Cowology wrote:Piston Pete wrote:tmorgan wrote:Yeah, at this point we need a rim protector in the worst way. Some one for our adequate perimeter defenders to funnel to.
As much as I often don’t like him, Bagley has impressed me a lot. But he absolutely cannot handle the above role. So, even if we don’t draft a big, one of Bagley or Grant likely needs to go. That’s too much money to spend on two guys that both fail miserably at one aspect of playing a big (Bagley’s defense, Grant’s rebounding).
Enter Jalen Smith, the 21 year old FA-to-be.
He’s more versatile scorer than Bagley and he’s a better rebounder than Grant. He’ll block more shots than both.
Smith is interesting. It's another Monk type situation where the Pacers are restricted in what they are able to offer him, so he's almost certainly gone. He barely played for Phx and didn't do a whole lot while there, but he's put up solid numbers with the Pacers. It's a very small sample size though and I've barely seen him play.
Yeah, the Pacers will absolutely not be able to retain Smith. They can only offer him $4+ million and Smith’s next contract will surely be more than that.
He’s capable of playing PF and C. He’s got a much better outside shot than Bagley, but will also bang down low and knows how’s to make himself available for lobs (like Bagley).
He’s 21.
He’s good defensively as well and will block more shots than Bagley.
