Jabari is a very good defender. It's one of his better traits. Mike Schmitz goes into a little more detail here
What? One of Smith's biggest strengths is his defense. He gets after it on the perimeter and has the length/smarts to do protect the baskets if guys gets past him. And he has a built-in tenacity on defense so his mental makeup also where it needs to be.
Well, I did say “from what I’ve seen”. And this article talks a little bit about it: Here. “Smith is a mobile, sizable athlete, but he isn’t the type to sprint around to wreak half-court havoc. Because of his frame and the good-but-not-spectacular burst athleticism that we detailed earlier, I don’t think he has the type of eye-popping recovery ability that could allow him to quickly high-point a shot to erase his own mistakes or those of his teammates. He frequently lets opponents shoot over him, when you’d like to see a contest or a block. There are also the typical lapses of focus or delayed reactivity that you see from an 18-year-old, so these things don’t alarm me. We occasionally see him fail to make that third effort as the ball moves and his assignment changes along with it. He’s very much a “right place, right time” type of positional team defender.”
Ah, fuck, I forgot a word in my original post. “TEAM defender.” We need good TEAM defense in order to make up for our guards, which is what Chet excels at. In addition to my OP, I’ll add Chet is an eraser. Jabari is not. My fault.
Nah man, use him like the Zags do and how the Celtics use Robert Williams. Use him as the primary help defender and let him roam a little. He’s transcendent because of those abilities, not his ability to just stand below the rim and block stuff.
I kinda feel like if we get Grant, he will be, to a lesser degree, our version of the Laker's Westbrook experiment. I just don't see him providing enough to get us over the top. Just say no.
Hoopshype: 1:15 Jerami Grant’s future Scotto: The other night, Detroit played Portland, and Josh Hart and Jusuf Nurkic both posted photos of themselves talking with Jerami Grant on Twitter. I got a kick out of that. It was like an eyes emoji kind of thing. Portland, given their situation where they’re trying to retool and not necessarily rebuild around Damian Lillard looking ahead towards next season, was in the mix to try to trade for Grant at the deadline. Edwards: The Nurkic and Hart thing was hilarious. I know Hart and Jerami are from the same area… It definitely looks like eyes emoji. I reported it, and you did as well, that the Blazers were one of the teams persistent in trying to get Grant. I don’t think at the time they had the assets Troy Weaver was looking for to trade Grant. He’s somebody they like and a good player. Troy had all the leverage. He doesn’t have to trade Grant. Portland’s going to find itself in an interesting situation where they could have a high draft pick coming up… Maybe if it’s high enough, it’s an offer the Pistons can’t refuse. If Jerami gets traded anywhere this offseason, it’s going to be Portland. It feels like Portland is still the front-runner. In terms of Jerami’s future in Detroit, I think it’s interesting. They like him, and he likes it here. I think where they pick in the draft is going to have some type of impact on what they decide to do. If they end up picking in the Top 4 or Top 5 and one of those forwards are there for them, I think it’s possible you could see Grant moved if the Pistons end up with Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray, or Chet Holmgren. On the other hand, if they pick five, sixth, or seventh, and it’s Ben Mathurin at shooting guard, it’d be a Cade Cunningham, Mathurin, Saddiq Bey, Grant, and Isaiah Stewart lineup. Scotto: A lot of times when a trade is going down in the NBA, it comes down to need and whether there’s a little bit of desperation there. When I look at Portland’s situation, they got Josh Hart. Jusuf Nurkic is going to be a free agent, but there are enough people around the league that believe Nurkic and the Blazers will work out a deal, and he’ll stay there looking ahead towards next season and beyond. If you’re going along with that line of thinking, you’ve got Hart, Nurkic, Lillard. A lot of people around the league also believe Anfernee Simons will remain with the Blazers, and that’s why they made a lot of salary cap-saving moves to ultimately have more room to re-sign him and make another move going forward. Jerami Grant would plug a hole there at the four for them. Given where they’re at trying to compete with Lillard and his timeline, Grant is in the prime of his career at 28. For Detroit, while Cunningham is a bright young prospect, and they’ve got some pieces there, including a high lottery pick, it seems like the timelines don’t necessarily match there. Some people around the league have always wondered if there was going to be an expiration date. Plus, Grant is seeking a max extension if he can get it. That’s a lot of money, and I don’t know if you’re the Pistons right now if it behooves them to do that. Edwards: I think a lottery pick would be the kind of sweetener that would do it (get Detroit to trade Grant). Portland is obviously heading towards that trajectory. It wasn’t all the way clear at that point at the deadline. Troy was in no rush to get something done at the deadline. My gut tells me that Portland really makes a legitimate push and goes and gets Jerami. Scotto: Portland will likely have a high lottery pick. I don’t know if they go that high (in a trade offer for Grant). Maybe a future first-round pick with protections I could see from Portland’s side. When I’m looking at the landscape of teams that, as of today, have interest in Jerami that would have the desperation and assets to get it done, I’d think Portland has a really good shot. The Lakers had interest, but I don’t think that appealed to Jerami in terms of where his fit would be on that team and the assets the Lakers had. For a while, they were dangling Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and a first-round pick. I don’t know if having another pick at their disposal going ahead will move the needle for that. When you look at the rest of the NBA, Washington had been linked to him as well, but they got Kristaps Porzingis.
Getting Jerami will do as much for us as getting his dad did. Remember the golden Harvey Grant Blazer years?
Nay if the cost is a lottery pick. Adding Grant maybe wins a couple more games but doesn't put the Blazers anywhere near the elite teams in the league in a playoff series. Better off keeping the rookie and at least giving fans something to be hopeful about.
I'm not sure if you've been out of the loop but it turns out there is good news on the Olshey front. Also 11th picks: 2018 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2016 Domantas Sabonis 2015 Myles Turner
I remember him being a throw-in in the Strickland-'Sheed trade, if that's what you mean. (If we got anyone for him in particular, it would be Mitchell Butler.)
Have not been watching Jalen Smith, but that does bring up a good point. Is there anyone for the MLE that is close to Grant? I am OK with Grant at 20 million but it is the extension raise he is asking for that makes me worried. Although I guess we just don't give him one this summer and make him earn it next year. He would have to play well if he wants anyone else to pay him more. (us and another team) Either way, I don't want to give Detroit a top 7-8 pick
This FA class is anemic at best. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/ Best options to sign as a FA would be Jalen Smith, Otto Porter Jr, TJ Warren, or Kyle Anderson.
