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2018 NBA Mock Draft: Impact of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs

By Maxwell Ogden

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 25: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrates a win during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at TD Garden on March 25, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Wildcats won 71-59. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 25: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrates a win during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at TD Garden on March 25, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Wildcats won 71-59. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – MARCH 25: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders talks with Zhaire Smith #2 during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 25, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 25: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders talks with Zhaire Smith #2 during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 25, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

. Guard/Forward. Texas Tech Red Raiders. Zhaire Smith. 10. player. 93

Age: 18 (6/24/1999)
Height & Weight: 6’5″ & 180 pounds
Slash Line: .556/.450/.717
Season Averages: 28.4 MPG, 11.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 3PM

The Philadelphia 76ers have five players who are locked in as starters and potential stars. Those players are guards Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons, small forward Robert Covington, power forward Dario Saric, and center Joel Embiid.

Knowing all of that to be true, the 76ers make the only rational decision for a mock draft without trades: Select a project with exceptional upside.

If you’re looking for comparisons, think Gerald Green athletically and Andre Roberson on the defensive end of the floor. Offensively, Smith is a raw player who doesn’t have anything to fall back on at this stage of his development.

What’s unequivocally true about him, however, is that he has the type of natural instincts that few players display at any stage of their career.

Smith is a capable shooter, passer, and rebounder, but it’s the way he approaches those tasks that makes him so intriguing. His shot selection is beyond his years, his vision as a passer is criminally underrated, and his approach to rebounding is situational.

Simply put: Smith has the athleticism to do just about anything he wants on the court, but the basketball IQ and poise to take his time.

Knicks Note: I’m inching closer to putting Zhaire Smith at No. 1 on the list of prospects for the New York Knicks.

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