I’m not seeing it yet either. I’m not saying he looks bad, but don’t think I’ve seen much to be excited about yet either.
I figured out who you meant right away but I honestly thought it was a new nickname for him and I was trying to make it fit. And failing. The only thing I could come up with was that it was an indictment of all those teams, scouts and fans that thought passing on him was a good thing. I never considered the simple possibility that it was an autocorrect, duh.
Thought I was having visuals when Silver announced Jalen Smith’s name. I like his aggression and length but I didn’t see what all the fuss was about the other night. He’s in a tough spot having to be the first big off the bench day one.
He’s fortunate IMO. Saric is out. Kaminsky is somewhat capable sometimes, then Ayton and Jones have been in foul trouble.
This is the NBA. You take advantage of every opportunity that comes along. And for Smith, he proved to not be useless. And that’s all you want form an untested rookie in his first game ever.
He's really raw but I like his effort and he's shown a few NBA skills already. Hopefully though we won't be shorthanded enough to have to play him very much this season.
I agree with this. Jalen is smart and skilled but it's going to take time for his body to develop. If he were stronger I could see a more progressive development during the season much like Cam Johnson. Hopefully he is not forced into this situation.
I like what I've seen from Jalen so far. He's shown enough to warrant a rotation spot so far. Got to give James Jones credit, it looks like he drafted another quality player who can contribute right away and has room to grow into something special.
They brought up a good point on the timeline podcast. this is a good team that’s 14 guys deep. Raw rookies shouldn’t be getting minutes we are trying to win every game possible and we are used to being horrible and just throwing guys out there and not developing them. he’s not going to get minutes on this roster he’s not ready let him go down to the G League and get his NBA body and minutes there.
My questions about Jalen mainly revolve around how much he can develop his body. He has skills. If his frame can add enough extra weight and muscle to compete, I think he can play in the NBA.
I have high hopes for him, I've seen nothing to make me think otherwise. But he's not ready for prime time just yet and fortunately, we don't need to throw him to the wolves either.
I didn't like to see Jalen sitting on the bench with the Suns or when he did play, standing in the corner shooting threes. He needs to play. Hopefully he gets that in the G-League. I'd like to see the Suns work with him on strength and conditioning. He needs to get stronger. I like his skill set.
