Meet
Getting to know Nolan Smith
Posted by: Kyle11Kirkham on May 23rd, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Today I’m going to be taking a look at Nolan Smith
Physicals
Height: 6’ 3.5” (6’ 5.5” wingspan)
Weight: 188 lbs
Birthday: 7-25-1988 (22 year old; Senior from Duke)
*Point Guard
*Top 6 point guard, top 25 overall
I was not going to originally do a breakdown on Nolan Smith, but if the Jazz don’t take a point guard with the #3, then there is a good chance they get one with the #12, and Smith will be one of the best point guards left by then (along with The Jimmer and Jackson).
Smith is an interesting player. He may not be the most exciting player for your team, but he may very well be one of the most important players on it. When it comes to strengths for Smith, nothing in his “actual game” sticks out (to me at least). He does everything well. He can score around the basket (seems to have a nice touch), by shooting (create own shot, also can spot up). He can run an offense (has good basketball IQ), lead a team, or be a role player. His length and effort will give him a chance to be a good perimeter defender at the NBA level. His best quality (or skill) in my opinion is the leadership/attitude that he possesses. He is a team player that does what it takes to win. Like when he led Duke after Irving got injured.
Smith may be able to score around the rim, but he doesn’t necessarily attack it (explosiveness) as you may want your point guard to do. This isn’t a huge weakness that will kill his stock, in a matter of fact; he isn’t that bad of an athlete. It just comes down to the fact that the NBA point guard is evolving and changing into a different type of player. Other than that, he other weakness, is ironically his strength. He is good at most things, but not great at most things (asides his leadership/attitude).
Best case scenario for Smith, is a player with a Derek Fisher type role, but with more skills. I think Smith could be a fairly important piece to many teams, however I think he would be best on a team with multiple players that are much better than him (Celtics, Lakers, Heat seem to be good fits). As for the Jazz drafting him, I don’t know. He is definitely a stretch at the #12, but Corbin did say he really values players with leadership, experience, and that are NBA ready.
Nolan Smith
Replies: 3
Views: 409
3 Responses
im a huge duke fan, I love them just as much as i love the jazz. And in my opinion Nolan Smith is just as good as Ivring if not better. He would not be a bad pick up..
David Aldridge on NBA.com has Nolan Smith as the 4 best PG in the draft, behind Irving, Walker, and Knight. So he is ranked above Jimmer.
He seems like he might not be a bad pick at 12 since he would probably be a solid PG.
Also, everyone thinks that the best guy available at the 3rd pick will be Kanter but on Aldridge’s list he has Valanciunas as the top center in the draft. Will be interesting to see what KOC and the scouts think of the Euros when they go over there in June.
I like Nolan Smith because he’s tough, heady, fundamentally sound. When you take someone with just a year of college experience, you don’t really know what you’re going to get. With Smith, you know. He played four years in the ACC so he can obviously hang. He’s not going to carry a team the way Derrick Rose does in Chicago, but if you build your front court the right way, you don’t necessarily need that. If the Jazz hit right on Favors and Hayward, and if Jefferson holds steady, maybe what you need from the point guard is more of a floor general…the type of guy Chauncey Billups was in Detroit. He wasn’t their first offensive option (think Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton), but Billups was smart and hit the big shots when he needed to.