On Tuesday morning, the Philadelphia 76ers made waves in announcing that 2018 first round pick Zhaire Smith suffered what the team described as a left foot injury earlier in the week during a development camp in Las Vegas. Immediately, speculation began as to just how serious the former Texas Tech standout’s ailment might be but, by the afternoon, Shams Charania of Yahoo reported that Smith actually fractured his left foot.
Sources: Philadelphia 76ers rookie Zhaire Smith has suffered a fractured left foot. Smith, the No. 16 pick in the Draft, hurt his foot on Monday in Las Vegas during a developmental camp for NBA players.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 7, 2018
A Sixers draft pick suffering a significant injury prior to their rookie season is an all too familiar refrain in Philadelphia, and Charania revealed that Smith’s injury is actually a Jones fracture, which is the same injury that cost Sixers teammate Ben Simmons his entire rookie campaign.
Smith had MRI/imaging in Philadelphia today revealing a Jones fracture — with surgery scheduled for later this week, league sources said. He also will see another specialist in Philadelphia. https://t.co/VT0RVpZ9oi
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 7, 2018
At this (very) early juncture, it remains to be seen how long Smith might be sidelined but, at the very least, this is less than ideal for both player and team. Smith is an impressive and athletic prospect with tools to become a high-level defensive player and enough in the way of developing skill to be intriguing on the offensive end. However, he is comparatively raw when aligned with other prospects in his range as the No. 16 overall pick and any setback to his development, especially when viewed through the prism of his rookie season, hurts in that regard.
In six Summer League games, Smith struggled to 32 percent shooting, though he was able to flash some of his considerable upside. The Sixers are, of course, attempting to compete for a place in the NBA Finals and having one less option available (even for part of the season) is unfortunate. More information is absolutely needed in order to fully analyze the ramifications here but Philadelphia should likely expect to be without their promising rookie for some time.
