The Minnesota Timberwolves will be looking for defensive help this summer, and they may be able to find it via the NBA Draft in Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith.
Tom Thibodeau has a reputation for not playing rookies much, if at all, and it’s a reputation that has been fairly earned — for the most part.
From Jimmy Butler (8.5 minutes per game over 42 contests as a rookie) to Marquis Teague or even Marcus Georges-Hunt, who proved to be a worthy rotation player in short minutes just last season, Thibodeau has never relied on rookies when his hand isn’t forced. Or, if it isn’t a rookie that he is completely sold on, that is.
The likes of Nikola Mirotic (20.2 minutes per game in all 82 games with the Bulls in 2014-15) and Kris Dunn (17.1 minutes per game as a rookie with the Wolves in 2016-17) saw heavy minutes for Thibs because his roster had a need. Could we see that come the 2018-19 season?
If Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden have anything to say about it … probably not. They’d sure love to trade the pick, either straight-up for a veteran that could help the team immediately or part of a much larger deal. Layden alluded to the possibility of moving the selection at the season recap press conference, sounding like he may even be yearning for such an outcome.
But if they use the pick, there are certainly some players that would have a shot at being effective NBA contributors from day one, and especially on defense.
Take Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith, for example. He’s a one-and-done player who was not highly recruited out of high school and only averaged 11.1 points per game on the Red Raiders squad that surprised and reached the Elite Eight in March.
But the athleticism is undeniable, and the size is enough for the position. While Smith only measured at 6-foot-4 with shoes at the combine, his wingspan of 6′-9.75″ is good for his height. Switchability is obviously a vital skill in today’s NBA, and Smith effectively guarded all five positions at times in his lone season at Texas Tech. The size and athleticism will certainly travel to the NBA, and that must be attractive to Thibodeau, Layden, and Co.
Offensively, Smith shot 40.1 percent last year, but only attempted a little over one 3-point shot per game on average. His form is solid, and there’s no reason to think that he won’t continue to be a good shooter at the next level.
Viva The Matadors, a Texas Tech Red Raiders blog, did a great breakdown on Smith as a prospect, and its “middle of the road prediction” in terms of a player comparison was Oklahoma City’s Andre Roberson. While Roberson is a bigger player and entered the league after spending three years at Colorado, there are certainly some similarities.
Smith should be a better offensive player; his athleticism is a notch above Roberson, and between his feel and confidence and shooting percentages as a whole, he had a more notable offensive impact at the collegiate level. Even if it isn’t as more than a spot-up shooter and secondary ball-handler, Smith appears to have some value on that end of the floor.
Defensively, Smith likely won’t be able to guard many fours at the NBA level, which is one of the reasons why Roberson is so effective and a vital part of what OKC does defensively. But he should be able to switch seamlessly among ones, twos, and threes, and appears to have the awareness and basketball IQ, for lack of a better term, to fit within a defensive scheme such as Thibodeau’s.
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As we must do with all of these profiles, this is a friendly reminder that it’s probably as likely that the Timberwolves trade the No. 20 pick as it is that they actually draft (and keep) a player. But if they choose to keep it, Smith could be a great fit for the 2018-and-beyond version of NBA basketball.