Big Cuz 15
All-Star
some people are really slow or have a separate agenda to pick.
If Kings draft at #7, who should they take?
- Thread starter CruzDude
- Start date
some people are really slow or have a separate agenda to pick.
upinsmoke
All-Star
Errrr… Stevie Franchise huh. I'm sorry bro but I don't think they compare. Smart's more versatile than him and seems to have a very good feel for the game I see a Baron Davis type player where he uses his strength to overpower opponents but is athletic enough to explode past them. Defensive wise is where Smart can really separate himself from the field.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
My take after watching Smart this season is that he's a scoring tweener guard who hasn't shown he can run a team.
I do have a sneaking suspicion that he's who the Kings will draft so I'd certainly like to be wrong if that's the case.
You had me at tweener.
LPKingsFan
All-Star
FWIW, Chad Ford has the Kings taking Smart over Vonleh in his latest mock. His comments (which are behind the Insider paywall) seem mostly speculation that Malone would like Smart, though, and not based on any reporting or analysis. So, the Kings will likely pick someone else then 
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I know. My problem is that I read the posts in the order that they were posted so I don't always know what the conversation is about.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I read the new posts in order. If I have an agenda, you won't have to guess. As to calling me slow ............................. only my lovers know.
My comment about people getting a free ride on this forum stands. I definitely have an agenda about that.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
If you have had some troublesome incidents, quit posting. I presume "but refused to continue" does not refer to posting. You don't get the idea of posting. It doesn't guarantee you a good experience. The quality of your experience may depend a lot on the quality of your input and I'm beginning to understand why you had some problems.
Freedom of speech has its limits but I presume you don't know that. Do you really want to pick a fight with me over your sig?
I humbly admit I don't follow what you say very carefully so I don't know what you have said.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
free ride? where did i miss the part where there is a subscription fee to post here? the website generates some type of revenue from the google adsense in the header. i've clicked it several times in good faith so the website owner gets some reward for putting this out there. i personally own several websites that i pay to host with no thought of asking for any monetary compensation.
you've made it clear that majority of the viewers on this site are free loaders. i'll be sure to read the fine print on the other kings boards about donations or monetary contributions.
carry on gentlemen. this is nothing but a cricket chirping in the dark.
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upinsmoke
All-Star
Your barking up the wrong tree homz.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
Gary
All-Star
Awesome. I am honored.. Watched him a lot this year and there was something about him. Might take a couple years but he's going to be a good player.
Gary
All-Star
Ahh so I guess he was doing it to be a douche rather than honoring my yearly predictions which are for the most part correct every year... I guess I should go back a couple years and check out some of the old Hasheem Thabeet threads to see if he gave positive input on him lol.
Regardless, that's who I am going with this year. He's Evans with a better shot (better form will allow for him to improve in the NBA although some say he does not have great form it is much better than the Evans fade away), he has less ball handling ability than Evans but he does see the floor and pass better than Evans. They get to the line about the same in college, but I feel Smart will be better at this. Evans would have been deadly if he got the outside shot. I am banking on Smart to have the outside shot we were all hoping to get with Evans. Smart has a chance to be a good defender in the NBA. I am not sure why you WOULDN'T want to take a chance on him. You wouldn't want to go into next season starting Ray McCallum would you? Oh wait..........
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No, I don't want Ray starting next season. Or IT for that matter. I think starting PG (whether Thomas is re-signed or not) and defensive PF are two huge areas of need.
If Smart ends up being drafted by the Kings and becomes a stud PG I'd be happy. But in watching him this season I just don't like Smart's game.
If Smart ends up being drafted by the Kings and becomes a stud PG I'd be happy. But in watching him this season I just don't like Smart's game.
Gary
All-Star
I was referring to Big Cuz's lineup. He has Ray starting next year. We would be worse off than we were this year if that were the case. I don't want IT starting either.
Smart basically gives us the player that has potential of being a good defender, rebounder, inside/post/pick and roll, shooter*, ball handler, shot creator, player that can also see the floor.
A lot of those things (*except shooting) he does REALLY well now, although some a few of them he's a bit inconsistent. Personally, I think his stroke is fine, although others don't think it is. I believe he could easily be a 35% 3pt shooter within 2-3 years, and being that he hits damn neat 60% of his shots at the rim and gets to the line a lot we would have a VERY efficient scorer at PG.
