SoCalJazzFan wrote:In an odd move, the Suns have declined to excercise the 3rd yr option on Jalen Smith, the #10 selection of the 2020 NBA draft that occurred roughly a year ago! He'll be a free agent next summer.
If you don't recall, he is a skinny 6'10" long player who is in the mold of Christian Wood and Jerami Grant, in that he can both shoot from distance and protect the paint (or at least he did in college). I like his potential. I wonder what the cost would be.
I wonder if this is a cost-saving move due to all the contracts the Suns had to dole out recently, not even including Ayton.
Smith looks interesting. I'd love it if the Jazz started to take flyers on high lottery picks that other teams move from. Sure, there is usually a reason for that, but the physical tools, talent and size are usually there, and if the Jazz believe in their ability to develop players then they shouldn't ignore such players. Sometimes their lack of success is situational. It's time the Jazz took advantage of and capitalized on other teams' efforts to develop prospects for several seasons instead of just being a farm team.
