The numbers for a player like Howard being bad is different from a player like Smart's numbers being bad.
Marcus Smart is arguably one of the worst skilled basketball players in his draft. Almost everybody is better at basketball.
The difference is that Smart is the perfect player for a team like the Celtics. One thing he also does well besides the obvious hard worker on defense is that he passes the ball very well. Almost better than anyone in his draft.
The key here is that when you say numbers dont mean anything, that is correct with Marcus, its evident his importance, we truly might never know what he really means, as the players that play along side him know best (some have stated they play better and are comfortable)......What we do know is if a guy like Hayward has stinky numbers , is that he is not worth it...given the investment and given what he is supposed to give the Celtics.
Smart is the guy thats going to do what he needs to do to help the team get wins. The haywards are supposed to be givens. If he's not what Ainge wanted to see , then he could have just saved the cash and given tatum the keys completely.