Jalen Smith

[Mainstreet]

I'm hoping the Suns address power forward in free agency but I thought it would be interesting to start examining players that might fit the Suns needs no matter the position.

It would be fun to cover a player a day or something like it with everyone joining in.

I will start with power forward prospect Jalen Smith age 20. Smith is 6'10" and weighs 220 pounds.

Tankathon has him going #27 in their current mock but I think players will move around a lot before the draft.

NBA Draft Room has him going #21 and describes his strengths and weaknesses at the link below:

http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/jalen-smith.html

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is some video on Jalen Smith.

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[Raze]

I love talking about this guy. Great prospect that is getting zero love. I wrote this up on the Draft thread so I thought I'd move it here.

I can't figure why so many mocks have Smith in the 20's. I like him better than Jaden McDaniels who keeps projecting into the teens. This guy fits the mold for the modern day PF. (Anyone else see Raj Thomas from What's Happening when they watch Smith? Must be the goggles.)

Smith is a SOLID rebounder who does a great job fighting for position. Excellent at sealing his man on box outs. Can easily see him near 10 boards a game as he matures. Good timing on blocks, with room to grow. His shot form is also impressive. Good line from elbow down. Has a good rhythm. His release is a tad low, but nothing alarming at 6-10. His 37% from 3 doesn't seem to be a fluke. Could also end up an 80% FT shooter with his good form (75% this year).

My biggest concern is his stiffness. He plays too rigid, especially below the waist. (Needs to take some dance classes.) This can be a big problem against more agile NBA PFs that he'll face. Too me, this is his biggest knock. It can make or break him. I also wonder how well he'll be able to put the ball down from the 3 and attack the rim. He'll need to be two dimensional from out there. He also doesn't appear to have a big vertical, but he compensates well with hard work and timing. I'll be very interested to see his measurables.

He would be a great PF prospect coming off the bench for the Suns, especially when DA comes out, since he'll likely do well on the boards. If he can increase his agility I could really seeing him being a great rebounding/D role player.

 

[Mainstreet]

I love talking about this guy. Great prospect that is getting zero love. I wrote this up on the Draft thread so I thought I'd move it here.

I can't see this guy lasting into the twenties either. When I started looking at the prospects I started looking at later prospects because I thought there was a better of them being available when the Suns draft. His video and scouting reports blew me away.

 

[JerkFace]

Jalen Smith spent his freshman and half his sophomore year looking like a solid college player with limited skills that would transfer over to the NBA, but the second half of the season he flipped the switch and started showing some 3pt range and defensive consistency and turned himself into a legit pro prospect. I think he was serious hurt by the cancelling of March madness. I had him pegged as a player that could see his stock seriously improve during March madness.

 

[Mainstreet]

Jalen, please be there at #10 if the Suns keep the pick. I have a feeling there are better players in the draft than I initially thought.

 

[overseascardfan]

I know he's slated in the 20s range but the talent from arguably #6 on to end of first round is pretty close with little drop off. I wouldn't consider Jalen Smith a reach at #11 or #12 but some will say its a reach. It can't be any worse than taking Cam Johnson at #13 last year. Last year's draft is pretty damn similar in being a 3 player draft. Edwards, Ball & Wiseman are considered Top 3 with Toppen arguably the 4th best player but no player in this draft should be considered a face of the franchise guy.

 

[JerkFace]

In his final 18 games Jalen averaged almost 3.5 3pt attempts per game and made them at a 40% clip. He also averaged 17.2 pts, 10.8 rbs, and 2.4 blks.

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[1Sun]

I know he's slated in the 20s range but the talent from arguably #6 on to end of first round is pretty close with little drop off. I wouldn't consider Jalen Smith a reach at #11 or #12 but some will say its a reach. It can't be any worse than taking Cam Johnson at #13 last year. Last year's draft is pretty damn similar in being a 3 player draft. Edwards, Ball & Wiseman are considered Top 3 with Toppen arguably the 4th best player but no player in this draft should be considered a face of the franchise guy.

I would concur with this. I don't think Jalen Smith is anywhere near the reach at 10 this year than Cam Johnson was at 11 last year.

 

[Raze]

I know he's slated in the 20s range but the talent from arguably #6 on to end of first round is pretty close with little drop off. I wouldn't consider Jalen Smith a reach at #11 or #12 but some will say its a reach. It can't be any worse than taking Cam Johnson at #13 last year. Last year's draft is pretty damn similar in being a 3 player draft. Edwards, Ball & Wiseman are considered Top 3 with Toppen arguably the 4th best player but no player in this draft should be considered a face of the franchise guy.

I agree. Which begs the question: if the Suns truly desired Smith AND he's widely considered to go in the late 20's, do they attempt a trade back somewhere in the #17-22 range, gain some assets, and still land their guy? (If so, I personally hope JJ shows better wisdom in his trade back than he did last year.)

I could easily put Smith right behind:

Ball, Wiseman, Edwards, Avdija, Toppin, Haliburton, and Okongwu.

However, I'd put him before Hayes, Okoro, Carey, and Maledon. I guess, for now, I've got him #8 on my board. But since the perceived value is in the 20's it would be savvy to trade back somewhere in the middle.

Interestingly enough draftnet has Smith going in the 2nd round at the Suns old draft spot (#40 via Jackson trade). This guy gets NO respect.

 

[hcsilla]

Smith seems quite underrated, he reminds me of Jonathan Isaac more than Jaden McDaniels does who is usually compared to Isaac.

 

[Superbone]

Any kid of Will Smith is good with me. Wait, who?

 

[JerkFace]

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[Mainstreet]

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I don't understand why Smith isn't rated higher in the mocks. He checks almost all the boxes for me.

 

[1Sun]

A bit of a reach, but given how much of a crap shoot this entire draft is, I would be fine with Smith at 10.