Following Potential 2018 Draftees

[zyzz]

Anyone who pays for DX/ESPN Insider wanna tell me where they have

Zhaire Smith 6'5" Freshman SG at Texas Tech on their freshman rankings? cuz I'd love to explain why that # is probably way too low...

edit: realized you asked for freshman rankings, not the full top 60. He's not on the top freshman list either, but I don't think I'm looking at an updated list.

Zhaire Smith isn't on his top 60. Note that this isn't their usual mock draft, but "it uses ESPN's BPI to project the draft order, and it's adjusted for NBA team needs accordingly." I did just read about Zhaire on The Stepien though.

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/01/25/zhaire-smith-surprise-freshman-stud/

Here are some things Jazz related/interesting from Givony's article.

11. Utah Jazz

Mikal Bridges Villanova Junior SF

Height: 6-foot-7 | Weight: 200 | PER: 27.5

Every team in the NBA is searching for depth on the wing, and the Jazz are no exception.

Bridges' ability to make shots, defend anywhere from 1-4 and play within a system make him an easy fit on almost any team's roster, even if his overall upside is limited to an extent by his lack of shot creation.

Starting salary: $3,346,560

With recruiting analysts widely describing the 2018 high school senior class as one of the weakest in memory, the 2019 draft is not projected to be particularly strong, nor deep, which may cause players currently in college to think long and hard about returning to school for another year.

The depth of the 2018 draft hasn't emerged at this stage either, as scouts say there is a significant drop-off in talent outside the lottery, and they are struggling to find 30 players worthy of being granted guaranteed contracts by being picked in the first round.

They also put Bamba 3rd overall and were tempted to put him at #2. Jaren Jackson is #5, MPJ #6, Young #7.

Daniel Gafford (#17), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (#19), Melvin Frazier (#29), and Landry Shamet (#30) all went from unranked into the top 30. Chandler Hutchison also had a big leap from #42 to #16. Keita Bates-Diop also a big riser from #56 to #27.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

i didn't see the game, but Bamba with a nice line of 25, 15 and 4 today. 12-13 FTs and 1-1 3pt.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

hard to judge young in a game like that at this point. either getting doubled straight up or at least constantly having a help defender ready. He handles it well finding open guys but his teammates are so atrocious, they simply couldn't take advantage of the myriad open looks they got. So you have Young who has to make a choice of forcing shots and/or passes or making the easy pass to a teammate who will most likely blow the opportunity.

that's like asking me if i want to do Rosie O'Donnell or Donald Trump. just shoot me. that's where Trae Young is at right now.

 

[Game6Conley]

i didn't see the game, but Bamba with a nice line of 25, 15 and 4 today. 12-13 FTs and 1-1 3pt.

He is the premier talent in college basketball..

People are gonna repeat "He's getting better every day" and thats how they're gonna justify this slow rise from 6th to #1... It's partially true but doesn't tell the whole story, he was actually quite good already..

 

[Game6Conley]

edit: realized you asked for freshman rankings, not the full top 60. He's not on the top freshman list either, but I don't think I'm looking at an updated list.

Zhaire Smith isn't on his top 60. Note that this isn't their usual mock draft, but "it uses ESPN's BPI to project the draft order, and it's adjusted for NBA team needs accordingly." I did just read about Zhaire on The Stepien though.

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/01/25/zhaire-smith-surprise-freshman-stud/

Here are some things Jazz related/interesting from Givony's article.





They also put Bamba 3rd overall and were tempted to put him at #2. Jaren Jackson is #5, MPJ #6, Young #7.

Daniel Gafford (#17), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (#19), Melvin Frazier (#29), and Landry Shamet (#30) all went from unranked into the top 30. Chandler Hutchison also had a big leap from #42 to #16. Keita Bates-Diop also a big riser from #56 to #27.

Props. This whole comment about the 2018 HS class being the weakest in years and its possible affect on this draft, I don't buy that just yet, and would advise to not jump to such a conclusion so early.. thats just one of those things, IMO, thats much easier to say NOW than it will be by the time the summer of 2019 rolls around...

Facts of the matter are people usually just pigeonhole the class, over a few players, and they think their qualified to speak on the entire field as a result..

 

[Game6Conley]

Kevin Knox just annihilated WVU on their homecourt...

Brilliant performance, easily one of the best in college all season, wait til u see these highlights...

This kid is supremely talented.. Jazz would be lucky to pick him.. His floor is Tobias Harris..

 

[Carbon13]

I think Mikal is a legit 3/D wing in the mold of a Trevor Ariza or Khris Middleton. I just find myself wanting more off-the-dribble game, more ability to create, and more ball skills in general. Maybe he can develop those things a bit like Kawhi did (though Kawhi is a real outlier in terms of personal development), but if he doesn't then he won't really qualify as the proverbial "third guy" with Mitchell and Gobert. Plus, he'll be 22 at the start of his rookie season. I'm just saying there are some risks there, and there are other guys in the lottery with more upside.

