If Kings draft at #7, who should they take?

[Glenn]

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.

Let us say we draft Smart (someone pick bajaden off the floor ) I would take anyone with experience and have Smart come off the bench. Smart would be the future pg. I think some day Ray might be good enough but we'll see. I think IT is more disruptive to an offensive flow than Gay is. Given that, I don't even want him coming off the bench either. Certainly someone would be willing to do a sign and trade involving IT and an aging pg plus or minus whatever it takes to make the deal work.

I note bajaden's vehement objections to Smart. I also note Smart is very good on defense. We simply have to commit to getting defensive players some day. That's half the game and would take the pressure off the bigs.

I am not saying I would pick Smart over Vonleh if the choice had to be made.

 

[The Hammer]

I like Stauskas as the best pure shooter in the draft and as a true 6-6 SG who may also be able to do some PG backup. All offense and not much defense but he's not a starter but a point maker off the bench.

I cringe and recoil at the thought of adding another non-defensive tweener guard who can "shoot". We need basketball players, not shooters. Petrie/Adelman had a good thing, but their system was totally predicated on three pieces: passing big men, prioritizing shooters over ball handlers/penetrators, and intelligent team D (above emphasizing individual defenders... even though we had a couple good ones in Doug and Bobby J)

We need guys with two way talent. Or, of course, a shotblocker. Look what's happening to the Thunder right now. Cousins is built for the playoffs, let's surround him with a team that is too.

 

[dude12]

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.

I think many compare Smart to Tyreke because of similar body types but I just look at Smart's defensive potential and that it what I like about him. Potential lockdown defender that we could really use. I love his game and potential at the NBA level. Tyreke is more offensive and from what I've seen, a solid at best defender.......and that's not meant to belittle his defense. Smart would be great.

If we get Vonleh, he has the type of game we could use also....that would also be great.
Same goes for Gordon for me but he would be my 3rd choice.

I just hope we get a productive rookie and then with some luck....that rookie makes a immediate impact.

 

[mac]

I think they'd be able to figure it out.

You brought up Harris because they've had "fights" on the court.

I raise you:

My point is ... can we really be picky about who we want just because Cousins has had issues with them in the past? If we could get Chris Paul are you gonna say no because Cousins hates him?

 

[rainmaker]

You can't not trade for a guy because Cuz got in a skirmish with him previously. That's ridiculous. And if Cuz holds grudges, that's his problem and one he'll have to deal with. There's been plenty of guys who go at it as opponents but are fine when on the same team. Actually, anyone thinking it's a problem, I wonder if you've played competitive sports. Whether it's your brother, close friends, teammates, whomever, you regularly battle it out, trash talk, sometime it gets ugly, fighting, etc, and you leave it on the court. That's completely normal for guys playing sports. It's part of competition. I can't begin to tell you how many skirmishes/altercations I've been in and have seen others in when playing and it was rarely, if ever an issue even an hour later. All-out fistfights, then guys eating lunch together like nothing happened. It's normal. You leave it on the court.

It's a non-issue to me.

 

[JLoss22]

I don't see the love for Stauskas regarding our situation, actually. No doubt, that he can be very good offensively, but we already have a SG, that can't play good defense (Ben) and I don't want to give up on him yet. Because of this, I just don't see a possibility of playing Ben and Stauskas together on the wing.

If Vonleh is there at#7, we HAVE to draft him! Still hoping for the Lottery

See, when you think like this you end up with TRob instead of Drummond or Lillard. You can't not take a guy because of your current roster, especially when you just won 25 games. If PDA thinks Stauaskas is BPA you HAVE to take him.

 

[JLoss22]

You can't not trade for a guy because Cuz got in a skirmish with him previously. That's ridiculous. And if Cuz holds grudges, that's his problem and one he'll have to deal with. There's been plenty of guys who go at it as opponents but are fine when on the same team. Actually, anyone thinking it's a problem, I wonder if you've played competitive sports. Whether it's your brother, close friends, teammates, whomever, you regularly battle it out, trash talk, sometime it gets ugly, fighting, etc, and you leave it on the court. That's completely normal for guys playing sports. It's part of competition. I can't begin to tell you how many skirmishes/altercations I've been in and have seen others in when playing and it was rarely, if ever an issue even an hour later. All-out fistfights, then guys eating lunch together like nothing happened. It's normal. You leave it on the court.

It's a non-issue to me.

Great Post, think of all the dudes Kobe has gotten into it with but welcomed them to his team, at the end of the day it is all about winning and Boogie ain't no dummy.

