He was drafted high and he's young. If he played in Philly or LA, nobody here would want anything to do with him.
That said, he still might have potential so we have some hope he might live up to his draft position. So far, he's been very disappointing, but he still has time. This season is an important one for him. If he doesn't make a leap, the "next Tony Allen" talk will start to set in.
Wait Tony Allen has already had a 12 year career and has been a starter for 6 years on a perennial western playoff team. He has made 3 all NBA first defensive team and one second all defensive team thus far as well as a championship with the Celtics. Would this kind of career really be a disappointment for Smart?
Yes that would absolutely be a disappointment considering the expectations of the pick. The anticipation was that he'd be the type of franchise talent that we could build around. Many anticipated him coming in and averaging close to Tyreke Evans numbers (20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists). He was seen as the future of the team. He may peak out as a Tony Allen type role player and have a long career contributing to teams. That would be admirable if he was drafted at the end of the 1st round like Allen. But if that's Smart's peak, yeah... that's a disappointment. Let's first see if he even accomplishes that... and keep hoping he develops into something more substantial.
A year ago I suggested that the jury was still out on the Smart vs Randle debate and while Smart was clearly ahead of him, Randle might close the gap during his rookie season.
How do you guys see the gap now? How much of a gap does Smart have over Randle at this point? Randle averaged 11 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists with 43%/28%/72% shooting last season. It'll be interesting to see how much improvement both of those guys make (Smart's 3rd season and Randle's 2nd). I wouldn't be stunned to see both of them playing for new teams next year.
Not really sure where you get your expectations. Lillard looks like a star, but everyone else on this list (number 6 picks for the last 15 years) would be lucky to be a truly elite defensive player that carved out a spot on the all-defensive first team as a starter for a powerful playoff team (Roy was obviously screwed by injuries). You realize all defensive first team is pretty hard to do right? Being a top 5 defender in the league is an extremely valuable skill and you have to be decent enough at other parts of basketball to get enough minutes to earn that award.
2015 Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky Sacramento Kings
2014 Marcus Smart, Oklahoma St. Boston Celtics
2013 Nerlens Noel, Kentucky New Orleans Pelicans
2012 Damian Lillard, Weber State Portland Trail Blazers
2011 Jan Vesely, Czech Republic Washington Wizards
2010 Ekpe Udoh, Baylor Golden State Warriors
2000s
2009 Johnny Flynn, Syracuse Minnesota Timberwolves
2008 Danilo Gallinari, Italy New York Knicks
2007 Yi Jianlian, China Milwaukee Bucks
2006 Brandon Roy, Washington Minnesota Timberwolves
2005 Martell Webster, Seattle Prep HS Portland Trail Blazers
2004 Josh Childress, Stanford Atlanta Hawks
2003 Chris Kaman, Central Michigan L.A. Clippers
2002 Dajuan Wagner, Memphis Cleveland Cavaliers
2001 Shane Battier, Duke Memphis Grizzlies
2000 DerMarr Johnson, Cincinnati Atlanta Hawks