Apr 16, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks shooting guard John Jenkins (12) pulls up for a shot over Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan (10) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Raptors won 113-96. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

John Jenkins, AKA J-Lo, made a name for himself with Hawks fans around mid-March when he dropped four double digit scoring outputs in about two weeks of play. In case you’ve been under a rock for the entire season, here’s a little more information on John Logan Jenkins.

Author’s Note: I know what you’re thinking, reader… “A rock?! Who does this Barnes guy think he is? I’ve already paid off my mortgage!” If that’s not the case, well, I hope you enjoy this anyway. Carry on.

At the end of the 2011-2012 season, I was looking forward to the draft. As my first draft as an obsessed Hawks fan, I took it upon myself to do as much research as possible on every player that was projected to wiggle through David Stern’s lips when he says, “With the 23rd pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, the ‘Atlaynta Hahwks’ select ____________.” Naturally, I googled “NBA Mock Draft 2012″ and found myself jumping around several draft specific websites. After watching old games on my WatchESPN app, YouTube scouting reports, and workout videos, I was enamored with several players. Jeffrey Taylor, Tony Wroten Jr, Fab Melo, Jared Cunningham, Festus Ezeli, and many others made their way onto my iPad’s screen as I analyzed their games like I knew how to at the time: smile at pretty basketball.

But then life threw me a curveball and the Hawks hired Danny Ferry. Should that have affected my scouting? Probably not, except for the fact that he traded away (my hero dream-killer) Joe Johnson and (my other hero) Marvin Williams (Who am I kidding? Even Utah is tired of Marvin already.) I was sent through a metaphorical loop and I had no clue who the Hawks would draft. Talk about a wild June, eh?

On draft night, I sat on pins and needles (literally just kidding, I own a couch) as I anxiously awaited David Stern to call out the 23rd pick. My mind was all over the place.

“Please Jeffrey Taylor. Please Jeffrey Taylor. Please Jeffrey Taylor,” I pleaded as the commish approached the podium. I loved his work at Vanderbilt and I thought he would fit in well after the recent acquisition of Lou Williams (who was I kidding?).

“With the 23rd pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, the ‘Atlaynta Hahwks’ select John Jenkins from Vanderbilt.”

My head was buried in my hands.

“What did Ferry just do! Wait, who is this guy?”

I realized that I had never heard of John Jenkins, much less “scouted” him. I had so many questions running through my head.

“Is he good? Can he shoot (stupid question)? How did I not notice him in Vanderbilt games? Is he really a first-round pick?”

If I remember right, Tom Penn of ESPN led off the Pick No. 23 “coverage” by mentioning how teams late in the first-round tend to lean toward specialists, from shooters to rim protectors to defensive specialists. Well, we certainly grabbed a specialist alright.

And, as of right now, I couldn’t be happier.

Now that we’re done with my attempt at creative writing, let’s dig into J-Lo’s game, shall we?

The Henderson, Tennessee native had a solid rookie season in the league. He averaged 6.1 points and 14.8 minutes a game. Think that’s not very good? Put him in a starting role and have him play 36 minutes and his points bump up to 14.9 a game. His shooting percentages weren’t stupendous, but he proved that his stroke is gorgeous and I have complete faith in him to work on his game this offseason and make any small tweaks he thinks he needs.

Speaking of this offseason, where does J-Lo go from here? I recently came across this brief piece from David Thorpe of ESPN.com and Scouts Inc. where he suggests a veteran that he should study and learn from. Johnny’s veteran? Stephen Curry, the same guy who hit 272 three-pointers in one season. Not a bad guy to learn from. Check out Thorpe’s opinion on the topic:

There is little doubt that Jenkins has the stuff to be an elite shooter in this league. That alone should help him stick around for years. But if he can add more craft to his game and play the point guard spot while still being a great shooter? Then he’s a valuable starter.

Curry left college with real question marks about his ability to play the point (while I saw him as the next Steve Nash), but has added better ball skills to his incredible shooting game. Because defenders have to press up on him, he now has a better chance to attack at the right angle to create a man advantage or draw help, allowing him to make a pass to exploit that advantage. Curry has also learned when to dominate the scoring and when to run the show, something that would help Jenkins enormously.

Wise words, David. Imagining John Jenkins with killer handles is giving me goosebumps as I type this. (Do you really need proof?)

