Tag: Smiley

Alen Smailagic was working on his 3-point shot during Golden State’s offseason

During the Golden State Warriors’ extended offseason, 6-foot-10 forward Alen Smailagic spent time working on his 3-point jumper.

After being selected in the second round by the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA draft, Alen Smailagic split time between the Bay Area and the G League in his rookie debut.

Through 14 games in the NBA, Smailagic averaged 4.2 points on 50% shooting from the field with 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 9.9 minutes per game. With the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, the 6-foot-10 forward notched 15.2 points on 51.2% shooting with 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 19 games.

Heading into his sophomore year in the association, Smailagic could be adding an outside jumper to his game.

During his after practice media availability on Tuesday, Smailagic mentioned he’s been working on his 3-point shot “a lot” The 20-year-old said Golden State player development coach Seth Cooper has helped develop his long-distance game.

Over his time at the NBA club, Smailagic shot only 3-of-13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc as a rookie. His numbers improved at the G League level, shooting 34.1% on 4.3 attempts per contest.

Although he still has work to do, Steve Kerr envisions Smailagic could develop into a pick and pop shooter on offense at the NBA level.

Well, Smiley is still so young, we’re just trying to help him develop. He has to have a picture in his mind of how he can fit in the NBA. I think that’s as a pick and pop shooter offensively. He’s got to understand his responsibilities as a defensive player whether he’s at the four or the five. We’re trying to help him. He works really hard, he loves the game, but it’s a pretty steep learning curve at the NBA level and we’re just trying to help him through that process.

Listen to Smailagic and Kerr’s full post-practice pressers via Warriors SoundCloud.

With the status of the G League unclear, Smailagic will likely get the opportunity to compete for minutes in Golden State’s frontcourt behind the combination of Draymond Green, James Wiseman, Kevon Looney and Marquese Chriss.

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Draymond Green dons a new jersey number at Warriors practice in L.A.

After losing six-straight games, the Golden State need to take new measures to end their losing streak. For Draymond Green he used rookie, Alen Smailagic’s No. 6 jersey at a recent Warriors’ practice.

The start of the new decade hasn’t been kind to the Golden State Warriors. Since the ball dropped in New York City at Times Square to ring in the new year, the Warriors haven’t won a game.

To cap off 2019, Golden State won four of its last six games, but 2020 has been an unwelcome wake-up call. The Warriors have been missing their leading scorer, D’Angelo Russell, in every game of 2020. Without Russell, the team is averaging under 100 total points per game over their last four contests.

Losing streaks can be hard to shake. Some individuals take extreme measures to snap a losing streak, for former Defensive Player of the Year, Draymond Green, it could be as simple as a jersey swap.

Before the struggling Dubs tipped off against the Los Angeles Clippers, the team practiced at UCLA in Pasadena and Green suited up a little different. Green was spotted wearing rookie Alen Smailagic’s No. 6 practice jersey during the team’s morning shootaround.

Smailagic is coming off a career-high 10 points against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks — it looks like Green is taking notice of the 19-year-old Serbian product.

Things don’t get any easier on the Warriors when the team travels to Staples Center to face Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers sit at third place in the Western Conference with only 12 losses on the season.

The Clippers could extend the Warriors losing streak to tie a 2019-20 season-high of seven straight losses. If the Warriors can break their losing streak, Green might have to stick with the rookie’s practice jersey for a while.