Ideally, the Jazz draft more scoring and athleticism that gives them a mis-match at one of the forward spots. I really think both Knox and Miles Bridges are likely to pan out as solid offensive options in the same draft range. If we already had all the scoring and shot creation we need, then Mikal would be a solid pick outside the top 9 or 10.

I agree with everything you say here.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Knox with some nice moments, getting all the way to the rim for a change.

 

[Game6Conley]

I agree with everything you say here.

he's an even better athlete than prime ariza who i'm well familiar with and watched his early years with the knicks closely, was my favorite player on the team as a rookie..

he's also way better at everything than Khris Middleton was, other than shooting it from 3 obviously.. and I was a huge fan of Khris Middleton in college just for the record it was quite apparent he was like a steve novak level marksman...

I still say he reminds me of the Matrix himself Shawn Marion.

 

[Game6Conley]

Knox with some nice moments, getting all the way to the rim for a change.

That three about 3:55 in was cold-blooded, thats a super high pressure make.. His 3pt percentage isn't pretty, he's not Antoine Walker chucking up questionable looks tho.. That 3 (and the 2 3's from Quade) Kept it in striking distance, and boy did they come off the ropes swinging in the 2nd half..

Was truly a glorious victory.

Also u can see in these highlights that oldman Jevon Carter is pretty good..

 

[seattlejazzfan]

just watched the UK game. Knox is long and super athletic. still not a huge fan of the 3 point stroke (thought it isn't bad)and i wonder about his ability to create his own offense other than straight line drives. also, rebounding and playmaking. but if he can get to where he's hitting the three near 40%, he could be really good. even where he's at, he'd be an incredibly high upside guy in that 12-17 range.

also, while other than rebounding the **** out of the ball since coming back from injury, he's been pretty underwhelming, Jarred Vanderbilt certainly passes the eye test. very impressive looking athlete. 11 rebounds in 11 minutes tonight. that's not something you see every day. had a great pass to Knox cutting baseline as well.

 

[Game6Conley]

just watched the UK game. Knox is long and super athletic. still not a huge fan of the 3 point stroke (thought it isn't bad)and i wonder about his ability to create his own offense other than straight line drives. also, rebounding and playmaking. but if he can get to where he's hitting the three near 40%, he could be really good. even where he's at, he'd be an incredibly high upside guy in that 12-17 range.

also, while other than rebounding the **** out of the ball since coming back from injury, he's been pretty underwhelming, Jarred Vanderbilt certainly passes the eye test. very impressive looking athlete. 11 rebounds in 11 minutes tonight. that's not something you see every day. had a great pass to Knox cutting baseline as well.

Knox will be a plus rebounder at the SF position in the NBA, UK has a number of ballhawks which causes a massive trickledown effect on some individuals rebounding #'s and Knox is easily one of the biggest casualties, there's a long list of reasons why; someone like Vanderbilt, he is a demon on the boards he has extreme tools and anticipation to high-points those rebounds initiates the break... Gabriel is everywhere and PJ Washington isn't quite Ben Wallace,Kenneth Faried or Paul Millsap but he's about as damn fine a 6'8" rebounder as you can find he's also got a 7'3 wingspan and quick leaper. And with all these ball-hawks they also have this missle in the open court hamidou diallo, who's also an insane rebounder for a guard... but when he's on the court it's just this downhill race, it's more important for Knox to function as a flanker or trailer/weakside than crash the boards in this scenarios, unless they leave the lane wide open for him to crash.. of this bevy of 6'8" 6'9" forwards Knox's SG skills are by-far the best, they recruited him to fill Malik Monks shoes, he's got scorers instincts and tricks in his bag. even tho Vanderbilts handle and passing are better..

DX having Vanderbilt in the 2nd rd or the 40's id just overall pompous and it's downright absurd, he's a top-20 talent, u can see their stance on all UK kids OVERLY wait and see, which is absurd because if anyones earned the benefit of the doubt its coach cal with 30 NBA active players 4 allstars and more on the way.. I understand also it would b a bad look if they were just smitten with all the kids, i take umbrage with Wenyen Gabriel not being on their top-100 lists, thats also ridiculous.

Vanderbilt is like Al Farouq Aminu mixed with Kyle Kuzma, if he can get that shot down its over with.. He's clutch too I've seen him make truly brilliant plays with a second on the clock, actually posted some of them here years ago, he was the first player in this class that was mentioned on JFC... In some form he's like a poormans Giannis too if we're being honest.