Courtesy of Synergy Sports, Jenkins participated in a grand total of 365 offensive plays in his rookie showcase. Out of those 365, he was spotting-up 27.9% of the time while making only 34.7% of his field goal attempts. Not so pretty. Transition plays accounted for 23.6% of his action and off-screen plays totaled 19.7%. The transition game did wonders for John as he shot 57.6% from long range and racked up 1.24 points-per-possession. While most players are successful in the front court, off-screen plays are the ones that catch my eye. Threeroy Jenkins made 50.8% of his field-goal attempts coming off of a screen, but only 20% of his threes. Is there cause for alarm? Not really, considering he only took 10 threes total.

Let’s take a look at a nifty new shot chart, courtesy of our pals over at HotShotCharts.com (roll over the picture for details):

In this graphic, the bigger the dot, the more shots were attempted at that spot. Make sense?

What I’m amused by is the plethora of red-dot hot-spots (Dr Seuss, you rang?) that Jenkins has from the three-point line. You can tell he’s comfortable from the left wing,  the right wing (free-throw line extended), and slightly to the right of the top of the key. Shots like this:

Sorry I was having issues with my normal video capture software, so this had to suffice. I’m not sure where the background music came from.

I was very impressed with his 57.6% true-shooting percentage, as well as many other advanced statistics that I won’t bore you with, but some defensive numbers jump out. His net rating was -7.9, meaning that per 100 possessions the other team scored nearly 8 more points. That’s a loss, folks. Sure, Jenkins spent the first half of the year only playing in garbage time situations, but this isn’t exactly comforting.

If John can improve his general athleticism, his defensive contributions will be boosted significantly. He’s not a natural athlete and I don’t remember him ever dunking, but working hard in the offseason can only help him. Another tidbit: Korver was recognized as a solid team defender on the Hawks this season and on the Bulls for the few years prior. Could this happen to Jenkins? Both he and Korver fit the role of “a shooter that isn’t a pure athlete that can contribute well on the defensive end.”

Something I noticed while doing some research: it has been brought to my attention that John Jenkins is not respected as a member of the NBA by members of the world-wide-web. Google returned my search for “John Jenkins” with the former UGA defensive lineman. He hasn’t even played in the NFL yet! More respect for my man Johnny please!

Depending on the upcoming offseason, Jenkins has an opportunity to win the starting job or compete for the 6th Man slot (also depending on Lou Williams’ preference and the coach’s beliefs, whoever it may be). I am super super super excited to watch John grow next season and I hope y’all are too. He has a solid chance to become a very important member of the Hawks and I hope he takes advantage of it. The best part about this season, in my opinion, was that he could’ve played better. He missed a lot of open threes that could be classified as “rookie shots”. Coming in as a sophomore and being one of the few players to return will help his confidence as a gunner.

John Jenkins had a satisfying rookie season, in my opinion, and I am excited to watch him play in the Summer League and for the next several years. Thanks for giving it your all Johnny Cash.

We will all be watching.

Feb 26, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Western Conference guard Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers (3) moves around Eastern Conference center Dwight Howard (12) of the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game at the Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Picture this: Chris Paul, Al Horford, and Dwight Howard all suiting up for the Atlanta Hawks. Proceed to get excited like this:

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN wrote an Insider article on Monday about Chris Paul’s likely moves this offseason. Here is the excerpt from the story where he talks about the possibility of CP3 joining the Hawks.

The Hawks — who could have drafted Paul in 2005 when they selected Marvin Williams – have just three players with guaranteed contracts for next season: Al Horford, Lou Williams and John Jenkins. Obviously that’s not enough to entice Paul from the standpoint of maximizing title odds. However, Atlanta might have a slight geographical edge because Paul was born, raised and went to college in ACC country. Then if you recall the fact that Howard is an Atlanta native, suddenly things get more interesting. The idea of Paul and Howard joining forces has been floating around for some time, and in Atlanta, it could actually happen.

Chris Paul in Atlanta would be interesting to say the least. You know how bad Hawks management looks for that 2005 draft? Think about how bad they would look if the player they skipped over (and made statements that he would prefer to play in Atlanta) returned to the team via free agency. Chris Paul would bring a Southern swagger to Atlanta that would likely increase ticket sales. The same ticket sales that were good for 22nd in the entire league this season.