 

[Gary]

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.

Like I had said above. He's going to be fine when it comes to shooting in a couple years. Mark my word. He has no qualms about taking those shots like Evans had in college going into his 2nd year in the NBA so it's already a part of Smart's game. He will be fine. If he is not at 35% 3pt in 2-3 years in the NBA then I will say I was wrong.

I had no idea what I was trying to explain when I was referring to floor spacing. Was at work so I might have left a post up then came back to it later or something. I believe I was trying to argue his drive/kick game? Or maybe the whole "respect the drive, and leave shooters open" kind of space that's created when defenders pack the paint against a drive? I can't honestly tell you.

And I see my argument against Evans is making it's way back but this time I am on the other side and people are using exactly what I said against Evans against Smart!

And also, I would take Smart only 99 times out of 100. That 1 time is when you get the Evans that knows how to play PG. Other than that we are talking two different positions. The PG skills, other than ball handling (which Smart has improved on), is in favor of Smart. I do give Evans the edge in ball handling. At least for now, but I do think when it's all said and done Smart will surpass Evans in that category as well. Other than that they're different players that are about the same size who like to drive and shoot low% from outside who control the ball.

Smart is my guy this year I am pinning my hopes on. Probably in part because I don't want Ray or IT starting at PG next year. And also because out of the top 10 Smart was the guy I saw play the most (in regards to the player I think we had a chance drafting).

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

You brought up Harris because they've had "fights" on the court.

I raise you:

My point is ... can we really be picky about who we want just because Cousins has had issues with them in the past? If we could get Chris Paul are you gonna say no because Cousins hates him?

Well, I do think it's important that our best player has a good relationship with his teammates. Rondo and Cousins have some prior good history, and they are very familiar with each other. With Harris, it's all (seemingly) negative.

And caliber of player has to be taken into consideration. Rondo and Paul would do much more for Cousins than Harris would. If you're Cousins, you can't reject those guys because they are multiple time all-stars. They are elite NBA players at their positions.


Cousins on Harris
Yo, honestly I’m tired of the kid. And I mean, like really, I don’t know what his issue is. I’m tired of the kid, honestly. I’m tired of him. I don’t know what his issue is, but I can definitely solve it.
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/03/23/wheres-the-beef-cousins-vs-harris/

I agree with your point for the most part, but I think Harris is sort of special case. PDA said he would consult Cousins about potential roster moves, etc. And Cousins was on board and happy about the idea. I just don't see this one happening. I agree with the general idea you and rainmaker made ... but I'm just not sure about this one.

I don't think we should avoid any and every player any King has an issue with, but I think the Harris stuff was a tad different.

 

[Gary]

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.

Oh heck yah I believe in Chalmers. I wanted to buy a late first rounder (they were being sold left and right, along with 2nd round picks) and draft Chalmers. I also wanted Jordan as well, and was pretty POd when we didn't purchase a pick to nab him when he dropped so far.

Back to Chalmers though, just watching him play you tell he can be so much more than he is in Miami. Love watching the Heat (which I am sure pretty much everyone here does too) but it's a three man team and Chalmers plays the part he's supposed to pretty dang well. Chalmers is the ultimate team player. If we were able to nab him then I would probably be looking harder at Vonleh in the draft. That's how much of a fan of Chalmers I am.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Oh heck yah I believe in Chalmers. I wanted to buy a late first rounder (they were being sold left and right, along with 2nd round picks) and draft Chalmers. I also wanted Jordan as well, and was pretty POd when we didn't purchase a pick to nab him when he dropped so far.

Back to Chalmers though, just watching him play you tell he can be so much more than he is in Miami. Love watching the Heat (which I am sure pretty much everyone here does too) but it's a three man team and Chalmers plays the part he's supposed to pretty dang well. Chalmers is the ultimate team player. If we were able to nab him then I would probably be looking harder at Vonleh in the draft. That's how much of a fan of Chalmers I am.

I like a lot about Chalmers. One of my concerns with him is actually something I sort of admire, and that is the guy is consistently underpaid and seems completely OK with it. It's refreshing to see a guy really put his money where his mouth is in terms of wanting to play for a winner, or stay with a team, etc. He's only made 14 million dollars over the course of 6 NBA seasons. Does he want to come here? That's the biggest issue. What kind of offer would it take to get him out of Miami?

Out of the unrestricted free agent point guards available this offseason, he'd probably be my second choice after Lowry, but I do still think their are some unknowns with him. Not that he couldn't be good here, I just don't know it for sure. Being surrounded by those kind of players certainly makes his job a lot easier.

