Welcome Zhaire Smith

[76ciology]

Direct quote from Brown on what he saw in Zhaire :

Thats the problem with the mindset of this team in terms of roster construction.

Let’s draft a center with a physique of a SF
Let’s draft PGs who can’t shoot
Let’s draft a center who doesn’t play defense
Let’s draft a 6’4” guard who plays like a PF

There are like literally thousand of talent out there. We keep fitting a square peg on a round hole. Just because they are special doesn’t mean they’re valuable. Value is relative to utility.

I dont get it either. Maybe Brown thought they had the developmental program of the spurs, to turn players into something by adding pieces to their game. But the sixers just dont.

Because they are using numbers the wrong way. It should be eyetest first then use numbers for confirmation.

[Kobblehead]

I think it's clear that the Sixers are banking on Zhaire developing ball skills from scratch and hoping to strike gold on an Oladipo-like player.

[XDevilBoiX]

Wished they could’ve sent him off instead of Shamet. Dude not likely a contributor on this team, what are the chances a project becomes any good

[ivysixer2000]

Wished they could’ve sent him off instead of Shamet. Dude not likely a contributor on this team, what are the chances a project becomes any good

Yeah another weird thing with this front office, you know you need shooting around Jojo, it would be very difficult to move Shamet and lose JJ later if I were in their position. It really doesn't make sense, of course, they probably thought they would be getting alot of that from Tobias but so far that hasn't worked in our favor.

Shamet would be ideal for what we need right now, especially in a bench role. Hindsight is always 20/20 of course, but we have made alot of mistakes in this 'process'.

[Mik317]

its almost as if the draft is not an exact science or something lol. Zhaire was a shot in the dark and secondary to the pick we got via trading back. He was/is a young ball of clay who spent most of last year trying to not die with a broken foot. Him being behind schedule is to be expected really at this stage. Not to mention unlike many of previous sixers rookies he doesn't have the chance to learn via trial by fire. Honestly he is in the same area I had placed Joel during his 2 missing years...anything we get from his as a player will be gravy lol. I too am mad we passed on SGA but he apparently had a promise from Jerry West and had shut down all workouts...so its moreso we passed on Mikal Bridges...who isn;t exactly doing much either. Its a missed opprutunity but not the end of the world if the 16th pick in the draft doesn't blossom.

[LloydFree]

Zhaire Smith is 20 years old. 20 year olds don't play on contenders, they play on Process teams and the Phoenix Suns.

[kriss73]

Zhaire Smith is 20 years old. 20 year olds don't play on contenders, they play on Process teams and the Phoenix Suns.

Unless you're Luka of course.

[Kobblehead]

I still don't get why we banished him to the sports drink league.

He might be a project, but only offensively. He was a plus NBA defender the moment the commish read his name on draft night.

He should be in our rotation getting minutes and developing on the fly.

[APettyJ]

He's not "banished", any more than Roy Halladay was "banished" to the minors early on in his pro career. He needs as much playing time as possible if he is going to transition from the front court to the back court.

He can develop down there, and then grow playing off the NBA bench once the foundation is set, but that needs time. Fans need patience.

[Kobblehead]

I don't like that analogy at all. Almost every baseball prospect has to grind the minor league system. And their teams don't have to make financial decisions on them until they start accruing service time.

We have a financial decision to make on Zhaire in 2 and a half years and we've seen a grand total of 111 minutes of him.

[APettyJ]

You may not like it, but that is the direction basketball is trending. The goal is for the "sports drink league" to become a minor league, and my hope is the Sixers are at the forefront of using it as such. People complain about how much watered down the talent level has become with so many one-and-dones entering the league, and lament what will happen once that rule goes away fairly soon. The obvious answer is continuing the development of a proper developmental system using the G-league. What the Sixers are doing with Zhaire, as well as what has been done with Shake and Pelle, gives me hope. Other teams in the NBA have had success finding and developing good players using their G-league squads, such as Miami, San Antonio and Utah.

Even if it takes all of this season and most of next for Zhaire to really make any progress, if the result is he is able to be a dynamic addition for the 2020-21 playoff run, the decision will be easy to give him an extension.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Kobblehead]

Guys taken in or around the lottery that end up in the sports drink league are underachievers. There's nothing good about Zhaire losing the wing tournament in training camp and getting banished to the sports drink league. It's a demotion.

The sports drink league is for developing 2nd rounders and finding undrafted guys.

[LloydFree]

Zhaire Smith is 20 years old. 20 year olds don't play on contenders, they play on Process teams and the Phoenix Suns.

Unless you're Luka of course.

I get the joke. But obviously that's the difference between being a top 3 pick and being a non-lottery pick. You get picked in the top 3, that means you're special and can do special things like playing in the NBA at a high level.