This would require some bold decision-making on the part of Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, and some financial collusion on the part of Paul and Howard. Ferry would need to renounce every free agent on his roster, a process which would include declining to make a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Jeff Teague. If he did that, Ferry could get his cap commitment down to about $26 million for the aforementioned trio, Atlanta’s two first-round picks and a number of minimum cap holds. If the cap comes in at, say, $60 million, then that would be $34 million for Howard and Paul to split. Not the max, but this scenario only works if the pair decides to follow in the path of Miami’s LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Atlanta would end up with a core of Howard, Paul and Horford, plus an elite bench scorer in Williams, a promising shooting specialist in Jenkins and two first-round rookies. Ferry would also have a full battery of cap exceptions — this would become a likely landing spot for Barnes — and with Howard and Paul on top of his talent pyramid, the Hawks would become a preferred destination for the top minimum-salary veterans. The Hawks haven’t been to the Finals since the 1950s, so why not think big? There are several teams that could maneuver enough to free up a salary slot for Paul, like Dallas, Houston or Boston. The Hawks are the only team, though, that can do so while also offering the possibility of an instant power trio.

This scenario of a big three with Jenkins, Lou, maybe Matt Barnes (there may or may not be a relation), and (hopefully) Zaza Pachulia is quite favorable, in my opinion. Don’t forget about Kyle Korver either! He has stated that he is open to coming back next season.

Maybe he’ll give Ferry a friendly discount.

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May 3, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith (5) looks down the court in the second half of game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena. The Pacers won 81-73. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Smith. J-Smoove. J-Smooth (I hate it when people call him that…). Air Smith. Joshy Joshua. Josh Smiff. The Peachtree Pounder (HOW COOL IS THAT?!). Josh Smith.

Whatever you call him, you know who he is. He’s a unique player that brings excitement, as well as a less-than-motivated player (for the most part/on certain ends of the floor *cough cough* rebounding *cough cough*) that brings lulls to the crowd and a plethora of “NOOOOOOOOOOO”s when he pulls that elbow above his left shoulder for a smooth (pun intended) jumper. Think of him how you want to, but the bottom line states that Josh Smith is a player worth bringing in a lot of money this offseason. Is he worth every penny that he’s demanding? Maybe not, considering he’s made it public that he considers himself a “max” player.

Matt Moore, NBA writer for CBS Sports suggested that Smoove pay a fine for each jumper he takes. Take a look:

If I’m a team with cap space ready to build, I offer Smith a max on one condition. There’s a $7,500 charge for every shot taken outside of the paint that he doesn’t make.

Smith took 533 jumpers (non-backcourt heaves at the buzzer) this season according to NBA.com. If he replicated that next season, and made none of them, it would comes him nearly $4 million, and $4 million for each season he shot the same. If he made the exact same percentage he did this year, it would cost him close to $2.8 million. Now, your cap space would still be tied up in Josh Smith. But you’re putting his play in his own hands. Now, you can change it if it’s a “911 shot” with the clock under 2 seconds. But if you’re Smith, and you know you’re getting hit if you don’t make that shot, don’t you abandon it and go to the post? You get the value of the player without the mess.

Note: This is probably not allowable under any circumstances under the CBA and Smith’s agent would rather light himself on fire than submit his client to this. But isn’t it a great idea?

*courtesy of  Josh Smith wants to test free agency, does he deserve the max? from cbssports.com*

I have suggested something similar to that in the past and I think that a fine for jumpers would be quite helpful to his game. Unfortunately, there is no record of me making this idea public, so we’re gonna have to rely on scout’s honor.

Teams such as Houston or even your own Atlanta Hawks could take a gamble and give him all the money possible. General Manager Danny Ferry has stated that he values Josh as a player and a member of the franchise, but I find it hard to believe that the most money will come from the Hawks.

An interesting side note: Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey is a believer in “Mathketball”, which is (loosely) a style of play where the goal is to only shoot at the rim and outside the three-point line. In this system, deep twos are the enemy and (in my opinion) Josh would be a perfect acceptable fit for a stretch four that can still pound the post. He hasn’t been an awful three-point shooter over the past few seasons and I am perfectly fine with him chunking a trey every now and then.

The main point I’m doing a bad job of making is that other teams will offer Josh Smith oodles and doodles of money to move zip codes. Danny Ferry needs to make a decision: Is Josh Smith worth a max contract? Can I convince him to play a different style of basketball?

And the most important question of all from Danny Ferry:

Can I win a championship with Josh Smith?

I say, “No.”

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