JCSunsfan
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I agree with this. It would be better to package him for a vet that fits.
Jalen Smith
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If the Suns could trade Smith to OKC for their first round pick in return it would make a lot of sense.
Suns could then use the draft pick to trade for a power forward. The Suns window is now.
And yet I was torn apart on this board when I said that during the period between the draft and the beginning of the season.
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I just don't get this thinking? Draft him and then dump him quickly if he's not immediately ready to play? And that's in a year where we had no real preseason and the guy has been unavailable for much of the season, a season where we sitting with the 3rd best record in the league.
I'm okay with packaging him for a vet that fits but not because he won't develop due to lack of game action. An awful lot of players learn to play the game with limited minutes. If he has the right attitude and if the front office/coaching staff still believes in him, there's no reason to rush into a trade unless he's part of a deal we really want (where moving him isn't the actual goal).
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He needs to be working on his low post scoring and defense. That is where he looks completely overmatched - but that is what the team needs out of him. We can just play Langston Galloway if we want 3 point shooting.
You know the reason why posters took exception to how you spun things and your claim here isn't why you were "torn apart". Many people stated he wasn't ready to contribute but only a few bashed James Jones for the selection because he wasn't ready right now.
I wasn't one of them. I was bashed for saying that the Suns still needed a power forward in free agency because Smith wasn't physically ready for the NBA and wouldn't be for a while.
That's not true and you know it. Provide proof of it. Its not hard to find, if true.
You were bashed for harping on and on about the need for a PF despite signing Crowder and all money being spent. You repeat the same thing over and over despite the topic of the thread having changed many times.
JCSunsfan
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It's not about giving up on him. It's about recognizing that this team is so deep that the minutes are not available to develop him adequately. I am not sure I agree with you about a lot of players developing without game action. I am trying to think of examples. He is not getting limited minutes. He is getting no practical minutes. The timeline has moved up quickly for the Suns. They are in win now mode.
You just refuted yourself. Your second paragraph is correct and directly refutes your first. Yes, I thought Crowder was a waste of a signing largely because we needed a power forward and Crowder wasn't good enough for us to pass up on that need (and as has been proven this season, Crowder is NOT a power forward, and it turns out I was right that he is not good enough to have passed up on that need). I was bombarded with admonitions that we already had Smith, and I kept responding that while I liked Smith long term, he had a long way to go to be ready to contribute in the NBA. I was then lambasted for saying Smith wasn't ready to contribute. The only problem I had with drafting Smith was that Jones passed on Haliburton. Otherwise, I was one of the very few on this board who actually defended the selection when it was made. Go back and look at the draft night thread. It's right there.
Ouchie-Z-Clown
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I always go back to jermaine O’Neal. He took a while to develop and he got no run behind a deep blazers front line.
JCSunsfan
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Exactly. And he may have never had a decent career at all had he stayed with the Blazers.
Ouchie-Z-Clown
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I suppose that’s possible. I thought he had started to show his game with Portland but it looks like it didn’t take off until he left them. His career was pretty impressive other than a disappointing shooting percentage. Over twenty years of play averaged 1.8 blocks per game. Over twenty years.
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O'Neal was an incredibly raw and skinny athletic talent straight out of high school that still had to learn how to play the game and at the time Portland had several bigs in front of him. He played behind those guys for 4 years, suggesting his trajectory is evidence of why we should move Jalen after a couple of months makes no sense to me. We have a real need at the 4/5 spots, Smith just isn't ready. He doesn't have Cliff Robinson, Rasheed Wallace, Gary Trent, Brian Grant and Sabonis to worry about.
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While I get where you are coming from, this is a different league than back then and this team has "bigs" that fit the modern game quite well (that includes playing guys like Crowder and Cam at the 4).
Clearly it is working quite well as this team is looking like one of the absolute best teams in the league with their current rotation.
Obviously if trading him is necessary to get a good big in return that can help this team right now then I (and I suspect most on this board) would be willing to do it, but I have seen nothing that suggests that we need to move on from him to make that happen or that trading him could make that happen.
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I agree but I was just contesting the idea that we should already look at trading him because he hasn't been given a chance to play much. O'Neal, like Jalen, is a good example of a player whose body simply wasn't ready for the NBA when he entered the league but Jermaine was ready for minutes before he actually got them because he was stuck behind a very talented front court. Once Smith's body matures a little and he gets some experience, we'll have a place for him in the game.
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I don't think the issue is Jalen Smith either but the Suns could use a big man that can contribute now. Smith needs more time to develop his body and game.
The Suns have an open roster spot so it doesn't necessarily mean the Suns need to trade Smith. However, the need for another big man didn't change when they waived Damian Jones.
IMO, they still need one more player that can play the 4/5. I'm hoping the Suns have a plan to fill that spot.
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Yeah we need another big man especially with Cam Johnson out for so long. Not that he's an actual big man but it's one less option for what was already our weak point. I'm more than okay with including Smith in a trade but he isn't that valuable so obviously it would take more to deal for a player that could help us. As I've said before, I don't see that happening. So G League or buyout is the most like direction for us IMO.
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I've played mental gymnastics trying to figure out way for the Suns to use Smith to acquire a big man they need now.
It's not because I've given up on Smith but rather the Suns window is the next two seasons.
We agree the G-League or a buyout is the most likely direction and probably the best.
I thought Smith briefly flashed what he can be in the four minutes he played against the Grizzlies.
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The Suns have reportedly gauged trade interest in Jalen Smith around the league.
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well, that doesn’t inspire confidence.
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Jalen Smith doesn't look ready to contribute this season so it's not unexpected as I view it. Also the Suns will have to decide if they want to exercise the team option later on.
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He needs at least one full season (and probably more) playing every day in the G League but IMO he's not going to get what he needs if we ship him to someone else's G League team. That's why I mentioned earlier that we might trade him or release him.
Releasing him won't happen unless we find a couple of players to add/acquire that can actually fill an on-court role which isn't likely. I think he'll have a place in the NBA but I doubt it will be with us.
