NBA: Regrading every first round pick from the 2018 NBA Draft

NBA: Re-grading every first round pick from the 2018 NBA Draft

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (C) poses with NBA Draft Prospects Trae Young, Marvin Bagley III, Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic before the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

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NBA draft (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2018 NBA draft: Re-grading Pick Number 16. Zhaire Smith: F

Trading for this selection on NBA draft night looked bad in the moment and it has aged like milk. Mikal Bridges’ mother worked in the organization and was everything the Philadelphia 76ers needed: shooting, defense and ready to play. Zhaire Smith turned out to get quite the opposite.

Part of this is terrible luck. Starting in Summer training, Smith broke his foot and needed surgery and then had a severe allergic reaction that required surgery. This led to him appearing in just 13 regular-season games over two seasons before being traded to the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons waived him almost immediately before the Memphis Grizzlies signed him and did the same thing.

The stats are almost worthless given how small the sample size is. Smith never got much of a chance due to health and inconsistency issues. Being out of the league already after just two seasons is rare for a young project player. For the Sixers, adding depth who can shoot has been the priority since they started building around the roster around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. All those factors combine to make this selection an unmitigated failure. Hopefully, for his sake, he can rebuild his career through the G-League as he is still only 22 years old.

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