Jalen Smith news, highlights and other discussion

[RedIndian]

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Interesting film of Jalen Smith defending smaller guys. He has a very poor defensive stance on the perimeter. He doesn't get very low, doesn't bend his knees enough, and that results in a top-heavy center of gravity that is easy to throw off for elite guards. Fortunately Jalen has the great equalizer in his albatross 7'2 wingspan. It's actually the same length as Mikal's arms, btw. On a 6'10 body, that makes his standing reach 9'2, the same as guys like JJJ. You can see in the film that his length and fluid athleticism can make up for his poor balance and footspeed on the perimeter, and he can bother shots even from disadvantageous positions. He has fantastic natural coordination it seems, always reacting quickly and controlled. If he can just fix his defensive stance, something that can be feasibly done, he will be an excellent switchable defender.

Agreed, I don't think Smith's lateral quickness or hip mobility is abysmal, like say Toppin's.

I think a lot of his issues stem from lack of lower body strength. If he gets stronger in the lower body (which is entirely feasible), his ability to sit on a defensive stance improves and so does his ability to defend on the perimeter. Luckily the kid has a high character rep so hopefully he puts in the work.

The other potentially exciting part of his game is his movement shooting. If he can come off screens and shoot, well, then he can legitimately play the 4 in the NBA.

[Golanator]

Good article from The Athletic here

https://theathletic.com/2175428/2020/11/19/ty-shon-alexander-will-sign-with-the-suns-heres-what-theyre-getting/?amp

[RedIndian]

Fwiw, I think he's a better NBA prospect than both Jerome and Lecque. I made the comparison to a better shooting Melton. If he's a hard worker, then he might end up being a really nice surprise.

[Saberestar]

2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Ty-Shon Alexander

Height w/o shoes 6,2"
201 lbs
Wingspan 6,8"
Standing Reach 8,4"
Body Fat 12.30%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

Since last season w/s height is the official height for players in the league.

Those artificial heights (2 full inches more for his shoes ) are dying in the league.

[phx#7]

2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Ty-Shon Alexander

Height w/o shoes 6,2"
201 lbs
Wingspan 6,8"
Standing Reach 8,4"
Body Fat 12.30%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

Even if there is a concern about his height being inflated with shoes(2in is definitely on the high side for height difference in shoes vs w/o) it really only matters if his wingspan is short. If he were 6'4 in shoes with a 6'1 wingspan, yeah it would probably limit his ability to defend bigger guards, but with a 6'8 wingspan he'll easily be able to play as a 6'4 combo guard.

[jcsunsfan]

2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Ty-Shon Alexander

Height w/o shoes 6,2"
201 lbs
Wingspan 6,8"
Standing Reach 8,4"
Body Fat 12.30%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

I think the barefoot allows for clear comparisons between players.

[bwgood77]

Good stuff Ghost!

I like him. A guy who can space the floor and block shots is a very useful combination. I like that he got bigger and better in a year, shows a good work ethic. Excited to see him develop because he has some untapped potential if he cleans up a few things.

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How do you compare him to your man last year, PJ Washington?

PJ is a little more fluid in movement on both ends and a little more refined from an offensive skills department especially handling. Smith is a better rim protector and probably a more natural shooter although PJ isn't far behind.

Good stuff Ghost!

I like him. A guy who can space the floor and block shots is a very useful combination. I like that he got bigger and better in a year, shows a good work ethic. Excited to see him develop because he has some untapped potential if he cleans up a few things.

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I'm not convinced he'll be able to share the court much with Ayton, which is my biggest concern since the team seemed to do so well with Oubre or Johnson at the 4 when Ayton was on the floor.

If Ayton continues to improve on defense and Smith shows he can defend smaller 4s in space he could be the ideal front court partner.

This is completely fair and I too think Smith looks more like a 5 defensively. On O him and Ayton can play together because you can park Smith in a corner and teams have to respect him so spacing is fine. As of now he'll struggle to guard quick nba 4s.

I don't worry about this yet because frankly I think Smith is a little more of a project than people might realize and it's doubtful he's going to have a big role early. Him and Saric are actually an interesting pairing that should work.

Long term can Smith and Ayton work together for long periods of time? I'm skeptical but Smith changed so much in two years in college that it's hard to say what he looks like in a couple years of NBA level conditioning and training.

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You mention Smith looking like a 5 defensively, and we know he's a better shot blocker..so do you not think Ayton can guard 4s? He has shown he can switch and guard the perimeter...it seems like on defense, Ayton could take 4s and Smith 5s and on offense it could be the other way around, but at the same time, Ayton can play at the top of the key on offense and has good vision and is developing that 3 and Jalen could play down low too.

Seems like they both have the skills to play together even though Ayton makes more sense as a 5 on offense and Jalen as 5 on defense (Ayton can play 4 or 5 on defense).

