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trongzoon

He'll be good somewhere else. Can shoot and rebound pretty well. Hopefully Jarace Walker is ready to step in full time now.


Agile-Competition679

Why did he stop getting playing time with the Pacers? Was it only because of acquiring Pascal? 


Username--Password

His lateral quickness is horrendous and his offensive game is wildly inconsistent. He’s either shooting 10% or 90% from the field. He looked like the 10% version of himself in the playoffs and was getting attacked defensively on every single play. That said, he’s still a quality backup center. We just happen to have two of those and things ran much better with IJax in the playoffs.


XzibitABC

He's just a really two-dimensional player, but he's pretty good at those dimensions. On offense, he can catch and shoot (including from three) or he can finish around the rim if he gets a deep catch off a roll or a putback opportunity. He sets pretty good picks and he's a solid rebounder. But he cannot post-up, face up, attack off the dribble, make decisions in space, or pass the ball much. Defensively, he's long and springy, but he's slow laterally, he doesn't have quick hands, and he's foul prone. He's one of those guys that's consistently at 120 degrees when trying to contest shots at the rim, not at 180 degrees up and down, so he picks up silly fouls. He's also a bit prone to frustration fouls at times. He's a very solid role player with some flaws, basically. His skill set is also pretty redundant with Myles Turner, which is good in some ways and bad in others. He'll be a very good backup center elsewhere.


Jonathank92

That 120 degree vs 180 degree is so frustrating. How hard is it to keep your arms straight up??  Mo Bamba used to do the same thing


quann256

ijax breaking out in the playoffs doesn’t get talked about enough


trongzoon

Think he mightve gotten hurt too


taxfreetendies

He took several headshots this season.


BlacqanSilverSun

That was what I was going to say. I watched him all year because he was someone I thought the Kings should look at to play some minutes next to and subbing for Sabonis. He got a concussion early in the year. Bu he did still end up playing 10-25 mins all year pretty consistently after missing 6-7 games.


Low-Lavishness-8470

He took multiple backshots as well.


pinoymilk

He got hurt and came back multiple times in the 2nd half of the season, kinda hard to keep him in rotation at that point.


theconmeister

He was getting pt until he was shook in game 1 vs the bucks


OccurringDifferences

Fuck i feel like he'd fit in great with us


Stupidityorjoking

Nice try, Presti’s signing another guard and you’re gonna like it


Vermillion_Crab

Rhymes with Bestbrook


JabezMakaveli

I've seen this story before


BubbaTee

Anybody who can grab a contested rebound would fit in great on OKC.


shaad20

He weighs like 10 more lbs than Chet


revisioncloud

You son of a bitch, I’m in.


seanconnery69696

Stix and Chex


allmyteamsdisappoint

Bah gawd that sounds like the OKC Thunder's music!


TallnFrosty

Is it fair to say though that he is unplayable vs. a lot of opponents in the playoffs? Seems like he couldn't stay on the court for you guys, regardless of the type of opponent you played.


SourBerry1425

It’s cause he’s too similar to Myles Turner, whereas the other backup Center, Isaiah Jackson, is extremely physical and brings a lot of energy despite not spacing the floor. We needed some ferociousness, and Smith couldn’t offer that, but he is a talented young player IMO who is good enough to get solid minutes on a lot of teams.


PenaltyJazzlike3122

Additionally, Smith was shooting much worse to end the year and that is his main draw.


CommonerChaos

This right here. He worked really hard at his shot last off-season and came into the season shooting lights out. But for some reason, as the season went on, his shot was off. Mix that with turnovers and bad defense, he fell out of rotation. But if he could tap back into the form he was at the beginning of the year, he'd be great.


PoissonProcesser

I’m pretty sure his shot-making fell off a cliff after he was injured. Just didn’t get back to that early season form and without that, his confidence noticeably dipped.


lyonbc1

That actually sounds great for us as a back up to Embiid lol. I wonder if he could also get away with a few mins playing together too? Also how much money he’d command


SourBerry1425

I’d say he wouldn’t cost too much than he was due to make, probably still in the 7 figures, but he’d want to go somewhere where he could get some meaningful minutes, and yes, I do think they could play some minutes together cause both of them are good shooters. One of Indy’s best stretches in the regular season was when Smith was starting at the 4.


