Marcus Smart wins Defensive Player Of The Year.

[nuraman00]

Nice.

Gary Payton gives him the award.

First PG to win it since Gary Payton himself in 1996.

Hope to see more PGs win it, sooner.

 

[nuraman00]

The Jazz took Exum 1 pick ahead of Smart in 2004.

It's not this simple, but if the Jazz could have somehow had Smart, Mitchell, Ingles, and Gobert on the same team, in the same lineup, that would be pretty cool.

 

[MHSL82]

The Jazz took Exum 1 pick ahead of Smart in 2004.

It's not this simple, but if the Jazz could have somehow had Smart, Mitchell, Ingles, and Gobert on the same team, in the same lineup, that would be pretty cool.

Smart did not visit Utah during the draft process and he made some type of comment about how it would not be smart for us to pick him. Like it was obvious that it wouldn’t be good to have someone who didn’t want to be there.

Jazz say Marcus Smart won't work out for them

VP of personnel says the Jazz are interested in Marcus Smart with the fifth overall pick, but the Oklahoma State guard won't come in for a workout.

www.cbssports.com

 

[nuraman00]

Many teams draft players anyways, even if they skip workouts. Once they're drafted, they have to report.

Prior to 1999, they didn't have the rules in place in the collective bargaining agreement. But since then, the rules have been in place, as well as set rookie contracts based on draft position. (A team can still offer small bonuses on top of that).

Unfortunately, this is part of the game that agents play, where they typically want their players drafted as high as possible, or in the best possible market. So agents tell their potential draft players not to workout for teams below X spot, etc.

But again, some teams still draft those players anyways, and it works out.

The Kings often get players that skip their workouts. Or those players will only workout in a multi team setting. They end up taking those players if they like them anyways, and it works out. Once they get drafted, they say the right things.

 

[nuraman00]

Frankly, I don't think there's much you can tell in an individual workout anyways. It's basically players in an empty gym, or going against cones.

Or 54 year old assistant coaches.

There's so many restrictions on these workouts, that as far as basketball skills, it shouldn't matter much. The scouting done prior, in real games, should count more.

What these workouts can help, is in evaluating personality and work ethic. How they answer questions.

But then again, even if they answer them poorly, they're 19 and 20 year olds. Some of them don't know better.

Sure, if it's a tie between two players, take the player whose attitude you like better. But if it's not, try to take the best player.

I used to have a video clip of Martell Webster in a draft workout, where he made 27 3-pointers in a row. Suffice to say, his career never translated into being a useful shooter for any team. His best role was a 3rd stringer.

 

[MHSL82]

 

[nuraman00]

Interesting, but in the regular season, he had a down year, which is why he hasn't made his second All-Star team.

 

[Wamu]

What do playoff numbers have to do with an award for the regular season?

 

[MHSL82]

What do playoff numbers have to do with an award for the regular season?

Marcus Smart has become Marcus Complacent. Just kidding, I just saw the field goal percentage and I didn’t really look at the criteria