Tyler Smith Scouting Report
A number of today's most successful young players in the NBA are combination forwards, who can play both stretch four but also operate as a traditional wing. None fit that bill more in the 2024 class than Tyler Smith.
Smith is the ideal big/wing of the modern era, owing to his exceptional floor spacing abilities, defensive versatility, ability to guard the rim, and the capacity to play off the ball. It's possible that the G League Ignite product will turn out to be the most valued player in the draft.
Smith fits the mould of a modern forward in this league perfectly and is incredibly fluid for his size. He can create opportunities off the bounce and is at ease handling the ball. Although he lacks the speed to be a major scorer when the ball is in his hands, he is a valuable complementary player nonetheless.
In addition, he appears to have a jumper that is sound mechanically and should transfer going forward. He only made about 30% of his deep shots during the previous season, but all things considered, he has the potential to be a solid 3-point shooter given his mechanics, as well as what we have seen from him in the past.
He possesses solid athletic ability. Right now, he requires a spacious launching pad to attack above the rim, however as his physique and strength develop over time he could very well become one of the very best scorers at the rim in the league- he just needs to get stronger.
His fluidity and burst allow him to be an elite scorer on off-ball motion plays, which are obviously a big part of any offense in the NBA.
The only real issue for his offense is that he can be at times a little too passive. He has been caught at times being a bit lazy, more going-though-the-motions than playing real competitive ball. Usually, however, young players with that problem grow out of it with age.
His playmaking chops, given his size, are elite, and he has shown the ability to be an ideal secondary or tertiary shot creator/ball handler at the next level. He doesn’t have the most elite handle, and you definitely won’t see him breaking down guys on the perimeter, but he is reliable and effective with the ball in his hands.
While he is at times undisciplined (a ball-chaser, as legendary coach Tex Winters would label it), he makes great use of his length as is a solid, if not great, defender- both on the perimeter, and in the paint.
He is a solid rebounder, although a little disappointing given his size. This may lead teams to play him at the three, instead of at the four.