Smith: No need to visit Rockets
Jabari Smith, the Auburn forward expected to be the first pick of the NBA draft, believes he would be no less than a “perfect” selection for the Orlando Magic. Most observers agree.
But if maybe, just maybe, should the Magic go another way in next week’s draft, Smith saw enough in his visit with the Oklahoma City Thunder to feel OK with slipping all the way to second.
That’s it. He saw no real possibility that two teams could pass on a chance to draft him, so he visited only with those two and has no plans to stop by the Rockets’ facilities, or anyone else’s, until the day he comes to town to play against them.
“I don’t see myself falling below two,” Smith said matter-of-factly Thursday. “Just keeping that mindset going into to it, that’s kind of my mindset. That’s why I kept it to those two.”
Though he displayed ample confidence appropriate for the presumed No. 1 pick, the Auburn freshman with the elite shooting touch and unusual length for a teenager so skilled showed no bravado about his coveted place in the draft even though he expects to join the exclusive No. 1 club.
“It will mean a lot to me,” Smith said. “A lot of … great players went No. 1. So it would mean the world to me. (It’s) just a great opportunity for me to just get to the next level and show what I can do. So it’ll be a big deal for me.
“I just see myself as a defender, affecting winning and just doing whatever the team needs me to do, knocking down shots and running the floor.”
A 6-10 forward, Smith averaged 16.9 points as a freshman, making 42 percent of his 3-pointers and averaging 7.4 rebounds. Smith was in the 91st percentile for scoring in catch-and-shoot situations and 96th percentile for scoring with jump shots off the dribble, per Synergy Sports. He did not score as well as a finisher, ranking in the 48th percentile, and was slightly behind Duke’s Paolo Banchero in oneon-one defense.
“I can see myself being able to switch one through five, being able to keep guys in front, being able to guard multiple positions and just being a matchup nightmare,” Smith said. “Being able to play the three, the four, the five and my shooting ability, being able to space the floor, will fit me into any lineup.”
When asked about the Rockets and a potential frontcourt pairing with center Alperen Sengun, Smith did acknowledge that he has not “put much thought into it.” But he was polite enough to imagine that possibility, even if he did not expect it.
“I think that would be a great fit just with me spacing the floor and him being able to shoot, me being able to shoot, I think it would be really hard to guard,” Smith said. “It would give teams problems. It would be great to be with him and be with that team.”
The Rockets are more likely to select Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren or Banchero after the Magic and Thunder have made their picks. Banchero spent parts of the past two days meeting with Rockets executives and working out, and he previously worked out in Memphis with general manager Rafael Stone and scout Chuck Hayes watching closely.
Assuming Smith does go first, he believed the Rockets will be fine with the big man left on the board when they do pick.
“Those guys are great,” he said. “You know watching them all season, just how unselfish they are, how much they contributed to their team so early. It was just great to see. They have bright futures ahead of them.”
Still, Smith is expected to be selected before either “great” prospect. He was not about to argue with that evaluation.
“I think I’m perfect (for the first pick) because just my ability to affect both sides of the ball and my ability to knock down shots and affect winning at such an early age and early part of my game,” Smith said. “So I feel like that’s why I’m the No. 1 pick.”