 

[JLoss22]

Another guy who I'm a huge fan of is James Young. He has a good mid range game and is a really good athlete. If he slips to the end of the lottery I would love to try and make a play for him.

 

[Gary]

Another guy who I'm a huge fan of is James Young. He has a good mid range game and is a really good athlete. If he slips to the end of the lottery I would love to try and make a play for him.

I think he will surprise some people but I can't see us going after a SG and there will probably be a better/higher ceiling player at 7 (the BPA excuse PDA said in the interview).

 

[Chupacabra]

Unless I've missed something I'd still go with Cauley Stein. I want that starting mobile shot blocker so bad I'm willing to draft players higher than they should be. Cauley Stein is also a player that can probably slide over and play center at some point. However, if I have to choose from the list of players provided by the thread starter I'd pretty easily go with Smart. He's a strong, athletic combo guard that can flat out defend either guard position. I actually think he's got all defensive team ability. We would just need to fix his shot. It's not as broken looking as Tyreke's was, but it still needs some work.

It would be pretty sweet if we could draft Smart and find a way to get John Henson.

 

[CruzDude]

Digesting the last 2 pages on this thread, am still a Stauskas fan. Perhaps the best pure shooter in the draft, good ball handler, great 3-pt shooter, good passer and court vision, team player and size for a 2-1. Don't underestimate Kings belief in McCallum as a future starter, perhaps sooner than later. And I think IT can be 6th MOY and spark a stagnant bench, if he would get his head into that role. PDA said earlier this week that shooters and spreading the floor (in so many words) is key to take advantage of Cuz, and hopefully Gay.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

Unless I've missed something I'd still go with Cauley Stein. I want that starting mobile shot blocker so bad I'm willing to draft players higher than they should be. Cauley Stein is also a player that can probably slide over and play center at some point. However, if I have to choose from the list of players provided by the thread starter I'd pretty easily go with Smart. He's a strong, athletic combo guard that can flat out defend either guard position. I actually think he's got all defensive team ability. We would just need to fix his shot. It's not as broken looking as Tyreke's was, but it still needs some work.

It would be pretty sweet if we could draft Smart and find a way to get John Henson.

He's not entering the draft.

 

[Glenn]

Unless I've missed something I'd still go with Cauley Stein. I want that starting mobile shot blocker so bad I'm willing to draft players higher than they should be. Cauley Stein is also a player that can probably slide over and play center at some point. However, if I have to choose from the list of players provided by the thread starter I'd pretty easily go with Smart. He's a strong, athletic combo guard that can flat out defend either guard position. I actually think he's got all defensive team ability. We would just need to fix his shot. It's not as broken looking as Tyreke's was, but it still needs some work.

It would be pretty sweet if we could draft Smart and find a way to get John Henson.

You missed something and my heart was broken.

 

[Chupacabra]

He's not entering the draft.

Oh snap! Well damn. So much for drafting a shot blocker. If we don't luck out and end up drafting at #7 then I guess I'm a Marcus Smart guy. He plays like he hates losing. I hate the last 8 years of losing, so picking Smart makes sense to me.

 

[Glenn]

Oh snap! Well damn. So much for drafting a shot blocker. If we don't luck out and end up drafting at #7 then I guess I'm a Marcus Smart guy. He plays like he hates losing. I hate the last 8 years of losing, so picking Smart makes sense to me.

Although bajaden doesn't think Vonleh will be available at #7 he's a big guy with a lot of holes in his game, especially offensively, all of which can be worked on as the years pass. As he is, he can play defense and shoot a little. He's not a major shot blocker but he and Cuz could clog the lane. I think if we pick #7, we will have a choice between Smart and Vonleh neither of which is ideal but both of which might be a great value in a draft day trade.

Let's have the ping pong balls bounce our way for once. I don't remember a time when we have snuck into the top 3 and this year would be a good year.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Let's have the ping pong balls bounce our way for once. I don't remember a time when we have snuck into the top 3 and this year would be a good year.

The answer is...we have never snuck into the top-three in the ping-pong ball era (depending on your definition of sneaking in). We have "won" any position in the lottery exactly twice. Once in 1989, during the envelope era, we won the #1 overall pick. Then in 1991, we had the third-most combinations in the lottery and won the third slot. (Our combo actually came up in the ping pong balls! - but we only "held serve" so to speak.) But since 1990 we have been in the ping-pong balls 15 times, and only been selected that one time at our projected slot. We have never "moved up" in the ping-pong lottery.

