Coming to the conclusion that DSJ is the guy I want. His only read flag is his knee injury. Not buying the whole "he has an attitude and looked disengaged". Kid can pass, shoot, create, rebound and most importantly has that dog in him. He has that "it" factor that a point guard playing in NYC needs.
Watched enough videos of him working out against players and straight dominating because he's clearly going 110% while his opponents are taking this as drills. As a 17 year old to have that killer instinct is
I agree with this. I was team Frank for awhile, and I still like Frank, but I'm starting to concern myself more and more with his lack of burst although he doesnt seem to have many other weaknesses besides that, and his ceiling can be incredibly high.
However, I really like DSJ. I honestly think he is a better prospect than De'Aaron Fox who is only going to be drafted later because Fox went to Kentucky while NC State was a mess this season. However, Smith Jr. has decent size, is a freak/almost Westbrook like athlete, and is a much better shooter than Fox. I read an article on Nlitikina where they ranked how each PG prospect fared from NBA 3 in international/NCAA play (not a huge sample size) and was surprised to see that Smith Jr. was the only one who shot above 40%. I think the kid has all the tools available to be a star modern PG, and a GREAT running mate for Porzingis.
I also love the fact that he chose to go to NC State over programs like Duke or UNC because his grandma is a big NC State fan and he relishes the underdog mentality. He seems like a hardcore competitor to me. Plus his experience with dysfunction at NC State this year should make for a pretty seamless transition to NYC.
I'm just worried that knowing Phil, he will pass him up. Phil already has enough triangle resistance from the players on this team, yet he seems hell bent to shove it down everyones throats nonetheless, and Phil is smart enough to know that a PG like DSJ isnt exactly a "triangle PG" and will probably only create more triangle resistance/protests from the players, media, and fanbase. I really hope that Phil isnt petty enough to draft a player based on some outdated system which shouldnt be in use this season and almost certainly wont be around when the player he drafts reaches his prime, unfortunately though, he probably is exactly that petty.
Idk if it was posted in here already, but This article on Smith Jr. from the Post on Sunday really provided a good in detail look at him as a prospect/person. I still like Monk though if he drops.
http://nypost.com/2017/06/04/one-of-the-great-point-guards-will-go-to-team-that-takes-chance/