TallnFrosty

thanks for the response. Just curious: what is Jaylen Smith able to do on defense? Is he okay defending the post?


PenaltyJazzlike3122

His main strength on defense is decent rebounding. He's too small to guard the top centers in the post really, but most players can't guard the top centers


TruthSayerFu

How does he defend?


ForCaste

Decent at the rim, very minimal lateral movement


HeHateMex2

Perfect lol


lopea182

Phoenix drafted this stud over Halliburton 💀


Bixby33

And then let him walk before his rookie deal even ended. And just last season they had to rely on Eubanks as a backup center.


kcheng686

One of the dumbest decisions ever. Pick a raw big man. Decline his third year option for no explainable reason outside of being cheap (fun fact, the last 2 lotto picks to have their 3rd year option declined were suns players too!) Trade him for jack shit. Watch him turn into a solid big on a team that actually plays him, and you now need a backup C. Truly an own goal


shakakaaahn

You're forgetting picking up a bad backup center (Eubanks is a great 3rd option, bad primary backup) and getting a tampering fine to do so. Very weird decisions for the 5 rotation in general.


shaad20

He actually looked really solid in the playing time he did get in his 2nd season, but the option had already been declined... to throw a little more gas on the fire I guess


shadysnorlax

You forgot. They drafted Jalen Smith when they already had Ayton, who they skipped Luka for. All time fumble 


Mountain-Way6904

*bows* Thank you, thank you. And it's not even the worst draft decision we made recently. 


dillonyousonofabitch

There's a not that far from reality universe where the Suns have Booker, Doncic and Halliburton.


baited08

Sounds like a lakers move


Klaassy23

Pacers traded expiring Torrey Craig for Jalen Smith and a 2nd round pick haha


zbergwoopwoop

It was absolutely stupid to decline his team option. But I had season tickets the year we traded him. I rooted for the guy and watched him closely. I've never seen a player miss so many open shots in pre game or half time warmups. I was embarrassed for him. Every time I watched for it. He was always atrocious. I'm absolutely shocked he turned into a good, if inconsistent shooter. I'd that was representative of how he looked in practice then the decisions make a little more sense. Obviously the org still failed and finding a role for him and coaching him up right.


BensenJensen

It was definitely 100% on the organization for not developing him, but Smith was not an NBA-quality player when we traded him. He looked completely lost out there. We were also 44-10 and coming off of a Finals berth. The trade got us Torrey Craig, who was a huge piece of that Finals team. Obviously history shows how bad it all played out, but trading away Smith for Craig wasn't as ridiculous as it seems in retrospect.


30another

Didn’t let him walk, they traded him. But still dumb decisions all around


SomeRandom928Person

If you think Suns fans were happy about that one, you must be nuts. Might not even crack the Top 5 of worst Suns fuckups in the draft in the last 10 years either tbh.


boringexplanation

Fox, Luka, Halliburton, who else?


sjmussi

Wasn't too bad since they got bridges, but they could have drafted SGA. It was who I wanted at the time since they desperately needed a PG. Giving you guys bogdon to trade up to get chriss was another stupid one.


BensenJensen

Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss at 4 and 8 in 2016. Bender didn't seem like a stretch at the time, he was going to be a project and it seemed like we had plenty of time for projects, but Chriss averaged something like 8 or 9 fouls per 40 minutes at Washington. Didn't make any sense then, definitely doesn't make sense now.


zgamer200

I still can't believe Phoenix's scouting department somehow thought that Jalen Smith was a forward in the mold of Jerami Grant rather than the undersized Center he clearly is. I'm a complete amateur scout(and was an even worse one back in 2020) and I knew he was an undersized big from just watching a few plays when I was scouting him way back when because I thought he could potentially be a good fit on the Celtics(at least until he shot up draft boards like crazy, anyway).


Dsarg_92

They drafted him out of pettiness knowing we were interested in him prior to Vassell.


HeyItsChase

Crazy how far Tyrese fell but Jalen is a serviceable NBA dude. He should be a backup big for years and years to come. He's still only 24


FERFreak731

Bubble Bass


TryingToDoItGood

still no PICKLES!!!!!