Hand wringing over Zhaire Smith's playing time is silly. He'd be playing, if 22 year old Korkmaz and 22 year old Thybulle weren't better than him at this point. Says more about them playing better than expected, than him being a disappointment, IMO. Teams don't play 8 guard rotations.

[kriss73]

Zhaire Smith is 20 years old. 20 year olds don't play on contenders, they play on Process teams and the Phoenix Suns.

Unless you're Luka of course.

I get the joke. But obviously that's the difference between being a top 3 pick and being a non-lottery pick. You get picked in the top 3, that means you're special and can do special things like playing in the NBA at a high level.

Hand wringing over Zhaire Smith's playing time is silly. He'd be playing, if 22 year old Korkmaz and 22 year old Thybulle weren't better than him at this point. Says more about them playing better than expected, than him being a disappointment, IMO. Teams don't play 8 guard rotations.

I agree with you of course.
I think my remark is a testament to Luka talent more than a shot to Zhaire.

[Embiid P]

At this point, IDK what to think of Zhaire. He has talent and potential but his rookie season was pretty much derailed by a broken foot and a life-threatening sesame allergy. I'm still holding out hope that he'll eventually play and produce for us, but given the emergence of Thybulle and the fact that his biggest weakness (shooting) is arguably our team's biggest need right now, it seems less and less likely. I hope the kid gets a shot, whether it's here or somewhere else.

[51X3RF4N]

I see Zhaire as a key piece to the future, especially after this 3 year run we have in front of us.

Give him time to continue to develop his guard skills. It's not like he isn't showing flashes of it already. Step back 3pt shots, dribble drive situations, etc.

If he can hone in on those skills each time he goes out there, in the G league, and truly work on getting better and better, then he can step into the rotation once he gets to the level of being a positive on an NBA court.

He is definitely a SG next to Ben.

Here is my thought process...

Horford has 2 years left as a starter full time, before dropping to the bench for his final 2 contract years.

Harris is more effective at PF next to Embiid.

Thybulle will continue to develop next season as a 6th man. And then take Horfords starting spot leading into his 3rd season, at 25 years old.

Josh Richardson may not be brought back at 29 years old, for the money he will command.

After a 3 year playoff run, regardless of how many rings are won, Zhaire will be 23 and ready to step into a starting SG role.

Imagine if Zhaire can work to develop the mindset and skill set to be an iso wing scorer who can create for himself and get to the foul line consistently. Imagine if he can continue to be a menace defensively and a big time athlete in the open court.

Starters in 2021-2022:

Embiid (28)
Harris (30)
Thybulle (25)
Smith (23)
Simmons (26)

Bench:

Horford (36)
Draft pick or vet
Korkmaz (25)
Shake (26)
Draft pick or vet

This is how I think the front office hopes things play out.

[Kobblehead]

19 points in 29 minutes on January 10th. Made four threes in the game, too. Zhaire putting together a big stretch in the G-League and getting a late-season call-up could be a huge boost for us.

[76ciology]

Could we had just traded Zhaire for Exum? Let us deal with Exum’s injury then let Cavs have a more healthy player in Zhaire?

A healthy Exum is a good fit for this team.

P.S. we almost drafted Exum over Embiid in 2014.

[kuclas]

Could we had just traded Zhaire for Exum? Let us deal with Exum’s injury then let Cavs have a more healthy player in Zhaire?

A healthy Exum is a good fit for this team.

P.S. we almost drafted Exum over Embiid in 2014.

Doubt it. Embiid talent was so great. There was zero chance of him falling past 3rd. Zero chance.

Considering Danny Ainge tried to moved up from 6th in the draft to get embiid.

The 2014 draft as
Embiid


Parker
Wiggins



Gordon/exum

Rest of the 1st round


Embiid was in his own tier before the broken foot. But the gap between Parker/Wiggins down to Gordon/exum was huge as well.

[76ciology]

Could we had just traded Zhaire for Exum? Let us deal with Exum’s injury then let Cavs have a more healthy player in Zhaire?

A healthy Exum is a good fit for this team.

P.S. we almost drafted Exum over Embiid in 2014.

Doubt it. Embiid talent was so great. There was zero chance of him falling past 3rd. Zero chance.

Considering Danny Ainge tried to moved up from 6th in the draft to get embiid.

The 2014 draft as
Embiid


Parker
Wiggins



Gordon/exum

Rest of the 1st round


Embiid was in his own tier before the broken foot. But the gap between Parker/Wiggins down to Gordon/exum was huge as well.

The way we see things is way different that how real GMs see things. Thats how i look at it. And drafting Exum was the strong rumor at draft night back then.

If you can remember Exum was like the Porzingis of that draft. The mystery guy. And the hype was very high