2. Orlando Magic
Jabari Smith Jr. | 6-10 forward | 18 years old | Auburn
Smith drops a spot here, but I’m still a believer in him being a terrific, high-upside forward. There are few better 6-foot-10-plus shooters to have entered the NBA over the last decade. His percentages going back to high school are terrific, his marks so far at Auburn are great, and his mechanics are pristine. Smith has hit 40 percent from 3 so far at 18 years old and is averaging 15 points per game for one of the top teams in college hoops. On top of that, he’s a really sharp team defender with good lateral quickness who has no issues defending in space or rotating into the right spots as an impactful defender.Having said that, I do wonder if we might be taping over some of his flaws a bit in a way that we didn’t early in the season with Holmgren. Announcers constantly ask Smith to create and try to get his own shot more and to attack the basket more. I kind of think that, at least in the half court, he’s just not really capable of that yet as a ballhandler. He’s good at getting to his stepback on a one- or two-dribble move that is translatable given his high release point, but for the most part, he’s not breaking down defenders on an island, either. He’s a terrific, unselfish player who doesn’t force the issue, but he hasn’t made a ton of consistent, awesome passing reads yet this season. So while I’m definitely a believer that all of this will come, it’s worth noting that Smith isn’t a finished package. He’ll be able to step into the NBA early because of his shooting and defense, but it might take some time for him to reach stardom — if the ballhandling improvement comes.