[darmani]

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[Saberestar]

.

[bwgood77]

Seems a bit redundant with Cam starting at PF and Dario backing him up. I guess Cam can play some SF and Dario some C, and you can never have too many shooters.

The Stepien has him pegged as a 1 position defender (5) so he will likely be Ayton's backup. According to them, he can't cover wings in open space very well at all. If that was the case in college, I don't see him covering the even better NBA wings. This limits his upside a bit. We needed a backup for Ayton though.

Ayton isn't a 1 position defender though. On defense, Ayton could guard 4s and Smith 5s. We probably only deploy these units if we feel we need to for matchup purposes.

[Saberestar]

2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Ty-Shon Alexander

Height w/o shoes 6,2"
201 lbs
Wingspan 6,8"
Standing Reach 8,4"
Body Fat 12.30%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

I think the barefoot allows for clear comparisons between players.

Yeah and It is easy to cheat about your actual height if they allow you to put shoes when measuring you and a lot of players try to do it in measurements. It is ok to round up, but 2 inches more is a joke.

If we are gonna comment about players abilities, size, skills, etc I woul prefer to talk about true data.

[thamadkant]

2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Jalen Smith

Height w/o shoes 6,9.25"
225 lbs
Wingspan 7,2.25"
Standing Reach 9,2.00"
Body Fat 3.70%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

He has almost same size as Adebayo.

Adebayo is 6'8.5 without shoes
Has 7'2.75 wingspan and 9'0 standing reach.

So Smith has higher standing reach and just a almost an inch taller.

What makes Adebayo really good is he plays like Draymond Green up top with his facilitating and passing around the perimeter. The guy averages almost 6 assists by doing a Draymond Green and passing to shooters left and right.

Suns has CP3 and to a lesser extent Booker to make plays so just need Ayton and Smith score inside and focus on getting high percentage looks.

[bwgood77]

Looks like a better version of Thon Maker. A backup center who can shoot from downtown. I don't think he has the fluidity to guard the 4 at the next level. I don't see the Ayton/Smith combo working, even Jones said it's for "stints," implying that Smith will probably be a backup center rather than the starting pf next to Ayton.

Because of his size, he's probably a couple of years away from contributing meaningful minutes. He's skinny and center of gravity isn't ideal. Need to get much, much stronger.

I don't hate the pick. More meh. He brings energy, which this team needs after Oubre left. He brings weakside protection. His shooting should translate, and probably the chief reason why he was drafted.

You don't think Ayton could guard the 4s either in a pairing of the two?

[Ghost of Kleine]

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

I think the barefoot allows for clear comparisons between players.

Yeah and It is easy to cheat about your actual height if they allow you to put shoes when measuring you and a lot of players try to do it in measurements. It is ok to round up, but 2 inches more is a joke.

If we are gonna comment about players abilities, size, skills, etc I woul prefer to talk about true data.

You know, it's really not like they couldn't just check the shoes for lifts or thicker soles if it was indeed such a paramount factor to a player's individual success, That it'd influence prospects to falsely their information. As it stands, other than perception, I really don't see that portion of the measurements as a legitimate necessity in the process. But of course, discussion about true data is important, Do feel free to start things off if you like......................

[MathiasPW]

2020 Daft Combine Measurements
Ty-Shon Alexander

Height w/o shoes 6,2"
201 lbs
Wingspan 6,8"
Standing Reach 8,4"
Body Fat 12.30%

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

Even if there is a concern about his height being inflated with shoes(2in is definitely on the high side for height difference in shoes vs w/o) it really only matters if his wingspan is short. If he were 6'4 in shoes with a 6'1 wingspan, yeah it would probably limit his ability to defend bigger guards, but with a 6'8 wingspan he'll easily be able to play as a 6'4 combo guard.

But does he have 6'8" wingspan without gloves, though?

[cberry78]

Thing is though, How many nba players or even professional athletes ( whatever) do you or anyone else know that plays barefoot or without shoes. I never really understood the logic of this whole barefoot measurements thing. Unless they have concerns over players potentially playing with lifts in their shoes or something! Just go by his measurements in shoes already and call it done. Bottomline is that he's got good size for a combo guard, is a really solid point of attack defender, and is a really good shooter too. He's got a great foundation to build upon! And with him being mentored by someone as great as Paul himself, Offers much to be excited about honestly!

Even if there is a concern about his height being inflated with shoes(2in is definitely on the high side for height difference in shoes vs w/o) it really only matters if his wingspan is short. If he were 6'4 in shoes with a 6'1 wingspan, yeah it would probably limit his ability to defend bigger guards, but with a 6'8 wingspan he'll easily be able to play as a 6'4 combo guard.

But does he have 6'8" wingspan without gloves, though?