I do like Stauskas and Vonleh as well but since I think Smart will be there at 7th then I would rather go with him. I am NOT a fan of Gordon. I am really not a fan of tweeners, because you have to be a superstar pretty much in order to have an impact. Otherwise you have a 6'8 220lbs PF that cant rebound or defend bigger PFs rather than a 6'10-6'11 250lbs PF that can block some shots and rebound.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
So you think they draft Smart because they didn't like Evans because he couldn't shoot? I'm confused. If they draft Smart after letting Tyreke go because he couldn't shoot and therefore couldn't complement the inside presence of Cousins they have some splaining to do.
LPKingsFan
All-Star
Well, it may not just be about shooting but also be about ability to see the floor and run the offense. The fact that baja and funky don't like Smart certainly gives me pause, but after reading DX's scouting report I see why others are high on him. Especially this part:
From DraftExpress.comhttp://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2zwCAZElp
http://www.draftexpress.com
rainmaker
Hall of Famer
I agree. This idea we should sit back and wait for a rookie PG to develop to the NBA game is not something we have time for. There isn't any part of me which wants a rookie running the show next year. Youth is overrated around here and it's likely because we're in the lottery every damn year. We've seen how great youth has been for us since 07. We've got Cuz and nothing else. Maybe Ben/Ray down the road but that's youth for you, sitting back and waiting for the unknown while they don't help win now. We have our foundation in Cuz, now we need vets with experience around him, not a bunch of young talent we have to wait years to mature.
Where Cuz is at in his career, ready to win now and having already wasted 4 years with poor talent and unbalanced rosters around him, does not coincide with this strategy of stacking more young talent which isn't ready to win now and needs time to develop. That made sense 2-3 years ago. Bringing more guys in who need time, like Ben and Ray do, doesn't help us next year. Cuz needs proven talent and fitting talent around him, not prospects with little experience who might at some point fill those roles.
Package the pick if it's not top 3.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
I'll give you another reason for not liking him: he's not quick by NBA standards. That quickness deficiency is probably going to be exposed in the pros. I think people get wowed by Smart because of his imposing size, but forget that in the NBA if you don't have quicks as a guard, you're dead. And you damned better well score. That old stuff about pure point guards belongs in the neanderthal period, gone with the advent of the 3-point shot. I'll give it to Smart on BBIQ over Tyreke, but Tyreke has got it all over him in the quickness and athleticism department, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the floor. So essentially Smart's got brains and size, but he doesn't have quicks or a shot. If he had the quicks, I'd be interested, but we're left with mediocre quicks and size and no shot. I'll pass.
By the way, we've seen a very good "manager of the game," who is a good passer and who has size, but he isn't quick: Vasquez. Except Vasquez is a pretty good shooter by NBA standards. Unlike Smart. Again, that doesn't make me want to draft Smart.
Gary
All-Star
I disagree, I think Smart will most likely be a better defender than Evans. I don't think the lack of quickness will limit him when it comes to defense because he has VERY long arms, and great timing, and good footwork. You can tell when he plays that his instincts are much better than Evans. Not to mention his PG skills are on a totally different level all together so I try not to compare the two players there since they are totally different in that aspect. I'm not saying he's John Stockton or anything but he can definitely net 7 assists while scoring 20 and keep the floor spaced with his drives. Instincts alone he will make a good PG. As for his shot? He's not shy! He will shoot at range, and I would be willing to bet that his shot will be fine within 2-3 years.
Not sure if we will draft Smart or not, but he's a better player than many here are giving him credit for.
Not sure if we will draft Smart or not, but he's a better player than many here are giving him credit for.
Bosnian Diehard
Starter
1) Smart
2) Vonleh
3) ?
2) Vonleh
3) ?
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Their absolutely right. He's excellent at creating his own shot off the pick and roll, but unfortunately, he consistently misses that shot. And that's my major problem with him. He takes too many shots, and missed the majority of those he takes. For instance. A typical game for Smart is 18 points on 4 of 14 shooting and 10 of 12 from the freethrow line. But hey, why should I make up numbers. I'll just give you his number from his last six games of the year.
Kansas: 16 pts on 3 of 14 shooting. He went 0 for 6 from the three and 10 of 10 from the freethrow line.
W. Virginia: 4 pts on 1 of 7 shooting. He was 0 for 4 from the three and 2 of 2 from the freethrow line.
Oklahoma: 22 pts on 6 of 18 shooting. He was 3 for 11 from the three and 7 of 13 from the freethrow line.
Baylor: 15 pts on 3 of 14 shooting. He was 0 for 7 from the three and 9 of 11 from the freethrow line.
Iowa St: 20 pts on 6 of 14 shooting. He was 1 for 5 from the three and 7 of 9 from the freethrow line.
Texas Tech: 22 pts on 6 of 12 shooting. He was 1 of 4 from the three and 9 of 10 from the freethrow line.
