Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
As it became clear that through injury and through (brief) performance Alen Smailagic was not going straight back to the G League, Draymond Green’s words seemed prescient.
“My assistant coach from high school told me years ago: Coach gave you two minutes, make him give you four. He gives you four, make him give you eight,” the star forward said of Smailagic after his Friday debut. “I think coach gave him two minutes tonight and I was at the table to check in for him, and he made him give him four. He did his job.”
He did his job so well that as the Warriors again would be shorthanded Saturday at Chase Center, his demotion is being delayed.
Smailagic is still with the team for its game against Dallas, a day after his promising five-minute stint as both Omari Spellman (sickness) and Eric Paschall (hip) will miss another tilt.
The 19-year-old originally was assigned to Santa Cruz this morning and yet has a chance to step on the court during an NBA game for the second time in his life.
“They didn’t tell me anything,” Smailagic said Friday, asked what Golden State has informed him about his time delineation between the G League and NBA this season.
Yet, it seems a day after he played some first-quarter minutes, was active on the boards, went 2-for-3 for four points and unveiled a body that can hang with grown NBA players, the Warriors are open to giving the second-round pick from Serbia more run.
Steve Kerr sees some similarities in the on-court emotion, if not game, in Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry.
“Playing with a smile on your face, it’s something relatively unique,” the coach said. “Most guys are locked in, they’re pretty serious. I watched Luka the other night against San Antonio, his first game back, and he’s out there smiling and laughing. It is similar to Steph. And I think fans love that, they want to see players enjoying themselves.
“He’s an amazing player. He crushed us in Dallas last month [35 points] when we were down there. We’ve got our hands full.”
With the amount of time two-way players Ky Bowman and Damion Lee can spend on the NBA roster dwindling without new pacts, 28-year-old Alec Burks is an obvious trade candidate.
“On the court, he’s really a good player, just his aggression — getting the ball downhill, with speed, momentum, attacking,” Kerr said. “He shoots the ball better from the 3-point line [35 percent] than I realized before we signed him.
“On a young team, it’s great to have a veteran player who just is no-nonsense.”