I'm pretty sure that wingspan is with lifts.

[WeekapaugGroove]

How do you compare him to your man last year, PJ Washington?

PJ is a little more fluid in movement on both ends and a little more refined from an offensive skills department especially handling. Smith is a better rim protector and probably a more natural shooter although PJ isn't far behind.

I'm not convinced he'll be able to share the court much with Ayton, which is my biggest concern since the team seemed to do so well with Oubre or Johnson at the 4 when Ayton was on the floor.

If Ayton continues to improve on defense and Smith shows he can defend smaller 4s in space he could be the ideal front court partner.

This is completely fair and I too think Smith looks more like a 5 defensively. On O him and Ayton can play together because you can park Smith in a corner and teams have to respect him so spacing is fine. As of now he'll struggle to guard quick nba 4s.

I don't worry about this yet because frankly I think Smith is a little more of a project than people might realize and it's doubtful he's going to have a big role early. Him and Saric are actually an interesting pairing that should work.

Long term can Smith and Ayton work together for long periods of time? I'm skeptical but Smith changed so much in two years in college that it's hard to say what he looks like in a couple years of NBA level conditioning and training.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

You mention Smith looking like a 5 defensively, and we know he's a better shot blocker..so do you not think Ayton can guard 4s? He has shown he can switch and guard the perimeter...it seems like on defense, Ayton could take 4s and Smith 5s and on offense it could be the other way around, but at the same time, Ayton can play at the top of the key on offense and has good vision and is developing that 3 and Jalen could play down low too.

Seems like they both have the skills to play together even though Ayton makes more sense as a 5 on offense and Jalen as 5 on defense (Ayton can play 4 or 5 on defense).

Maybe. I don't like Ayton spending too much time at the PF defensively and it just depends who the other teams 4 is.

Im not too worried about it now because I think we're a year or two away from Smith even being ready for more than spot minutes anyway.

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[cberry78]

I see them playing together with DA at the 5 and Smith at the 4 on O and switching on D. DA can guard Lebron as well as anyone else does and Smith should be able to body up on AD.....same with MIL with Giannis and BroLo.

Are there any other paired bigs in the league where the D switch would be needed? In a wing-heavy league, we've also got Cam and Mikal that can cover the "faster" 4's if Smith really can't do it....then he can split time at bu 5.

[bwgood77]

PJ is a little more fluid in movement on both ends and a little more refined from an offensive skills department especially handling. Smith is a better rim protector and probably a more natural shooter although PJ isn't far behind.

This is completely fair and I too think Smith looks more like a 5 defensively. On O him and Ayton can play together because you can park Smith in a corner and teams have to respect him so spacing is fine. As of now he'll struggle to guard quick nba 4s.

I don't worry about this yet because frankly I think Smith is a little more of a project than people might realize and it's doubtful he's going to have a big role early. Him and Saric are actually an interesting pairing that should work.

Long term can Smith and Ayton work together for long periods of time? I'm skeptical but Smith changed so much in two years in college that it's hard to say what he looks like in a couple years of NBA level conditioning and training.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

You mention Smith looking like a 5 defensively, and we know he's a better shot blocker..so do you not think Ayton can guard 4s? He has shown he can switch and guard the perimeter...it seems like on defense, Ayton could take 4s and Smith 5s and on offense it could be the other way around, but at the same time, Ayton can play at the top of the key on offense and has good vision and is developing that 3 and Jalen could play down low too.

Seems like they both have the skills to play together even though Ayton makes more sense as a 5 on offense and Jalen as 5 on defense (Ayton can play 4 or 5 on defense).

Maybe. I don't like Ayton spending too much time at the PF defensively and it just depends who the other teams 4 is.

Im not too worried about it now because I think we're a year or two away from Smith even being ready for more than spot minutes anyway.

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You think Jalen's more raw than Ayton was coming in? Seems to be a lot more aggressive finishing it, already developed a 3 ball which is huge in today's game, and is a better rim protector.

I expect him to get at least 15 minutes a game by the midpoint of the season unless we sign another PF/C who is better than an end of the roster type. Jones seems to draft guys he thinks are ready to play now.

[bwgood77]

I see them playing together with DA at the 5 and Smith at the 4 on O and switching on D. DA can guard Lebron as well as anyone else does and Smith should be able to body up on AD.....same with MIL with Giannis and BroLo.

Are there any other paired bigs in the league where the D switch would be needed? In a wing-heavy league, we've also got Cam and Mikal that can cover the "faster" 4's if Smith really can't do it....then he can split time at bu 5.

Maybe Atlanta with Collins and Capela/Okongwu and New Orleans with Hayes and Zion. I'm sure there are others...Cleveland maybe. Memphis with JV and JJJ. Perhaps the Kings with Bagley at the 4.