 

[HndsmCelt]

The answer is...we have never snuck into the top-three in the ping-pong ball era (depending on your definition of sneaking in). We have "won" any position in the lottery exactly twice. Once in 1989, during the envelope era, we won the #1 overall pick. Then in 1991, we had the third-most combinations in the lottery and won the third slot. (Our combo actually came up in the ping pong balls! - but we only "held serve" so to speak.) But since 1990 we have been in the ping-pong balls 15 times, and only been selected that one time at our projected slot. We have never "moved up" in the ping-pong lottery.

As unscientific as it is/sounds, it really does seem as if we are due.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

As unscientific as it is/sounds, it really does seem as if we are due.

I agree on both counts, the "due = unscientific" and the "we're due anyway".

 

[gunks]

Oh come on guys, we all know we are going to drop in the lotto like always.

 

[Glenn]

Oh come on guys, we all know we are going to drop in the lotto like always.

I don't know the exact odds on this but it means a team from 8-13 gets into the top 3 and the likelihood has to be minimal. Not sure if it will make a difference but then the difference between Noah and Hawes turned out to be quite a lot.

 

[bajaden]

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..........

If you think that Smarts form is better than Tyreke's then I seriously don't know what your watching. Smarts form is absolutely horrible. He does the split almost every time he takes a jumpshot, and is off balance on almost every shot he takes. His handles and ability to get to the basket are nowhere near Tyreke's ability. I honestly don't see what any of you people that like Smart see in him. There must be something wrong with me, because I just don't see it, and I've watched him play over 40 times in the last two years. Smart took 386 shot attempts this season and out of those, 164 were three point attempts which is 42% of his total shots. So close to half of his shots were 3 pt shots, and he shot 29.9% from there. You'd think he might get a clue and take a few less shots from the beyond the arc. But no, he averaged 5.2 attempts per game from out there. Now Tyreke wasn't any better at Memphis where he shot 27.4% from the three, but at least he only took 24% of his shots from out there. Tyreke averaged 3.9 assists while Smart averaged 4.8 assists. Let us remember that Tyreke moved from SG to PG that year.

By comparison, I. Thomas looks like Chris Paul. IT did take 40% of his shots from the three, but at least he shot 34.9% from there, and he averaged 6.1 assists. And in case anyone is wondering, McCallum took 29.8% of his shots from beyond the arc, but shot 32.3%. However, McCallum's overall shooting percentage was 49.1%. And he averaged 4.5 assists. Since PDA stated that the Kings needed better perimeter shooting, why in the world then would he draft Smart. If our starting lineup lacks perimeter shooting, you certainly don't improve it by either letting IT walk, or moving him to the bench and replacing him with Smart. Cousins life would get a lot more miserable with Smart out there

 

[bajaden]

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.

You see this is the part I don't get. Thomas averaged 6.1 assists at Washington, and Smart averaged 4.8 assists. Thomas was the better shooter, and still is. PDA said they need better perimeter shooting. How on god's good earth does that improve with Smart at the helm? Yeah, he'll certainly be a better defender than IT, but that's about where it ends. Everyone complains that IT shoots too much. But at least he's pretty proficient at it. How do you think they'll like it when Smart starts chucking away, and misses most of them. Better yet, how do you think Cuz and Gay will like it.

 

[Uncia03]

1.) Vonleh (Starting Big next to Cousins)
2.) Stauskas (I could easily see him stealing Ben's starting job if we did end up drafting him and don't pick up a vetearn)
3.) Gordon as a very distant third...as his shot scares me.

Smart....if we drafted Smart, I'd gladly trade him for Tony Wroten plus extras...as I think that Wroten has better vision, is more explosive, is better at getting to the rim, and has just as bad a jump shot as Smart.

 

[Bricklayer]

You can't not trade for a guy because Cuz got in a skirmish with him previously. That's ridiculous. And if Cuz holds grudges, that's his problem and one he'll have to deal with. There's been plenty of guys who go at it as opponents but are fine when on the same team. Actually, anyone thinking it's a problem, I wonder if you've played competitive sports. Whether it's your brother, close friends, teammates, whomever, you regularly battle it out, trash talk, sometime it gets ugly, fighting, etc, and you leave it on the court. That's completely normal for guys playing sports. It's part of competition. I can't begin to tell you how many skirmishes/altercations I've been in and have seen others in when playing and it was rarely, if ever an issue even an hour later. All-out fistfights, then guys eating lunch together like nothing happened. It's normal. You leave it on the court.