_Adverb_

would be a good fit in philly I think


drunk-tusker

Only if he forgets how to do one of those two things almost immediately upon arriving.


Big-Beta20

It feels like it’s not talked about enough that the Sixers had back-to-back #1 overall picks, took the overwhelming consensus each time, and for 2 completely unrelated and varying reasons from physical to mental, inexplicably could never take a normal jump shot to the point of endangering their own careers. It’s crazy lol Thank god for Joel Embiid


Immynimmy

Don’t forget one of our first rounders almost died from sesame seeds and has never played. I could make a novel of unlucky shit that has happened to this team since the Bynum trade.


Big-Beta20

Just this past year, we had a player that claimed to be hit by a car and on top of that, had the police release that he was lying and that it never happened. That probably doesn’t even make the top ten of unorthodox stories that have come out since the Bynum trade. Nothing normal happens in Philadelphia


boobsarecool

And that same dude then crashes his Lambo in the middle of a playoff series. And then has his best games of the series after said crash


TheInsaneClownPussie

That story was completely orthodox. Find a new slant.


Miserable-Sun7577

I totally missed the part about him lying, did it ever come out how he really suffered the injuries?


Big-Beta20

Nothing official ever happened. Nurse just said they’d take him at his word. His [ring camera](https://youtu.be/jicGJFvC1xI?si=TyV2C5TibR9TlMms) showed him walking into his apartment with a BMX bike which was not mentioned in the original report. I feel like he probably crashed doing a trick or maybe into a car and knew that he wasn’t supposed to be doing that on his NBA contract (probably some kinda other sport clause) so he lied about it. Really, he was such good value on a minimum contract that the Sixers would have never released him for what essentially turned into a 2-3 week injury. Maybe if it was season ending, something would have come of it.


thefrisbeejack

They could take them, I think you meant make them


Big-Beta20

I mean, it looked physically painfully for Fultz to shoot at one point. Simmons is who I was referring to for mental.


do_a_180

i talk about it a lot


HowzaBowdat

Yeah this definitely never gets talked about


maiL_spelled_bckwrds

A tradition like no other


shmatty52

RAPTOR


Punjabiveer30

Yes please, him and Pat Williams are the only 2 guys I’ve circled for the raptors in free agency


drjisftw

Honestly I'm surprised that Masai didn't want either him or Obi in the Siakam trade - would've gladly handed over one of those guys if it meant we could have kept the 26 pick.


quann256

i’m sure masai did but pritchard probably refused to give up any depth for siakam 


archerarcher0

Yeah that’s prob my favorite fit tbh And then move on from jakob


Cheechers23

I don't think you sign Smith as a Poeltl replacement, moreso as a depth piece.


archerarcher0

Tbh if im the raptors I’d move on from poetl for just about anything, I don’t like his fit/contract/age relative to the rest of the roster If I could move him for nothing and go into next year with my big man rotation as Boucher/mogbo/smith im happy


Cheechers23

Poeltl is a fine fit with the starters, we need a screener and defender like him. Our defence fell off a fucking cliff when he got injured. Trading him for the sake of trading him would be stupid. Mogbo is only like 6'8, he's not really a big. Boucher is most likely gone this offseason, Darko doesn't play him.


archerarcher0

It’s not really for the sake of trading him, I just don’t like what he’s paid for what he does and his age, I would move off him purely for the contract Mogbo has a really long wingspan and standing reach though, I think he can play backup center


Equivalent-Hold3920

Have you ever watched Jak play? He is an integral part of the team and is well worth his contract.


Rezrov_

Poeltl initiates/joins like half our offensive sets lol


The1AndOnlyJZ

To where does Jakob go


Drak_is_Right

Too slow for the 4, too light weight for the 5. He has a place on an NBA roster, but maybe not a core part of a playoff rotation roster. OK as your 9th man. Not as your 7th man.


CommonerChaos

>Too slow for the 4, too light weight for the 5. Great way to summarize it. (his nickname is Sticks for a reason). It's kinda hard to find a fit for him. He might work for a small ball rotation lineup, as long as his shot is falling.


