Not a Melo fan at all but the guy is being thrown under the bus because he is an easy excuse for every team. The Rockets have been garbage overall, it wasn't just Melo. Same with OKC.
Fultz FT vs. the heat was amazingly bad. This guy is rivaling JR Bennett for worst #1 pick of the century. Too bad, nobody saw this coming.
anthony bennett will be the worst simply because it was so foreseeable, imo. as you said, nobody thought fultz would forget how to use his arms in three months. that's some highly uncommon--perhaps unprecedented in basketball--stuff.
Right. I was never a fan mainly because I never saw much in the college games I saw him in. But this is just sad to watch. I honestly don't know how this happens.
just noticed this seasons Clarkson, WTF did this guy do to himself? I see he's fully embarrassed JR mentorship with that stupid/ugly throat that.
Dude was super talented for where he was drafted and gave us an unexpected awesome rookie season. And then Swaggy P happened to him and now JR Smith.
Doncic looks great. Amazing composure. You can really see that he is not a typical rookie. And considering the guy is 19 years of age...Dallas hit a HR with him, no question.
eh, smith was the 9th overall pick. the kicker is that the next guy on their list was mitchell, though, according to reports. doncic is already a really good nba player. wish the lakers had hit like that on one of their high picks.
There’s a reason the first round contracts are as long as they are. Smith is shooting better, but he’s down everywhere else. I’ll give him time.
Smith won't be a star. He doesn't do anything especially well. Athleticism gets you only this far. I don't buy the time argument. Most stars in the NBA show star potential in their rookie season and make a big jump in their 2nd year. At the latest in 3rd year they are young stars. Guys like Russell, Lonzo, Randle, Ingram and Smith...etc. These are average players. The Kyle Lowry or Oladipo type of guys are rare. Usually their problem isn't bad performance but lack of a real opportunity. If you play 30 mpg and don't look like a star in your 3rd year, 95% you'll never be.
in fairness, pgs and cs seem to be slower developers than other spots, iirc. but i don't project smith as a star. nor would his draft status, though, which was my point: 9th picks aren't expected to be stars, on average. that's for top 5 (really top-1?) picks. in smith's case, i would say he's playing ok and projects as a starting caliber nba player. sort of eric bledsoe-ish. he's having trouble learning how to finish and make decisions around the basket, and his shot is erratic (though much better to my eye from midrange this year). like many young guards, his defense is pretty poor. if he shores that up with experience and becomes a passable standstill three point shooter, he'll have a long career. if he does all that and figures out how to use his athleticism in traffic, he still has star potential. but that's a lot of ifs. i had them all on the same tier, which is why i wanted the lakers to trade down. as of today, it looks like it was: fox ball smith
