Draft dummies comments on Jalen Smith:
-enticing prospect
-unicorn for spacing the floor and protect paint, ultra valuable
-would be a little bit better if he had a little more iq and motor
-didnt properly position himself at times
-moves side to side pretty well
-missed some assignments
-his potential, the way he moves, is off the charts
-love him as a prospect but needs to improve mentally
-slides fine on perimeter, not convinced he will be guarding on perimeter
-not super quick twitch athlete
-lower body strength an issue
-concerned about how he would handle the big centers (but acknowledges they are rare in NBA)
-needs to roll better in the PNR, says not a big weakness
-on offense, impressed that he visited mental health experts which helped him get over a shooting slump
-3 point shot looks good
-shows impressive flashes: post turnaround fadeway, ability to rebound way out of his area.
-high end outcome is Myles Turner
-low end outcome is Mo Bamba
Okay, so these guys sounded way more knowledgeable and actually provided examples. I disagree with a couple of their points, but they were way more convincing than those two ing idiots from Prep2Pro Podcast
Prep2Pro, one of the guys is Ben Pfeifer who has been a pro NBA writer for various outlets for maybe a few years, still a young guy though.
Draft Dummies to my understanding are just 2 draft enthusiasts and not professional writers or analysts. Their first few shows were just independent uploads and they quickly were added to a podcast network.
I think I'll post all the NBA draft podcasts I listen to and include little bits of info like these.
And while I haven't watched full games of Jalen Smith, the Myles Turner comp seems fair. Turner had those critiques about his gait and dynamic chain etc. But eventually became a defensive big who shot threes and is a legit starter.
And he was drafted ... 11th
DRAFT RELATED PODCASTS that could be useful to anyone who wants to get deeper on the draft. Look them up on your favorite podcast app or google them, you'll be able to find them with perhaps 1 that's on youtube. In no particular order.
Draft Dummies. Two enthusiasts who you can tell watch the games and speak in detail. Typically they are NOT with the media/twitter consensus. They definitely have their own informed opinions and mindset on how they view the draft. They do agree with each other about 95% of the time but I find that any draft show tends to have people of a like mind. I would say for now I get the most out of this one.
Prep2Pro. Features 2 pros/semi-pro writers. These guys are real young, like most of 'draft twitter'. They seem to be more aligned with the consensus.
Locked On Hawks. Among the entire Locked On network of teams, nobody does the draft coverage like LoH which features different writers/bloggers/etc on. Because the Hawks have been a crap team so long LoH is basically a draft show year round, and if you go through the episodes it's just a ton of content, covering not just the lottery but also the second round and UFA. Sure, it's filtered through a Hawks aligned perspective, but I think it's worth it.
The Lottery. By the NBA draft writer from Bleacher Report, Jonathan Wasserman. More of a general draft podcast, has more of a media feel to it, perhaps more big board centric than other podcasts.
Game Theory. By Sam Vecenie, who is the draft guy for The Athletic. Lately his podcast is more NBA focused but will eventually turn to more in depth draft stuff, right now it's more of the media consensus type stuff. He also regularly guests on the RealGM NBA show with Danny Laroux and those episodes are all draft.
The Dane Moore NBA Podcast. A Timberwolves focused podcast, Moore and his co-host, a division II? assistant coach, do a lot of draft stuff on their podcast. Moore recently was a media member who was laid off during covid and took his podcast with him. I find it interesting, but I definitely don't agree a lot with them. For instance, they hated Patrick Williams, basically describing him as a bad smallball center. But, I still check out their player breakdowns.
Prospect Podcast. I don't think I've listened to more than 1 episode of this one yet, but I did download them. More super young college aged guys doing draft stuff. I should probably have listened more before listing them.
Knocking on Hardwood. Another college guy doing a draft podcast.
Chad Ford's NBA Big Board. No new episodes since June 15th, either due to the draft being moved back or a minor controversy involving some of Ford's language or something else. When it went on hiatus, most of it's episodes wer about re-drafts, so presumably if/when it comes back there will be more about the current draft.
Locked on Fantasy Basketball. Only a few draft related shows as of now, but that will change when the season's over.
Mike Gribanov, who has his own youtube channel. A writer for The Stepien if I remember right. Seems to be on hiatus now, but was just doing youtube streams of him going over who he looked at and what he thought of them and ranking them as he went. Previously was a part of the Hardwood Homies draft podcast (itself the follow-up to the official Stepien podcast), but that ended when the other co-host, one the legion of college student NBA draftniks, got a job or internship with an NBA team. But Gribanov was left behind. The youtube channel was his outlet in place of the podcast but I believe it's on hiatus now.
Other Locked On shows, other team related shows. Some like Down to Dunk (thunder related), Locked on Hornets, Locked on Bulls, I check these out when they have draft related content.
Last edited by objective; 08-31-2020 at 01:56 AM.
Draft Dummies cover Isaiah Stewart in Episode 7, timestamp 45:45
Slight Spurs related info with regards to his game.