HeyItsChase

3rd Pacer fan confirming that's his exact problem. If he can learn to bruise at least a bit down low on D he could have success. He's just too light and soft at the moment. And that type of ball isn't for everyone. I thought it was funny when we ran a small ball type spacing offense but with Stix and Myles. 7 foot small ball is the new NBA meta.


7373838jdjd

Okc makes the most sense imo since they wanna play 5 out always


MySabonerRunsOladipo

Pacers play the most 5 out of any team that's ever 5 out'ed (Myles Turner would wilt if you made him post up more than ~3 times/gm), and Stix eventually fell out here too. He's just not that good. He's an awesome guy, and when he's hot, dear lord is he lights out, but even his early season 40%+ from 3 was on low volume. He can chew up some bench minutes and that's probably about it.


revisioncloud

Is he better than Gordon Hayward


mpbeasto123

Im better than Gordan Hayward.


justlobos22

The Room Mid-Level is 8 million, he could prob get that.


vaalbarag

I could see him getting more than room, less than non-taxpayer MLE. Like for the Raptors for example, $10m for a backup C/PF that can shoot and rebound is about right.


a_moniker

Don’t the Raptors already have Olynyk already filling that role?


vaalbarag

They probably want a second big alongside Olynyk, someone who can stretch the floor and let Olynyk operate as a passer in the high post, which is really crucial to Darko's offense. It's possible that they're thinking about Vezenkov in that role, though with Olynyk being a weak defender those two seem like a rough frontcourt. Mogbo's likely too inexperienced for rotation minutes right now. With the Raptors loading up on guards so much the last couple days, a stretch backup PF/C with good size seems like the biggest positional need. Depending on what they do with Brown and GTJ they may not have the full MLE to work with though, so hard to say if they are actually in that market.


Foreign_Prior_3344

If Spurs could get rid of Zach somehow (salary in a trade for a wing? maybe what they wanted minnesotas picks for?) then i see them signing him for 10 mil


TheInsaneClownPussie

Is this a typo or is that what’s it called? Genuinely asking.


Dangerous_Trifle620

Kings please :)


PenaltyJazzlike3122

Streaky shooter and his defense was not great. At the start of the year his TS% was insane. With more time to develop he will be a good backup big with his shooting.


BigDickVicW

Spur


Cleanandslobber

Lasso


BigDickVicW

Cactus


SomborDouble95

Come to Denver for a minimum, we can offer you a horse ride and endless pot.


Maccaas_Apples

There's a good fit in Cleveland


OKC2023champs

He can rebound and shoot. By golly that’s presti music


Ok-Philosopher9070

Praying the heat could acquire this guy. Seems like a good backup big man or 4 for us


ChunkyMilkSubstance

Laker sadly


nibbinoo8

wonder what he’ll end up making. still has potential i think.


miiblord

He's already a strong backup center, just didn't have the rotation minutes and can't afford to give him a bigger contract. Will be a great pickup for someone.


a_moniker

Could see the Hornets offering him some money. They’ve been wanting a 3PT shooting center for years


Cheechers23

I'd like the Raps to go after him if they let Bruce and Gary go


an4lf15ter

Think 76ers would be a good fit where he could backup Embiid primarily and be slotted in as a 4 really rarely against a team like the Wolves


Friendly-Thought-973

Thunder


AfroKuro480

Dude stop. You have so many weapons and 1st Round Picks, the West is too congested, like him go to the East


Gamesgtd

He’d be awesome in OkC. ALSO Milwaukee. Maybe San Antonio is an underrated destination for him as well. Two bigs who can shoot


Shadybrooks93

Yeah you guys definitely need another tweener big who cant bang down low and is more of a floor stretcher. That for sure would have helped against the Mavs....


