Josh Smith SI blurb

[Swish]

Quote:

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26. San Antonio Spurs: Josh Smith, PF/SF, 22. Smith is a bit of a head case -- just ask Mike Woodson -- but his talent is undeniable. Molded correctly, the rangy, 6-9 forward could develop Garnett-type defensive skills.

That from a new SI piece on how the first round would shake out if every NBA player today was available. That basically means Chris Mannix thinks Smoove is the 26th best player in the NBA. Impressive. Pay attention, people! The outside world is drooling over what we have!

[TheTrueSiete]

Honestly I don't like to read much into what SI puts out... For example, in the article you stated, Greg Oden was at 14 (What has he proved?) and JJ wasn't even on said list...

I'm not disagreeing with you about Smoove, because I think his up side is WAAAYYY UPPP, but I don't like to try to prove my point with SI's material...

7

[AnakinJoe]

He's also saying that a team with strong leadership and tremendous fundamentals could gamble on a "head case". In case you haven't noticed, there is very little that is similar between the two rosters. It also doesn't mean that you overpay for a "head case", even if he is potentially the 26th best player. Stephen Jackson was very good on the Spurs a few years back but they refused to over-pay for him, because he was a "head case". And guess what, a few years later, after playing for 2-3 other teams, he's still a "head case". We like to assume that every youngster grows up and becomes a mature and responsible adult, but that's a lie in real life and it's an untruth in the NBA too.

[AnnArborHawk]

There are a few key words in there that should not go unignored.

1) Head case - not sure that he's a "head case" but he certainly can be disagreeable and I can see him being difficult to coach

2) Molded correctly - Obviously this means well coached. I think we can safely say he hasn't had the upper echelon of coaching during his NBA tenure

It's where the two come together that will determine Josh Smith's success in this league. If he is given better coaching AND makes himself more coachable. A lot of people have commented about his BBIQ, and that can improve with good coaching and a willingness to learn.

Josh Smith's got such great athletic ability that his ceiling will most likely be dictated by his own humility and willingness to follow his coaching. Otherwise he may become one of those guys that never reaches his full potential because "he knows best."

[thefloydian]

Quote:

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That basically means Chris Mannix thinks Smoove is the 26th best player in the NBA.

No, it means he has a lot of potential and if he were drafting a team today, he'd pick Smith over a lot of guys who are better, but also older than he is.

[Swish]

I too take SI with a grain of salt; but it is still a major media outlet like ESPN, and I like seeing our guys get PR.

That was part of my point that I failed to mention; JJ wasn't even on the list. You would think all-stars would be the top 24 but I guess not necessarily. The point I was trying to make was that everyone loves JS!