Should we be concerned about Zhaire Smith?
We may only be 14 games into the season, but so far, nothing has gone as Sixers fans expected. The offense has lacked cohesion, the defense has looked mediocre at times, and questions are beginning to arise about the entire composition of the team. Things look bad and somewhere lost in this sea of negativity has been the development of last year’s first-round pick, Zhaire Smith. Mostly because there hasn’t been any development.
Coming into the year, there were hopes that Smith would team up with this year’s first-round pick, Matisse Thybulle, to give the Sixers a pair of young, versatile wing defenders. That has been anything but the case as Thybulle has shown brilliant flashes, while Smith still has yet to even touch the floor. It’s been so difficult for Smith to break the rotation that he’s been relegated to the G League in order to get minutes.
Through three games with the Delaware Blue Coats, Smith’s struggles have only continued. His defense hasn’t been great, he’s averaging just 0.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, and his three point shot seems to have regressed as he’s only shooting 20% on 3.3 three’s per game.
Prior to Tuesday night’s game, Smith was also averaging four fouls per game, which is concerning considering this is is his second season playing in the G League. Despite playing nearly 30 minutes per game, he has shown very little growth as a player.
Smith also missed two straight games with right knee soreness, which is never good.
A lot of these struggles were noticeable in the preseason, when Smith underwhelmed in a reserve role, but his lack of development with the Blue Coats is a legitimate cause for concern. Making matter slightly more difficult for Smith has been the emergence of Marial Shayock.
The Sixers’ second-round pick was recently named G League player of the week after averaging 35 points and nine rebounds over three games. Shayock has started to garner rumors of a potential call-up to the Sixers, while Smith is beginning to be the subject of trade talks.
While it’s still very early in the season, it looks as though the Sixers may need to make a trade to acquire more fire power on offense. If that is the case, Smith seems to be the team’s biggest trade chip, or at least he is hypothetically. He has a tantalizing skill set, but his struggles to start the season have to make one wonder where his trade value currently stands.
The Sixers may be better off holding on to Smith and hoping the development comes later down the line, he is only 20 years-old after all.
On the bright side, Mikal Bridges doesn’t look that good either.
