Philadelphia 76ers: Zhaire Smith should remain firmly in long-term plans
The Philadelphia 76ers’ curious handling of Zhaire Smith continues.
The progression of Zhaire Smith‘s NBA career has been strange, curious, and, by what one might characterize as divine intervention, promising. He spent a large chunk of his rookie season on bedrest after a severe allergic reaction to sesame. Then, somehow, he made it back for the final six games and looked … decent.
Smith is a one-percent athlete. At 6-foot-4, he effortlessly skies for lobs and pops endlessly on defense. His lateral quickness is elite, his instincts are growing, and he has all the tools of a top-tier perimeter defender in the NBA.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team built on defense, and perimeter one-on-one defense has long been an area of weakness. Josh Richardson and Matisse Thybulle have provided solutions to said weakness, but even so, Smith has a desirable skill set, both in general and in team context.
More from Sixers News
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Breaking Down Bombshell Report on Sixers Star James Harden
His ability to fill an important gap, in addition to a strong end to the 2018-19 season and an even stronger 2019 Summer League, makes the Sixers’ recent handling of Smith all the more confusing. As Furkan Korkmaz gets a real shot at minutes, Smith was recently assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats in advance of training camp.
Smith should be closer to the nine-man rotation than Delaware — I’m firm in that belief. We, and the media as a whole, don’t get a first-hand look at every practice. Not the meat of the practices, at least. Brett Brown knows more than we do, but it’s still hard to justify his decision to furlough Smith at the season’s start.
If anything, now is the time to let Smith compete for minutes. Thybulle and James Ennis are understandably locked into the rotation, but Korkmaz is Korkmaz. He hasn’t been good for two seasons, and his third isn’t off to a brilliant start. Shake Milton was selected 40-something spots behind Smith in the 2018 draft, but he’s with the team.
One might argue Milton is a more polished prospect. Sure. He played longer in college, spent last season as a G-League star, and is a decidedly older, more mature player. Smith was an unheralded recruit who played power forward in high school, only to flourish unexpectedly at Texas Tech before going one-and-done.
Smith was always viewed as a project. Add in his missed time as a rookie, and it’s understandable as to why Brown would have some reluctance in thrusting Smith onto the court. But from all the tangible on-court evidence we, the viewers, have seen, Smith looks the part of a player. An NBA player.
His basketball I.Q. is there, on par with any young wing prospect. He makes smart cuts to the rim, willingly moves the ball, and plays a very unselfish style, which Brown should appreciate. Smith has as instinctual an approach on offense as he does on defense, and the Sixers have the personnel to reward a high-flying rim-runner who cuts as crisply as Smith does.
The chief concern would be shooting, but one could make that argument for the whole roster. Korkmaz, who Brown has branded as a developing ‘bomber’, is a career 32.1 percent 3-point shooter with a moderately slow release. Thybulle is a better shooter, as is Ennis, but floor spacing is not the Sixers’ forte. It won’t change until a genuine scheme-shifting shooter joins the roster.
On defense and smarts alone, not to mention elite-level athleticism, Smith should get a shot at the rotation. He’s only 6-foot-4, but his 6-foot-10 wingspan — in addition to, again, his ability to touch the top of the backboard with his chin (okay, maybe not…) — allows him to play bigger than his size. The Sixers like bigness.
Even if Smith isn’t getting minutes, though, it shouldn’t cast doubt over his long-term future with the Sixers. Smith is going to be a good NBA player, one with utility on both ends. Some have questioned his status with the team after the recent G-League assignment. If the Sixers are deliberating his future in Philadelphia, it could evolve into a massive mistake in the future.
On the surface, a G-League assignment — even if it presses long into the regular season — isn’t a death sentence for Smith. As mentioned earlier, Milton spent last season on a two-way, got promoted this summer, and is in line to compete for fringe minutes on a contender. Smith already has a full-scale rookie contract, and therefore a more substantial investment from the front office.
Next. Record predictions for the 2019-20 season. dark
If he’s not going to play, whether it’s due to performance or stubbornness, there is some benefit to Smith getting run in Delaware. He’s still young and new to the game, especially at the NBA level. But whatever the case may be, he shouldn’t really be in Brown’s doghouse. And because of that, there’s room for concern.