Could J-Smoove be a younger version of Big Ben?

[Blunt91]

I have heard all of the comparisons of Josh Smith to Shawn Kemp(In his Prime), Shawn Marion and Kenyon Martin. To me I think J-Smoove can become a younger version of Ben Wallace. He already is a good shotblocker and a pretty good rebounder. If move to the PF position I am sure his shotblocking & Rebounding will go up. He still needs to work on his rebounding to come anywhere near Big Ben but at least Smoove has a developing jumpshot. Ben Wallace's range is only about 10 to 12ft from the basket. I can see Josh Smith developing a consistent midrange game from 18 to 20feet ala Horace Grant or Charles Oakley. So I see Smoove as being more of a Poorman's Ben Wallace with a better midrange Jumpshot than a complete player like Shawn Kemp.

[Diesel]

Larry Nance.

If Josh were about an inch or 2 taller.

Let's talk about the other comparison and then Nance.

First Ben Wallace:

The biggest difference. Wallace is an energy player. You never see Wallace take off a play or look tired. I can't say the same for Smoove. Moreover, Wallace is more than a shot blocker, Wallace is a positional player. On defense, Wallace knows how to get position which is why he is such a good post defender. Smoove hasn't gotten there yet. He can't defend the post nor can he keep up with good ball handling Sfs.

Shawn Kemp.

A lot of people call out Shawn Kemp because that's the best dunking big man that they can remember. Well, the difference is that Kemp didn't block too many shots, moreover, Kemp came out of HS with much more polished offense than Smoove. Kemp played PF/C in HS and developed a post up game to go along with his dunking game.

Larry Nance.

A lot of you young guys won't remember Nance, but Nance and Smoove has a lot in common. They are both around that 235-240 lbs section. Nance was 6'10 which allowed him to play both forward positions and Center on occasion. But like Smoove, Nance was a quick leaper. Nance could throw the ball down with the best of them. Nance's offense was a bit more honed than Smoove's but Nance wasn't that much more advanced than Smoove is now by his second year in the league. That's interesting considering I think Nance was an all-american from Clemson or USC.

Nance's quick leaping made him a good shot blocker and a decent rebounder. Don't take Nance's scoring average to mean that much. The NBA was different and Nance played run and gun ball with a good PG for his whole career. The only difference is that Nance was taller. I was hoping that Smoove grew to 6'10, however, I guess 6'9 will have to do.

[vdunkndunk]

I think Big Ben is a lot stronger than Smoove will ever be, which allows him to be a 4-5 player even though he's only 6'9.

I actually prefer the comparison that Smoove made himself: Andre Kirilenko. Both Smoove and AK47 are lean guys and quick leapers with great timing, and neither are all that polished offensively. Both are sort of combo-forwards rather than clearly a 3 or clearly a 4, and both have the potential to fill up a box score without necessarily being a dominant offensive player.

[TheDude]

if he's a big ben, it's not a poor man's version...i'd say he's the rich man's version...

[KB21]

....averaged right at 2 blocks per game while playing for Seattle. He was a good shot blocker.

[dalamchops]

why can't Josh just develops his OWN game. Stop trying to make him into something he's not.