As you can see, he takes a lot of three point shots, and misses the majority of them. In general most of his points are scored from the freethrow line. I'm not willing to bet he'll get to the line as often in the NBA. He shoots off balance the majority of the time, and his form is atrocious. Maybe I'm blind, but I don't think he's particularly creative as a play maker. Other than his ability to defend, I see nothing about him that floats my boat, and believe me, I've tried to like this kid. Hey, miracles happen. Maybe he gets in the NBA and magically becomes the next Chris Paul. All I know is that on offense, no one, and I mean no one is going to guard him on the perimeter. Which means life for Cousins just got harder.
I seriously doubt that PDA is going to draft this guy right after saying that we need better perimeter shooting. Unless that's all a smokescreen.
Edit: One correction. those were the last six games before his suspension. I just didn't go down the list far enough to see that their were more games there. However, it doesn't matter, it would just be more of the same.
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bajaden
Hall of Famer
Please explain to me how you space the floor by driving to the basket. If the only thing you can do is drive to the basket, then teams are going to pack the middle to stop you, and the side effect of that, is that it's now harder for Cousins to operate. Anyone that thinks he can hit outside shots is living in a fantasy world and hasn't watched him play. He shoots and he shoots often. And he misses often. He's one of the most inefficient shooters in college. I'm glad your willing to bet he'll be a good shooter in a couple of years. I would take Tyreke Evans a thousand times out of a thousand over Smart and it makes me want to throw up to even think about comparing the two.
The only way Smart can score the ball, other than the freethrow line, is by driving to the basket, where in college he was able to overpower the opposition. Not going to be that easy in the NBA. He doesn't have Tyreke's ballhandling skills, or finishing skills. He is a hell of a defender though.
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
My point is, and maybe I didn't communicate this well, but PDA now has a track record of precisely this sort of move.
And the way the Kings, and Kings media (namely Grant and Dave) are talking about Thomas ... It's the exact same stuff they said about Evans. The feeling is the Kings are prepared to let Thomas walk. They won't match an offer above their number, and I don't necessarily blame them, however I'd like to see the number first.
Ok. So Thomas walks, then what? Well, like I mentioned, the options at point guard this offseason are slim. It's essentially Lowry or no one in the free agent market. At least no one who would present an obvious upgrade over Thomas. Smart, though, has the potential to be that. Outside of Lowry, I would peg Smart as the best PG 'available' this offseason. It's odd to compare a vet to a rookie, I know, but I think that is a fairly safe statement.
I'm not comparing Smart, a point guard, to Evans, someone the Kings felt was a shooting guard. PDA wanted an off the ball player (what they would stupidly use Evans as) to be able to shoot, so they replaced him with the best shooting prospect in last years draft (and as it turns out he can't shoot) .. As a point guard, I think they want to replace Thomas with someone who is a better defender, and a more natural passer / less scoring oriented. He has the defender part nailed. Not exactly an excellent passer by any stretch, but my opinion is that he is a more natural point guard than Thomas.
And I'm not necessarily advocating for this strategy, just that this is how I'm reading what I've been reading and seeing out of the front office.
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
I understand this logic, and mostly agree with it (but like you said, it heavily depends on if Gay stays) ..
But I don't know that the player we are talking about is available.
Do people believe in Chalmers? I'm not sure I do. And I have a feeling he's very comfortable winning titles with Lebron and Co.
I like Hinrich, but I don't know if he's starter caliber anymore. Will be 34 by next season.
Then there is Devin Harris, and he and Cousins hate each other. Also hasn't been a starter in a while. Not a great shooter.
And then there is the possibility of a trade, of course. Not sure the Kings have a ton of assets where they get the better player in return, though. At least not assets I'm trying to trade right now.
Unless it's Rondo
Then we can all stop talking about it.I understand this logic, and mostly agree with it (but like you said, it heavily depends on if Gay stays) ..
But I don't know that the player we are talking about is available.
Do people believe in Chalmers? I'm not sure I do. And I have a feeling he's very comfortable winning titles with Lebron and Co.
I like Hinrich, but I don't know if he's starter caliber anymore. Will be 34 by next season.
Then there is Devin Harris, and he and Cousins hate each other. Also hasn't been a starter in a while. Not a great shooter.
And then there is the possibility of a trade, of course. Not sure the Kings have a ton of assets where they get the better player in return, though. At least not assets I'm trying to trade right now.
Unless it's Rondo
You sure Rondo and Cousins don't hate each other too?
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
isn't lowry a free agent this off season? we know how gerbil likes to poach former associates players..
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