his upside is not only 3 & D,even kawhi can improve his handle,why can't Smith,plus he is a quick learner,I trust him

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

I think he's going to be an important player for us in the future. Very raw from what I have seen, but already a bulldog of a defender and someone that plays a competitive style to go along with being an elite athlete. As the scouting report suggests, his handles and shooting need to improve. It's up to Brett to find ways to use him effectively and it's up to him (Smith) to want to improve in the areas he needs to. I think he's a steal of a draft pick, but he's got to be brought along slowly. While I don't compare him to Leonard in any way skill wise, I feel HOW we bring him along should be comparable. Slowly give him more responsibility until he maxes out. The small steps he takes will eventually lead to him being the best player that he can be. He's no Leonard, but if he's 2016 Avery Bradley or a modern day version of John Starks, then he's going to be a fan favorite around Philly.

you underrated him

No, I have tempered expectations. I'm hoping for quite a positive trajectory for him. He's already a terrific athlete, if he can improve as a basketball player, then I think he's a star in the making. However, i'm going to put all that on hold until he actually starts to show it in a regular season basketball game. He's already becoming one of my favorite players, I just want to keep expectations rather chill under further notice.

[Kobblehead]

I'm not usually a fan of Jonathan Tjarks, but this is a pretty good piece on Zhaire. You can tell he's a fan.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/7/17/20697230/zhaire-smith-philadelphia-76ers

[Kobblehead]

So it looks like Zhaire is at the bottom of the roster in terms of rotation minutes. I guess he's going to have to earn Brett's adulation over time.