It's a non-issue to me.

I don't think that's the way Cousins works. When he doesn't like you, its personal.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

You see this is the part I don't get. Thomas averaged 6.1 assists at Washington, and Smart averaged 4.8 assists. Thomas was the better shooter, and still is. PDA said they need better perimeter shooting. How on god's good earth does that improve with Smart at the helm? Yeah, he'll certainly be a better defender than IT, but that's about where it ends. Everyone complains that IT shoots too much. But at least he's pretty proficient at it. How do you think they'll like it when Smart starts chucking away, and misses most of them. Better yet, how do you think Cuz and Gay will like it.

Thomas did that in his third college year while Smart only played two. Thomas only averaged 3.2 assists in his second year. Thomas was 22 as a rookie, Smart JUST turned 20 this March. I don't have context for Thomas' college numbers, but they are what they are. And even with that being said, the numbers only mean so much.

The shooting numbers are all pretty close, too, even giving Thomas his third year. I'd also point to Smart's FT%, which is / was higher than Thomas' .. I only bring this up because I know you've used that as a tool to predict future shooting capabilities in previous posts about other players.

I also think that, to some degree, Thomas is a little too involved in the offense relative to his talent. He's good. I like him more than most. But I think if Smart were to play the way Thomas is playing, it would be more tolerable because he 'looks the part' Fair or unfair, but I think it's true. Plus, the better defense (and Smart has a ton of potential on that end) would make some of that other stuff more tolerable. There would be growing pains.

I've said this all season, I don't really want Smart as much as I am quite terrified of him blowing up after we pass over him.

The fact is, you've seen more of Smart than I have. To that point, I respect your view of him quite a bit, but I suppose the quick and dirty response is that I see the potential there. Could be wrong.

 

[Gary]

If you think that Smarts form is better than Tyreke's then I seriously don't know what your watching. Smarts form is absolutely horrible. He does the split almost every time he takes a jumpshot, and is off balance on almost every shot he takes. His handles and ability to get to the basket are nowhere near Tyreke's ability. I honestly don't see what any of you people that like Smart see in him. There must be something wrong with me, because I just don't see it, and I've watched him play over 40 times in the last two years. Smart took 386 shot attempts this season and out of those, 164 were three point attempts which is 42% of his total shots. So close to half of his shots were 3 pt shots, and he shot 29.9% from there. You'd think he might get a clue and take a few less shots from the beyond the arc. But no, he averaged 5.2 attempts per game from out there. Now Tyreke wasn't any better at Memphis where he shot 27.4% from the three, but at least he only took 24% of his shots from out there. Tyreke averaged 3.9 assists while Smart averaged 4.8 assists. Let us remember that Tyreke moved from SG to PG that year.

By comparison, I. Thomas looks like Chris Paul. IT did take 40% of his shots from the three, but at least he shot 34.9% from there, and he averaged 6.1 assists. And in case anyone is wondering, McCallum took 29.8% of his shots from beyond the arc, but shot 32.3%. However, McCallum's overall shooting percentage was 49.1%. And he averaged 4.5 assists. Since PDA stated that the Kings needed better perimeter shooting, why in the world then would he draft Smart. If our starting lineup lacks perimeter shooting, you certainly don't improve it by either letting IT walk, or moving him to the bench and replacing him with Smart. Cousins life would get a lot more miserable with Smart out there

I explained above that I can see his form is "different and a bit hitchy" and some people don't like it but it's not going to limit him like it did Evans. At least that's my opinion from watching him shoot.. And yes, I have been watching him.

As for the rest of your post I agree with your assessments of the %s but I am banking on Smart being much much more than he is now. He has the tools to be everything we are looking for in a PG, does he not? He already does so many things well. Defensively he has quick footwork, great hands (not to mention fast hands), big body, long arms, the IQ to know what someone is doing before they do it, and much much more. Offensively he can drive right now, and is a good passer. Ball handling improved this year and shooing did not. I am not as concerned as others about his shooting but I can't say it doesn't concern me a little.

I assume we are just going to have to agree to disagree about Smart.

For those who haven't seen his shot here it is.

It's not the best looking shot but I have seen a lot worse from better shooters. I'm banking on him being able to use that big juicy brain of his and tweak it a bit so he's not looking like he's grabbing every shot off of a ball cart.

Oh watch the draftexpress link after that video. It starts at about 11:00 and basically shows you what needs to be corrected.