Meh, I think unless you have a track record of being right about prospects, whether you work for the NBA or work as a reporter, your input is the same as the next guy. I'm not saying not listening to people who do put their time into this, as it is good to have a different view point to remove your biases and watch a specific player again. But people do get carried away with what people hear or read and let that one video/ article/ site/ podcast dictate what they feel about a certain player. Effort needs to be put in these types of things. And if you end up being wrong about something, you need to learn from it to ensure growth. I'm saying all this but will also acknowledge that my feelings towards Jalen could change. Any player could look shiny the first several times you watch them (just look at people crazy over Poku)
That being said, unless Myles was quicker when he was younger, I think Jalen has more potential in that area.
Check out 50:14. Very good example of his twitch since the guard turns left and right. To me, Jalen is quicker with his feet vs Myles.
I look forward to your comments about Jalen after you have watched him.
Last edited by Dejounte; 08-31-2020 at 09:37 AM.
Key note for everyone obsessed with wingspan (I can be guilty of this too): Jamal Murray has a 6'6" wingspan and is 6'4" tall. If there's a prospect out there and their offensive talent is through the roof, you go and get them.
Jamal Murray is nice and all, but he will never be more than a 2nd option on a contender, at best. If possible, I would rather shoot for a chance at a Kawhi, Lebron, Giannis, Durant, Doncic type player. That's why you search for length if possible.
Well, yeah, if the pool of players left where we select are clearly all low ceiling players (or if the Spurs don't believe in the potential that's there) is all I'm saying about players like Jamal...
Do you think the Cletics would trade 14 and 26 for 11 and 41? With those two first round picks I think the Spurs would be able to get two pretty good prospects.
If we got a player who becomes as good as Jamal Murray(I’m not even a big fan of his game) in this draft I will get season tickets. I don’t see anyone having a chance of really being all nba in this draft but certainly some sub all star level potential. I also hope I’m wrong and the Spurs hit big on someone.
If someone they are after is available at 11 on draft night I think they would
I think Boston, with 3 first rounders who will all get guaranteed deals and a hefty payroll, will look to deal one or more of them. Philly also has 4 SECOND round picks. Houston has no picks at all, and Memphis, Indy, and the clippers are without first rounders.
Says he honed in on Kevin Garnett
Says he will bring versatility to a team, will defend smaller players
Says he won't back down from anybody, including LeBron James
thats possible but imo most likely celtics will use their pick(s) to get rid of hayward and get other star which will help them next season. Probably they would want LMA from us.
I do think they use Hayward and picks to try and get a star... I'm just not sure if we fit in that scenario...maybe if they can't get a star they would settle for a package around lma..
A lot will depend on Hayward coming back and how he performs during Boston’s run.
On some of Jalen's threes, I'm amazed how well he moved off the ball and off screens to become as open as he is on some of those plays...like he's way open. It's reminscent of Aaron Nesmith but at a lower frequency. I'm not sure how common that is with big men who shoot 3s. I guess it's sort of like JJJ from the Grizzlies? That dude was a killer on 3s.
I read about his shot mechanics and how it doesn't need to be remade, which is good. His shots are flat, which is explained by his lower percentages on guarded catch and shoots. If Chip gets to work on that shot, he might become a uva shooter.
Another thing to keep in mind is how well a prospect's "hot spots" complement where our current players like to shoot. I've been checking out shot charts for each player on the Spurs and draft prospects. A quick glance tells me that Keldon likes to shoot from the left side/ left corner of the basket, Lonnie likes to shoot at the right side, etc. From what I've seen, Jalen likes to shoot from the top of the key and the right side. Not sure how much this factors in since I'm not in the Spurs war room but you have to think it does.
Last edited by Dejounte; 09-01-2020 at 12:38 PM.
“What makes him so tough is his ability to play all over the court. He’s a guy that can pick-and-pop. They’re running plays for him to come off down screens for 3s. He can drive it. Obviously his length, you get six offensive rebounds and then he can score around the basket. There’s a reason why he’s going to play basketball for a long time and, health-willing, have a magnificent career. He’s a terrific player, and I’m a big fan of what he does.”
“He’s actually doing better than I imagined this year,” Turgeon said. “And even two months ago, in December, I wasn’t sure we could get to this so fast. ... We’re really working on when big guys are running at him, him driving the ball and making plays for himself, for other people. We’re still evolving. We can still get a lot better before the year is over and [Smith] is working at it. He wants to be great.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bal...outputType=amp
If Jalen learns the ability to drive, that would be scary. Top 10 pick if he did.
My dream would be to have a Pascal type player on this team:
(Fun fact: Precious says he talks with Pascal and models his game after him)
Last edited by Dejounte; 09-01-2020 at 07:56 PM.
Pascal Siakam in college
"There's a lot I can work on. The one thing I need to work on now is making moves off the dribble. Every team is running me off the dribble. I need to do more than a straight drive, just to e it up a bit."
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