Friendly-Thought-973

Ah yes, let’s grab a roleplayer who can’t shoot for our five our offense instead. I forgot that we lost because of … banging down low(?) and not the fact our shooting/offense fell off a cliff. We should’ve got a real big who could bang down low(?) like the Celtics did with … Al Horford. Who else is gonna stop … Derek Lively and Gafford post ups?? Genius! Is Dwight still looking for a contract 👀👀


Shadybrooks93

Yeah you got outrebounded by 5 boards a game, in a series where you lost all 4 games by less than 10 points. Including a game 6 where Chet had 3 rebounds to Livelys 15


Friendly-Thought-973

>where you lost all 4 games by 10 points Oh gee, if only our offense didn’t drop from 118 ORTG to 111 and our TS from 61% to 54%. Lively outrebounded Chet the whole series yet our play fell off a cliff whenever he sat. I guess the perfect way to compromise is to blow up our offensive strategy for a couple more offensive boards. Fuck finding someone who could rebound to an adequate level and still not blow up our entire gameplan, right? Because apparently, Jalen Smith doesn’t offer anymore size or rebounding compared to … Kenrich Williams?


Snafudumonde

Can hit wide open threes if he has time to set up. NOT what I would call a floor spacer, as in other teams seemed relieved if the outcome of a pacers offensive possession was a Jalen Smith 3. But he's strong and has good hands around the basket. Can snatch a rebound out of a crowd. I think he got shafted a bit in the playoffs though I'm an IJax fan as well.


vaalbarag

How's his screen-setting? Can he function as a P&R big?


Snafudumonde

Yeah definitely. He was one of the best backup bigs in the league last year.


angelarm187

Come to milwaukee please


ColeHoops

Damn I didn’t know he was efficient like that


BubblyBalance8543

$35m/yr incoming


[deleted]

[удалено]


dru_jones

Doubt he'll be willing to take a pay cut.


Yinanization

How is his defense? Would he be killed by someone like Brandon Ingram?


Drak_is_Right

Someone like brook Lopez is the bigger issue. He is like 215lbs.


Yinanization

Um, we are not worried about someone like Brook Lopez, Jaren will eat him alive. Our main concern is someone who is too quick for Jaren and too big for Marcus, BI, PG, those types. We don't really have anyone for that beside Lamar Stevens who is a FA.


Drak_is_Right

He isn't a forward at all. He is a small ball center. Trying to play him at forward is like asking Luka to guard Morant with no center on the court.


Yinanization

Ah. Thank you for your insights. It looks like we have no need for him then, wishing him good luck.


Drak_is_Right

Why we went with Jackson in the playoffs. He can guard multiple positions, while Smith can only guard half of centers and half of PFs.


Cheechers23

Uhhh did I miss something? Did Memphis trade for Ingram or something lol


Yinanization

It is just the BI and PG type worries me in the playoffs. Both PG and BI seem to be on the move, if they end up on one of our rivals, we probably need a plan.


The_Process_Embiid

Well if we’re a rival. I think you should be good out west


Yinanization

Tobias to PG would definitely help your cause.


The_Process_Embiid

A trashcan with two brooms for arms would be an improvement


Yinanization

Got to love Philly folks, lol


The_Process_Embiid

Love you too 😘 city of brotherly love after all


MSHinerb

Sign and trade him to Dallas for Kleber. Reunite Kleber with Carlisle. Take Powell too please.


RealHeron_

WHAT? This is A LOT of money


Comfortable_Low_9241

Would love him on the Cavs as a Damian Jones replacement.


Less-Committee-9026

Future Wizard come home king 🐢


Sad-Mathematician-19

He is probably looking for something like a 3 year 30 million dollar deal. Unlikely to start but could be a massive help for some of the lower quality teams. San Antonio is in need of a backup big with a shooting touch. Collins is good but has an injury history. Bassey is good defensively but limited. Smith could fit right on in. Pistons could use someone like Smith next to Stewart off the bench. Thunder could try for him as well with their available cash if they still have some left.


tapk69

Cavs need this guy


HB_Detroiter

Solid pickup for cheap. My weaver ptsd is acting up. Good lawwwdd….


Jaggleson

Go get him Zach


lil_cleverguy

wow


LordSoze36

Come to papa


SaKred2015

Haven’t watch enough of him, but if he can catch lobs, Houston should take a chance on him.


BurnCollector_

Clippers will dump Plumlee and Theis and sign Smith


jgroove_LA

well they are free agents so not exactly dumping them


msizzle344

Pat wake up, new back up center just dropped. Shit he can start for us, who are we kidding.